Verona - Day 3

 Woke up at 7:00, had coffee and toast. Got ready for another day in Verona. Went out in search of the famous tourist attraction of Juliette's Balcony, even though we know that Shakespeare never set foot in Verona, and that Romeo and Juliette are fictional characters. In our search, we passed by the small arched piazza containing the balcony and statue of Juliette. Luckily, there was no crowd (which I guess is unusual), so our visit took only a couple of minutes to snap a couple of photos. As far as we could tell, it was free...

Juliette's Balcony

Debbie, after viewing the balcony and statue up close

Verona - Day Two through Five

 Got a good night's sleep and got up about 7 AM to 55 degrees and sunny. Looking forward to a nice day in Verona. We walked to Ponte Pietra along the river on nice shady sidewalks with beautiful views. We stopped for lunch without a reservation at the Terrace Bar (Terrazza Bar al Ponte). Fortunately, our timing was perfect to get a table on the patio for 40 minutes before reservations kicked in. Had wonderful panini, wine and crostini for 17 euros ($17 at the time). We liked it so much, we made reservations for dinner the next evening. Walked some more, and then back to our lovely 2 BR apartment where we relaxed for a couple hours. Prepared and ate our own supper of pesto pasta, bread and wine, and ate in the apartment. Nice evening. After a long, fun day, lights out at 9:00.

                 Terrace Bar patio,Verona

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First Time in Verona: Day One

We spent three wonderful days at City Hotel in Desenzano del Garda before leaving for five days in Verona.  Our Trenitalia,  "Me & You" train ($15/2) trip from Desenzano del Garda to the Verona Porta Nuova train station was only 20 minutes from start to finish. Quick and easy. Our train arrived on time, as is usual for Italian trains, in Verona at 9:28, but we couldn't check in to our apartment until 3:00. Not good planning on my part. I should have coordinated our Desenzano departure as late as possible to coincide with our check-in time in Verona. Live and learn. Sadly, I made this mistake more than once on this trip. It can't always be done due to early check-out times, but I'll do better next time.

After a bit of confusion about where to find the apartment keys (which were hidden in an odd place), we safely left our luggage at the apartment while it was being cleaned which allowed us to begin to explore Verona for the first time. During that time we had a light lunch outside at D3 Restaurant & Bar just off Piazza Bra. 

After lunch, we returned to our apartment, the Boutique Apartment Ca Monastero booked through Booking.com and settled in for our 5-day stay. The apartment which was close to the center, Piazza Bra and the Arena di Verona, was just right for us and included a small balcony which we were able to use on the sunny days and pleasant evenings we enjoyed in Verona. You can read our apartment reviews at Booking.com

Went out again and found a cosy osteria, Osteria del Cavaliere near the Arena where we enjoyed pasta suppers and wine. The small family restaurant had run out of several of its menu items (kind of strange, but it was open on Sunday)) so the choice was limited. Our meals were good, but the house wine, not so much. Got back to our apartment early in the evening. Looking forward to Day two in Verona.

The Arena di Verona

Verona

Piazza Bra, Verona

Boutique Apartment Ca Monastero, Verona

Lodging Information From Our Fall 2022 Trip

 All Lodging Was Booked Through Booking.com

As of today, all of our lodging has been finalized for our upcoming Italian adventure. We chose, and are not compensated by, Booking.com to reserve all of our self-catering apartments in Italy. Because we have used Booking.com for several years including for our last trip to Italy in 2016, we receive a 10-15% discount on our bookings. Their "Free Cancelation" feature is very attractive and easy to use. There is almost no risk of losing money by reserving lodging through Booking.com. Almost all rentals on Booking.com do not require a deposit or payment when you reserve. And, you can cancel easily if you've found more suitable accommodation for your needs (actually for any reason). You do have to be careful to check for "Free Cancelation" before you book because not all options for rooms, apartments, or villas include that feature. We have done that several times in preparation for our trip during the past year. When the COVID surge early in the year influenced us to change our trip from spring to fall, we had to either cancel all of our reservations or change the dates. The process was pretty simple on Booking.com. However, during that process, we did completely change a couple of apartments. Luckily, we had started planning early. We also added 3 days to our itinerary which became a slight challenge that resulted in a few longer train trips between cities/towns. All has worked out well, in spite of our changes.

Our total lodging expenditure for 26 nights in Italy will be $2856.00 not including local taxes that are paid separately in cash at the apartments. Those taxes range between $1 and $5 per night per person which for us will probably add about $150 to our total. Each apartment's rate will be charged to our credit card before we arrive in Italy unless we haven't reached the "Free Cancelation" by date. Some of our later reservations will be paid while we are already there. The average cost for our 2 BR apartments with kitchens and washers, patios, balconies, and free wifi is less than $110 per night. The most expensive is $137 a night in Florence. The least expensive is $92 in Feltre. Also, there were lower-priced apartments in Florence, as well.

I hope that this information gives you an idea of what is possible when planning your own trip to Italy. I mentioned that there are washers in the apartments which is important to us because we each bring just one carry-on bag; that means only about 3-4 days worth of clothing, so, being able to clean our clothes is very convenient. The first time we visited Italy in 2011, we carried 2 huge suitcases that we had to lug around on the trains which at best was a pain. We learned a huge lesson. Next up: ideas for day trips from the cities where we are staying. So many choices...

