16 Days in Italy....best trip ever!
Jul 4th, 2016, 01:20 PM
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16 Days in Italy....best trip ever!
I spent nearly a year researching my dream trip to Italy. I spent a lot of time on this website so I thought I would try to pay it forward and help others if I can! I'm 34, my DH is 41 and our DD is 9. We spent 4 days in Rome and then 10 nights in the city of Pietrasanta in a beautiful villa with a pool. We tried very hard to see as much as we could without killing ourselves and our daughter. We tried to get relax time in as well as tours and museums. Here's the beginning of our trip, I will update as I can around getting back to the "real world"!
Day 0
Friday, June 17, 2016
We had a direct flight from Miami International Airport to Rome Fiumicino International Airport. Our flight departed at 8:30pm from Miami and landed at 12:30pm Rome time. We got to the Miami airport just shy of three hours early. We usually do two hours for our domestic flights, but I am a worrywart so I wanted to be extra early for international travel. No need to be that early. It took all of 30 minutes to check in and get through security. Oh well, DH just had to get over it!
The flight was alright, I wasn’t able to sleep I was too excited! DD slept pretty well though so that was good!
Total Steps for the day: 6258
Day 1
Saturday, June 18, 2016
We landed at Rome Fiumicino at 12:30pm. We collected our bags and breezed through customs. I had done so much research before we left and then it kind of all went out the window. I knew that as long as we took an official taxi from the airport that it would be a fixed rate of 48€. However when you walk out of the terminal and someone stops you and asks “Are you looking for a taxi” all I could think was “Yep, I haven’t slept in 20 hours and I need a taxi”…..and then we started walking towards a parking garage and I realized that we were walking towards a private car. I told DH that we were not going to an official taxi and I had no idea how much it was going to cost us. He was as dead tired as I was and said not to worry about it and just keep going. The guy walked us to a nice Mercedes sedan. He helped us load our luggage and was super nice. The entire way to the hotel he gave us history of the area and talked to us about Rome. We got to the hotel and it was 70€. So we spent 22€ more than we would have needed to if I had my wits about me….but ah well…..mistakes happen and we got a nice tour out of it!
It was approximately 2:30-3:00 by the time we got to the hotel. We were staying our first 4 nights right in the heart of the Pantheon square at the Pantheon Royal Suites. We checked into our room no problem. The hotel staff was so friendly! The front desk person let us know that with our suite the minibar was complementary and told us the Wi-Fi password. She also gave us a map of Rome and pointed out all the highlights. She also told me that a package had been delivered for me. My WiTourist Wi-Fi Hotspot was there waiting for me just like it was supposed to be! Yay! That was probably the best thing we pre-booked for the trip. We used the heck out of that unlimited 4G connection for GPS and information!
We then took the smallest elevator ever up to our fourth floor room and waited for the bellman to bring us our bags. The room was awesome. I had spent a lot of time researching hotels because I wanted a room that was not super tiny and would have a decent sized bathroom. This absolutely fit the bill. It had a bedroom with a separate living room that DD slept in on the pull out couch and a good sized bathroom. It also had a small window balcony that overlooked the Piazza della Rotonda and the Pantheon. It was such an incredible view! I got us unpacked and then we decided to walk around a little bit before our food tour.
We went into the Pantheon and were immediately amazed. Being from Miami “old” buildings are early 1900’s. The architecture, the artwork, the beauty and the age….just breathtaking. We left the Pantheon and walked about the Piazza and I’m sure looked like total first time tourists just taking it all in…..but who cares, we were first time tourists taking it all in!
We had decided that we wanted to do something right away on Saturday night because we wanted to get adjusted to the time in Rome and get the lay of the land. So we had booked a food tour with Secret Food Tours. We met at the Piazza Novona. This was only supposed to be a 10 minute walk from our hotel, but we quickly realized that we are not good with directions in Rome and that we should plan on everything taking us twice as long! This was okay with us because we saw pretty awesome stuff on our (many) detours!
The Secret Food Tour was great. I wish I would have written down all the places they took us. But I was so overwhelmed at that point just being in a new city and trying to take it all in that I didn’t think about it. We had samples and tastes of: espresso, mortadella, different cheeses, wines, cannoli, pasta carbonara, and gelato.
After the food tour we were pretty pooped! We walked back to our hotel and CRASHED!
