09/21/2023
A recent review from one of our clients...
"Flight - long, Transfers - great (seamless), Rail - great (loved taking the trains).
Hotel dei Mellini - Great location. Great staff, service and breakfast. Disappointed that we did not get to see the rooftop terrace, it was closed, not sure why. And that there was not ice on the floor. I think this is a Europe thing however.
Vatican Museum Tour - Overall a morning tour I believe would've been better. We were told that the Basilica was not part of the tour so we went there in the morning, stood in line for an hour and got to see it then we hurried back to the hotel to meet our Tour. After the Vatican Museums tour they took us to the Basilica. If we had known this we would not have spent all morning waiting in line and could've done something else. The tour was like a herd of cattle and there was no air-conditioning. Unavoidable, but this was not our favorite. Too rushed and structured for us.
Colosseum Tour - Again, am tour would've been better. We were there in the hottest part of the day and in the am we couldn't do too much because we needed to be ready and at the hotel. Again, herd of cattle, little time for photos and very structed for us. We did love the tour.
We did venture out a bit. We were planning to take the ferry to Positano but they were cancelled due to rough seas. We ended up taking the bus which was very crowded and we had to stand up the whole way. The road was scary, the bus was scary but Positano did not disappoint. It was so beautiful. We were surprised that the bus stops were not marked better. We were unsure, but made it back okay and we had a seat on the way back. I liked it, but it was too crowded, I would not want to stay there.
Sorrento was perfect! Great place as a base.
We took a ferry to Capri. Loved it! Saw the Fariglione Rocks and went on a small boat tour around the island. I would love to stay there!
Rome - We saw the Trevi Fountain, Spanish Steps, we had church service inside the
Pantheon on Sunday (that experience was amazing) we went there and they were letting some people in but said it was closed. I put my scarf around my shoulders walked up and when he asked where I was going I said "mass" and he said okay and let us in. We didn't even have to pay the $5 entry.
We saw the Piazza Navonna and Cast'l San angelo. Loved the Roman Forum and stayed well after the tour was over. Caught our own taxi back to the hotel. You have to go to the taxi stand area. You can't hail a taxi there.
Rome restaurants - Da Enzo (very good and close to our hotel). Locanda Meloni Ritrovo di quartiere (very close to our hotel, great!). One night Marc went out and brought some panini's back because I was too tired to go out. He doesn't remember the name, but they made the best sandwich. It was a Roman sandwich with mortadella and mozzarella cheese spread. We ate big breakfasts and mostly just snacked our way through Rome.
In general make sure to try the Maritozzo, cornetto and donut (any kind) all were fabulous. The pizza was great, we had Mamu in Rome.
We ended up taking the train from Rome to Venice for our last day. Venice was beautiful to see, but I don't think I would want to stay there. Very crowded and the streets were hard to navigate. We took a water taxi when we got there from the train station to St. Mark's Square and saw Doge's Palace and the Basilica (we did not go inside). We saw the Bridge of Sighs. From there I mapped us using my phone GPS to walk back towards the train station since we had limited time. We loved Venice off the beaten path, just walking over all the bridges away from the crowds. Glad we went.
Thank you for all the help with the trip of our lifetime"
