Monterosso was our home base so we were able to explore it more in depth than the other towns.  We arrived at the Monterosso train station from Florence around 7pm.  The train station is in the new part of town and you can either take a taxi or walk to the old part of town where our hotel was.  We had been warned that there were only a handful of taxis in the town and that they should be reserved ahead of time.  Since we didn’t plan the exact train we would be taking in advance, we figured we would …

Cinque Terre is a series of five picturesque towns built into a 6 mile stretch of cliffs along the Italian Riviera.  Each town has its own distinct look and feel and they are connected by both trains and an awe-inspiring series of hiking trails.  From north to south, the cities are Monterosso al Mare, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola, and Riomaggiore. We stayed in the northernmost town of Monterosso, which proved to be an excellent starting point for hiking between the towns.  We researched online and fell in love with the Hotel Villa Steno and chose the hotel more than the town …

We had only scheduled two tours ahead of time for this trip and a Tuscan wine tour was one of them.  We booked the Castle and Chianti Wine Tour with tour company Italy and Wine.  At almost $200 per person (160 Euro each), this was a bit of a splurge but we did not want to come to Italy without visiting Tuscany and touring some vineyards.  The tour was a full day, lasting from 9:30 to 5:00, and included transportation, lunch, and two (generous) tastings, so while expensive, it was not a bad deal by any means.  And it ended …

We took the train to Florence after a whirlwind day in Rome.  It was a quick and easy hour and a half trip.  We checked into the Hotel Porta Rossa a little before 5:30 and then set out to explore the city.  We wandered the narrow city streets and explored Ponte Vecchio before deciding to try to make it to the top of Piazzale Michelangelo for sunset. Ponte Vecchio is Florence’s iconic bridge – a pedestrian bridge across the Arno River known for the jewelry shops that line its sides.  The bridge as it is today was built in 1350 …

Rome!  Our bonus city on our trip to Italy.  We hadn’t originally planned to go here but the flights forced a change in our itinerary.  And boy were we glad they did!  What an amazing city.  Our time was way too short there and I’m already certain that we’ll go back one day. But first the back story on why our time was so short…  You may recall from my pre-trip report that we booked reward tickets way far in advance and I had to take the boys up to my parent’s house in NJ first.  So my flight to …