Our travel day home went pretty smoothly, despite a very early start and extremely long passport-control lines at Logan.  Thanks to the Milan airport, we were finally able to try out an airport lounge!  We declined to hit the bar at 8am (though some other people had to compunctions), but we did get a nice breakfast, cappucino, and a relaxing place to sit.

Some last thoughts about Italy.  First, a few practicalities:

1. Italy was a good value!  From past experience, we expected Europe to be pretty expensive.  But that was not the case here.  Even though we were staying and eating in the heart of the tourist areas, prices were quite reasonable.  We got huge panini on foccacia bread for under $9, and could easily find high-quality pizza and pasta for around $10-$15 — and that included tax and didn’t require a tip.

Hitting the buffet at the airport lounge

Even drinks could be had economically. The house wine was usually a good deal at most restaurants, but it was not unusually to see cocktails for under $10 (again, with no added tax or tip).  As an example, we ordered a liter of sangria at a restaurant in the heart of Cinque Terre, sitting on a terrace overlooking the beach near the train station (so, as touristy as you could get), and served with little trays of snacks — and it was about $23 total and served all four of us.  Our morning cappucini could be had for 2 euros, if we found the right spot.

2. Getting the Firenze Card, which gives free access to a long list of museums and attractions, was a great deal for us.  When it comes to museums, we’re more of a quick-browsing type family rather than a “spend hours studying each painting” type family, so it was great to be able to dip in and out of various places without worrying about the cost.  (Psychologically, I also prefer to pay a lump sum in advance and then have everything be “free” rather than paying as I go.)  l It was a bit of a hassle for a couple of the major places where we had to make advance reservations by phone, but also allowed us to skip long ticket lines.  With the card, we saw the Uffizi, the Gallerie dell’Academia, the Palazzo Vecchio (including climbing the tower), the Galileo science museum, the Bardini Villa & Gardens, Boboli Gardens, and Pitti Palace.  Many of these were just quick trips but all were worthwhile.  Best of all, Lanie being under 18 meant she was added to our Firenze Card for free.

Getting our inexpensive spritzes to go from one of Nadia’s favorite spots

3.  Seventeen is a golden age for visiting Italy.  Lanie was young enough to get in to most attractions free or at a reduced price (see above), but old enough that she could order drinks anywhere without any questions.

4.  Everyone we came across spoke English.  This was the case even when we got away from the prime tourist areas in Milan.  Everyone was kind and helpful, and we didn’t encounter any anti-American sentiment.  However, everything was also CROWDED, especially in Florence.  The major tourist areas around the Uffizi/Palazzo Vecchio (which is where Nadia lives) were jam-packed at all hours.

One of our favorite museum exhibits was fashion through the ages, at Pitti Palace.

5.  Trains in Italy were very easy to use, and the train stations were beautiful.  As recommended by Nadia, I used the Omio app to purchase our tickets, which were all online.  However, bathrooms were very hard to find, and required payment, in both Milan and Florence.

Secondly, I was going to write about each person’s favorite activity, but I encountered a rare unanimity of opinions.  All of us counted the hike in Cinque Terre from Monterosso into Vernazza to be a real stand-out.  We wished we were able to hike between more of the towns, but were foiled by needing to stay available for Lanie’s suitcase delivery, and a section of trail being closed.  In general, we all loved Cinque Terre and would happily return.

Other highlights mentioned included the Uffizi, the Bardini Gardens (site of the Amazing Race), the Iris Garden in Florence (only open 3 weeks of the year; we got lucky!), and our cooking class.

After all the excitement of the past several days, we decided to take it a bit easier today.  We hadn’t planned or reserved anything, and didn’t really have any must-see agenda items.  (The biggest attraction here is the Duomo cathedral/museum complex, and we half-heartedly checked for tickets in the morning, but none were available.  Given all the art and churches that we’ve seen, no one was too devastated by this.)  Bob and I let the girls sleep, and it was a record 11:30 before we made it out of the hotel.

