Italy Trip Recap Highlights

Back to back with my Ireland trip was a trip to three cities in Italy. Here’s my Italy trip recap!

Venice

We flew from Dublin to Venice and took a water taxi into the city. There are also ferries but the taxi was great because I was so exhausted at this point in the trip; We just hopped on the boat and went right to our hotel. No lugging of suitcases required. Of course, it helped that we stayed at the most AMAZING hotel, Donà Palace, which had a dock on the canals.

We honestly didn’t do too much in Venice. We ate a lot of gelato and pasta, explored the canals, and drank prosecco in our rooftop hot tub. We were a thirty second walk from St Mark’s Square and did the obligatory gondola ride. My family are huge movie fans so it was also fun to drink in the ambiance of movies like The Talented Mr. Ripley, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, Casino Royale, and so many more that had scenes in the floating city.

Things to note: people talked a lot about the tides and the smell; we had no problem in May when we went. There is a tax for day trippers visiting Venice (due to overtourism). You need to get from the airport to the city, which can be done a couple of ways. I loved the water taxi but it is def the most expensive option.

Florence

Plot twist: I was actually supposed to do a solo trip to Switzerland while the rest of my family did Florence. (Very) long story short, I ended up skipping Switzerland and going with everyone else to Florence. We did the Uffizi and the Academia. I love love love museums and seeing the statue of David, the Birth of Venus, and the Primavera were real highlights.

The food in Florence was the best of the three cities we visited. Though I did get some minor food poisoning so I was a little down for the count.

Also hot take: I did not love Florence. I feel like everyone I talk to is obsessed with the city and I thought it was probably my least favorite city I’ve visited abroad. It’s not bad or anything I just liked our other two destinations a lot more. I think the countryside of the Tuscany region would’ve been more my bag. Could this also have had anything to do with the reason I skipped Switzerland, potentially.

Rome

Seeing the Colosseum in person altered my brain chemistry. In middle school, I was obsessed with the Greek and Roman empires. There are a bunch of different tours you can book (some for the third level, some for the underground). We had an awesome guide and got to explore a little bit on our own.

The Vatican was overwhelming. You definitely need at least a day (or two) to go through it. I could’ve stayed in the Sistine Chapel alone all day. Make sure you cover your knees and shoulders (this applies for all Roman churches) and buy tickets in advance because the line gets pretty long.

One of the mornings we were there I took a walk over to the Trevi Fountain. I got there at 8:30am in May and it was already decently busy; not crowded but busy. It was beautiful for sure but I would skip it if I had to stand people deep.

We ate at a Michelin-recognized restaurant: Adelaide Ristorante e Salotto. So good! (One of my travel goals for the year is to eat at a Michelin-starred restaurant; This might be the closest I get).

Things to note: the Rome airport is not close to the city center (~20 miles depending on where you’re staying). Book attractions in advance; Italy is popular and lines are long. Public toilets are not free; they’re about 2 euros.

All in All…

I never thought I could ever get sick of eating pasta but by the time our stay in Italy ended I was on a pasta hiatus.

I also discovered that I prefer 10 day or less trips. Being in Europe for three weeks was an absolute treat (and privilege) but I like iced coffee and red-40 and air conditioning and free ice water. Being away for so long (especially in the summer) when I have a life at home that I love was exhausting and I was happy to get back home.

Of course, I am in Maine as I write this and will be in Paris for the Olympics at the end of the month so it was short-lived :))