I just spent 11 days in Italy with my family. Here, in no particular order are some thoughts:
Travel is back, in a big way.
The April crowds in both Rome and Florence were insane. Many people were saying that it felt like the busy summer season. There were tons of American and European tourists, although not as many tourists from Asia as I remember on past visits to Europe. All of the major sites were booked days in advance, restaurants were full, hotels were busy and travel overall felt like 2019.
Italy is a great place to bring little kids.
Many hotels have family-friendly rooms with two twin beds connected to another room. Even as soon as you land at the airport there’s a “family lane” at customs/immigration to lessen the headaches of traveling with kids. Pretty much any restaurant had at least one pasta or pizza or kid-friendly dish. And the Italians genuinely seemed to like our kids, even when they weren’t being little angels.
High quality wine is affordable.
Good restaurants carry a bunch of options. Even at the best restaurants in Rome there were plenty of really excellent bottles in the 40€-60€ range.
Download this app for Rome taxis.
If you want travel around Rome via taxis, make sure to download the FREE NOW app to save money and make sure you’re being treated fairly.
Take care of your US-return Covid 19 via virtual visit.
I suspect the US re-entry Covid 19 test requirement will be going away soon, but until then, I suggest bringing one of the iHealth test kits with you and then buying their Verified Test Service for Travel, for $24.99 per person so that you can do it yourself from the comfort of wherever you are.
How to get the best visits at the best vineyards.
If you want to get an authentic and high-quality visit to a vineyard in Italy (or anywhere in the world, for that matter), look for small to mid-size production vineyards where you’ve tried the wine at home (from reputable small-production wine shops). Check the vineyard’s website, send them an email asking if you can visit. This worked for both vineyards we visited. We got to meet the owners, got personalized tours, tasted wines as they were aging in the barrel and also supported small-production vineyards with people who are very passionate about their craft.
And, where are the Teslas?
Random, but I probably saw just a half dozen or so Teslas during our entire time in Italy. I’ll probably see more in just a few minutes at home. And it wasn’t for a lack of nice cars: Bentleys, Alfa Romeos, etc. Maybe it’s specific to Italy and not all of Europe, but it was surprising in a place that seems more environmentally conscious (although we used a TON of plastic water bottles).
