Insight Tours: Italian Elegance Tour Description

Thursday, May 8 - Getting to Rome

Our limo was a few minutes early, just as we were moving our bags to the step. Slow trip to the airport, but lots of time before our flight. The departure area was crowded, but we found a table in an eating area next to our departure gate and ordered food and drinks. Still lots of time before the flight time we’d been given. Oh, but wait! The boarding  was nearly an hour earlier than on the ones we printed the night before! We should be fine, because we’d been sitting right beside the gate listed on our new boarding passes, and had received no text updates and heard no announcements of changes. But it was 20 minutes past the new boarding time! At the gate, they casually told us that our flight was now leaving from a gate in a slightly different part of the terminal. Yikes! But we got there just as the delayed boarding began, so all was well. Well, except for the fact that we were seated 2 rows apart. It was a long (8+ hours) flight, but eventually we landed in Rome around noon Friday.

Friday, May 9 - Rome

Frankfurt may have some serious competition for worst airport in the world. Aside, that is, from JFK, which has no rivals in that area, so the competition is for 2^nd worst. We poured off the plane at about the same time as a few other flights. When we were approaching Immigration, we were suddenly being screamed at by Security to move faster and keep the lines tight – unless, of course, that  meant cutting across an open area to catch up with the back of the line ahead. You MUST follow the prescribed paths, whether it makes sense or not. It was a long walk to our baggage carousel and by that time we’d missed the shuttle to our hotel. Rather than wait nearly 3 hours for the next one, we set out in search of alternates. Turns out that the info people are not trained at the same school as security and a very helpful young man helped us decide to take the express train into Rome. With some difficulty, we acquired tickets and crammed onto an SRO train.

In about 25 minutes we were in central Rome. At last! Of course, next we had to figure out where the heck our hotel was. Helpful salesmen and bus drivers soon got us onto the right track and we checked in. After dozing and unpacking, we met with the other 19 people in our tour group and went out for dinner nearby. Things are looking up! Great group, terrific guide (Annaliese) and we even met our driver, Enzo, who’s reputed to be amazing. Let the adventure begin!        [19 instead of 40 - great advantage for sure!]

Saturday, May 10 - Rome

 This morning we had a walking tour of the historic district – as if all of Rome isn’t historic!

We saw many of the very old palaces and churches and lots of evidence of the re-use of materials,

up to and including gigantic marble columns. [L:the Pantheon]

At the Trevi Fountain, we were treated to gelato by Annelise – yum! We had to line up for the Pantheon
, but it moved quickly and we spent some time in that amazing space. We walked through ancient, narrow streets with rough cobblestones, and beside busy, multilane streets. Rome is very, very busy. In addition to the recent funeral for Pope Francis and the selection of Pope Leo, it is a Jubilee or Holy Year, which means lots of visitors. Just to add a little more excitement,

the Circus Maximus is the site of tomorrow’s Run for the Cure and is full of festive and practical tents and various activities. As lunchtime neared, we moved to the area of

the Coliseum. We weren’t going inside, so we opted to sit at an outdoor café across the street and enjoyed the sights.  After a short rest, we boarded our bus for the short trip to the Vatican Museum. As our local guide, Pietro, told us, the collection there was all about impressing guests and there’s so much stuff that it just  exhausts you to try and made sense of all of it. But my goodness! So much beauty! And I still am in awe of some of the architecture. Unfortunately, the Sistine Chapel  hasn’t re-opened after the conclave, so we missed that. It also meant that we had a much longer walk from the museum to St. Peter’s Basilica. Larry took a cab because his leg was bothering him. Luckily, he brought a cane, because today might have been impossible without it. At St. Peter’s,

 they were closing early, so we couldn’t walk around the whole thing, but we saw plenty, including the Pieta, from a distance. Then we walked to the bus and rode to a restaurant for a nice dinner. We’re getting to know some of the others in the group. There are just 21 of us, so we’ll likely know everyone by the end. On the way back to the bus, the bottom section of Larry’s cane detached and fell down a storm sewer. Go figure! We’re hoping to find a new one, but meanwhile we’ll put duct tape over the sharp edges and he can still use it. This was a challenging day and we’re very tired. Looking forward to 4 hours on the bus tomorrow.[L:Smartwatch counted 17500 steps - this must be a travel record for us]

Link to all photos of the Day  (click pics for full view)

Sunday, May 11 - Firenze

Happy Birthday Nicole! Happy Mother’s Day to everyone who is a mother, or who does motherly things! After an early breakfast, we boarded the bus for the drive to Firenze (Florence). We saw more of Rome as we left and got onto the A1 highway through Umbria and into Tuscany.

