In April and May 2024 my brother and I flew to Rome, Italy for 10 days of train travel around Italy and then on to Iceland for 3 days.
We were on our way to Rome, Italy via a quick layover in Reykjavik, Iceland (we'll get back here later). We were lucky we even started our trip since the Uber driver mistook the scheduled pick-up time of 1515 for 05:15 pm. We contacted the driver and we still made it to the airport with plenty of time. Our flight connected in Reykjavik at 0700 with about 30 minutes to spare. But, we still had just enough time to have 1 of their famous Icelandic hot dogs for breakfast. It was very good. Plan on getting more hot dog info when we return to Iceland at the end of our trip. We got to Rome on time, landing about 1430. We planned on getting train tickets from the airport to Rome city centre when we got there. Incredibly, we didn't see a lot of train ticket machines. There were 2 at the baggage claim area, but a long line of people. Then after leaving the baggage claim area, there were 2 more, both out of service. We finally walked all the way to the station. Again, there were only 2 machines, and one of them was only partially working (OK, it didn't work for us) and another long line of people. In the end, at the station they had a ticket window and so there was a person we bought our ticket from. Once on the train, there was a conductor that came through and checked everyone's ticket and we were good. Our hotel was near the Roma Termini main train station, so we dropped off our luggage and did a little bit of walking around to the Spanish Steps and Trevi Fountain. We had a nice lasagna dinner that first night.
Our first full day in Rome included the highlights of the Coliseum and Roman Forum. It was about a 20-minute walk to get there from our hotel, and this was the first thing we did in the morning. We had bought our tickets ahead of time for a specified entry time to avoid the long ticket lines. That was a good idea. Close by the Coliseum is the Monumente Nationale Vittorio Emanuele. It's one of the government buildings, and they call it the wedding cake because of its white marble exterior and tiered look. From the top and nearby balconies there's a great view over the Forum. We then walked to the Pantheon, it's officially a church that has been standing since 126 AD. Crossing the River Tibor, which runs through Rome, we entered Vatican City. We didn't tour the Vatican Museum (lots of old stuff), but saw Saint Peter's Square and Saint Peter's Cathedral. To get back to the hotel, we decided to walk along the River Tibor then cut through the city along some scenic streets. That night we got to sleep later than expected, but the next day we were able to sleep in a little since we had the morning in Rome and an afternoon train to Florence about 1500.
We had yet another mostly full day in Rome. We went to the Basilica San Giovanni in Laterano, a large church, ironically not in the Vatican. There are a large number of Popes buried here, so it's pretty decorative. Then we returned to the area around the Coliseum and Forum just to get some more pictures and to kill some time. There was one church near there we missed, the San Francesca Romano temple. As long as we were back there, we went to see it. We didn't miss much. We decided on spaghetti Bolognese for lunch in Rome before we caught our high-speed train to Florence. The train left promptly at 1515; at one point we were traveling at a steady 250 kilometers an hour (155 miles per hour) riding through the Italian countryside. Once in Florence, we had a short walk to our hotel to drop off our luggage (I think I see a pattern here). Once that was done, we got oriented before taking a short walk to the massive Duomo (Cathedral) and the old town centre.
Another ticket we bought ahead of time was to see Michelangelo's David. The day we saw it was an early morning since we had 0815 tickets (first entry). We wanted to make sure we got in line early. We got to the Galleria dell'Accademia, where it's located, about 0715 and we were the second in line. Cool, so we thought... Just before 0800 the staff came out and started placing rope barriers all over forming multiple lines (group tours, ticketholders, ticket buyers, reservations - that was us). We had reservations, but it said we had to pick up the tickets when we got there. Long story short, we had to change lines and get in the reservation line, which bumped us back a lot. Only after we picked up our reservation tickets could we get in the ticket holder line. Did I mention there were 2 ticket holder lines? Of course, we chose the line they let in after the first line was let in. It could have been worse, there were still not a lot of people when we got inside to see David. People were walking up, taking a photo, then stepping away for the next person. Very civil, at that particular time. But by the time we left, the mob had surrounded the David statue and civility was abandoned. Fortunately, we did have some quiet time before that. The 17 foot (5.17 metre) tall statue carved in 1504 is really impressive and the presentation/surroundings is really nice. Afterwards we returned to the hotel and had our breakfast, it did not take long to see and photo the statue.
