Help with Italy trip

amother

Tue, Aug 27 2019, 8:01 pm

I am planning an Italy trip with DH in September. We are going for ten days (actually might be 11. Not sure)
We are letting there Monday and leaving on Thursday. We are flying to Rome an hour of Milan
As of now the plan is to start out in Rome until Thursday, take train to Venice. Be there over Shabbos and maybe Sunday. We are not sure past that. We are flying out of Milan on Thursday so want to see the city a bit in Wednesday. I was thinking I'd Florence in between for two days. What is there to do in Florence? There is no kosher food so I will need to bring....where do u stay? Is there any other place I can see for as a day trip from Florence?

Thanks.

Also how do the trains work? What do we do with luggage?

amother

Cerulean

Tue, Aug 27 2019, 10:54 pm

So fun! Last time we were in Florence there was a kosher dairy restaurant. I don’t love Florence. There are some good museums, walk up michaelangelo’s hill, visit the synagogue, there is a jewish tour you can do that we loved. There is a kosher winery in Tuscany you could visit. Tuscany is beautiful, you can visit any of the nearby cities. We went to sienna for the day. You can take your luggage on the train. I don’t remember it being an issue at all but can’t remember exactly where we put it.

icedcoffee

Tue, Aug 27 2019, 11:04 pm

It'll be amazing! We did Rome, Florence, and Venice in 10 days. Florence was great. You can see the Statue of David at the Accademia. There is also the Uffizi Museum which is gorgeous and has amazing art. We also went to Pitti Palace and the Boboli Gardens, which is basically a beautiful palace and gardens! It's also nice to just walk around. There's an outdoor market and the Ponte Vecchio bridge which is scenic and has lots of little shops. I got an amazing pair of leather shoes there! You can also do a tour of the synagogue. We were comfortable eating at the kosher dairy restaurant there, Ruth's, but I guess check out the certification to see for yourself. We also went to Cinque Terre for the day. Maybe 3 hours each way by train and we did a boat tour there, bringing our own food because there's nothing there. We stayed in an airbnb right across from the shul.

You can take your luggage on the train. The train stations I BELIEVE also have a place to leave your luggage for the day for a few euros, like if you check out of your hotel but still want to walk around the city for a few hours and drop off your luggage.

Teomima

Wed, Aug 28 2019, 1:30 am

I love Florence! Granted, last time I was there was fifteen years ago. Back then at least there was a kosher restaurant (next to the shul) and a little kosher minimarket (also right nearby). I've spent a couple of shabbatot attending tfilot at the shul, then hosted for meals at the chabad. Florence is small enough you can walk everywhere and there's so much to see, especially if you're into art history.

But keep in mind the zigzagging that itinerary would give you. South in Rome, north to Venice, south again to Florence, back north to Milan. The trains are great, but these are not short little jaunts, and with such limited time in the country, you out to take travel time into consideration.

Rappel

Wed, Aug 28 2019, 1:34 am

Teomima wrote:

I love Florence! Granted, last time I was there was fifteen years ago. Back then at least there was a kosher restaurant (next to the shul) and a little kosher minimarket (also right nearby). .

They're still there! We didn't try the restaurant, but the community is really nice.

DrMom

Wed, Aug 28 2019, 2:50 am

So you have:

- 3 nights Rome - you can buy some kosher food here
- 3 night Venice (Shabbat + Sunday, assuming you plan to stay the extra day) - you can get some kosher food here
- 3 nights Florence/Tuscany - will you stay in the city or in some smaller town? Might be a nice change of pace...
- 1 night Milan - so you are not coming from another city the day of your flight

Sound about right?

Geographically, it makes more sense to switch the Florence/Tuscany and Venice portions of the trip, although that means Shabbat somewhere without an eruv.

Are you renting a car or will you be taking trains between cities? I wouldn't rent a car unless you are staying in the Tuscan countryside, and only for that portion of the trip.

amother

Wed, Aug 28 2019, 7:27 am

I know that it made more sense to change it up and not zig zag but I really wanted to be in Venice for Shabbos so we decided to zig zag it even though it makes more sense not to.

Thanks everyone for the ideas. Gonna look into them.

amother

Wed, Aug 28 2019, 7:28 am

DrMom wrote:

I am not renting a car at this point if we need to then we will.

I didn't book any hotel past Venice so open to suggestions Very Happy

amother

Apricot

Wed, Aug 28 2019, 7:49 am

amother [ OP ] wrote:

I am not renting a car at this point if we need to then we will.

I didn't book any hotel past Venice so open to suggestions Very Happy

I mentioned in the other thread I posted about a kosher hotel in Venice. I think it's totally worth it for a kosher hotel. A good hotel breakfast fills you up for a while, and it wasn't like the BEST breakfast, it was decent, with a large variety - but in these places kosher food is not to be taken for granted. It's also a 10 minute walk from the train station and in middle of the Jewish quarter so I think it's a just a really good option.

DrMom

Wed, Aug 28 2019, 9:50 am

amother [ Apricot ] wrote:

There are kosher places to eat for lunch, so even if you are not staying in a kosher hotel, you can certainly get food in Venice. Personally, I don't think staying in a kosher hotel is critical in Venice, but if you found a place you like, go for it. We managed fine with airbnb.

amother

Wed, Aug 28 2019, 10:35 am

I already booked a hotel in Rome and Venice. I did not take a kosher one. I took one that looked nice. I booked Shabbos by Gam Gam and we will make due with restaurants, etc.

I only need to figure out the Florence/Milan part of the trip.

amother

Seafoam

Wed, Aug 28 2019, 1:25 pm

Not much to do in Milan though there is kosher Gelato (if it still exists).
Btw on Monday (I believe) everything is closed, it's like their Sunday. I've been to Italy a few times but can't remember. Are you part of Jewish Girls Travel group on Facebook? Join it, do a search and then ask for specific q you might still have. Ppl have posted their entire itineraries there.

amother

Wed, Aug 28 2019, 1:29 pm

amother [ Seafoam ] wrote:

Thanks.
I didn't realize things are closed.....is that for all of Italy?
I am having a tour on Monday in Rome ..

amother

Apricot

Wed, Aug 28 2019, 4:06 pm

amother [ OP ] wrote:

Thanks.
I didn't realize things are closed.....is that for all of Italy?
I am having a tour on Monday in Rome ..

We arrived on Monday...I didn't see anything closed. I'd look this up.

doctorima

Tue, Sep 03 2019, 5:26 pm

Venice is phenomenal, and try to also go see the glass-blowing in Murano. We found Florence charming, and also went to nearby Pisa to see the famous Leaning Tower, which was lots of fun. The trains were a great way to get around, and no issues bringing all our luggage.

amother

Gold

Tue, Sep 03 2019, 5:32 pm

I was in Milan 3 years ago
There’s 2 kosher meat restaurants and one dairy.
Google kosher restaurants Milan
There’s the piazza del dumo a beautiful square
And off it so the galleria Vittorio Emanuele a stunning mall that’s just nice to walk through
There’s also a castle nearby