Total Steps for the day: 20,265
Day 0
Friday, June 17, 2016
We had a direct flight from Miami International Airport to Rome Fiumicino International Airport. Our flight departed at 8:30pm from Miami and landed at 12:30pm Rome time. We got to the Miami airport just shy of three hours early. We usually do two hours for our domestic flights, but I am a worrywart so I wanted to be extra early for international travel. No need to be that early. It took all of 30 minutes to check in and get through security. Oh well, DH just had to get over it!
The flight was alright, I wasn’t able to sleep I was too excited! DD slept pretty well though so that was good!
Total Steps for the day: 6258
Day 1
Saturday, June 18, 2016
We landed at Rome Fiumicino at 12:30pm. We collected our bags and breezed through customs. I had done so much research before we left and then it kind of all went out the window. I knew that as long as we took an official taxi from the airport that it would be a fixed rate of 48€. However when you walk out of the terminal and someone stops you and asks “Are you looking for a taxi” all I could think was “Yep, I haven’t slept in 20 hours and I need a taxi”…..and then we started walking towards a parking garage and I realized that we were walking towards a private car. I told DH that we were not going to an official taxi and I had no idea how much it was going to cost us. He was as dead tired as I was and said not to worry about it and just keep going. The guy walked us to a nice Mercedes sedan. He helped us load our luggage and was super nice. The entire way to the hotel he gave us history of the area and talked to us about Rome. We got to the hotel and it was 70€. So we spent 22€ more than we would have needed to if I had my wits about me….but ah well…..mistakes happen and we got a nice tour out of it!
It was approximately 2:30-3:00 by the time we got to the hotel. We were staying our first 4 nights right in the heart of the Pantheon square at the Pantheon Royal Suites. We checked into our room no problem. The hotel staff was so friendly! The front desk person let us know that with our suite the minibar was complementary and told us the Wi-Fi password. She also gave us a map of Rome and pointed out all the highlights. She also told me that a package had been delivered for me. My WiTourist Wi-Fi Hotspot was there waiting for me just like it was supposed to be! Yay! That was probably the best thing we pre-booked for the trip. We used the heck out of that unlimited 4G connection for GPS and information!
We then took the smallest elevator ever up to our fourth floor room and waited for the bellman to bring us our bags. The room was awesome. I had spent a lot of time researching hotels because I wanted a room that was not super tiny and would have a decent sized bathroom. This absolutely fit the bill. It had a bedroom with a separate living room that DD slept in on the pull out couch and a good sized bathroom. It also had a small window balcony that overlooked the Piazza della Rotonda and the Pantheon. It was such an incredible view! I got us unpacked and then we decided to walk around a little bit before our food tour.
We went into the Pantheon and were immediately amazed. Being from Miami “old” buildings are early 1900’s. The architecture, the artwork, the beauty and the age….just breathtaking. We left the Pantheon and walked about the Piazza and I’m sure looked like total first time tourists just taking it all in…..but who cares, we were first time tourists taking it all in!
We had decided that we wanted to do something right away on Saturday night because we wanted to get adjusted to the time in Rome and get the lay of the land. So we had booked a food tour with Secret Food Tours. We met at the Piazza Novona. This was only supposed to be a 10 minute walk from our hotel, but we quickly realized that we are not good with directions in Rome and that we should plan on everything taking us twice as long! This was okay with us because we saw pretty awesome stuff on our (many) detours!
The Secret Food Tour was great. I wish I would have written down all the places they took us. But I was so overwhelmed at that point just being in a new city and trying to take it all in that I didn’t think about it. We had samples and tastes of: espresso, mortadella, different cheeses, wines, cannoli, pasta carbonara, and gelato.
After the food tour we were pretty pooped! We walked back to our hotel and CRASHED!
Total Steps for the day: 20,265
Jul 4th, 2016, 01:27 PM
#2
Nice start lantis - both to the trip and the TR!
and thanks for your honesty about the taxi - it's so easily done when we're desperate, isn't it. Glad it only cost you an extra €22.
And may I say how sensible I think you were deciding not to try to cram too many places into your trip - a few days in Rome followed by a week + in a villa is such a good idea.
looking forward to more!
and thanks for your honesty about the taxi - it's so easily done when we're desperate, isn't it. Glad it only cost you an extra €22.