After a couple of hours, we stopped at a service centre type of place called Autogrill. We all agreed that it was the very definition of chaos, but the coffee and pastries were great and the washrooms were clean. We passed several ancient hilltop Etruscan towns – hilltop for defence and to avoid malaria from the swamps in the lower areas. There were red poppies and yellow broom in flower, adding colour to the rolling landscape. In Florence, we found an outdoor restaurant for lunch, then everyone met back at the Academia Museum

, where we saw Michelangelo’s David

– the original, complete with some flaws, damage and a bit of graffiti. Stunning! Then we walked to the

 Cattedrale di Santa Maria, with its famous dome and baptistry, and on through narrow streets to the Basilica di Santa Croce di Firenzi, with its very

active plaza. There we visited the gold corner and spent some time people-watching. Larry had opted to take a taxi from the museum to the Piazza Santa Croce, so met the rest of us there. He’s having some leg problems, so this was the wise course. From there, we walked along the Arno to the bus. The drive to the San Gimignano area, and our lovely accommodation at Villa San Paolo, was different, along narrow winding roads, with some rain falling. The scenery was spectacular, with cypress and olive trees and vineyards. We settled into our room, then had a lovely dinner in the hotel dining room. Long tiring day and we both seem a little sun-burned, 

 

Link to Photos of the Day.  Click to view full photos

Monday, May 12 - San Gimignano

 We went in to San Gimignano for time on our own. It’s an old, steep, walled town with many towers and cobbled streets and alleyways.

 Amazing views over the Tuscan countryside. Before the group dispersed, 

 

 

 

 

 

 Sara Dondoli explained the production of gelato, specifically the world-champion gelato made by her family, right here, using organic local products. Larry & I then made our way into the beautiful old 

 

 

church on the Piazza Duomo. Its interior is covered with frescos, representing stories from the Old and New Testaments, all created by the artist who taught Michelangelo. We then made our way farther down the hill, to a 

 

 

 

nice restaurant with outdoor tables under awnings, where we enjoyed a leisurely lunch. Back up in the main area, we waited in line at Gelateri Dondoli to sample several flavours of their award-winning gelato. It really was refreshing. One of the flavours had been created for a visit by Michelle Obama, but she had to cancel the visit. We thought we should let her know that she’d really missed a treat. We then worked our way back to the bus parking area, which was not simple – there were twists and turns and steep slopes. We were in lots of time, so I went into the local co-op to buy a couple of bananas, since I’ve been feeling a lack of potassium. Then we had a couple hours to relax at our hotel.  The evening was spent at 

Fattoria San Donato, a winery near San Gimignano. We learned about the wines they produce and sat down to a 4-course meal: an antipasti buffet, spinach ravioli, mixed grill with cabbage salad, and Holy Wine with biscotti. All accompanied by lots of Chianti and Vernaccia (a dry white wine). 

 

 

By the end of the meal, it had become quite jolly around the table. On the bus travelling back to the hotel, we sang along to some terrific music. Enzo topped it all off by backing the bus up the long narrow driveway. Bravo!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

All Photos of the day.  Click any to expand.

 

 

Tuesday, May 13 - Pisa, Santa Margarita, and Portofino (Italian Riviera)

 As we drove north from San Gimignano, the landscape changed and we were in different kind of beauty.

After a quick break at a service area, we drove into Pisa. 

 

 

 

 

The city is understandably very crowded, and bus parking is quite a distance from the historic area, so we boarded a kind of train on wheels to get there. Annelies had given us a great history of the tower and surrounding area – the Miracle Square. For many reasons, the tower should have collapsed or been destroyed long ago, but now has been stabilized and should be fine for the next 300 years.

We enjoyed lunch at an outdoor restaurant and watched the crowds photographing each other “holding up the tower”. Some were very creative. Back on the bus we continued through many tunnels into a more rugged landscape, catching glimpses of the Mediterranean along the way, and eventually arriving at a dock in Santa Margherita Ligure,

 where we boarded an excursion boat to Portofino

 What a beautiful area! We sat at an outdoor table and ordered drinks. The server asked if we had any allergies and I told him mine. Soon we had an array of snacks – some for me, some for Larry and some to share. Immediately, the server said to me, “I’m not sure about the almonds, don’t eat them. I’m checking.” Soon he was back with the assurance that the almonds with rosemary were fine for me. What great service! Back in Santa Margherita, we checked into our hotel. It was when we were unpacking that I realized I had left things in the safe back in Villa San Paolo. Annalies immediately went to work to solve the problem and after several phone calls and emails, our stuff was retrieved by the hotel staff and we’d arranged for it to be sent here in the care of another couple who were catching up to us the next day. Phew! Many thanks to everyone involved in this recovery, particularly Annelies. Over dinner, we celebrated Ellie’s birthday with cake.

