Oh I forgot this was an old thread. Hope you had a blast!
Any favorite restaurants in Florence or Rome to recommend?
Yes.
Florence:
- Buca Lapi. It’s gorgeous, and the oldest restaurants in Florence.
- La Loggia Piazza Michaelangelo
Take a taxi To Piazza Michaelangelo, that is where you’ll have that iconic view of Florence. Right above the Piazza is this restaurant with an outdoor terrace. You could do lunch, or if you do dinner, you’ll start of with it daylight, then it will be a gorgeous twinkling view at night. That’s what we did.
- We wish we had gone to this restaurant, it’s was recommended several times, but we ran out of time. La Giostra.
Rome:
-
Fortunato da Pantheon. You can see the pantheon from the outdoor seating area.
-
Cantina y Cucina ( fun area, lots of places to eat)
1 Like
@Jolynne_Smyth - Thanks for the tip about booking early.
Our AAA travel agent did tentatively book Florence Hotel Dei Ciompi for us (shared with another couple, details/map in prior post). No payment yet, so if we could switch if we find a nicer option. It’s not fancy, but the price is right (though more than shown at link below, for our dates and cancellable reservation). It’s not far from the train station, which was husband’s suggested target location because he found some good daytrip tour options that meet there.
When our family was in Florence last year, all of our restaurant selections were pretty much random; but we didn’t really have any bad food at all!
If your husband is booking day trips, we booked a day trip to Siena and San Gimignano through TripAdvisor; it left from the Piazzale Montelungo (Montelungo Square) which was about an 8-10 minute walk from the Santa Maria Novella train station. The tour was through Tuscan Gems, and was led by a young man who was extremely conversant in English. The departure site had many large double-decker vans loading lots of tourists onto them; I was relieved when our small, 7-passenger, air-conditioned van pulled up and took us away! It was a nice day trip, and included lunch at the Lornano winery after visiting Siena; we went to San Gimignano afterwards, and had some very nice gelato there. My only regret was that we were not able to spend more time in each town – when my wife and I were there 26 years ago (before children) we had a rental car, and were more footloose and fancy free in visiting Siena and San Gimignano; but I figure that the day trip was a good way to introduce our kids to that part of Tuscany.
Thanks for the Gem of a recommendation 
Definitely anything with winery visit is on our bucket list.
Siena looks like a nice daytrip destination. On our wish list is Cinque Terra - there are daytrips from Florence available (train, bus, boat), but it would make for a very long day.
We stayed one night in Cinque Terre - agree, it’s a lot to do in one day. With an overnight, you can relax and enjoy more. And it’s a definitely a ‘relax, wander, and enjoy’ vibe!
At this point we think that we could do two daytrips outside of Florence during our 5 night stay. Ideally the wives will do a cooking class at some point, but that could be in Florence or beyond. It’s kindof fun dreaming about it.
I’ve heard from multiple people that those day trips to Tuscany (from Florence) for cooking classes, wine tours, etc. are amazing! I wish I would have gotten to Tuscany (saw Under the Tuscan Sun on plane over!) but there are many beautiful other things.
Note: Open air market (many cool items and some vintage stuff) on Sundays in Florence - amazing prices! I got a distressed leather black jacket for 15 euros!
When our family was in Florence last May, my wife went to the Leather School (Scuola de Cuoio) and purchased gloves and other leather items for friends and family. Here is the website: https://scuoladelcuoio.it/en/ ; my wife said that it is located near the Santa Maria Novella church, so it might not be too far from where you are staying.
In regards to cooking classes, our family (which included our two 20-something kids) took a cooking class with Chef Vary, here: https://chefvary.com/; her kitchen is located along the Via Romana south of the Arno River. Our lesson was in a private kitchen, where we learned how to make and cook two types of pasta: a ravioli with duck sauce, and pici (a short, thick type of spaghetti) with a pomodoro (tomato) sauce. We also learned to make gnudi, which were boiled and then added to a sauce of butter and sage leaves. We got to eat our cooking creations — they were excellent! — served on a dining table in an area next to the kitchen. We mostly chopped vegetables during the lesson (we got some pointers on how to wield our knives), but we did get to make the actual pasta for our meal; Chef Vary oversaw all of our efforts, although she was the one who cooked on the stove. The cooking school was attached to a wine shop, and we got to taste several types of “organic” white wines (no added sulfites) to go with our meal. We had a lot of fun, and the food and wine were delicious!
I had located another cooking school, In Tavola, here: https://www.intavola.org/ ; but the lessons with Chef Vary fit our family’s schedule better (and she seemed to have more options of things to cook).
In addition to a day trip to Siena and San Gimignano, our family took the train to Modena and had a tour of the Maserati factory (Ferrari and Bugatti also have factories in Modena, but the Maserati tour was the one that we could fit in). The Maserati factory was a relatively short walk from the train station, and the tour was quite interesting. Afterwards we walked around central Modena, where we found a balsamic vinegar tasting room run by the Giusti firm. We tasted various types of balsamic vinegar, of varying ages (one was 25 years old), with cheeses and meats; they were really quite good, and I purchased some nice balsamic vinegars to take back with me on the airplane when we returned. The walk around the city center was very pleasant, and we stopped in the very old — Romanesque — and charming duomo. Modena had a very different feel than Florence – partly because it was more of an industrial city, partly because it was not packed with tourists like Florence.
I can give you more details if you are interested in any of the above.
2 Likes
Has anyone here every gone on an Italian food tour with Elizabeth Minchili?
1 Like
I have not but I’d love to one day go to Puglia on a tour with her. sister suggested I follow her on instagram and I’ve done so for several years. I also follow her daughter Sophie. Last fall when I went to Italy I spent 4 nights in Umbria a region I would not have initially considered.
3 Likes
Thanks - Great Tips!
This tour keeps coming up in ads. The price is good ($126 with tour, $82 transport only), but it seems like an awfully lot to pack into one day … 14 hours (with or without hike)
https://www.tripadvisor.com/AttractionProductReview-g187895-d11450562-Cinque_Terre_Day_Trip_from_Florence_with_Optional_Hiking-Florence_Tuscany.html#
With few exceptions, all the reviews give it 5 stars; so there is something good that people like!
While it might be a long day, you can always sleep in the next morning, and just plan to have a light schedule on that following day.
1 Like
I’m the youngest of our traveling group. If transportation is handled by experts, I could likely handle the long day myself (if not the day after our long trek from Basel —> Florence). Will feel out the others.