And may I say how sensible I think you were deciding not to try to cram too many places into your trip - a few days in Rome followed by a week + in a villa is such a good idea.
looking forward to more!
Jul 4th, 2016, 03:40 PM
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Day 2
Sunday, June 19, 2016
We woke up around 9ish and were ready to get out and start exploring. I had told DD that Italians are not big on breakfast like we are. She was pretty disappointed because eggs and a bagel is her favorite meal of the day! We walked out of the hotel and right there is Café di Rienzo. The waiter is standing right outside and accosted us saying “American Breakfast Right here, bacon, eggs, toast.” Of course at that point DD started telling me I didn’t know what I was talking about that they did sit down to eat bacon and eggs. I told her that it was a tourist thing to do….but she didn’t care….she wanted eggs. So DH and I agreed to keep her happy as it was going to be a long day. Needless to say after getting a bill of nearly 60€ for two orders of bacon, eggs and toast. Two croissants and three cappuccino’s my family finally agreed with me that in the future we would do cappuccinos and croissants at the bar like the Italians do. That saying “When in Rome…….” Yeah we said that a lot on this trip!!!!
After breakfast we began walking towards the Trevi Fountain. We meandered our way over there stopping at anything that caught our eye. We all did the coin toss into the fountain and I am hoping that its true and I will be back in Rome one day! After the Trevi Fountain we walked over to the Spanish Steps. Unfortunately the steps are closed off for renovations. DD was upset because she wanted to walk up them an count the steps for her Rome Scavenger Hunt book we got her. I told her that she could still giver herself the points for that activity because it wasn’t her fault!
We started walking towards the Colosseum as we had a tour later that afternoon. We ate lunch at Ristorante Pizzeria Imperiale. This was our first taste of pizza from Rome….awesome! Well DH and I thought it was awesome….DD accepted it, she’s a pain in the neck when it comes to pizza she thinks Papa Johns is the best ha!
After lunch we went to meet our group for the Colosseum Tour. I booked all of our Tours through ‘Dark Rome’ who uses City Wonders Tour Company. LOVED doing the major attractions by tour. We got to learn more than we knew before about the place we were visiting, we didn’t have to worry about our tickets and we didn’t have to wait in any lines. The Colosseum Tour was actually geared towards kids. It was really great for the whole family! Our guide made the Colosseum interesting for the kids and played games with them. DD really liked the Colosseum and had a great time with the other kids. I was only disappointed about one thing. The tour said it was ending in the Forum. So I assumed that we would be touring the Forum or at least have time to walk around on our own. While it did end in the Forum it was only 15 minutes before it closes. I guess it’s my fault for assuming! DH and I decided that we would want to come back and spend some more time in the forum within the next few days.
We walked back from the Colosseum to the hotel and rested for a little bit before dinner. I forget exactly where we had dinner this night. We were looking for a particular restaurant that we couldn’t find….we did find it later on Tuesday night! This night though we just walked up to one near the Pantheon. Not bad, not good just okay. But we were in Rome so how bad could it be right!!!
Total Steps for the day: 27,256
Sunday, June 19, 2016
We woke up around 9ish and were ready to get out and start exploring. I had told DD that Italians are not big on breakfast like we are. She was pretty disappointed because eggs and a bagel is her favorite meal of the day! We walked out of the hotel and right there is Café di Rienzo. The waiter is standing right outside and accosted us saying “American Breakfast Right here, bacon, eggs, toast.” Of course at that point DD started telling me I didn’t know what I was talking about that they did sit down to eat bacon and eggs. I told her that it was a tourist thing to do….but she didn’t care….she wanted eggs. So DH and I agreed to keep her happy as it was going to be a long day. Needless to say after getting a bill of nearly 60€ for two orders of bacon, eggs and toast. Two croissants and three cappuccino’s my family finally agreed with me that in the future we would do cappuccinos and croissants at the bar like the Italians do. That saying “When in Rome…….” Yeah we said that a lot on this trip!!!!
After breakfast we began walking towards the Trevi Fountain. We meandered our way over there stopping at anything that caught our eye. We all did the coin toss into the fountain and I am hoping that its true and I will be back in Rome one day! After the Trevi Fountain we walked over to the Spanish Steps. Unfortunately the steps are closed off for renovations. DD was upset because she wanted to walk up them an count the steps for her Rome Scavenger Hunt book we got her. I told her that she could still giver herself the points for that activity because it wasn’t her fault!