The remainder of the day after David we roamed around Florence. Some really nice old buildings, including the Palazzo Vecchio (town hall) built around 1299. Crossing over the River Arno is the Ponte Vecchio bridge, opened in 1345 and still in use. Originally there were meat vendors on the bridge and they would throw their scrap into the river. The city eventually changed this, and now there are only gold shops that line the bridge. Safe to assume the gold dealers do not throw their scrap into the river. Once we crossed over the River Arno, we were trekking to the highest point in Florence, Piazzale Michelangelo. This vantage point had spectacular panorama views of the River Arno and the old city of Florence. After dark, we walked back to some of the historic buildings and got some nice evening photos with the buildings lit up.
The next day was a minor travel day. We still had part of the day in Florence before catching a 70-minute train ride to Pisa later in the afternoon. There were a couple old churches we had left to see in Florence before walking along the Arno River for some nice viewpoints. Ironically, we crossed the same Arno River in Pisa when we got there. Fortunately, but not uncommon in Europe, we were able to checkout of our hotel and leave our luggage. We finally got around to having some Gelato, as we sat along the Arno River enjoying the sights, sounds, and tastes of Florence. It wasn't for lack of trying, Gelato shops are everywhere, but we held out as long as we could. I had melon and pineapple while my brother went with mint chocolate chip. REPORT: Delicious!
Our train left Florence about 1545 for Pisa. The plan was to get to our Pisa hotel, drop off our luggage, then go to the complex where the Leaning Tower of Pisa is. It worked out, and we had 1930 tickets to go up the tower. Wow! We wondered how they were going to get all those people up and down the leaning tower and what the crowds would be like. Answer: Very effectively. I was impressed and pleasantly surprised that it wasn't that crowded. It was very quick, at least it seemed like it, to walk up the 295 angled stairs. I will say it was a strange sensation going up the steps, even though it is only a 4° lean, after going around and around the tower circular stairs, it affects you (especially when you get to the top, your brain needs to adjust). We had plenty of time at the top at our own leisure, then it was back down. It was an hour for all of that, and that was not rushing. Very neat...
We decided to finally enjoy the traditional pizza in Pisa for our dinner. First Gelato in Florence and now pizza in Pisa, we are in Italy. Only thing, it typically is only 1 or 2 ingredients, no such thing as a supreme pizza. The only other thing, what we might call medium, that's a single serving. So typically, everyone orders their own pizza. They don't have multiple sizes. My brother ordered mushroom and ham with a traditional red sauce, I ordered pineapple and ham but it had a white sauce. All in all, it was leaning to be a very delicious day.
We had planned several days in the Cinque Terre (Five Lands), an especially scenic stretch of the Italian coast along the Mediterranean Sea where the villages hang on the mountainside like cascading colorful waterfalls. To get there was going to be a train travel adventure in itself since we had a series of 4 trains to get to our first hotel in the Cinque Terre. But before all that, we had a little more time in Pisa. Even though we arrived in Pisa early enough in the day to go up the leaning tower the day before, we knew it would really be neat (it really was) and bought a second set of tickets to go up the leaning tower again the next morning. Since we had more time the next day, we also bought the package to go into the other buildings in the leaning tower complex (like the cathedral and baptistry). We also had time to wander around some of the streets of Pisa not near the leaning tower. Needless to say, the highlight of Pisa was still the tower, so we made a good choice.
Anyway, back to our train travel extravaganza to the Cinque Terre. It started out simple enough. I read about this really nice walled city called Lucca, one of the best-preserved medieval towns in the country. It was only about 35 minutes from Pisa, so we threw in this detour and that was our first train leg. Well worth it, lots of historical buildings from the 13th to 16th century, plus the cool medieval walls. Then, to get to our first hotel in the Cinque Terre town of Riomaggiore, we had to hop on several more trains. We only had minutes to spare every time. From Lucca, which departed on-time, the train went to Viareggio. At this point, that train was 5 minutes late arriving. Did I mention our last connection only had 11 minutes to spare? The Viareggio train then was 9 minutes late departing to La Spezia. Did I mention our last connection only had 11 minutes to spare? Oh wait, 5 + 9? Maybe the trains use the metric system for time? In La Spezia we transferred to the Cinque Terre rail line for the last 6-minute ride to our final destination of Riomaggiore (where our hotel was). We should have missed it, but the domino effect got us on the train with a metric minute to spare. We knew which platform ahead of time, and we just ran. We know others missed it and would have to reschedule to the next train (about 30 minutes). Quite an adventure, but worth it to get to the Cinque Terre and the town of Riomaggiore.
