Venice, Florence & Rome with Kirker Holidays

Lyndsey has now returned from her trip to Italy and has thoroughly enjoyed her Italian Trilogy provided by Kirker Holidays. 

 

Kirker holidays offer luxury travel to a range of fantastic destinations. They are known for their exceptional service, unique itineraries and hand picked hotels. They offer unique cultural tours, as standard you can expect first class rail travel, private transfers and a wonderful choice of hotels in the best locations. Their concierge can pre book you tickets to the Opera, entry to Museums, Art galleries or even a table at the best restaurants in town. 

 

Lyndsey stayed at The L’Orologio hotels in Venice, Florence and Rome. The hotels are owned by Santo Fratini who has the largest collection of luxury branded watches in the world and this theme combined with luxury from his interior designer wife is evident in their hotels.  Each floor of the hotels are dedicated to famous watch manufacturers and the rooms are names of watch types from the manufacturer. 

 

 Lyndsey was lucky enough to stay at their hotels in Venice, Florence and Rome. Each of the hotels have prime locations in all 3 cities:

 

In essence, L'Orologio hotels offer a unique and luxurious stay for travelers who appreciate design, elegance, and prime city locations.

 

On day one Lyndsey travelled to Venice where the group was met at the airport and escorted to the private water taxi waiting for them for their transfer directly to their hotel in Venice. After checking into the hotel the group was then taken on a private walking tour of Venice and saw all the amazing sights. A private walking tour is highly recommended. The tour guides used by Kirker Holidays are very knowledgeable and will tailor the tour to your personal interest whether that be Art, Music or Food. On the tour the guide explained about St Mark's basilica and the bell tower and also pointed out the oldest Italian coffee house, The Florian. After the tour finished they then had entry into the Doge Palace. Once again they had a guide taking them around the Palace and explaining all about the history and at the end of the tour led them over the bridge of sighs into the prison cells. Top tip is to book a timed entrance into the Palace and maybe opt for around 4 o’clock when a lot of cruise passengers and day trippers have left. Also if you have a set arrival time you do not have to spend the whole day queuing for tickets instead having time to explore beautiful Venice. 

 

 

In the evening the group was taken to Palazzo Barbarigo-Minotto to watch a performance of  La Traviata by Verdi. The opera is conducted in a small Palazzo (Palace) and is a very intimate performance as you are seated within feet of the performers. As the performance goes on you move between 3 different rooms for each scene of the story. 

 

The next morning the group was moving on to Florence, after their private water taxi transfer to Venice train station they made the 2hr 15 min journey to Florence in the comfort of first class. The Hotel L’Orologio Firenza and the Hotel Santa Maria Novella were only a 10 minute walk from the train station. After arriving at the hotel that was in an amazing location right on Piazza Santa Maria Novella they once again took on a 2 hour walking tour of Florence, again the tour guide was very interesting and pointed out all the main points of interest. They saw the Palazzo Veccio,  Duomo (Santa Maria del Fiore)

 

The Duomo of Florence is the must see landmark with which everyone associates Florence. Dominating the skyline, the Santa Maria del Fiore cathedral has become a true landmark of the Firenze. You can climb the 463 steps up to the top of the tower if you are feeling fit enough. Don’t worry they have the ambulance station and hospital conveniently placed at the side of the cathedral. Ponte Veccio the famous bridge and finally they had entry into the Uffizi Gallery that  houses iconic works by masters such as:

 

Sandro Botticelli: "The Birth of Venus," "Primavera," "Adoration of the Magi"  

 

Leonardo da Vinci: "Annunciation," early works  

 

Michelangelo: "Doni Tondo" (Holy Family)  

 

Raphael: "Madonna del Cardellino" (Madonna of the Goldfinch), Self-Portrait, Portrait of Leo X  

 

Titian: "Venus of Urbino"  

 

Caravaggio: "Medusa," "Bacchus," "Sacrifice of Isaac," "Young Sick Bacchus"  

 

And many more, spanning from the 13th to the 18th centuries.

 

Little known things to see in Florence - You must visit the old Pharmacy and be sure to visit the tree of life, the beautiful memorial to the family who lost there life in 1993 when the mafia car bomb exploded.

 

The final stop in Lyndsey’s Trilogy was Rome…

 

The train from Florence to Rome only takes about an hour and half and again this was in the comfort of first class travel. On arrival at Rome train station the group were taken to the hotel L’Orologio Roma by private transfer. 

 

 

They then went  to a local restaurant for lunch which was once part of a Roman theatre dating back to 61 B.C. Following lunch we met our private tour guide Elvis for a 2 hour walking tour of Rome, taking us Navona square, Trevi fountains and the Pantheon.

 

The day ended on a high with a visit to the exquisite hotel D’Inghilterra where they were very lucky to be shown around the hotel and got to see a couple of their wonderful penthouse suites. Then they were treated to the most amazing 4 course meal paired with some wonderful wines..

 

 

The Final Day !! 

 

After breakfast they transferred by taxi to the Borghese Gallery where again the group had a private guide for a tour of the gallery and gardens. Anyone coming to Rome must put the gallery on their do list. Firstly, Lyndsey noticed how lovely it was seeing the gardens and open space after 3 days in the different cities. Again we would also recommend you book a private tour guide as they explain in detail about the works of art. The gallery is renowned for its stunning collection of sculptures (including Bernini's "Apollo and Daphne" and "David") and paintings (by Caravaggio, Raphael, Titian, and others) and it was the most beautiful detailed works of art Lyndsey had  ever seen.

 

 After going around the gallery and walking  through the gardens you will arrive at the top of Spanish steps. Lyndsey had a hotel visit and lunch booked at the Hotel Hassler. She said it was a true honor to be able to view this property and they never usually do hotel visits for agents but because of their relationship with Kirker Holidays they allowed them the pleasure of viewing  one of their £10000 ( in low season) penthouse suites, where Audrey Hepburn, King Charlie’s and Princess Diana just to name a few have stayed. 

 

They also had lunch in the restaurant on the 7th floor which had the most amazing views of Rome from above the rooftops. If someone ever wanted a special birthday treat, anniversary or honeymoon this is the place to go. 

 

 

 

Did you Know - On 8 Sundays a year only hybrid or electric vehicles can drive in Rome.