We started walking towards the Colosseum as we had a tour later that afternoon. We ate lunch at Ristorante Pizzeria Imperiale. This was our first taste of pizza from Rome….awesome! Well DH and I thought it was awesome….DD accepted it, she’s a pain in the neck when it comes to pizza she thinks Papa Johns is the best ha!
After lunch we went to meet our group for the Colosseum Tour. I booked all of our Tours through ‘Dark Rome’ who uses City Wonders Tour Company. LOVED doing the major attractions by tour. We got to learn more than we knew before about the place we were visiting, we didn’t have to worry about our tickets and we didn’t have to wait in any lines. The Colosseum Tour was actually geared towards kids. It was really great for the whole family! Our guide made the Colosseum interesting for the kids and played games with them. DD really liked the Colosseum and had a great time with the other kids. I was only disappointed about one thing. The tour said it was ending in the Forum. So I assumed that we would be touring the Forum or at least have time to walk around on our own. While it did end in the Forum it was only 15 minutes before it closes. I guess it’s my fault for assuming! DH and I decided that we would want to come back and spend some more time in the forum within the next few days.
We walked back from the Colosseum to the hotel and rested for a little bit before dinner. I forget exactly where we had dinner this night. We were looking for a particular restaurant that we couldn’t find….we did find it later on Tuesday night! This night though we just walked up to one near the Pantheon. Not bad, not good just okay. But we were in Rome so how bad could it be right!!!
Total Steps for the day: 27,256
Jul 5th, 2016, 07:43 AM
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You mentioned WiTourist? What is that and were you get one?
Also you mentioned your DD used “Rome Scavenger Hunt” book is that worth it? I will be traveling with 11 and 12 yr old would you recommend it?
Also you mentioned your DD used “Rome Scavenger Hunt” book is that worth it? I will be traveling with 11 and 12 yr old would you recommend it?
Jul 5th, 2016, 08:07 AM
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Day 3
Monday, June 20, 2016
Early morning start for this family, today is our day of religion! We left our hotel around 7am, and had breakfast (croissant and cappuccino at the bar) at the Vatican Café across the street from the Vatican Museum.
I scheduled another tour with Dark Rome/City Wonders. This was a semi-private tour with only 6 other people besides our family. Again, great tour guide, great not having to wait in line, and super informative. We started in the Vatican Museum, through the Sistine Chapel and ended in St. Peters Basilica. After the tour of St. Peters we were allowed to stay there longer and explore on our own. We were so lucky as this is still the Year of Jubilee. So I was able to pass through the doors of jubilee after our tour had ended. DH was awesome and took DD around some more so I could go to the Blessed Sacrament Chapel to pray. I am so glad that they have this place that is silent and restful just for those that want to pray. After I was done, we decided to walk to the top of the dome. That was a HIKE! WOW, we were exhausted after that climb, but the view was worth every single step. When we got to the top of the dome still inside the Basilica there was a choir performing downstairs. It was the most beautiful sight to see and hear them from above. We then walked to the top and the view outside was awesome!! After we came down from the dome we visited the Papal Tombs. After the tombs we left the Basilica and walked around a little, took some pictures and mailed our postcards from the Vatican City Post office!
It had started to rain so we grabbed a cab to the Jewish Ghetto. We ate lunch at La Taverna del Ghetto, a kosher restaurant that was really very good. We had to try the fried artichoke which we had learned was the Jewish specialty of Rome. Even DD liked it! After lunch we walked to the Great Synagogue and Jewish Museums. The Synagogue was stunning! The museum was great DH and I did the audio tour and it was small enough that DD didn’t have to follow us around we let her find a comfortable chair and play on the phone! After the museum we walked around the Jewish Ghetto and took some pictures. One thing that really got to me around this area was the gold nameplates on the ground outside the houses. These are for the Jews that did not come back from the death camps during the Holocaust. It was so sad to see so much gold on the ground, and in front of some houses several nameplates. After walking around and I’m sure we got gelato somewhere….we did every day for DD….we walked back to our hotel and rested before dinner.
That night for dinner we ate at Armando al Pantheon. AMAZING! I had made reservations before we left home a few weeks earlier. So well worth it! The food was excellent, the wait staff was awesome and the place was so charming.
After dinner, it was again time to CRASH!!
