GranthamMommy

Italy Trip Report July 2007

This is my first trip report. I promise to use upper and lower case and to use paragraphs. I’ll try to break the posts between “chapters.” Then all bets are off. I hope you find something useful in my report. I got so much from all the information you shared.

The first thing I learned to remember is that everyone is different and therefore
each trip is unique. Remember to build your own memories, find surprises around each corner and to hold special things that could only happen to you and your family. I spent my first day in Rome looking for all these things I read about and trying finding them. I was also trying to take too many notes so I could have a complete trip report. I missed enjoying all that was going on around me. That changed quickly once I found my own travel style.

Let me tell you a bit about our family before I get started with the report. This is our first trip to Italy (and Europe!) There are three of us. Bill – 53, Cheryl – 47 and our son Jack -13. We’re all in okay health, but could all stand to lose some
weight. I mention that because we survived two weeks of walking and thousands of stairs.

Buy shoes ahead of time and make them your closest friends. Jack had his skate board shoes and Adidas sandals and didn’t mind. Then again he’s 13 and foot problems aren’t an issue. I wore a pair of Teva Ventura Cork sandals. I will buy more now that I am home. They molded to my feet and they are my best friends. A month before I had a bad case of tendonitis where I could barely walk without pain. Several years ago I had plantar faciitis and couldn’t walk three steps without crying. I loved my Teva's.To take care of tired feet, we would say Bi’Day Mate and then soak our feet in the bidet. Okay it was funny at the time. The cold water was very soothing.

Planning

We started planning for our trip in August 2006. I wanted to go to Rome, Cinque Terre and Lake Como. Of course our first trip would take us to Rome. My son is very interested in the ruins and history. I am a water person and have wanted to go to Cinque Terre since the first time I saw it on Rick Steves along time ago. Plus two co-workers had said this was the most beautiful place they had ever been.

Lake Como has a special place in my heart. The only thing on my “things to do before I die” list was to visit Mello, Italy near the Swiss border. My grandfather was born there. We used to ask him “Do you think you’ll ever go back?” and he would reply “….not unless they build a bridge.” And we would laugh and laugh. Well, what I found out was that I’m the bridge. More on this later. It was the best part of our trip.

I watched the airfares each day. When I saw them hit a “low” I booked my trip. We live in New Hampshire and traveled US Airways. It is not my favorite airline, but they have a non-stop from Philadelphia to Rome. I did not want to have to worry about connections in another country for this trip. The flight was about $1000 per person, coach.

I did my hotel research through Expedia, Trip Advisor and several travel books. I didn’t know about Fodor’s at that time. I narrowed my search on Expedia to hotels that had a 4.0 + traveler review and they had to have air conditioning.

After adding up the costs separately and on Expedia, Expedia was a bit cheaper, including travel insurance.

I sent confirmation emails to each hotel and they all had a reservation for me.
The only issue was with the Albergo del Senato. The Expedia website said the room had a balcony and the hotel confirmation said the triples did not have
balconies. Expedia did open a case, but I left things alone. I was too busy to pursue it and wanted to stay at this hotel.

Then it was six months of different travel books, Fodor’s, Trip Advisor and Googling. My only advice is not to over plan. Have a plan in place. Make reservations for the places you absolutely want to go. And once you arrive at your destination, let the plan change if it needs to change.

I think this is a good place to post the first installment.

Next chapter – packing and travelling

Jean

Excellent start. We await more.

susiedq

Hi Cheryl,

I had "talked" to you regarding finding your relations in Mello and had recommended my friend Roberto. I am anxious to hear of any family connections that you may have made.

sounds like a great trip report !!

Susan

LoveItaly

Hello Cheryl, what a great start..I so look forward to your next installment!

P.S. I have never had the pleasure of visiting your New Hampshire but my greatgrandparents left Bath, NH after the Civil War and settled in San Francisco.

Your comment "everyone is different and therefore each trip is unique" is a comment I so agree with Cheryl.

marigross

looking forward to more!

lovesroses

Dear Cheryl,
Great beginning! Eagerly waiting for more....I'd say patiently, but I'd be fibbing--we'll be there in 54 days (but whose counting gt; )and I cannnot wait!