Technically the Cinque Terre is a National Park area along the Mediterranean Sea composed of 5 towns - Riomaggiore, Manarola, Corniglia, Vernazza, and Monterosso. All the towns are connected by a seaside trail as well as a train network. It is a popular and scenic location (as evidenced by the photos you will see). When we arrived in Riomaggiore yesterday afternoon, we had some time to roam. The next day we went to 2 more of the 5 towns - Manarola and Corniglia (that would be 3 of 5 if you're keeping track). While we walked from Riomaggiore to Manarola, we also utilized the incredible train network connecting the 5 towns while we were staying there. The walk between Riomaggiore and Manarola took us 2 1/2 hours and was incredibly strenuous. It had a 200 metre (650 foot) elevation gain over the course of a mile. The main trail along the coast was closed for construction, so we used an alternate path (531). The path was very rough, with a lot of rock steps, very uneven, and some steps maybe 18 inches. In the end, it was worth it, Manarola was very scenic. For the next leg of our 2-town journey, we caught the 4-minute train from Manarola to Corniglia. Like the previous path, the main trail along the coast was closed so the train was the only option. But, taking the train wasn't the end here, we weren't getting off that easy. The Corniglia train station is 385 steps below the town. Compared to the other 2 Cinque Terre towns so far, we were not impressed by Corniglia. It really has 1 short main street, and except for the view of the town from the train station, not a scenic view point. We than took the train from Corniglia back to our apartment in Riomaggiore. After all that hiking, we decided to make our own Italian dinner in our nice apartment we were renting. Fortunately, we didn't have to make the fresh pasta from scratch, the fresh pasta part was already done for us, we are after all in Italy and there is fresh pasta available everywhere. We got some Bolognese, and it was easy to have an authentic Italian dinner in Italy - 'Buon cibo'...
The following day, we checked out of our apartment in Riomaggiore mid-morning and caught the train to the 4th of the 5 Cinque Terre towns, Vernazza. It is supposed to be the jewel of the Cinque Terre towns. It did not disappoint. If you're willing to do some hiking, there are several views you can get of the town, allowing multiple angles of the town. The town has 11th century castle remains, Doria Castle, guarding the town. Also overlooking the sea is the 13th century Santa Margherita d'Antiochia church complete with bell tower. There's even a natural cave that connects the center of the town directly to the sea. Lastly, there is a small beach at the base of town that was enjoyable. All in all, probably the nicest town so far. Well worth spending an entire day in Vernazza and spending the night there too. One more town to go.
Our last day in the Cinque Terre was an easy one. All we had to do was checkout of our hotel in Vernazza, catch the train to the 5th and final Cinque Terre town, Monterosso, then wait by the beach until our train to Genoa. We had plenty of time to roam the streets of Monterosso. It's the largest of the towns and has an old town and new town. Both are relatively old, but the new town has more recent hotels and wider streets. The town also has several beaches that are real beaches, unlike the other towns which have a small gravel area called a beach. People were actually lying in the sun and swimming. In the late afternoon, we caught our hour and 45-minute train north to Genoa (only 7 stops). It went along the coast, but most of the ride seemed like it was in tunnels. In Genoa we grabbed our dinner and some water for the night with the expectation to explore Genoa the next day.
Our second day in Genoa would eventually be a long travel day. But first, we had most of the day in Genoa before catching our 1700 train all the way back to Rome. I had my Italy tour book and based on what they wrote, that seemed like more than enough time to see Genoa. I only highlighted a few things to see and there wasn't much more in the book. I wasn't expecting much for Genoa but since we were so close we thought we might as well go there. I had even watched a Genoa walking tour on YouTube and didn't have high expectations. I was surprised by how nice the town was in the end. There were a lot of palaces, churches, towers, grand piazzas, and small streets. The old town centre was small but held a lot. Even wandering outside of the old town, really nice. I generally am prepared to see the sights, but the book I had didn't do Genoa justice. Fortunately, the city tourism had a number of tourist route maps posted around the city marked in different colors, which included pictures of the attractions. If you follow along the tourist routes, there was quite a bit to see. The highlight had to be the home of Christopher Columbus (for you young folks, that's the explorer not the director). He lived here from age 4 to 14 (as in 1492). BTW: This wasn't in my book I read. Oh yeah, nearly forgot, back to the long travel day. We caught the 5-hour train ride from Genoa back to Rome about 1700. Fortunately, in Rome we stayed at the same hotel near the train station when we first got there, so it was quick and easy to find it at 2200 at night.
