New classic Italy
While the memories are still fresh, I decided to write a review. This is my second train to Italy on the classic route (both times hosted by Gartour). The ticket was bought at the end of February, during this time the departure time slightly changed (a couple of hours earlier) and the time and airport of return to the Motherland changed significantly. In Russia, the tour operator was Tui and, accordingly, the "New Classical Italy" tour with accommodation in the center of Rome and Florence. So, we flew out early and in the morning we were already in Rimini, we immediately went to San Marino (very beautiful views, tasting in the same store as a couple of years ago). Right after noon we were in Rimini (Hotel Chris). Since I was mentally prepared for the sight of the transit hotels in Rimini, then, accordingly, it didn’t frighten me much. We were not lucky only with the weather and the location of the hotel, because there was catastrophically nowhere to eat and it was raining. We walked along the sea, bought fruit and ate everything that was left of the house))).
The next morning, our path lay in Venice (I’ll write right away that we additionally bought travel on the Grand Canal and a gondola ride). Our escort was Olga "Pi", a wonderful and patient person. The road to Venice also did not please us with the sun, but later we managed to see Venice both in the rain and in good weather. The Grand Canal for the second time struck with its beauty and now we are on the ground. After shopping with a Murano glass workshop, we went for a gondola ride (something like 30 euros). Unforgettable experience, I recommend it to everyone. At narrow turns in the canals, the gondoliers push off with their feet from the walls of the houses and stand the same mirrors as on the mountain roads. When we went a little further on the gondola, it became somehow quiet and even very romantic. (We rode about 30 minutes). Then my sister and I decided to visit San Marco on our own, but it turned out that there was a service there, so we only managed to climb to the top,
from where you have a good view of the square and the lagoon. We took some pictures and went on a sightseeing tour, which different guides lead by different roads, because Venice is still the most confusing place where I have been. After the sightseeing tour, we, having refused to visit the Doge's Palace (we visited the last time and something was not deposited in our memory), we just went for a walk to the Rialto Bridge and back (there was not enough time for more). Near the bridge, we ate in self-service (again, due to time constraints) and stomped to the base, buying ordinary souvenirs along the way. In general, half a day in Venice, as always, was not enough and I wanted to go back. Further, our path lay in Florence, where we arrived in the evening (on the way we stopped at some village for a sanitary stop, I think Pomposa).
In Florence, we were settled right in some designer hotel near the station (a striking contrast with Rimini) almost within walking distance from the center (10 minutes on foot slowly). Having thrown our suitcases, we stomped to walk around the night Florence. Everything was very beautifully illuminated, and even the Vecchio pallation worked (we didn’t go there, wandered inside, there is something to see even before the ticket office). In the morning, having visited a sightseeing tour that does not cover even a small part of Florence (Dante quarter, Duomo and Piazza della Signoria, a boar in the New Market), we went on an independent voyage, because we decided not to go to Siena (they were last time), nor to Pisa, not even to the Uffizi (as it turned out, even Hartour could not get tickets there and the group went to Piti instead). We visited everything we wanted on our own (Santa Croce, the Medici Chapel, Ponte Vecchio, San Lorenzo and the market nearby).
