Tag: travel coach

Trastevere Neighborhood in Rome

On By Travels with MelindaIn RomeLeave a comment

One of my favorite Rome experiences was wandering the Trastevere neighborhood. Meaning “beyond the Tiber”, Trastevere is located on the south side of the river away from the normal Rome tourist sites. While there are definitely tourists here, there are also locals eating and enjoying the social life. So be adventurous and immerse yourself in this pocket of charm, entertainment, shopping and food when you visit Rome. Take the back streets, admire the faded Renaissance buildings, towering Roman pines, and enjoy an aperitif at a café on the piazza while the music flows from street entertainers.

I had done some research on this area and found THE coolest shop, Elvis Lives. Two graphic designers create and stock Elvis Lives with kitschy merch featuring Elvis and branded items featuring the Italian term “Daje” (meaning Come On!). We bought lots of unique souvenirs to bring home, especially for an Elvis-loving friend. We also happened upon a pop-up gallery of artists selling jewelry, prints, etc. in a loft space. You just never know what you will find! My travel advice is to not over plan your itinerary and to leave time daily for walking around and absorbing the local culture.

We ended up stumbling upon a fabulous restaurant that had an open table. Nannarella: Nannarella – Locanda in Trastevere – Dal 1930 (nannarellaroma.it) has a great outside patio. The pasta was amazing, and we enjoyed the people watching while we ate. Probably best to make a reservation so you can enjoy Nannarella-we got lucky as it seemed very popular. After dinner, we walked a few miles back to the hotel enjoying the evening and happy that we got to explore the unforgettable Trastevere neighborhood.

Vatican City

On By Travels with MelindaIn UncategorizedLeave a comment

The Vatican Museums that are part of Vatican City are among the most crowded in the world, sometimes having as many as 20,000 visitors in a day and recently I was one of them! Go early and don’t plan any other activities the day of your visit except aperitifs and dinner afterward. You will end your day tired and hungry but appreciative of all the beautiful art and history you have experienced. Vatican City is definitely a “must see” when in Rome.

Our early morning tour began on the street nearest the main entrance to the Vatican Museums. Our tour guide Fabi was so knowledgeable and fun. She really brought the history of the Vatican to life. I would highly suggest taking the first tour of the day even though it is an early call at 8 am to meet the group. Don’t be late or you will be left behind. Trust me, it gets crazy crowded later. While it’s busy in the morning hours with booked tours getting in early, it’s still manageable. Fabi guided us through the various museum galleries including the Room of the Candelabra, Hall of Tapestries, and Gallery of the Maps. It was nice for Fabi to offer to take pictures of us. We don’t have many pictures of us together other than selfies.

Before reaching the Sistine Chapel, you will receive a reference map you can use once inside, which is a useful resource since visitors to the chapel are expected to be silent as they observe Michelangelo’s masterpieces. Do NOT take pictures in the Sistine Chapel. And don’t use your wife (talking to you Thom!) to screen your efforts to try to take a picture without alerting the very visible security guards who are monitoring everyone’s movements.

After exiting the Sistine Chapel from a side door, we headed straight to the St. Peter’s Basilica, skipping the lines. Fabi took us to see the baroque Baldacchino, La Pieta, and other masterworks. You can go underneath the main floor of the basilica, where hundreds of Popes are buried. We finished our tour in front of the Basilica.

It’s huge-Vatican City consists of :

1) St. Peter’s Basilica – the massive cathedral

2) St. Peter’s Square – the large plaza open space in front of the Basilica. This is where the Pope will come out on Wednesdays and ride around in his Pope cart around the temporary seats that they set up. I wish we had taken the time to experience this, but we were just too tired after our Tuesday tour and our tour guide told us you had to get there very early in the morning to grab a seat. Next time!

3) Vatican Museums – a very large museum complex with many galleries hence called ” museums “. At the very furthest end of Vatican Museums is the Sistine Chapel, the interior of which represents the pinnacle of the Renaissance. The Sistine Chapel is part of Vatican Museums.

4) Vatican Gardens – the vast green park behind the Basilica which makes up the remainder of Vatican City. These green spaces covers the largest area of the city. You may be too tired to walk the gardens. We were.

Take time to check out the Vatican Post Office-Anyone can walk in and mail a post card here. It’s on the left side of St. Peter’s Square. This is also where the public bathrooms are located. Be prepared for a line.

ENTRY TO THE VATICAN:

Vatican Museums – Official Website (museivaticani.va)-if you don’t want to take a tour, you can go on the official website and get entry tickets 60 days in advance of when you want to visit.

Early entry is only for those with a pre-booked Vatican guided tour, so book online before you travel in order to skip the queues and the crowds in the Vatican Museums. We booked this tour https://www.tripadvisor.com/AttractionProductReview-g187791-d12631026-Rome_Vatican_Sistine_Chapel_and_St_Peter_s_Basilica_Early_Morning_Express_Tour-Rom.html

VATICAN DRESS CODE:

Ladies:  You MUST cover your shoulders and knees.

