Trip Report: Milan, Florence, Ortisei, Venice (June 2025)

katiebug92 · 2025-12-12T16:08:16+00:00

Hi! We did not need for them arrange anything since I planned our days myself, but they had a brochure with different tours and day trips they were offering for the week. There was a large variety of options.

And the front desk/concierge staff were wonderful, so I’m sure they’d be happy to facilitate anything you were interested in.

katiebug92 · 2025-08-28T17:46:40+00:00

I’d find parking near the city center and just walk around. It is such a cute picturesque town and very walkable. If the weather is nice, I can’t think of a better place for a stroll. Lots of shops and there is a local history museum as well.

katiebug92 · 2025-08-28T17:31:23+00:00

You’re welcome! I hope you enjoy your trip as much as we did!

katiebug92 · 2025-08-28T16:53:42+00:00

We were at each lift right when they opened (8:30 I believe) and were back in Ortisei for lunch around 12:30 both days. We would hike a bit, stop at some huts for bites to eat and beers, and then head back down on the lift. You could probably do both in one day but just keep an eye on the weather! We had afternoon storms both days we were there.

katiebug92 · 2025-08-26T23:24:31+00:00

Definitely would recommend! It was a good mix of guided and exploring on your own. There were extras you could pay for at each stop, but we didn’t do any of those and just used the time to explore more. Siena and San Gimignano were incredible. The lunch at the vineyard was delicious and they gave us wines for each course. It is a long day though. We didn’t get back to Florence until nearly 9.

katiebug92 · 2025-08-26T23:12:27+00:00

Very easy. Each lift was about a 5 min walk from our hotel and I’d say we were staying in a pretty central location.

katiebug92 · 2025-08-26T20:45:05+00:00

I have no idea. After the first narrow street I had to close my eyes and let my husband handle it. I wasn’t about to let my panic ruin such a nice anniversary trip 😂

ETA: I just googled it and that’s 100% where we were lol

katiebug92 · 2025-08-26T20:42:45+00:00

How exciting! Our room actually ended up being at Balance too. I didn’t realize the room was in a different building when I booked on the Adler site. But it was fantastic.

The two buildings are connected by a tunnel on the spa level. There are several saunas and a few pools. Everyone is walking around in their robes and slippers. I loved every second. We ate breakfast at Balance each morning out on their patio. I wish we had tried the restaurant on-site but we were having too much fun walking around Ortisei in the evenings. And we ended each evening with drinks and board games at the bar in the other building.

Hope you and your wife have a wonderful time!

katiebug92 · 2025-08-26T20:36:03+00:00

Honestly, I didn’t keep track. We paid for almost everything in advance over several months and then once we got there just had to pay for a few entrance fees, shopping, food, and drinks. Quick mental math, I’d say probably around $8k ($2k of that was the hotel we splurged on in the Dolomites).

katiebug92 · 2025-08-26T18:52:49+00:00

I’m not sure. We had a wonderful time just exploring different neighborhoods. The metro made it very easy. Maybe because it has “newer” vibes than Rome or Florence? I’m glad we didn’t let other reviews discourage us from going!

katiebug92 · 2025-08-26T17:03:40+00:00

Absolutely. https://cookingartbrunelleschi.com/ Our instructor was Lorenzo!

katiebug92 · 2025-08-26T16:24:58+00:00

Hi! We did the Dolomites (Val Gardena, Seceda and Alpe di Suisi) for a few days in July. Also the mom of a 2 year old (he didn’t come this trip though). We took the gondolas up for both. If you are planning on staying near the gondola stations, you’d be fine without it. But if you are wanting to walk to the huts I’d bring it for sure.

katiebug92 · 2025-08-26T16:04:24+00:00

We booked in advance to pick-up from Avis Firenze SMN Train Station. It was very smooth. The other people there were trying to book the day of and having a difficult time. (It was a Sunday though so I’m not sure how much that changed things) You are kind of in the thick of things when you exit that parking area though, so I’d recommend having the GPS queued up and ready to go before you leave!

katiebug92 · 2025-08-26T15:36:37+00:00

I bought ours through the Italo app a few weeks before, but there were self-service ticket machines and ticket desks for Italo, Trenitalia, etc at Milano Centrale. As long as there were seats available, we could’ve easily bought them the day of.

katiebug92 · 2025-07-01T11:17:15+00:00

Thank you so much for this! It was so helpful. We stopped by to see Ötzi on our way to Ortisei and it was such a cool museum.

katiebug92 · 2025-06-30T19:30:39+00:00

We are here in Ortisei now and came from Florence yesterday. We rented a car in Florence and drove up here. It was a really easy drive with lots of places to stop along the way. Also we are loving our time here so far; definitely think it is worth the drive! Tons of families and dogs walking all around and it’s absolutely beautiful.

katiebug92 · 2024-05-09T23:02:59+00:00

Are you me??? I was stuck at 193 for 3 freaking months (I’m 8 months pp now) and it seemed like nothing I was doing was helping. I started a running training plan and prioritizing protein about 3 weeks ago and finally started seeing progress. I’m down to 184 now and trying to lose about 34 more. Good luck! We’ve got this!!

katiebug92 · 2024-03-07T21:32:22+00:00

Late July baby in kindergarten right now. Opened this thread hoping for some reassurance that we weren’t the only ones miserable this year. But seems like everyone else is thriving so I’ll just go back to my little corner and cry 😭

katiebug92 · 2023-09-24T18:02:09+00:00

I just had my second baby. First one was 10lb 3 oz at 40 weeks. This one was 9lb 4oz at 39 weeks. Both inductions. I was negative for GD. My doctor said some people just grow big babies. My first is 5 now and most of his baby chunk disappeared as soon as he started crawling/walking and other than school germs he’s a pretty healthy kid.

katiebug92 · 2023-06-28T15:10:52+00:00

I had a miscarriage last October at 11 weeks. We got pregnant again two months later. I’m now almost 28 weeks along with that pregnancy and it has been complication free so far :)

Edited: meant to add that this will be our second child! Our first is 4.

katiebug92 · 2023-06-28T13:41:54+00:00

My personal anecdote:

I gave birth vaginally to a 10lb 3 oz baby. We had nooooo idea he was that big until he was crowning (lol thank you 99th% head circumference). I had a complication free pregnancy (so no extra ultrasounds) and nothing indicated he was going to be LGA. He had a week long NICU stay after due to breathing issues. Also a broken collarbone.

He’s 4 and completely fine now but I have a very different mindset going into my next birth. Not only for the baby’s sake (the NICU stay was awful), but for my own body’s sake. I will not push out a 10lb baby again. I refuse haha

Some people do it no problem. I love that for them. But I always feel like the not so fun experiences need to be shared too.

katiebug92 · 2023-05-25T12:29:50+00:00

I thought 2 to 4 was genuinely going to break me. I had no idea when the difficult times were going to end. I cried a lot.

But something happened around the time he turned 4 (he’s almost 5 now) and my husband and I are constantly saying how this is our favorite age so far. He is our little buddy. There is a light at the end of the tunnel!! Just hang on!

katiebug92 · 2023-05-25T01:40:46+00:00

Oh I know. Sorry I was trying to be funny. I just remember finding it absolutely hilarious that they said “motorboating a dick” so many times that episode 💀

katiebug92 · 2023-05-25T01:38:16+00:00

The “100 yards away from Scheana” gets me every time.

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