Photos of the day. Click to enlarge 

 

Wednesday, May 14 - Cinque Terre

We set out after breakfast for the Cinque Terre – 5 villages spread over 15 km. of the rugged Mediterranean coastline.

We took our coach to La Spezia, then climbed down steep paths to the town centre. We were stunned by the fact that on these precipitous slopes, crops were growing and people living.

Dry stone walls lined much of the path. Our local guide, Amelia, explained the conservation methods used in the area and led us into the town. Many in the group then went farther, down to the water and up a switchback path on the hillside.

We stopped at the water’s edge, then enjoyed people-watching from a shaded bench, next to an amazing display of pansies. There are many school groups around, because school ends in about 2 weeks for the 3-month summer break and this is field trip time.

We boarded the train to our next stop, Varnazza, where we saw a very protected fishing cove and more steep terraces.

We boarded a large boat for the trip to the next village, where there were amazing cacti growing and a WWII bunker. We enjoyed a seafood lunch, then wandered through the town.

Larry relaxed over a beer or two, while I explored a bit, then we caught the train back to Santa Margherita, where Enzo waited with the coach to return us to the hotel. There, we were reunited with our lost safe contents and the lovely couple who brought them to us, and we retired to our room for a rest. After a while, we were ready to venture out to explore Santa Margherita.

We started with a visit to the public beach, which we understood was open 24 hours a day. However, we were told to get out, because the gate closed at 7 and it was 7:20. “The gate is open”, we replied. Get out anyway, was the message, and the gate was closed behind us. So we didn’t get to put our feet into the Mediterranean. Sigh. We continued on to the harbour area, found a bar, and

enjoyed drinks and snacks. We had thought to eat some of our snack food in our room, but there was

no need. Lovely day, and bed calls.

 

 

Click for all the pics of the day

 

 

 

Thursday, May 15 - Lago Maggiore

 The ride out of Santa Margherita Ligure began with the tight blind turns and narrow streets of the town, but soon we were on the highway. Scenery was scarce, though, since much of the time we were in tunnels. Eventually, we emerged into the

Piedmont area – rolling countryside at the foot of the mountains. Much of the time it could be mistaken for the 401 in southern Ontario, if you ignored the majestic mountains.

We passed rice fields, where they raise the rice for risotto and other fields and wooded areas, always with the mountains in sight. We soon began catching glimpses of

 Lago Maggiore, our destination for the day. Annelies explained the geology of the region, where there are granite and marble quarries, as well as beautiful lakes, mountains, fields and woods. The beauty just keeps on coming. Enzo delivered us to a dock on the lake and we were transported in our own boat to 

Isola Bella, an astonishing estate that has been in the Borromean family for hundreds of years. We toured with a local guide, then wandered the gardens, encountering

white peacocks and peahens, and stopping for a drink and lunch. We checked into the palatial Grand Hotel Dino, rested for a while, then took the boat back out to

Isola dei Pescatori for dinner. On the way back, we saw an amazing sunset. Several of us had heard about an underground art gallery that connects 2 hotels, so we wandered through that, and called it a (great!) day.

All photos of day - click to open

 

 

 

Friday, May 16

Breakfast in this fancy hotel lived up to its surroundings, as we prepared for an early departure. It’s a long drive to our destination in the Dolomites, but fortunately these Insight Vacations coaches are very comfortable, with widely-spaced seats, so there was quite a bit of dozing. Everything here is

very green, but we’ve been fortunate not to have any rain. We had a couple of breaks at

service centres, for coffee and lunch. At the lunch stop, a very large group of young people, one of them dressed as a dinosaur, were apparently celebrating an upcoming wedding. The layout of this place was confusing, and we were nearly late – let’s face it, were late – getting back to the bus, but someone who was actually lost was a bit behind us. We don’t want to be the couple who always makes life difficult.
Mid-afternoon brought us to a winery that produces high-end, genuine Prosecco.

We were shown around and told the story of the winery and of Prosecco. So many regulations! They export to the US but only to Quebec in Canada. But it’s so good and we had 2 glasses each, along with some small snacks. The drive into the Dolomites was another very challenging one for Enzo, but he’s extremely skilled and earned a round of applause when we pulled up at our hotel. This one is much plainer and very much more modern than last night’s and several of us commented it was more  to our taste. This is a gorgeous, rugged area, with steep mountains and a bit of snow at the heights. We saw the old ski jump from the 1956 Olympics. Everything is being worked on to prepare for the 2026 Olympics that will be held here in February. After a rest, we enjoyed dinner in the dining room and everyone was ready to settle for the night.