Here are the places we've reserved for fall 2022:

Venice - Ca' Venere Apartment (1st and last night):

Ca' Venere Apt. ExteriorVenice

Desenzano del Garda - Red & Blu Apartment:

Red & Blu BR, Desenzano del Garda

Verona - Boutique Apartment Ca' Monastero

Boutique Apartment Exterior, Verona

Feltre - La Maisonette Apartment

La Maisonette entrance hallway, Feltre

Bologna - Tilia Apartment

Tilia Apt. BR, Bologna

Cortona - Donnaberarda Apartment

Donnaberarda Terrace with view, Cortona

Florence - Greenhouse Apartment 

Greenhouse BR and Hallway,  Florence

 Update on September 2022 Trip Planning

Still   Checking Flight   Tickets - May Change Destination Airport

Since we have flown into Italy twice to Florence and twice to Milan, we are open to starting our trip in another city. Our itinerary does allow us the flexibility of flying into airports in Bologna, Verona, Venice, Milan, or Florence. We liked Milan because of the ease and the economical transportation from the Linate Airport to the Milano Centrale train station (in 2016 the cost was about 8 euros each on the bus while a taxi was about 32 euros including tip).  Florence was also a convenient starting point. The first time, our self-catering apartment owner picked us up at the airport and made a stop on the way to the apartment at Piazzale Michelangelo to give us our first stunning view of the beautifulcity of Florence (Firenze). What an introduction!  The next time, there were 4 of us and we took a cab for about 28 euros. Usually, helpful information can be found on Tripadvisor and other travel forums, telling us exactly which number bus to take; where to get a taxi; precisely where to find the bus and how much the fare will be, give or take a euro or two.

Milano Centrale train station

 Florence from Piazalle Michelangelo (Viator photo)

Milano Linate Airport (LIN)

     We spend the first night in a hotel near the train station if possible. You can read where we stayed in Milan both times at the economical and safe Hotel Mythos which is a less than 5-minute walk to Milano Centrale train station and a number of good restaurants and coffee shops (bars). In Florence, each time, our first night was at the apartment we rented for 2 weeks.

Verona Villefranca Airport (VRN)

Florence Peretola Airport (FLR)

 

Verona Villefranca Airport (VRN)

     Possibly, more out comfort for a familiar routine, we chose to start this upcoming trip in Milan with a one-night stay before heading to Verona on a Freccia train the next day. Since we are taking our time (hopefully, not too much time) booking our flights, I've begun to explore starting in a different city. Our 2nd through 7th days will be spent in Verona, so why not see if prices to fly into that airport are comparable to what we're seeing for Milan. We can as easily spend our first night in a Verona hotel (if we are unable to book our apartment for a day sooner). We would also save about 60 euros for train tickets from Milan to Verona. Plus, we would start out fresh in our new city on day two. So far, the effort of checking flying into other cities has yielded less expensive flights into Venice than into Milan, with Verona being much the same as Milan. I'll be checking other alternatives soon., but it seems to be a no-brainer to fly into Verona (or Venice). Remember, flexibility.

Venice Marco Polo Airport (VCE)

     If we do end up choosing another city, we might have a little longer train trip on our next to last day in order to fly home from where we started, but that might only add 1/2 hour or less to the train ride for about the same cost. Also, since all of our lodging reservations (made through Booking.com) have free cancelation up until about 10 days before arrival dates, we have the flexibility of tweaking those dates a bit.

Verona Porta Nuova Train Station

Lodging for Our April 2022 Trip is Reserved

Still planning our 2022 adventure to Italy. Since my last post, I have managed to reserve all 21 days of lodging for our stay. Each booking made through Booking.com has a cancellation date near to our departure date so that should we need to "un-reserve" any booking we won't lose out. There was only one booking, the one in Bologna, where we have already had to pay a deposit. We rented the same great apartment in 2016 and aren't worried about cancelling if we must because the owner is very kind and accommodating. The two nights in Milan are at a small hotel: Hotel Charly  All of the others are self-catering apartments. In my next post I'll let you know about the places we've reserved with names and prices.

Here's the rundown on cities we'll be staying in:

1. We will fly into Milan Linate Airport if we can (we'll stay in Milan for  one night) 

2. Take the train to Verona ( first time in Verona)(for 5 nights)

3. Take the train to Venice (we have visited twice before on two day trips: 2011 & 2014) (2 nights)

4. Take the train to Bologna (we stayed in 2011 & 2016) (3 nights)

5. Take the train to Cortona (we have not visited) (5 nights)

6. Take the train to Florence (we have we have spent approximately 28 days in Florence. Have even made some Italian friends there who we visit on each visit to Florence).

7. Return by train to Milan for our flight home (1 night at the same place we stayed on day one)

These arrangements could all be held hostage by COVID the way things are looking today in the US and elsewhere. Hopefully, we won't have to change our plans too drastically, but we are already prepared to reschedule to the fall of 2022 if necessary. For that reason, among others, we haven't booked our flights and won't do that until January or February. Most of our train transportation will be on regional trains, 2nd Class, so we won't have to make reservations for those trips. A couple longer distances, we will reserve seats through Trenitalia on faster (and more expensive) Frecciargento or Frecciarossa trains, but we can't do that until 60-90 days in advance. Usually then, there are great discounted fares still available.

So, we're still planning to be in Italy in 2022! Will you be there, too?

Bologna