Category: Travel

I have always wanted to visit Italy and finally got the chance! Thanks to a travel credit from Delta, my mom and I set off on a ten day journey through Italy. This was the ultimate mother-daughter trip filled with pasta, wine, and all the classic stops in Italy.

I’m a big planner when it comes to trips so I’ll share some of my tips and tricks for each of our experiences. (Tip: purchase and read Rick Steves’ Italy Guidebook. He publishes a new version of the book every year so it’s up-to-date. He provides tons of recommendations for sight-seeing, hotels, and restaurants. I also downloaded his mobile app and used his museum guides. This saved us a little bit of money at each museum.)

First Stop: Rome

We arrived in Rome after an overnight flight from the U.S. I don’t sleep well on planes but because I was so excited about the trip, I powered through an action-packed day. We dropped our things at the hotel and immediately found a cafe. After a round of espresso and pasta, I know, it’s a weird combo, we visited the Colosseum.  (Tip: buy your tickets in advance to skip the lines. You can do so by visiting this website. Your ticket will give you access to the Colosseum and the Roman Forum across the way. PRINT YOUR TICKETS BEFORE YOU LEAVE HOME!)

After touring the Colosseum and Roman Forum, my jet lag started to set in. Also, my mom somehow lost her glasses in the Forum and was quite blind for the next part of our trip. Oops. We grabbed an early dinner at Dar Poeta in the Trastevere area. The pizza and wine were fantastic. I highly recommend this place.

The next day, we visited Vatican City. This included the Vatican Museums and St. Peter’s Basilica. (Tip: Book your tickets in advance and early in the day. You can do so here.) The Museums ending with the Sistine Chapel were as amazing as I imagined. We utilized a Rick Steves’ audioguide for the Museums and Sistine Chapel rather than purchasing a tour package.

After walking through St. Peter’s Basilica, I convinced my mom that we had to climb to the top of the duomo, all 550 steps. She was upset with me at the time but it was worth the trek to see the view. (Tip: St. Peter’s Basilica requires “modest dress” for entry. Make sure your shoulders and knees are covered.)

Upset mother.

Amazing view.

For lunch, we found more pasta, wine, and gelato. Surprise surprise. We spent the rest of the day walking around Rome, hitting spots like the Pantheon and Piazza Navona.

Prosecco at Hotel Apollo.

St. Peter’s Square.

Gelato break in Piazza Navona.

The Pantheon.

Stop Two: Venice

The next morning we packed up and headed for the train station. We took one of the speed trains from Rome to Venice. This trip lasted less than four hours. (Tip: Book tickets well in advance. You can do that here. We also found that there wasn’t much difference between a first-class ticket and a business-class ticket other than better snack options.)

Upon arrival, we grabbed one of the vaporettos outside of the train station. I found these to be the cheapest way to get around Venice. Gondolas and water taxis were extremely expensive. Our hotel was one block from Piazza San Marco, the main square. Since we only had one day to see everything we wanted, we hit St. Mark’s Basilica and Doge’s Palace in record time. We spent the rest of our short visit drinking sparkling rose on our private hotel balcony and wandering the streets.

The next morning we hit a bit of a snag and missed our early train out of Venice. This gave us a chance to cruise back up and down the Grand Canal one more time before moving to our next destination.

Stop Three: Florence

Because we got a late start in Florence, we didn’t get to hit all of the spots like we wanted. I loved what we did get to see of Florence and hope to go back someday. We visited the popular shopping district to pick up some souvenirs, walked through the Uffizi Gallery, saw David at the Accademia, and took a night stroll with Rick Steves’ Renaissance tour. (Tip: Book your tickets for Accademia and the Uffizi Gallery in advance to skip the line. Accademia tickets here. Uffizi tickets here.)

Stop Four: The Cinque Terre

This was probably my favorite stop on the trip but definitely the scariest part. The Cinque Terre is a small string of five oceanfront villages in northern Italy. Train travel is possible but there are many stops required. We opted to rent a car in Florence and drive. BIG MISTAKE. (Tip: Don’t rent a car in Italy. Just take the train.)