Total steps for the day: 22,718
Monday, June 20, 2016
Early morning start for this family, today is our day of religion! We left our hotel around 7am, and had breakfast (croissant and cappuccino at the bar) at the Vatican Café across the street from the Vatican Museum.
I scheduled another tour with Dark Rome/City Wonders. This was a semi-private tour with only 6 other people besides our family. Again, great tour guide, great not having to wait in line, and super informative. We started in the Vatican Museum, through the Sistine Chapel and ended in St. Peters Basilica. After the tour of St. Peters we were allowed to stay there longer and explore on our own. We were so lucky as this is still the Year of Jubilee. So I was able to pass through the doors of jubilee after our tour had ended. DH was awesome and took DD around some more so I could go to the Blessed Sacrament Chapel to pray. I am so glad that they have this place that is silent and restful just for those that want to pray. After I was done, we decided to walk to the top of the dome. That was a HIKE! WOW, we were exhausted after that climb, but the view was worth every single step. When we got to the top of the dome still inside the Basilica there was a choir performing downstairs. It was the most beautiful sight to see and hear them from above. We then walked to the top and the view outside was awesome!! After we came down from the dome we visited the Papal Tombs. After the tombs we left the Basilica and walked around a little, took some pictures and mailed our postcards from the Vatican City Post office!
It had started to rain so we grabbed a cab to the Jewish Ghetto. We ate lunch at La Taverna del Ghetto, a kosher restaurant that was really very good. We had to try the fried artichoke which we had learned was the Jewish specialty of Rome. Even DD liked it! After lunch we walked to the Great Synagogue and Jewish Museums. The Synagogue was stunning! The museum was great DH and I did the audio tour and it was small enough that DD didn’t have to follow us around we let her find a comfortable chair and play on the phone! After the museum we walked around the Jewish Ghetto and took some pictures. One thing that really got to me around this area was the gold nameplates on the ground outside the houses. These are for the Jews that did not come back from the death camps during the Holocaust. It was so sad to see so much gold on the ground, and in front of some houses several nameplates. After walking around and I’m sure we got gelato somewhere….we did every day for DD….we walked back to our hotel and rested before dinner.
That night for dinner we ate at Armando al Pantheon. AMAZING! I had made reservations before we left home a few weeks earlier. So well worth it! The food was excellent, the wait staff was awesome and the place was so charming.
After dinner, it was again time to CRASH!!
Total steps for the day: 22,718
Jul 5th, 2016, 08:09 AM
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Bilbo,
My phone through google maps did need to use either WiFi or data...or maybe I'm wrong and just dont know how to access it without but either way we made it work really well with our hotspot!
My phone through google maps did need to use either WiFi or data...or maybe I'm wrong and just dont know how to access it without but either way we made it work really well with our hotspot!
Jul 5th, 2016, 08:19 AM
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Anik103,
If you go to WiTourist.com you can request a quote. It is super simple to order. You just let them know what hotel you are checking into and what time and they will deliver the device right to the hotel. Then let them know what hotel you are checking out of and they give you a return envelope to leave the device with the front desk on your last day. We rented the unlimited 4G device for 16 days and it was 84€. For us it was well worth it. We drove a lot the last 10 days of our trip. We used it for our phones for GPS and our DD was able to play on her tablet with it. While I want to be the parent that says....no electronics in the car enjoy the Tuscan landscape it was not worth the fight and I wanted to enjoy my trip as well!!!
As for the Rome Scavenger Hunt Book my daughter really enjoyed it. It gave a lot of kid friendly information about the places we were visiting and then she got "points" for finding certain things. It gave her something to look for and to help connect her to what we were doing. I bought it off of Amazon for like $10 or so. Plus when you are back it makes a nice souvenir as she wrote notes in the book too!
If you go to WiTourist.com you can request a quote. It is super simple to order. You just let them know what hotel you are checking into and what time and they will deliver the device right to the hotel. Then let them know what hotel you are checking out of and they give you a return envelope to leave the device with the front desk on your last day. We rented the unlimited 4G device for 16 days and it was 84€. For us it was well worth it. We drove a lot the last 10 days of our trip. We used it for our phones for GPS and our DD was able to play on her tablet with it. While I want to be the parent that says....no electronics in the car enjoy the Tuscan landscape it was not worth the fight and I wanted to enjoy my trip as well!!!