Link to all photos of the day. Click for larger and to save 

 

Saturday, May 17 - Cortina and the Dolomites

Happy Birthday Chloe! Breakfast here had the same energy as Après Ski at Blue Mountain. The hotel seems to cater to hikers, cyclists and skiers as well as tour groups. We had a leisurely departure and rolled out onto the steep, narrow, twisty roads on our grand tour of

the Dolomites with our local guide, Monica. She explained the nature and history of the area, which was part of Austria until World War One, when it became part of Italy. The indigenous people here are the Ladino and are still a large part of the population of the area. We stopped at the site of a long (29-month, 1915-1917) stand-off between

the Italian and Austro-Hungarian armies, where they were cold, hungry and in constant danger. There were explosions, avalanches, rockfalls and fighting. Eventually, the Italians were overcome and retreated, which begs the question of how they gained possession of the area. We took a break for apple strudel and hot drinks at a mountain hostel/restaurant that has been in the same family for generations. Larry and I missed the museum visit,

 because we needed to go to a pharmacy that was closing soon, so we were dropped nearby by Enzo and Annelies guided us and translated for us. We certainly appreciate the kind care we are receiving. We walked back through the town centre to our meeting point, stopping at the large town cooperative store. Soon after we arrived, there was an announcement we didn’t understand and everyone started leaving. It was closing, so we left too, and went to the meeting place. Soon the bus arrived with everyone else. Larry stayed on board and I joined the walking tour.

We heard about the various buildings, including the hotel where Hemingway stayed and his favourite café – I’ll bet it wasn’t coffee he was drinking there, though. After another thrilling, beautiful drive, we came to

Lago di Misurina, where we had a late lunch and a walk along the shore. As we drove back to the hotel, it began to snow, through it did not stay on the ground. After a bit of a break, the whole group met in the bar for drinks and snacks before going our separate ways for the evening.

 All Photos of the day 

 

 

Sunday, May 18

We left the Dolomites, enjoying more beautiful mountain scenery, until suddenly we were on

flat land and the motorway. One quick coffee stop and before noon we were unloading the bus and wishing Enzo good-bye as the bus transport is over.

We boarded 2 water taxis and had a very short walk across San Marco Square and to our hotel, where we were fortunate to immediately get into our rooms.

Larry and I set out early for our next rendezvous and had time for a drink before the rest arrived.

We boarded a boat and travelled to Murano Island, home of the famous glass-makers.

We very much enjoyed a demonstration of glass-blowing (a decorated storage bottle) and solid glass work

(a unicorn – very fancy). The whole process was explained and prices (high!) named, then we were turned loose in the showrooms. So much beautiful glass! We continued by boat to Burano, a fishing island,

with brightly-coloured houses and lots of shops and restaurants, where we enjoyed a delicious early dinner and some strolling.

We rejoined our boat and returned to Venice and our hotel, Splendid Venice. I think this might be the most comfortable hotel of the trip. The room is pretty and seems to have everything we could want.

Click for all pictures of the day

Monday, May 19 - Venice

 Wow! Did we get a great taste of Venice this morning! First, we had a 90-minute Hidden Venice walking tour of quiet back streets with Anna, our irrepressible local guide. 

She was very informative and also very humourous. She explained the architecture and the challenges of living here. The population has dropped precipitously in the historic area, as more comfortable, convenient and affordable housing became available nearby. She described the very communal way of living – including the Venetian official pastime of getting together to criticize tourists.

After a short break in St. Mark’s Square, we boarded several gondolas for a Gondola Serenade through smaller canals and a bit on the Grand Canal, with musicians in the boat of those celebrating big birthdays,

but all of us could hear them. It was magical. We were resting in our hotel by noon. 

A while later, I went out to explore nearby streets, but they were chaotic and I didn’t want to get lost, so I was back very soon.

Our last evening together as a group began with a walk through St. Mark’s Square to the water’s edge, where we boarded 3 water taxis to

cruise the Grand Canal. When we disembarked, we gathered for a drink on the square, where a

musical group was playing. Then we had a delicious dinner, with lots of joyful conversation and recollections of the last 12 days. What a great trip this was. Annelies didn’t let any detail escape her attention. Enzo was a terrific driver.

All the members of the group took care of one another, and watched out for each other, which we greatly appreciated. Sorry to say good-bye, but looking forward to being home.

 Link to All Photos of the Day 

See the videos below

 

 

 Gondola Serenade Videos

[Note on videos: After playing a video, end by closing the browser tab on top line to get back to the blog]

Solo under bridge

Tom and Merren BD Solo

On the Grand Canal 

Reluctant Janice & Tom and Sonia 

 

Tuesday, May 20 - Trip Summary

 [ Summary to be entered soon ]

 

Annelies' Summary Video Converted to individual photos

 

 

 

Sorry for the mess below; it is a bug in Googles Blog system,