Men: Same as the ladies. No hats.

VISIT TIPS: Bring water and snacks! Wear comfortable shoes as you will walk miles. There are hardly any places to sit down and rest. By the end of our tour, I was tired, dehydrated and ended up squatting along a wall in St. Peter’s Basilica and the security guard asked me to move, which we did directly to the nearest place that sold water.

Boboli Gardens

On By Travels with MelindaIn FlorenceLeave a comment

Think of Boboli Gardens as Florence’s open-air museum with a view. Located directly behind Pitti Palace in the heart of this busy city, these gardens are an escape into 111 acres of fabulous landscaping and art. The Medicis created this Italian garden style oasis in the 16th century, which became a model for many European gardens. Open to the public since 1766, there are statues, grottos, fountains, pavilions, and even a Porcelain Museum to explore. So much to see! In between visiting all the fabulous Florence museums, Boboli Gardens is a much-needed nature break. Stroll the many paths and work your way up, up, up to experience 360 views of Florence and Tuscany.

Bring a compact blanket, picnic lunch and water and you’ll be all set to relax. Boboli Gardens could be an all-day outing depending on how much time you have in Florence. At the end, you can take the north exit to visit Fort Belvedere (see my blog post of the Fort here) or the southwest exit to visit La Specola which houses the Museum of Zoology and Natural History. Or maybe it’s time for an aperitif, in which case there are many cafes ready to serve you right outside Pitti Palace. If you leave through Pitti Palace, you will probably see Morgante, the court dwarf riding the back of a turtle. Give him a pat for me!

ENTRY DETAILS

Boboli Gardens Boboli Gardens Tickets & Tours 2022 | Florence Best Deals 8:15-6:30 daily but check online before you go because opening hours change with the seasons. You can get a daily ticket for $10 euros. We got the 5-day pass for $38 euros each where you have to get your timed entry to Uffizi first and then you have five days to also go to Boboli Garden, Pitti Palace and the Archaeology Museum. We went to them all! You have one paper ticket to hold on to and show at these places to get in and skip the ticket buying line. It’s very convenient and the way to go if you want to visit all these places, which I highly recommend.

Uffizi Gallery

On By Travels with MelindaIn FlorenceLeave a comment

A “must see” in Florence, the Uffizi Gallery is one of the largest and best-known art museums in the world and holds a collection of priceless works, particularly from the period of the Italian Renaissance. Thanks to the Medici family who eventually lost power in the 1500’s, their art collection was donated to Florence to start the museum and now we can all enjoy it!

To prepare for your trip to the Uffizi, go online well in advance and book your tickets (see my “how to” details below). Then, once you arrive and work through the entry process, you will reach the top floor where all the galleries are located. You could spend a whole day just immersing yourself in art but don’t forget to look out the windows at the end of the first corridor for great views of Florence.

We did not do a guided tour but that is an option that many people do. We listened on our mobile devices to previously downloaded Rick Steves audio guides to the Uffizi-the free option to get some history and background of what you are seeing, which is how we like to roll. We like to go at our own space and skip places too crowded for comfort. We saw all the highlights, which include paintings and sculptures by Boticelli, Caravaggio, Rembrandt, Leonardo da Vinci, Rafael and Michelangelo.  The long hallway with multitudes of statues and paintings was lovely with benches along the way to sit and admire all the art.

You exit through the top floor cafeteria where you can sit on the outside patio or inside and get some refreshments. As you exit, navigate away from the crowds and take the small alleyways to find your way home. This is our favorite part of Florence. Beautiful doors, buildings, archways, and wine doors can be found wherever you look. We even had a horse and carriage travel down the small street we were on, depositing presents on the cobblestones that we had to watch out for as we strolled. Eventually, we found the bridge over the Arno near our place and off we went for Sunday lunch.

HOW-TO GUIDE TO VISITING THE UFFIZI GALLERY

BOOKING ONLINE TICKETS

To visit the Uffizi Gallery, go to their official website and pick your ticket-a single ticket to visit the gallery or a five-day pass to also visit Pitti Palace and Boboli Gardens. We got the five-day pass because we were in Florence for two weeks and wanted to visit all three. It was $38 euros. Online, you pick the date/time you want to visit the Uffizi (you have to do this visit first and pick up your pass ticket) and you are ready to go.

ENTRY PROCESS

With our ticket confirmation email on our phones (no, you don’t need to print it and bring it like the online site says-they need to update that process) you go to the Uffizi and ask one of the officials at the many entrances to direct you to the appropriate place to pick up your online tickets to the Uffizi. Once there, it was easy to show the ticket booth person our email with the order number and they gave us our tickets. Now, out the door to the courtyard again and to the back of the line to get into the Uffizi during our time booked (15-minute window) and then we were climbing up and up the multitude of stairs. There may be an elevator somewhere, but you’d have to ask for access as it is not signed or suggested. Everyone went up the stairs-hope you are in good shape! When you get to the top floor (and only then) they tear off part of your ticket and you are off on your own (unless you came with a tour).