As for the Rome Scavenger Hunt Book my daughter really enjoyed it. It gave a lot of kid friendly information about the places we were visiting and then she got "points" for finding certain things. It gave her something to look for and to help connect her to what we were doing. I bought it off of Amazon for like $10 or so. Plus when you are back it makes a nice souvenir as she wrote notes in the book too!
Jul 5th, 2016, 09:05 AM
#12
"Bilbo, I wonder if she means phone based google maps or the like"
well certainly "here" and at least one app from google maps doesn't need access to the internet. just about all the main map APPs don't need access. You'd only need the internet if you wanted to know about say bus breakdowns etc.
well certainly "here" and at least one app from google maps doesn't need access to the internet. just about all the main map APPs don't need access. You'd only need the internet if you wanted to know about say bus breakdowns etc.
Jul 5th, 2016, 12:51 PM
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Day 4
Tuesday, June 21, 2016
This morning we decided to head back to the Forum because we hadn’t really had a chance to check it out during the tour. This was probably more than our daughter could handle….this was melt down # 1 of the trip. DH and I were slightly disappointed that we didn’t have as much time there as we would have liked, but in all reality we had to remind ourselves that it was hot and she’s only 9. No 9 year old really wants to walk around and look at old crumbled buildings. We had a family pow-wow, we spent a little more time there and then went out exploring.
We ate lunch at Café Suggestum….really good! And then went to meet our group for our final tour….Crypts and Catacombs.
We did another Dark Rome/City Wonders tour. This was a tour of the Capuchin Crypts and The Catacombs of Saint Sebastian. I was fascinated by the Capuchin Crypts. DH….not so much, he was a little disturbed. DD thought it was interesting. DH and I were amazed at the catacombs, DD was ehh…she didn’t dislike it she was just kind of bored.
After the tour we got some wine at bar near our hotel right by the Pantheon. DD went and played and ran around where we could see her. For diner we went to La Sangrestia, the restaurant we were looking for on Sunday night. So glad we found it….AMAZING! Loved every bite of food there!!
Tonight was our last night in Rome. We hung out in the square by the Pantheon, ate gelato and DD played with her light up rocket toy thing she purchased from a street vendor. We didn’t have to wake up super early so we stayed up and just enjoyed the night.
Total steps for the day: 27,079
Day 5
Tuesday, June 22, 2016
This morning we woke up and had breakfast at a bar near the hotel. We went one more time back in the Pantheon to get a few more things checked off of DD’s scavenger hunt! Then it was time to get a taxi (a white one) and head to the airport to pick up our rental car.
The rental car line was sooooo long. I just kept telling myself that things run differently in Italy than they do in the US. It’s a much slower pace and that I was on vacation to just go with the flow. We finally got our turn, got to the counter and they processed our paperwork. The gentleman behind the counter said something about an automatic. I had specifically booked a manual because DH and I both drive manual at home and knew it was way cheaper to drive manual in Europe. The car rental agent said they would upgrade us for free it was just a bigger car. We thought hey great….bigger car for free…..double edged sword there…..all of our luggage fit nicely, but driving a full sized car was a little more of a pain at the house we rented, more on that in a minute!
We got the car it was a wagon of some sort, I’m not a car person….I’d have to ask DH what it was if anyone is interested! We got out of the airport no problem and started our 4 hour drive to Pietrasanta. It started getting really pretty the further north we went. We got to the bottom of the mountain that we were staying on and started to go up……
Now to preface this the reviews for the house a few people had commented that the drive up to the house was a “white knuckle drive” both DH and I were not worried about this. He’s a salesman and drives over 1,000 miles a week. He’s an excellent driver and we weren’t worried. That first trip up the mountain to the house….yeah he said a few bad words! It was a crazy switchback one lane road drop off a cliff type of drive. And now we have a big car to do it in! (After he got used to the road though it was fine for the rest of the week, he got comfortable and was driving it like a pro after the first couple times up and down!)
We finally get to the house, the owner opens the gate for us…..and WOW WOW WOW! The view was AMAZING! We could see the entire town of Pietrasanta and in the distance the sea. There was a balcony off the living room and bedroom both with this amazing view. The pool also looked over the mountain. DD asked if she could skip unpacking and just hit the pool! We of course let her. We decided to go to the grocery in town that night buy stuff for the week and just eat dinner at the house so DD could swim and enjoy. We got to use our limited Italian to maneuver the supermarket. We made dinner of meats, cheese, pizza and wine that night. We enjoyed it on our balcony watching the sunset. That may be the thing I miss most about Italy!!!