GranthamMommy

Susiedq-

Roberto and I did make email contact. But I did not use his services. I was going to....but that's where the best part of the trip comes into play....more to come

Everyone:

Thanks for the encouraging words. I'll type more tonight....

Cheryl

ellenem

waiting for more!

SRS

Keep going - great report!

GranthamMommy

Packing and Travelling

We had a sixteen day trip planned:

2 Days Travel To/From Grantham New Hampshire
5 Days Rome
3 Days Cinque Terre - Monterosso
4 Days Lake Como
1 Day Milan
1 Day Train Travel (2 half days)

Each of us had our own 22 x 14 x 9 roll aboard carryon that was expandable. It came with a small tote that we would use as our personal item. This was more than enough for a two
week trip. We planned to do laundry while in Cinque Terre. In fact we didn’t wear all the clothes we brought. If you don’t normally “dress up” leave those clothes at home. You
probably won’t dress up on vacation either.

If you plan on visiting the Vatican and other churches, bring something more modest. Make sure all the clothes coordinate. I had three pairs of capris, two pairs of dress slacks and one linen pantsuit, and 7 shirts-blouses-polos. Bill and Jack had shorts, 1 pair of
Khaki’s and a number of tshirts-polos-collared cotton shirts. If you’re going to Lake Como, back something with long sleeves and a sweater.

For the plane we all had our ipods, Jack had his PSP with all the new movies and games, and a book. We had a few snacks that traveled well. A luxury I allowed myself was a nice cotton blanket that would feel comfy. The boys brought neck pillows.

The flight to Rome was on an Airbus and we knew we would have our choice of movies to watch. Have a backup plan on that. It took the crew a while to get it working. You can check what movies are planning on the airline’s website. That might be fun if you have little ones to involve.

Budgeting for Unplanned Items

Jack’s ipod died the week before the trip. It was old and not worth repairing. A new ipod Video costs $249.99. Luckily my son had $252 in Best Buy gift cards in his drawer.
New ipod purchased. $0.

Jack’s PSP (Playstation – personal) dies the day before vacation. Not enough time
to get it fixed. Jack has spent a small fortune buying movies and games for this
trip. Call WalMart. They have them in stock and open at 7am. $170

The Best Laid Plans

The plan was to pack ahead of time. I had this fantasy that I would wake up on the day we were to leave and all I would have to do is shower and pack my toiletries before driving to the airport. Ha!

I am not going to be packed ahead of time so I set my alarm for 3am so I can finish. We are going to leave at 9am. My cousin lives near the airport so we’re driving to her house for a short visit and she will drive us to the airport. We won’t have to pay for 16 days of parking. Yeah.

The alarm goes off at 3am as planned, but the phone starts ringing at the same exact moment. I pick up the phone and it’s a computerized voice from USAirways saying
my flight from Manchester to Philadelphia had been cancelled and to please call
US Airways. I call the airline and the flights have been cancelled due to weather.
There was one flight at 4pm that hadn’t been cancelled “yet.” And the flight to Rome
for the following day was fully booked. The person on the phone had little customer service skills and was not helpful at all. She suggested I go to the airport to work it out.

What am I going to do? Besides the fact I’m still asleep and have to move quickly before things fall apart. I call Southwest Airlines. They have plenty of flights and no known weather problems into Philadelphia. I book three seats to Philadelphia, in case I can’t work things out at the airport. $345.00.

It’s 3:30 am and I’m feeling just a bit better. At least I’ll be getting to Philadelphia.
Everyone is in agreement that US Airways probably just wanted to consolidate it
Four daily flights into the one at 4pm. If that went off on time and had no problems
landing in Philadelphia, we would have to run to make the connection. I was not
going to take that risk. Good news, I think I’m getting a refund on that portion of the flight. I’ll know soon.

All showered and packed by 6:30 am. We end up with one more roller bag than planned
because we just started dumping things into the bag at the end. Still not bad for a two
week trip! Leave the house at 6:30 and head to Wal-Mart. 7:15 and we have the new PSP
in hand for Jack. Then we leave for the airport.

