Trip Overview
Teresa and I were married in September 2022, but delayed our honeymoon until the following summer because the school year had already begun. This would be Teresa’s second trip to Italy, and there was a lot she wanted to see, so we packed a lot in a relatively short time. That’s not how either of us usually prefer to travel (slower is better), but it was a fantastic trip nonetheless.
We started in Florence, then on to Venice, followed by Genoa (where we’d take day trips to Portofino and Cervo), and finally we’d spend a short day/evening in Milan before flying home. Originally, or flight from Milan was going to be mid-day, so the plan was to spend the final day in Genoa, then take an early train from Genoa directly to the Milan airport. Unfortunately, a couple months before the trip, the airline changed our flight to early in the morning – too early to go directly from Genoa. So, we shortened Genoa by a day, got a hotel for one night in Milan, and grabbed tickets to an opera at Teatro alla Scala (La Scala). We made the most of the unexpected change!
Day 0: Arrival in Florence
Why We Hate Connecting Through Paris!
After a nightmarish connection/layover in Paris, we made it to Florence to begin our delayed honeymoon (we got married last September, but delayed our honeymoon until Teresa had sufficient time off – the life of a high school English teacher!) The TL;DR of our connection: the air conditioning at CDG (Charles de Gaulle) airport in Paris was not working. It was hot, with 70% humidity in the terminal. Most of the escalators and motorized walkways were not working. Our gate was 1/4 mile from where we disembarked, and shortly after arriving at our gate, they changed the gate…back to where we came from! It seems like every time we connect through CDG, we have issues.
The View From Our Hotel Rooftop Doesn’t Suck
After collecting our checked bags at the Florence airport, we took the T2 Vespucci tram from the airport to the Santa Maria Novella train station. From there it was a short walk to our hotel, Hotel Machiavelli Palace. At first, we weren’t too sure about the hotel. The immediate area was just so-so, with lots of small fast-food type shops. We chose this hotel due to its location close to the historic city center. The hotel itself is old and nothing exciting from the outside, but the room was decent (clean and comfortable), and the rates were very reasonable.
We were ready for a late-night snack before bed (it was 9:30pm by the time we got to the hotel), so we headed for the rooftop bar for a nightcap and snack. The rooftop turned the hotel from just OK to pretty great. The view was spectacular! It felt like you could throw a rock and hit the Duomo (I do not recommend trying to throw a rock at the Duomo). We enjoyed some tiramisu, prosecco, and a negroni before heading back to the room for a quick shower then some much needed sleep. Tomorrow will be the *real* first day of the trip.
Leave a reply