Since turning twenty-five years old, my life has been in the fast lane. Literally. I started by driving across the country to my new home in the mid-west with my dog. Then, after a week of unpacking, I was off to Italy.
This trip was a birthday gift for my cousin as her “sweet 16” birthday and, being her favorite cousin, I volunteered to take her. It was such a unique adventure and I wanted share our experiences with those of you who may be planning your trip to Italy!
If you are looking for travel tips, scroll to the bottom!
Rome
We started our Italian holiday in Rome. With our two week timeline, we decided to start there and work our way north. We planned to stay three days, and were about a fifteen minute drive away from the main hub of the city. When we first arrived in the city it was the afternoon. Being the tail-end of the summer’s heatwave we got there at the peak of heat and humidity.
First stop was to the Colosseum, but with the heat and the high volume of tourists, we opted to find lunch. At this point, it was drilled in my head that being Celiac/gluten sensitive in Italy was going to be difficult, I was ready to eat salad or something to be honest, but the first place we walked past the host told us they had gluten free pasta! I was intrigued to try it so we decided to stop in.
Hostaria Al Gladiatore was a cute little restaurant with the most beautiful waiters and waitresses. Seriously though, the people in Rome are all beautiful, when you visit you’ll see what I mean! They were also so fun and kind. Anyway, back to the food–I opted to go with the gluten free spaghetti and meatballs. Each of our meals was delicious, but it was too hot so we ended up heading back to the hotel until the temperature dropped a little.
Now may I recommend, if you visit Rome, do not stay anywhere that is not within walking distance of the main hub of everything. Taxi’s are cheap when you take them once and a while, but those fares add up quickly so be mindful and save your money! If you prefer to stay out of the hustle and bustle, may I suggest budgeting for a car and driver that can take you to and from your hotel as you please. It will be cheaper in the long run, trust me! And you’ll only need one for a day or two–as I said before, you don’t need to stay in Rome for more than three days, I suggest spending more time in the Florence area, but we will get to that.
That night we went back out and found the best pizza we had on the entire Italy trip: Voglia di Pizza – Gluten free. My cousin who is not gluten free tried mine and she said it tasted the same as her not gluten free pizza. It was delicious! Even their caprese salad was the best we had on our entire trip. We were comparing all pizzas and caprese salads to those and nothing beat it so I highly recommend you visit this spot!
When evening fell, we opted to visit the Trevi Fountain. I wanted to go early early before all the tourists flooded the place, but I knew we wouldn’t make it on our schedule so we went around 9PM. It was packed, but we did get some photos before searching up and down for some gelato! There are so many gelato places it won’t be hard to find one, we walked a few blocks away from all the tourists at Trevi fountain and found a cute little place that also had macrons! I’m sorry I cannot tell you where it was, its one of those city finds that you just happen upon–which I am sure you will find plenty of while you explore the city.
The next day we went to the Vatican. It was beautiful–we climbed (what felt like a million but was probably a few less steps) up to the dome and rooftop and looked over the city. It was breathtaking, and not as a result of the heat or the infinite steps we took to get up there. The view was spectacular and worth the 8 euros it was to see it. (Ten euros if you took the elevator! But there were still so many stairs to climb after that so don’t think you’re skipping leg day.)
After a few hours of wandering around the Vatican, someone in our party was “kicked out” for their shorts. We were hungry and leaving anyway so it worked out. We walked toward a restaurant and stumbled upon a pop up market with clothes, food, spices, and so on. As we browsed and walked on, a host asked if we were looking to eat–we asked and they did have gluten free options so we closed our navigation and sat down. It was Sloppy Sam’s, and we each ordered pizza. It was so delicious, and again the waiting staff were all so nice.
Our trip to Rome was very laid back and we didn’t have much planned. If you want to hit all the tourist spots, definitely book tours ahead of time. Be sure to check the reviews, compare prices, and triple check the date and time. It’s best to book ahead of time since it is cheaper and often you’re not bombarded with those hagglers on the street who aren’t as good quality as some of the tours you’ll find online.
Restaurants we visited and recommend:
Voglia di Pizza – Gluten free
Via dei Giubbonari, 33, 00186 Roma RM, Italy
Hostaria Al Gladiatore
Piazza del Colosseo, 5, 00184 Roma RM, Italy
Sloppy Sam’s
Piazza Campo de’ Fiori, 9/10, 00186 Roma RM, Italy
Florence
From Rome to Florence, if you’re not using a driver, I recommend buying a train ticket and do so ahead of time. Note: parking in Rome and Florence is expensive so if you can hire a driver or use public transport I recommend doing that instead of renting a car! The hotel was within walking distance of everything so if you like that do so! It’s worth it, especially with walking off all those pizza and pasta dishes!