Because we had to go straight to the airport, we had to skip Cousin Sandi’s free parking.
Add $203.00 in parking charges. We haven’t left the state yet and we had $718.00
in additional expense.

Jack loses his wallet somewhere. Add $18.00 No big deal. It’s he’s only 13 and lost his
recreation center pass. We make it to Philly and check in for our flight to Rome. They did overbook this flight quite a bit, so make sure you CHECK IN EARLY! If you’re flexible, they were offering a free ticket to anywhere they flew. We checked the bags through to Italy, get on our 6:30pm flight and sleep most of the way after the dinner service.

Let the vacation BEGIN!!!!

Next Chapter: Rome

GranthamMommy

Sorry about the weird carriage returns....

lovesroses

Hi Cheryl, I am exhausted after reading about your departure-morning!!! Oh my gosh, you handled all the curve balls thrown your way beautifully, in my opinion. Eager to hear more gt;

boatgirlhm

We're leaving in 3 weeks for Rome, and I'm enjoying your report. So sorry departure morning was so stressful! At least you made it! MORE........Helaine

GranthamMommy

Rome

Saturday June 30 – Thursday July 5 2007

We arrive in Rome around 8:30 am. I promptly put my “security wallet – waist belt” on before I leave the plane. I did not wear it again and will be returning the
two we didn’t use. I did not see a need for it. We used the safe in the hotel for our
important paperwork. We took 200 euros from the atm each day to keep us on
budget and at minimal risk.

All our bags made it to Rome as well. We were quickly through baggage claim and customs. One thing about security in the US that I should mention. If you’re carrying candles, you’re bag will be checked. I had three small Yankee Candles in the glass jars and my bagged was always checked.

The driver we hired through Expedia was there ready to pick us up as promised.
The company was Autoservizi Montini 06/91498638. The driver was very helpful with the bags and drove us in his very clean black Mercedes sedan. This cost $75 US for the three of us, booking through Expedia. I am not sure what they would charge if booked directly. He asked if it was our first trip. We answered yes, and it began to point out a few of the sites as we drove along. I would recommend them, but there are many referrals on this site. I felt special in my black Mercedes and wouldn’t change a thing.

We stayed at the Albergo del Senato. The beautiful Pantheon there at our doorstep. We made it. I couldn’t believe it. It was early, but after a ½ hour wait we were able to get into our room, #210.

The room wasn’t big, but it was nice. We had a window that opened to a side street. I liked to open it early morning to get a nice breeze and to hear the early morning sounds of the neighborhood. We kept the windows closed when we went to sleep and could hardly here everyone in the Piazza della Rotunda
just outside.

Jack had a pull out bed that was comfortable. Our bed was two twins pushed together (as I recall). It was very firm, but we slept well every night. That may have had to do with all the walking we did.

The bathroom was a nice size. Nice toiletries and a hair dryer. If you sat back while you were on the toilet you could flush it with your head. Hey, I’m traveling with a 13 year old male. Potty humor rules. And I’ve already talked about the bidet! Jack said the cord in the shower was to make the tub drain faster. Don’t pull it. The front desk will call you to tell you the alarm is going off and ask if everyone okay. It was hubby that pulled the cord. Hee Hee.

They had tv with many English channels. I would have appreciated this more later on in the trip when I was too tired and just wanted a burger and to watch tv.
Jack enjoyed this when his “old” parents were too tired to move.

The staff was wonderful, spoke English and were very helpful. Breakfast was included. It was okay. If was nice that they remembered we had Caffe Americano, cappuccino and hot chocolate each morning. Where else can you have salami sandwiches for breakfast! There was also scrambled eggs, yogurt, peaches and prunes and baked goods. It definitely held us over until we stopped for lunch.

And what is it with the humongous room keys? All our hotels had huge keys that you were supposed to turn in at the front desk when you left the building. I like that because I’m forever misplacing my room keys at hotels. Our had this heavy
brass weight on one end –good for bottom fishing the bottom of the Meditteranean. When you enter your room, put it into the “slot” and the lights would work. This was repeated at another “old” hotel later in the trip.