Total Steps for the day: 8,780
Tuesday, June 21, 2016
This morning we decided to head back to the Forum because we hadn’t really had a chance to check it out during the tour. This was probably more than our daughter could handle….this was melt down # 1 of the trip. DH and I were slightly disappointed that we didn’t have as much time there as we would have liked, but in all reality we had to remind ourselves that it was hot and she’s only 9. No 9 year old really wants to walk around and look at old crumbled buildings. We had a family pow-wow, we spent a little more time there and then went out exploring.
We ate lunch at Café Suggestum….really good! And then went to meet our group for our final tour….Crypts and Catacombs.
We did another Dark Rome/City Wonders tour. This was a tour of the Capuchin Crypts and The Catacombs of Saint Sebastian. I was fascinated by the Capuchin Crypts. DH….not so much, he was a little disturbed. DD thought it was interesting. DH and I were amazed at the catacombs, DD was ehh…she didn’t dislike it she was just kind of bored.
After the tour we got some wine at bar near our hotel right by the Pantheon. DD went and played and ran around where we could see her. For diner we went to La Sangrestia, the restaurant we were looking for on Sunday night. So glad we found it….AMAZING! Loved every bite of food there!!
Tonight was our last night in Rome. We hung out in the square by the Pantheon, ate gelato and DD played with her light up rocket toy thing she purchased from a street vendor. We didn’t have to wake up super early so we stayed up and just enjoyed the night.
Total steps for the day: 27,079
Day 5
Tuesday, June 22, 2016
This morning we woke up and had breakfast at a bar near the hotel. We went one more time back in the Pantheon to get a few more things checked off of DD’s scavenger hunt! Then it was time to get a taxi (a white one) and head to the airport to pick up our rental car.
The rental car line was sooooo long. I just kept telling myself that things run differently in Italy than they do in the US. It’s a much slower pace and that I was on vacation to just go with the flow. We finally got our turn, got to the counter and they processed our paperwork. The gentleman behind the counter said something about an automatic. I had specifically booked a manual because DH and I both drive manual at home and knew it was way cheaper to drive manual in Europe. The car rental agent said they would upgrade us for free it was just a bigger car. We thought hey great….bigger car for free…..double edged sword there…..all of our luggage fit nicely, but driving a full sized car was a little more of a pain at the house we rented, more on that in a minute!
We got the car it was a wagon of some sort, I’m not a car person….I’d have to ask DH what it was if anyone is interested! We got out of the airport no problem and started our 4 hour drive to Pietrasanta. It started getting really pretty the further north we went. We got to the bottom of the mountain that we were staying on and started to go up……
Now to preface this the reviews for the house a few people had commented that the drive up to the house was a “white knuckle drive” both DH and I were not worried about this. He’s a salesman and drives over 1,000 miles a week. He’s an excellent driver and we weren’t worried. That first trip up the mountain to the house….yeah he said a few bad words! It was a crazy switchback one lane road drop off a cliff type of drive. And now we have a big car to do it in! (After he got used to the road though it was fine for the rest of the week, he got comfortable and was driving it like a pro after the first couple times up and down!)
We finally get to the house, the owner opens the gate for us…..and WOW WOW WOW! The view was AMAZING! We could see the entire town of Pietrasanta and in the distance the sea. There was a balcony off the living room and bedroom both with this amazing view. The pool also looked over the mountain. DD asked if she could skip unpacking and just hit the pool! We of course let her. We decided to go to the grocery in town that night buy stuff for the week and just eat dinner at the house so DD could swim and enjoy. We got to use our limited Italian to maneuver the supermarket. We made dinner of meats, cheese, pizza and wine that night. We enjoyed it on our balcony watching the sunset. That may be the thing I miss most about Italy!!!
Total Steps for the day: 8,780
Jul 5th, 2016, 11:15 PM
#15
wonderful trip so far
Speed of car rental; I once rented a car in Italy. I walked in as it opened after lunch, three people behind the desk. At no time did anyone else come in, and it took 30 minutes to drive out of the place.
Italy is another country....