The biggest impression was made by the Medici Chapel (apparently with its gloomy majesty) and Santa Croce (with an abundance of burial places of great people and a very beautiful courtyard). We ate that day right on the territory of the market, where there are a lot of cafes with a lot of food. On the second day in Florence, our departure was scheduled for 16.00. First, we went to the Boboli Gardens (entrance seems to be 10 euros), from where beautiful views of Florence open up. And the garden itself is very beautiful, with fountains, grottoes and alleys, the Piti Palace (the entrance to it is separate). In the afternoon we went to perform a feat (I decided to climb the Giotto bell tower). By chance, but very fortunately, it turned out that the ascent fell at the end of our walk, because when I climbed up, my heart was already beating very high somewhere. However, the view of Florence is magnificent and it was worth it (only people who climbed the bell tower of the cathedral were taller than me). Breathing down below
We went to the hotel to get our suitcases and left for Rome. We arrived in Rome again in the evening, but that day we didn’t have the strength for a walk, because we were settled next to Villa Borghese and we didn’t dare to take a heroic walk in the park. In the morning we went on a sightseeing tour by bus (about 2.5 hours from Piazza Navona to the Colosseum). Then our fellow travelers left for "Christian Rome", and we, having bought tickets to the forums and to the Colosseum for 12 euros, it seems (we bought not at the Colosseum, where there is a queue, but at the forums), courageously went to the ruins. Courageously, because by that time the weather had improved and the thermometer showed already 31. By the way, tickets can be bought only for forums without the Colosseum. Without a guide on the forums, there is nothing special to do, because it is difficult to correlate the three remaining columns and a bunch of stones with some monumental temple of the past (knowledge of English also helps). But we had a guide, and, accordingly, it was very good. interesting. Because,
that the Colosseum was attached to our ticket without fail, we went there, which we did not regret. Inside it is very monumental and even without an audio guide it is interesting. Toward the end of the day, leaving the ancient zone, we went for a walk towards the People's Square through the Trevi Fountain and the Spanish Steps. On the way, somewhere there, we had lunch in a very small cafe. Then we walked for a long time to the hotel out of habit, getting a little lost, but we clearly realized that we had to go to it through the park adjacent to Villa Borghese. The park, I must say, is very beautiful with ponds, monuments and numerous lawns. The people there ride cool bikes (for 4-8 people) with large families and electric cars. It is unrealistic to get to Villa Borghese without an appointment (with us, the appointment was on May 3rd). The next day was completely free for us (fellow travelers left for Pompeii and Naples, and we decided to dedicate it to Rome). Our path lay through the park (desert in the morning,
there was practically no one except us and the Italians running around) to Piazza del Poppolo, then we decided to visit Piazza Navona again and walked, slowly, to the Castel Sant'Angelo through the altar of peace. As always, there was no audio guide in Russian in the castle (the ticket cost 10.50), and I walked there on my own. Worked up several beautiful rooms and very beautiful views of Rome from different heights. From the very top of the castle, where the angel stands, there are very beautiful views of the Vatican! Next, we went to St. Peter. We just sat there and admired the cathedral (because the visit was planned as an excursion the next day). Now I regret that I did not climb up there on the dome. And we went on to Trastevere, which was remembered even last time. It's very beautiful there. The spirit of Rome is not monumental, but some kind of home. We reached the fountain with frogs and Santa Maria on Trastevere. We had lunch somewhere
cheered up and decided to courageously go to look at the mouth of the Truth with a visit to the area of the Synagogue. We did not manage to find the synagon, the line of Japanese-Chinese tourists was simply grandiose. After sitting in Santa Maria in Cosmedin and taking a picture, Mouths went through the bars to say goodbye to the Colosseum, boarded the subway and departed towards their hotel. The whole evening we walked in the Borghese park (it turns out it was a holiday-day of liberation), where there were a lot of cheerful people. In the morning we left for the Vatican (sightseeing tour + Sistine Chapel) and then tried to visit Villa d'Este in Tivoli. The villa has an insanely beautiful park with fountains, it’s a pity that it was raining (it took us 20 minutes) and we didn’t have enough time. But we courageously rushed there (walked about 40 minutes, ticket 8 euros) and did not regret it, I highly recommend it to everyone. In the evening we arrived in Rimini (the hotel was closer to civilization) and found out that our flight had been rescheduled from 9 am to 5 pm.
We were sad about the missing tickets home (we do not live in Moscow) and were glad that we would be at sea for a day. The rest of our group departed on 3 flights, then two flights were combined into one and our accompanying Olga for a very long time was looking for people who, instead of 20.00, were supposed to fly with us at 17.10. In general, with grief, we flew in half at 18.30 , which was not very joyful, but did not spoil the impression of Italy.
In conclusion, small calculations: a ticket for 2 persons cost us 50 thousand with visas, breakfasts and accommodation in the center. Well, for everything about everything, it took me about another 500 euros (souvenirs, entrance tickets, food / on average, any kind of pasta plus a glass of wine - 15 euros / and small pleasures). We did not take additional excursions (we paid for travel on the Grand Canal, a gondola and tickets to the Vatican - something around 60 euros). Gartur organized everything clearly and on time (no one was lost or forgotten anywhere, with the exception of 2 people in Rimini due to a flight postponement).
The only leapfrog with flights (but we were mentally ready for this, because we had to fly back to Vim-avia, but in the end we got Bashkortostan)