Sforzesco Castle

I was googling “top things to do in Milan” and having trouble coming up with a good agenda for the day — everything was advertisements for fancy guided tours and/or more museums — when I finally had the bright idea of googling “free things to do in Milan”, which gave us a couple of better ideas.  I plotted out a walking route and we set off for our first destination, Parco Sempione.

Milan seems to be full of beautiful parks, and this one might have been the crown jewel of them all.  We saw online that there was an aquarium within the park — Nadia loves aquariums — so we made that our first stop.  It was in a beautiful old building with a cool fountain out front, and — being pretty small and low-key — was the perfect antidote to all the crowds that we’ve been encountering everywhere.  We spent a relaxing hour or two strolling through the exhibits and gardens.  (One of the coolest things was that in a random corner of the basement, near the bathrooms, we found a gorgeous shell collection — and saw that some of them were from the collections of Linnaeus and Lemarck.)  Total cost: 13 euro (about $15) for all four of us.

Continuing through the park, we next came upon the Sforzesco Castle.  This was a large, imposing structure with multiple segments and courtyards.  The interior housed an art museum, which we didn’t go into, but just the exterior areas were very impressive.  (I was tempted to buy tickets for the Panoramic Battlements Walk, but wasn’t sensing a lot of interest from the troops in climbing a bunch of stairs.)

Next on the agenda was a walk past the Duomo, to at least see the exterior.  Here we found the crowds again.  The area of Milan where we’re staying is very urban and modern, but we found that the area around the Duomo is much more like Florence, but with even more beautiful architecture everywhere you looked.  (Despite the crowds, walking was considerably easier because Milan has created actual pedestrian areas, rather than streets that appear to be pedestrian until a random taxi or delivery truck edges by.)  It was definitely worth the trip to see the Duomo and all the amazing buildings around it.

That’s a real flamingo!

The restaurants around the Duomo were all crowded and expensive, so we veered off the tourist track again to find a place for a late lunch.  We found ourselves walking through what was clearly a wealthy area of quiet streets and picturesque buildings.  At one point we saw a tall wrought iron fence surrounding an area of greenery, with a few people peering inside.  To our surprise we found that it was a large enclosed yard full of flamingos.  We didn’t see any signs or public access, so we can only assume this was some rich person’s backyard.  Eventually we got out of the wealthy area

Maybe Lanie didn’t want to share her pasta

and into a normal city neighborhood, to reach the fresh pasta restaurant that Nadia had found online.  (They had about 8 different types of fresh pasta and even more types of sauces and cheeses, and you could construct your own meal.  All were delicious.)

Next we headed to another park — the Gardens of Porta Venezia.  This one houses a planetarium, where we were planning to take in a show.  Unfortunately we found that the only shows that day were intended for children, so we had to skip that part of the agenda.  We still enjoyed strolling the cool, shady paths of the park, watching the fashionable Milanese pass by, and the dogs playing in the large leash-free field.  (Lots of people

We didn’t have time to check out the Natural History museum, in the same park as the planetarium.

in Italy have daschunds, which are particularly fun and comical to watch.)

Our last stop was the Secret Rooms escape room.  Our family always enjoys escape rooms — and we usually do pretty well at them — but we hadn’t fit one in yet on this trip.  Unfortuately, we found that Zoe is a key reason for our success, and we didn’t do all that well without her.  We had to get several hints and were a minute or two late in finishing the challenge.  Still, it was a fun way to spend an hour.  On the way back to the apartment we rewarded ourselves with pastries from a local bakery.

There was a soccer game happening in Milan that evening, which Bob and Nadia had considered going to — but the 8:45pm start time was off-putting, given that we had to get up for our flight home at 5:30 the next morning.  As a compromise, we tried to find a bar to watch the first part of the game — but sports bars seem a little harder to find here than at home.  We tried a couple of places that didn’t work out, so eventually we just had a delicious Indian dinner and went back to our apartment for packing and an early bedtime.

The lovely courtyard in our apartment building

There are clearly many surprises left to be discovered in Florence (like, who, exactly is sitting behind those little doors in the wall waiting to dispense glasses of wine?), but we have limited time here.  Today gave us our last few hours of exploring.

