Travel Tips for Cinque Terre, Lake Como, Rome and Tuscany?
7 years ago · 5 minute read
AMA question #11:
“My wife and I are headed to Italy in September for 2 weeks. Rome, Tuscany, Cinque Terre and Lake Como. Any tips for those places? Especially Cinque Terre, where we haven’t booked a place to stay yet.”
Here’s our answer.
Key Points:
AMA Video Transcript
Dana Robinson: My wife and I are headed to Italy in September for two weeks. Rome, Tuscany, Cinque Terre, and Lake Como. Any tips for those places? Especially Cinque Terre, where we haven’t booked a place to stay yet.
Nate Broughton: Well, I have not been to Cinque Terre, but my suggestion would be to look on Airbnb. Find something cheap, find something where you can live like a local, and something that’s pretty central. That usually works for me.
Nate Broughton: But I have been at Lake Como, actually pretty recently. I’ve been there a few times. A couple tips on Lake Como … It’s busy there. September might not be so busy, because a lot of the Europeans are not traveling as much, and I guess just in general, there’s a little less travel. That’ll be good. But I would expect there to be some crowds. I was pretty shocked when I went back there this summer.
Nate Broughton: I think that just means that there’s a few touristy things there that you might want to knock out early in the morning. There’s the Funicolare thing that runs up the mountain right down from the center of Como. You probably want to get on that early.
Nate Broughton: Grab a baguette, or the Italian version of … Okay, grab an espresso and a croissant, or some shit, and get in line for the Funicolare. Take that up. Walk around up there. There’s a few cool things to see.
Nate Broughton: Maybe you could have a late morning rosé, shoot back down before the crowds get up there. Also, it might be a little hot. I don’t know how long it’s going to be holding out with the heat, but that might also be helpful. Do that. Go home. Get a nice lunch, then take a nap.
Nate Broughton: But specific advice for Como … There’s a restaurant called Il Gatto Nero. I’ve been there a few times. It’s got a great view. It used to be a little bit more famous, because the ever-mentioned George Clooney, with his house in Como, used to frequent it. It’s under new ownership now, but they actually redid the whole outdoor patio area.
Nate Broughton: The whole reason to go to this restaurant is because it’s got beautiful views, up on the cliff, looking back down on the lake. That’s a great, romantic spot for you and your wife to have dinner. Call ahead. Book that.
Nate Broughton: Two other places I love there … Albergo Terminus, which is a hotel right at the dead center base of Lake Como. It’s right by the bus stop in the main center. They’ve got a cool outdoor area where they’ll play live music in the early evening, where you can drink some wine, sit on some of those Adirondack chairs, and enjoy the views and the music.
Nate Broughton: Google some wine bars there. There’s one called The Vino, which is a cool little neighborhood spot that also has a basement wine bar area. They’ll serve you a neverending plate of prosciutto and meats and bread with your $ 6 wine. Actually, we did that, and didn’t end up eating dinner that night.
Nate Broughton: Hopefully, all of those tips are helpful. Dana, you got anything for Rome or Tuscany?
Dana Robinson: Yeah. All right. I’ll give you some cool stuff on Tuscany first. I was unimpressed with Siena. It’s big, kind of hot, some touristy shops. But what I’ve seen is that it’s got events. When there’s an event there … jazz concert, or they’re running horses through town, or whatnot, there’s cool stuff. But if you’re not there for something cool, to me it wouldn’t be worth staying at.
Dana Robinson: Cool little tip … Volterra, a little hilltop town, is the setting from one of the stories in Twilight. If your wife is a Twilight fan, you might save that as a little surprise.
Nate Broughton: Nice. Nice.
Dana Robinson: Just ask her some Twilight trivia as you’re walking around Volterra. See if you can surprise her with that little hint.
Dana Robinson: I like San Gimignano, as well. Really small town. It’s going to be hot, and you’re going to be in non-air conditioned restaurants eating hot food, but if you’re prepared for it, it’s a blast.
Dana Robinson: I was in a little restaurant in a basement in San Gimignano, and raving about this amazing pasta, and the owner is the cook, so he’s running around from table to table. I said, “Why is this so amazing?”
Dana Robinson: It was gnocchi in this cheese, this Gorgonzola cheese. He looked at me, and he held up his hands, and he goes, “Because I made it with my own little hands!” Like “Of course it’s delicious. I did this. I crafted this food.”
Nate Broughton: Yeah. That’s the experience you want when you travel, right? So that’s good.
Dana Robinson: Absolutely. Of course, if you go to Florence, it’s the springboard, I think, for a lot of people. A lot of cool stuff to see in Florence. I think you want to save some time in Florence, and then spend a day in each of these cool hilltop towns.
Dana Robinson: Rome … Rome is hot, man. It’s going to be hot. When you’re on the bus, you’re going to have sweaty, smelly people rubbing up against you. The restaurants do not have air conditioning. You’re going to have a hot pizza and hot pasta in front of you. But …
Nate Broughton: It’s a challenge.
Dana Robinson: … so worth it.
Nate Broughton: Yeah. I was going to say, you have to do it. Especially if you haven’t been there. There’s a lot of beautiful stuff to see. You’ve got to go to the Coliseum. You’ve got to go to the Trevi Fountain. I actually just read that they’re making it harder for people to loiter around the Trevi Fountain, so I don’t know what’s up with that. Maybe get a quick glance of it. But Rome is one of those places where I think it’s easy to be disappointed by some of the local culture stuff, outside of the sights, but it’s definitely a place that you still want to go.
Dana Robinson: Yes. Just, this time of year, plan on gelato about every three hours.
Nate Broughton: There you go.
Dana Robinson: Take your time. I mean, the little gelato shops that aren’t right in the middle of the touristy spot are half the price and twice as good.
Dana Robinson: I really enjoyed the Pantheon. In fact, there’s a Roman sandwich shop that was really affordable. It’s focus there is bread, so I mean, it’s kind of like if you just like really good bread … Good bread, and meat, and cheese. It sounds very basic, but this bread is probably the same dough base they’ve been using for hundreds of years. The bread was so amazing.
Dana Robinson: Again, it’s shady. It’s cool where the Pantheon is. Take your time and just soak in this multi-thousand year-old temple, with a little hole in the top letting in light. It’s really beautiful.
Dana Robinson: Hang out around there and get some gelato, and just enjoy the neighborhood sometimes, wandering around these. Take advantage of that. Stay in the shade. Stay cool. Eat a lot of gelato.
Nate Broughton: Take pictures and send them our way. We’d love to share them on Opt Out Life.