Arrivederci Italy! Halló Iceland! Since we were flying out of Rome to Iceland, we only had the morning to pack and see a little more Rome. We decided to walk over to the Trevi Fountain. By the time we got there, about a 40-minute walk, it was raining. Regardless, the rain didn't stop the crowds. We then walked back to our hotel to pick up our luggage before going to the train station. When we got there a little after 1100 we saw the previous 2 trains were delayed 30 minutes and 10 minutes respectively. There are trains to the airport about every 30 minutes, and the next one at 1135 was the one we wanted anyway. Our train pulled up, we boarded in our assigned seats, and we left exactly on time. I have no idea what the big delays were on the previous trains or where those people were, but, not my problem.
At the Rome airport, our Iceland flight left about an hour late. The good news, we gained 2 hours because of time zones. I had arranged the FlyBus from the Iceland airport (Keflavik) to our city centre hotel. It is a very handy (and relatively cheap) way to get from the airport, about a 45-minute ride to Reykjavik. We still had time after arriving to walk a little bit in the old town. As promised earlier, back to the Icelandic hot dog. For dinner, we couldn't refuse trying yet another famous Icelandic hot dog and the famous Icelandic lamb pita (píta með lambakjöti). Iceland lambs have remained genetically the same for 1000 years, it is very good (even on a pita). When you are there, make sure you order an Icelandic Hot Dog - 'Ein með öllu' ('One with everything').
• lamb Hot Dog
• pylsusinnep (Icelandic Mustard - brown mustard seeds, flour, sugar, vinegar)
• remolaði sauce
• fried onions
• raw onions
• Iceland style ketchup (with apples instead of sugar to sweeten the flavor)
I know it's almost the end of the trip, but let's go back a couple days. I had reserved several weeks ago a western coast tour of the Snæfellsnes Peninsula for our full day in Iceland. While in Rome we were notified by the tour company our tour was canceled and they provided several options (not one of them was a refund). Long story short, I decided to cancel (since I had until the day before to cancel with a full refund). I booked with a different tour company and different tour for our full day. So, I booked a southern coast day tour instead of the western coast. We got picked up about 0830 near City Hall (bus stop #3), it was raining. After about a 90-minute drive away from Reykjavik and toward the south coast, we stopped for a quick break. At that point the weather was much improved - great news.
Our first official tour stop was the Eyjafjallajökull volcano. This is the volcano that back in April/May 2010 caused major air travel problems for Europe. Fortunately, a lot quieter now and there was no impact on our bus tour. Next was the 60 metre (200 foot) Skógafoss waterfall. There were several things filmed here including part of a Marvel Thor movie, Game of Thrones, and a Justin Bieber video. It wouldn't be Iceland without some ice, so the next stop was the Sólheimajökull glacier. It had a large lake at the base with a lot of icebergs floating. Interesting note, because the glacier is in Iceland, the ice has striations that include black layers from volcanic eruptions over the centuries. It's like an ice-cream cone with licorice.
Next on the tour we went to Reynisfjara, a very dramatic black sand beach. The waves are very unpredictable and deadly, they can suddenly overtake the beach with disastrous undertow. They also have basalt columns similar to the ones in Northern Ireland at the Giant's Causeway. There was a small restaurant here and we had lamb stew and fish & chips at this stop. Nearby, we made a brief stop in the small town of Vic. It's the southernmost town in Iceland and has a high advantage point overlooking the water and coastline. The last stop of the tour was incredible. It was the 60 metre (200 foot) Seljalandsfoss waterfall, with a twist. This one had a cave behind it and you could walk behind it. Very neat. Very wet. When we were there, we even had a rainbow. After that, we had about a 90-minute drive back to Reykjavik.
On our last day in Iceland, we had a 1230 shuttle bus scheduled to take us to the airport (45 minutes away). The FlyBus stop was right in front of our hotel and we had 4 hours before the shuttle to still walk around Reykjavik. We went along the water and saw the Harpa Concert Hall opened in 2011. It's a glass structure that reflects light in different colors and ways, interesting design. Further down the water footpath is the Viking ship sculpture, Sun Voyager. It was completed in 1990 and I'm not quite sure if the ship is coming or going. We also saw the oldest building in Reykjavik, built in 1762. It's located right in old town (in this case really old town) at Aõalstræti 10. Throughout Europe, I notice any temperature below 70° and everyone starts to wear hats, coats, and gloves. I think I found my people in Iceland. Even at 45° in the morning, I see t-shirts and even the occasional pair of shorts...
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