Would I stay here again? Yes, but I might look for a better bargain or rent an apartment if I were staying longer. For our first trip I wanted a hotel with a front desk that spoke English and could help me with any question.

We got to our room and took a one hour nap. Then we headed out for our first lunch. We picked a tavola calda just up the road (by the elephant obelisk).
It was okay, but Bill picked a lasagna that was phenomenal.

This is where that first special moment happens. Those special treasures I talk about in the first installment. We had planned to try and learn some Italian, but never had time. Jack stayed involved with my planning and asked questions, but Bill had about 1 hour invested in the planning. (Note: he was responsible for finding cheaper airfare!)

We ordered at the front of the restaurant and the waitress brought our trays to the table. When were done and were just sitting there. Jack and I knew that you had to ask for the bill. Bill was getting anxious, so Jack told him to ask for the
“il conto” Bill wouldn’t ask for it. He figured Jack was making it up. We laughed so hard. I ended up asking for the bill for most of the trip. Mostly I motioned for it by “writing” on my hand – if I could catch the waiter’s eye.

We took a quick peek in the Pantheon, but were just too tired to care. We would visit again later. It was in our front yard after all.

It was back to the hotel for another nap. Then we ventured out to Piazza Navona and Campo di Fiore for dinner. We ended up at Insalata Ricca. We had huge salads, pasta and bruschetta. I am the only one that drinks wine. Learn early how to order by the glass, ¼ litre. I had a huge carafe for myself that first night. When in Rome… We walked to Tre Scalini at the Piazza Navona for their specialty
- tartufo – for dessert. We walked back to the hotel savoring our ice cream treat.

We were getting a little disenchanted our first evening. We were a bit hot and tired. We had to deal with all the people selling fake designer purses and sunglasses, the graffiti and the homeless people sleeping at the Pantheon. The map, guidebook and camera weighed 100 pounds by now……So we got to bed early (thank you benadryl) so we could wake up with rose color glasses.

Have a plan in place, but don’t plan every minute is important to mention here.
Leave the map, the guidebook and camera behind and find your own adventure. Make the city yours. Those times were the best. Your trip is different than everyone else’s on this board.

Next Installment:: Our Roman Holiday

ComfyShoes

Hullo,

I rarely read trip reports unless I am about to go there, but I am reading yours and like it Any idea why they check if you have candles? I have heard many nice things about the hotel you stayed at (last time I went to Rome was nearly 15 years ago and I was a poor poor student... my entire weekly budget was probably equal to your one night stay ) and two friends stay there recently. One actually is a colleague in my office who was there ten days ago and may have overlapped with you! Anyway, have to try it out one of these days.

Keep it coming.

GranthamMommy

I'm guessing the candle looked like a gel with a wick in it-- a terrorist I'm not.

This dream trip for us was well above what we would normally pay for a vacation. However my husband works for a wonderful company that pays a bonus to EVERYONE the week before Christmas every year. This year the company paid a 34% bonus. We spent every penny on this trip to get exactly what we wanted. And we did. We are very lucky to have have this opportunity.

Typos - you read your posting over and over again. But typos don't have a habit of appearing until you "post."

I'm glad you're enjoying the report. Wait until I get to Lake Como.....you'll cry........

dwzemens

Terrific report so far. We flew into Rome in September 2004 and your first day sounds about like ours! I can't wait to return.

More, please?

ComfyShoes

Please, GM, as it is, I am the emotional sort and cry easily Candles = Dynamite sticks? Wow! I guess I could imagine them getting confused. Tiepos? Tiyops? Who cares.

Evening.

aussiefive

I'm loving your report Cheryl.

You were so cool under pressure with your flights. What a problem solver!

I am glad to see that other people have last minute additions to the budget.

Nlingenfel

Great report. On one of my visits to Rome, had to take a single room, since our reservations were changed. Loved sitting on the comode lid and soaking my feet in the bidet after a very long day of walking. My friend had a bathtub and I had a bidet. We still joke about this, also, the hotel did us a favor when they bumped us to the outskirts, we had to learn the bus system fast.