As in previous days, we relied upon the Firenze Card, which gets us access to most of the city’s museums.  It is a good deal if you like to browse through these places to catch the highlights and the general atmosphere.  For someone who likes to methodically investigate a museum’s collection over the course of the day, it might not be such a bargain.

Before we could explore we had to vacate our lovely temporary apartment and find storage for our bags for the day (about 18 euro for three bags in an automated locker facility near the train station).  Then we headed off to the Boboli Gardens for a pre-planned rendezvous with Nadia.

The gardens were elaborate and lovely, if a little unkempt in places.  They featured a broad central boulevard which led to a circular lagoon with an island in the middle.  The island was filled with all kind of flowers and fruit trees, but we could not get out to it.  They were being watered;  maybe they open the gates after that is done.

From there the boulevard slopes steeply upwards, and we managed our way to the top to find a field surrounded by sculpture and a view the the Pitti Palace spread out below us.  This was all nudging us closer to a major goal of the day, and perhaps the whole trip.

A few seasons back, our family favorite show The Amazing Race visited Florence and there was a pivotal sequence that took place on a veranda above the city.  Nadia was able to locate the site and pointed it out to us — it’s right across the river from her apartment.  We have since been trying to get up there, and the Boboli Gardens provided our route.  After strolling the upper portion of the gadens for a while — taking care not to follow any appealing trails back down towards the city, we found an exit that was only a five-minute (relatively level) walk to the Villa Bardini, which houses the famous (to us) Amazing Race Terrace.

Before we knew it, we were in the very same place where the Amazing Race contestant — who was a life coach and motivational speaker — came very close to having a complete breakdown because she could not figure out the task of carving a model of Michaelangelo’s David (that guy is literally everywhere you turn in Florence) from a block of plaster.  Right behind it was the patio where teammates had to sit and watch the action take place.  It’s a coffee shop now.

We reveled in reliving such a momentous event (this particular team wound up eliminated from the race, largely because of what happened on the Bardini terrace).  It also has a very nice view of the city.

It’s worth noting now that since we got off the train from Monterosso on Monday, we have not been on any vehicles — with the exception of the ebikes from the tour yesterday.  All day, all week, we have been walking around on our own feet.  And we have been moving about a fair bit.  Our legs and feet are starting to get worn out a bit.

Except for Nadia, who has had months of training at this.  She led us down through the Bardini Gardens and across the river to her favorite sandwhich shop, where they slice up the fine artisinal sandwich meats right there in front of you.  Then she brought us to another of her favorite spots, the Michaelangelo Gardens and terrace back in the hills above the city.  Somewhere in there, she even found us a reviving spritz at one of her favorite corner cantinas.

Once back in the hills, even Nadia got a surprise because a special portion of the gardens recently opened up for a month or so.  For the second time today, our march up the hill was tempered by such beauty as to lift the spirit and move our feet steadily along. Flowers can do that to a person.

The top of the Iris Garden led directly to Piazalle Michaelangelo, which is the most popular terrace overlooking Florence for people who are not Amazing Race fans.  Thankfully, there are stands there selling refreshments, because our Italian sandwiches were salty and the water fountains in the Iris Garden were labeled non-potable.

From here, we worked our way slowly down through the adjacent gardents, stopping at Nadia’s favorite shady benches.  She left us about halfway down to strike out for her apartment and pack for this evening’s train.

Faced with about two hours of waiting before departure, we decided to take in one more museum.  The Pitti Palace was not far from our luggage and the train station.  It was the third Firenze Card event of the day (the pass got us into the Boboli Gardens and the Villa Bardini — the Michaelangelo Gardens are free to the public).    Here, we got to roam the extensive palace while visiting a fashion exhibit and the “modern art” wing, which, eventually, wound its way through the renaissance to make it to the late 19th century.

Then it was time to collect our bags, re-unite with Nadia at the station, and give our feet a rest while we enjoyed a two-hour train ride to Milan.

At the end of the ride we found a much more cosmopolitan atmosphere, with clear boundaries as to where cars and people were supposed to walk.  We found our new temporary lodgings, and, on a whim, abandoned Italian food for a nearby — and very good — ramen restaurant.

