Day 15-22: Rome (Part II)

So Week II in Rome marked the departure from the Rome Cavalieri Hotel and out to the town of La Storta about 30 minutes outside of central Rome - our destination La Casale de San Nicola. The villa was a 8-bedroom 400-year old country home still part of the "noble" family line in the area... and it quickly became a highlight of the trip.

Nevertheless - I decided to NOT repeat the Week I activities and try to take advantage of the amazing city just a few miles south... so the week started with a quick family trip to Piazza Barberini and a quick visit to the Trevi Fountain along with a fabulous lunch at La Mora (highly recommended.)

The next day was full tourist action with a new ASW friend - Janna - visiting from Mexico on her way to Madrid. The day involved the now standard "Tourist Bus" with stops at the Piazza Espana, Villa Bourgesa, Trevi Fountain, Piazza Venezia, The Coloseum and the totally unexpected The Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore (various pictures of the adventure below). The day ended with a bottle of wine in Trastevere which capped off the great day.

On the next to last day of our time in Rome - I decided to dedicate the day to exploring El Vaticano. I had visited it several times in the past but always taken back by it and determined to see the Sistine Chapel (a task that had somehow eluded me in my previous visits). I'll let the pictures do the talking here... (unfortunately - no pictures allowed in the Sistine Chapel).

Day 11 to ??? - Pisa, Firenze and finally.. Rome.

Day 11 marked the first rainy morning of our trip - strangely appropriate for saying "ciao" to the beautiful town of Portofino. After breakfast - it was on the road to Firenze (aka Florence). On the drive to Firenze, we planned a quick stop in Pisa to see the infamous leaning tower. I have to admit - I found the entire concept a little funny - I mean.. its a faulty tower... its leaning for goodness sake. Tens of thousands of beautiful towers all around the world and this one gets famous for being... well... busted. Regardless, I was happy to check it off my "things to see in Italy" list and we were quickly off to the Culture Capital of the World - Firenze.

Firenze marked the spot for Hotel #6 on our Hotel Tour - The Lungarno Hotel (http://www.lungarnohotels.com/). The Lungarno is a beautiful property directly on the Arno river a block away from the infamous Ponte Vecchio. You would fear a centrally located hotel to be cramped and dark but we found this property tastefully appointed and beautifully lit with incredible views all around. I'll let the pictures do the rest.

Unlike my prior visit to Firenze, we took our two days in the beautiful city as true locals and enjoyed a few recommendations as far as drinks and food. The points of note: Drinks at the Continentale Hotel Rooftop, Lunch at Trattoria Camilla and Dinner at Armando's.

With two wonderful days of food and drink - we were off to our last stop in Italy - Rome.

"All Roads Lead to Rome" and with a little help from our TomTom GPS, we found ourselves puling up to our last hotel on the Hotel Tour - Hilton's Rome Cavalieri Hotel. The Rome Cavalieri is actually part of Hilton's Waldorf-Astoria collection and it shows as soon as you walk into the property. Gold leaf chandeliers and fresh flowers - it is clearly a flagship property for Hilton and I was thrilled to get a chance to enjoy it for a few days. The stay kicked off with the likely the gastronomic highlight of the summer - dinner at Heinz Beck's fantastic 'La Pergola' restaurant on the top floor of the Cavalieri property. A 3 Michelin Star restaurant - La Pergola did not disapoint - with fanstasic meals all around the table. Funny Highlight: Forget wine list or starters - first menu on the table was the WATER menu - with over 25 different varieties of H2O ranging from 8 Euros to a absurd 150 Euro bottle - notably from the US of A. Regardless - a fantastic meal to be remembered.

Now - I would love to say I spent Day 14 and beyond exploring Rome and visiting the multitude of museums, art galleries and cultural cornucopia exploding across the "eternal city" - but I won't. I will say that the last 4 days have been a fabulous mix of enjoying the perfect Rome weather, several Tennis matches with the fam as well as (don't faint again ) - more than 1 trip to the gym. The Rome Cavalieri is a hotel among hotels and I will give it all its due credit in making it a wonderful place to just relax and lounge - even with one of the world's most incredible cities just down the hillside. I'll let the pictures do the talking again.

Tomorrow (lost the day count.. 19 maybe?) we leave the Cavalieri for another "home in Rome" for the remainder of the trip but I will leave feeling I took full advantage of this great and unique property.