Image: The Morpheus in Kamares - Our balconies were top left (green shutters), and the open area just above the sign.

Lest you Lubertadventure bloggees think that it's easier to get a rave review from your faithful blogger than to find a taverna in Greece, I need to post some not-so-hot places we have stayed. We have also raved about the food and the people, and to be fair, we have had the occasional rude waitperson, and the odd mediocre meal, but it is probably far more likely that you might be considering a hotel we have stayed at if you are going to make a similar journey than a restaurant.
Most recently, we stayed at the Savoy in Pescarra (Italy). Supposedly a four star hotel, but it reminded us of the squire who spent all his money on the gates to his estate, and nothing left to finish the inside. The lobby was nice, it had a pool, and quite swank restaurants, but the rooms were old, very tired, the fridge didn't work, the bathroom door was rotting away, and the whole room smelled musty.
Our hotel in Piraeus, the Glaros, was nothing more than functional, noisy, and threadbare. It was the priciest of all the places we stayed in Greece. The redeeming feature was the manager. He was incredibly helpful throughout our two separate stays.
We would not recommend either of our two hotels in Rome, but they changed our reservations so many times, that we cannot remember their names.
Places we would gladly recommend:

• Agriturismo Di Cabbiavioli, Castelfiorentino, Italy. Gorgeous surroundings, reasonably priced, nice accommodations, but we learned to ignore the manager, Stefano, who had a way of making you feel like you were an imposition...

• Cubalino in Sicily if you are adventurous and self-sufficient. Self contained house with laundry, kitchen, above-ground pool, patio. Off the beaten track so you must have a car. Right under the brow of Mt Etna!

• Hotel Olympia in Salerno is a great hotel in an AWFUL area. If you must be in Salerno, and want a clean, modern hotel, and can ignore the prostitutes who are rampant in the area, this is the place for you.

• Le Ancore Hotel in Vico Equense, Italy – beautiful, relaxing, with the most incredible view of Vesuvius across the Bay of Naples.

• Hotel Agio Prokopios in the village of Agio Prokopios on Naxos. Hosts Vangellis and Effi – fantastic! Pool, great location, room cleaned every day, laundry service, breakfast room, mini kitchen.

• Zac Marie Rooms, Adamis, Milos – Clean, functional, reasonably priced room.

• Pension Morpheus, Kamares, Sifnos. Host Kostas – great guy. Very helpful. Clean rooms, fantastic location. If we come back for a month, this is where we will probably stay.
  

• Locanda Dei Baroni, Vasto, Italy. Absolutely beautiful (see post). Hostess Rosa. Incredible décor, great restaurant. A bit more $$, but worth every penny.

• Hotel Il Guercino, Bologna, Italy. One of the most inexpensive hotels we have stayed at and one of the nicest. A very pleasant surprise. Don't pay the E16 for parking. It's easy to park outside for E5 a day. Don't look at the 4 different kinds of wallpaper that assault your senses when you get off the elevator, especially after a long cena con molto vino della casa.

Tomorrow - Venice, and our last stop.