My mother assured me before we left the United States that she has driven a stick shift car before so the small Fiat we rented wouldn’t be a problem. She didn’t tell me until we got into the car that she hadn’t really driven a stick since high school. We got off to a rough start, stalling the engine several times with angry Italians honking all around us. The worst part about driving into the Cinque Terre was all of the terribly tight hairpin turns to get down to the seaside village of Monterosso al Mare. I’ve never been more happy to be out of a car as I was when we arrived at our hotel.

Once we were settled in Monterosso, we walked around the small town and took in the beauty of the ocean on one side and the beautiful mountains covered with grapevines on the other. We took it easy the first night because we planned to hike to all five villages the next day.

We set out on our hike the following morning with our Cinque Terre cards in hand. (Tip: You must have a Cinque Terre card in order to access the hiking trails between the villages. The card also gives you the ability to utilize the trains that go between each of the villages and access the free wifi. No need to purchase in advance. More info here.)

The first trail from Monterosso to Vernazza is the longest and steepest hike. I believe it’s about two miles of steps and narrow trail. I’m so glad we did this one first. This tough trek is worth it because you get an amazing view of Vernazza from above. We took our time and arrived in Vernazza for a hearty lunch of more pasta and wine.

The second trail from Vernazza to Corniglia was a killer. We were hiking in the afternoon heat. (Tip: Stick with trail #2. It’s the easiest and offers great views of each town and the ocean for the entire hike.)

Unfortunately, the remaining two trails were closed due to a mudslide so we took the train between Corniglia, Manarola, and Riomaggiore. This was probably more of a blessing because we were beat.

Stop Five: Pisa

I was thankful we had the rental car so we could take a quick stop by Pisa to see the Leaning Tower. We stopped for some photos and a quick lunch before moving on to Tuscany.

Stop Six: San Gimignano

When traveling through Tuscany, if you do nothing else, eat dinner at Le Vecchie Mura. We were seated at an outdoor table and watched the sun set over the Tuscan countryside. The food was also incredible. I had a truffle gnocchi that was to. die. for.

We also did a wine tasting at Ciacci Piccolomini d’Aragona. The property was lovely and the wine was great. We brought home several bottles. (Tip: Book a tasting in advance to receive a full tour of the vineyard.)

At Ciacci Piccolomini d’ Aragona.

At Ciacci Piccolomini d’ Aragona.

Stop Seven: Montepulciano

This town was the perfect spot to end our tour of Italy. Our hotel was right off of one of the main squares and was a HUGE suite. (Tip: In Montepulciano, stay at Il Riccio *means “the hedgehog” in Italian* and ask if any of the suites are available. We stayed in #31. You will not be disappointed.)

We found another wine tasting in town at Contucci Winery. It was a couple of blocks from our hotel. They age the barrels of wine in the dungeon of an old palace. It was really cool to wander around in the cellar. We bought a few bottles to bring home.

Our host at Il Riccio set us up for another sunset dinner at one of the local restaurants nearby. The specials that night all included black truffle so I was in heaven again. After dinner we wandered around the small town window shopping and listening to street musicians. In my research on Montepulciano, I learned that some of the scenes from Twilight were filmed in the main square. My inner teenage was quite excited to see some of the spots.

Before hitting the road the next morning, we grabbed breakfast at Caffe Poliziano. We sat in the Tea Room with a great view of the vineyards below. We did not want to leave Montepulciano. This town was quiet, easy going, and all around lovely.

For my Twilight fans, anyone recognize this building from New Moon?

Selfie with the gorgeous countryside.

Another wine tour. This one is located in an old dungeon. Very cool.

Dinner with a view.

Final Stop: Rome

Since we had an early flight, we got back to Rome the night before to enjoy one more great meal before flying back to Texas. We wandered through the Trastevere neighborhood again, ate pizza, and drank lots of wine. Unfortunately, our hotel was pretty terrible that night. Our room was not clean and smelled terribly of body odor, yuck. This was the only Rick Steves’ recommendation that went wrong. (Tip: Don’t stay at Hotel Oceania in Rome.)

The next morning we hopped on the train to the airport, sad to leave Italy. I’m pretty proud of us for seeing so many of the sites in just ten nights. This was a wonderful mother-daughter trip. I’m so glad I got to spend this experience with one of my best friends. Love you Mom!