The train ride had beautiful views of the country landscape, and it was time efficient. When we arrived we navigated to our hotel then searched for food! We plugged in the first option that popped up and went for it. Little did we know that Mister Pizza would be our favorite place to go in Florence! (Seriously, in the four days we were there we went six times.)
On our walk to get food we saw the beautiful Florence Cathedral come into view. It truly is a wonder to see. The tourists flooded the area, but it never felt as fast paced and busy as Rome. If you do make time to go inside, do so!
Anyway, food. If you come to Mister Pizza, the servers there are so kind and the food is delicious. Gluten free or not, get a gluten free pizza if you can. No matter what topping options we tried it was delicious. They also have really great deserts and drinks, so definitely worth visiting.
The rest of the day we went shopping and snooping around through the streets. After a quick nap, we went back out and found a spot for nightlife. We started early, but stayed late when everyone else was just starting their night (some places didn’t open until 9PM or 11PM. You late night folks are CRAZY but so fun!) Anyway, we went to our favorite little eclectic hipster spot called Mayday Club it was by far our favorite night life spot. Like I said, we got there basically when they opened and ordered our drinks. There were so many options so I recommend asking what they suggest based on what you like. Each drink I had was different but so delicious in their respective ways. It was like each drink was an artistic piece, it wasn’t like a normal cocktail you’d order at a bar, they’re uniquely mixed and created by the owner, it’s quite a unique experience and very much so worth the visit. Plus they give you popcorn as a snack while you drink it’s adorable.
We also loved the people we met there that night, which only more so proves the point that the people in Florence are so kind and truly amazing people.
Right, so food. The next day we wanted pasta! We found our next favorite spot in Florence called Ristorante Pizzeria Lorenzo, or as we called it, Lorenzo’s. Again, the servers were so fun and we quickly befriended them. They have a pasta dish that we instantly were obsessed with and if you’re not vegan/vegetarian, I highly recommend trying this dish too: garganelli caserecci al ragu di salsiccia con ricotta. I cannot express enough how delicious this dish was–it brought us back for dinner just so we could get it again. Their other options that we tried were also delicious, so if you have time to visit it again, do so.
We roamed around and saw a lot of shops, and found some nice areas that are worth visiting multiple times. The first is the Palazzo Vecchio area. There is the replica of David statue (the real one is also worth visiting, and I’m sure if you want to avoid the lines, go online and get the fast track tickets *but again triple check the times and get there on time* otherwise, the line moved quickly enough that it wasn’t too long of a wait.) There were also other statues worth seeing in that area.
There’s also a gluten free bakery not too far from there that has so many delicious treats that everyone can enjoy. The chocolate donuts, and Nutella croissants were a dream, and their cookies were so delicious. If you can stop in, definitely do so! The place is called Starbene Senza Glutine.
Our walk along the river was nice as well, just go past the museum of Galileo and you’re right there. It’s a beautiful scene and it’s fun watching the Vespas zoom past you!
Again, for tours to Pisa or to vineyards, definitely look up some online ahead of time. Spend a day in the wine areas, maybe hit up one or two because it’s such a sweet time there and you will want to get as much out of it as you can! Start early, stay late, it’s worth it!
We did also meet a fun young couple who were traveling around Europe who invited us to join them in karaoke so if that hype scene if your kind of place may I recommend visiting the Red Garter. You’re bound to make some friends there, or at least watch drunk people get way too hype singing Queen, or Justin Bieber. It’s fun nevertheless!
Again, there’s a lot to explore so I recommend setting a few hours a day, or a day, or just roaming around through the streets and shops!
Restaurants/places we visited and recommend:
Mister Pizza
Piazza del Duomo, 5r, 50122 Firenze FI, Italy
Mayday Club (check the hours ahead of time!)
Via Dante Alighieri, 16, 50122 Firenze FI, Italy
Ristorante Pizzeria Lorenzo
Via del Giglio, 49, 50123 Firenze FI, Italy
Starbene Senza Glutine
Via dei Neri, 13/r, 50122 Firenze FI, Italy
Red Garter
Via dei Benci, 33, R, 50122 Firenze FI, Italy
Final Notes
Our trip to Venice and Milan weren’t our favorite so I won’t go into detail here. We regret having not gone instead to Cinque Terre. They were just tourist filled in a bad way, and there wasn’t much to do there. If anything you don’t need to spend more than a day at either place. Plus, we didn’t have the best experience with customer service there which was kind of a shock since we had such amazing experiences in Florence and Rome. But that’s our experience, I hope if you do visit that you’ll have an amazing time!
I do recommend one place that was a sweet spot:
Frulalà
Cannaregio, Fronte Civico 2292, 30121 Venezia VE, Italy
If you can, just stick with the west coast of Italy on your first visit. Our next trip is already in the works of being planned so if you have recommendations you’d like to share, please let me know ASAP!
With Love,
L.S
W I T H - L O V E 