Nadia suggested that sometime during the trip we Bob and I might like to do some kind of wine tasting tour, while she and Lanie went shopping.  It may have been a ploy to get rid of us for the day, but it was a suggestion that we were on board with.  I found a winery tour of Chianti (the region of Tuscany that we’re in) by e-bike, and we were sold.

Bob’s post yesterday about the roads here neglected to mention the bike factor.  Amongst the crowds of pedestrians and incongruous cars (and golf carts, and scooters, etc.), there is a constant stream of bikes weaving in and out.  There seems to be no consideration given to lanes of any kind — the cars/bikes/people just flow in whatever direction there seems to be space.  We have had bikes zooming by us everywhere we walk — but today we got to experience the other side of the equation.

Our tour started right in the city center, so we had to wind our way through town.  We started out right behind our guide, Iacopo, which is just where I wanted to be.  Much less chance of getting lost or making some kind of traffic mistake.  After about 10 minutes of riding through the city, the landscape pretty quickly changed to quiet streets lined with greenery and stone walls — and hills.  It was extremely satisfying to start struggling on a hill and then just click the magic button that turned up the electricity and let you zoom forward almost effortlessly.

Iacopo was an excellent guide — knowledgeable and funny and friendly — but he was not one to dawdle.  A little way outside town we found we’d lost three members of our group somewhere along the way.  Our route had had several twists and turns, and apparently they hadn’t kept up.  Eventually Iacopo decided that we had to continue on without them.  He sent his friend Simone (who was along for the ride and had no affiliation with the tour company at all) back to try to round them up.  (“He has a map,” Iacopo declared confidently.)

The route was beautiful, winding through the hills with gorgeous views of Tuscany opening up on either side.  We wound through vineyards and olive groves and the occasional town.  Once in a while we’d stop to take in the views.  As we were about to leave one of these stops, Iacopo began to whoop and whistle.  Simone and the errant Italians had appeared in the distance.  (Although Iacopo had sent Simone off to find them and bring them back to us, he was clearly astonished that Simone had actually managed to do so.)

For the rest of the trip, my main goal was to try to avoid getting behind them.  Even after the getting lost incident, they didn’t seem to be in any rush to keep up with the group.  One of them in particular didn’t really seem

This was a sculpture in a town famous for popularizing Italian terra cotta.

to know how to ride a bike, and when nearby I was constantly hearing the grinding of gears.  I kept getting stuck behind them, watching the distance to the rest of the group grow, and then eventually having to pass.  I much preferred being up front with Iacopo and the punctual Germans, where I didn’t have to worry about being left behind in the hopes that Simone would find me.

We stopped at a family winery for lunch and wine tasting.  The food, as always, was delicious.  The winery also makes olive oil, but apparently this is so labor-intensive that it’s not very profitable.  We got to enjoy some with our lunch, though.  On the way back we stopped at a couple of viewpoints with amazing views back over Florence (and very steep downhill descents).  After we returned to the city we went to another bar for some more wine tasting and snacks.  (We declined seconds on the wine, being mindful of the upcoming periously journey back through the city.)  Even though I ended up at the very back of the line and there

Line at Zaza

were a few touch-and-go intersections, we made it back without getting lost or colliding with any pedestrians.  I made ample use of my bell.

After all the excitement it was time to meet back up with the girls.  Our friends the Sullivans are also in town visiting their study-abroad son, and invited us over for apertivi on their terrace.  We picked up the ingredients for limoncello spritzes on the way over, and they were pretty good even though we accidentally bought still water instead of sparkling water.

Nadia had made a dinner reservation for us at her favorite (and apparently, everyone’s favorite) restaurant, Trattoria Zaza.  We were able to swoop in past the long, long lines and enjoy a delicious dinner on their patio.  Afterwards we went to Nadia’s favorite gelato shop, which had a very long line even at 10:30pm.  We can only hope that the miles and miles of walking that we’re doing is burning off some of the many, many calories we’re eating and drinking.