Speed of car rental; I once rented a car in Italy. I walked in as it opened after lunch, three people behind the desk. At no time did anyone else come in, and it took 30 minutes to drive out of the place.
Italy is another country....
Jul 6th, 2016, 02:15 AM
#16
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I remain confused about google maps on the phone. When I use it here in the US I can pre download some maps but if I want real time alerts about traffic, accidents etc I need data or wifi.
Is this different in Europe?
Asking for trip this fall.
Also, thrilled to hear you liked La Segrestia as it is literally next door to our hotel and I thought it might be a good idea for dinner our first night in Rome.
Is this different in Europe?
Asking for trip this fall.
Also, thrilled to hear you liked La Segrestia as it is literally next door to our hotel and I thought it might be a good idea for dinner our first night in Rome.
Jul 6th, 2016, 03:24 AM
#17
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Day 6
Thursday, June 23, 2016
I had pre-booked tickets for the Leaning Tower of Pisa for this morning. Our ticket time was 8:30am. It was about a 40 minute drive from our villa to Pisa. Parking was very easy in Pisa as it was very well marked. We dropped my purse off in the storage lockers and went straight up the leaning tower. After walking up the Dome in St. Peters the leaning tower was like a cake walk! The view from the top was beautiful. I got some of my best shots of the trip from up there!
After the tower we visited the church, the Baptistery and Camposanto Monumentale. All of these places were amazing. Everyone in the family enjoyed Pisa.
We went to Lucca after Pisa. Parking there was easy as well. We ate lunch at Trattoria da Giulio. Again, very very good! After lunch we walked around for a while in town and along the wall. We decided to come back another morning and rent bikes to ride along the wall. I was very much falling in love with the charm of Lucca!
Afterward we went back to the villa, grilled dinner and swam in the pool.
Day 7
Friday, June 24, 2016
We had no real plans for this day. We decided to do one of our long drives today and visit San Gimignano. What a great drive! We took our time and marveled at the beauty of the Tuscan landscape! When we got to San Gimignano again parking was so well marked and very easy. DH and I immediately fell in love with San Gimignano. We visited the church, did a lot of shopping (like every ones Christmas presents this year are coming from here!), walked the town and took lots of pictures, had lunch and of course gelato!
After a full day of exploring San Gimignano we headed back towards Pietrasanta. We didn’t want a big late dinner, so we went to a pizza restaurant in Marina de Pietrasanta. I can’t remember the name but it was very good and even DD like the pizza there!
After we went back and night swam at the villa!
Thursday, June 23, 2016
I had pre-booked tickets for the Leaning Tower of Pisa for this morning. Our ticket time was 8:30am. It was about a 40 minute drive from our villa to Pisa. Parking was very easy in Pisa as it was very well marked. We dropped my purse off in the storage lockers and went straight up the leaning tower. After walking up the Dome in St. Peters the leaning tower was like a cake walk! The view from the top was beautiful. I got some of my best shots of the trip from up there!
After the tower we visited the church, the Baptistery and Camposanto Monumentale. All of these places were amazing. Everyone in the family enjoyed Pisa.
We went to Lucca after Pisa. Parking there was easy as well. We ate lunch at Trattoria da Giulio. Again, very very good! After lunch we walked around for a while in town and along the wall. We decided to come back another morning and rent bikes to ride along the wall. I was very much falling in love with the charm of Lucca!
Afterward we went back to the villa, grilled dinner and swam in the pool.
Day 7
Friday, June 24, 2016
We had no real plans for this day. We decided to do one of our long drives today and visit San Gimignano. What a great drive! We took our time and marveled at the beauty of the Tuscan landscape! When we got to San Gimignano again parking was so well marked and very easy. DH and I immediately fell in love with San Gimignano. We visited the church, did a lot of shopping (like every ones Christmas presents this year are coming from here!), walked the town and took lots of pictures, had lunch and of course gelato!
After a full day of exploring San Gimignano we headed back towards Pietrasanta. We didn’t want a big late dinner, so we went to a pizza restaurant in Marina de Pietrasanta. I can’t remember the name but it was very good and even DD like the pizza there!
After we went back and night swam at the villa!
Jul 6th, 2016, 04:41 AM
#20
jubilada, yes you need data for traffic incidents, but... you'll probably only get those on autostrada in Italy and not always. You'd do better to switch the TR on the car radio, plus Radio Rai 1 gives updates.
