This was an 8 day, 3 generation trip to Italy.

It all started because my husband doesn't like to travel to Europe, and I do. So I came up with the idea of me taking each of our 3 children alone to Europe when they are in 8th grade. When our first daughter got to 8th grade, she refused the offer. She had already started with a real independent streak so I told her that the offer was there when she was ready.

Fast forward to second daughter reaching 8th grade,and she wants to go, as long as there is "no touring" She also suggests that we bring her grandparents, and they agree.

The reason she is so against touring is that I have really overdone it with my kids on our vacations. I have dragged them to more historical monuments, museums and homes
than they could stand. Thank goodness dad was always there to keep me under control.

My goal for this trip was to not push her into anything, and hope that she would eventually want to see some of the great art,
history, and architecture that the world offers, if not on this trip, then maybe later.

The trip started with my parents leaving for Rome the day before us. This was actually due to my mistake, but it ended up being a good mistake because it gave them an extra day to get over jet lag before we got there. I will call them GF and GM in the report. GM had a very bad Fall and Winter healthwise including two falls and I was quite concerned about going forward with the plans. I asked them to have the hotel e-mail me when they arrived and I was very relieved to hear they made it.

The next day DD and I left LAX on Swiss air flight 41 at 6:40 pm. We had a 1 hour 15 minute layover in Zurich, then went on to Rome. We got to our hotel, the Albergo del Senato, at about 8:00 pm Thursday, March 30.

Before we left home, a good friend of DD had been to Austria and Italy and told her how she loved Austria but hated Italy. DD was beginning to lose faith in me and asked why I wasn't taking her to Austria. I was very relieved when we were in the taxi going to the hotel and DD was looking around, wide eyed, saying "I love Italy" over and over.

We arrived at the Del Senato, excitedly met my parents in the downstairs lounge, and then went out for pizza and a walk. We went to a pizza place called Pizza House on Via del Corso. I didn't think the name was very promising, but it ended up being DD's favorite pizza of the whole trip. She loved the way they folded it up. Her face lit up when she took the first bite. Then we went to the Trevi fountain, which everyone was excited to see. DD threw her coin in. We stood there for a very long time. This is what DD wrote about her first night:

We got to our hotel at about 8 tonight and we just dropped off our stuff and walked around with Nana and Grandad. We got pizza that was sooo good. It was way better than American pizza. Then we went to the Trevi fountain. It was so much bigger than I thought. Then we went to these random ruins that were kind of underground and there were so many cats there. We got lost a couple times and then got gelato. It's really good. The shops look really cool, but they were all closed. All night you could hear people talking and singing. It wasn't bad though because you couldn't understand it. Rome is a lot more modern than I thought. There are motorcycles and little mini cars everywhere. Everyone drives really fast and it look like they just drive wherever they want. Our hotel, Albergo Del Senato is really nice. it's right next to the Pantheon.

I will continue with this report later.

Delightful; and good to know Mom
is doing it so right!!
We're waiting for Day 2 & beyond...

I love the part about "why aren't you taking me to Austria?"...can't wait to hear more!

Thanks for encouraging me to keep going on this report.

I want to go back just a little to say that I used frequent flyer miles for our tickets. Originally, I wanted the trip to be just Florence and Venice, but I could not get seats that would get me anywhere near Florence. Although it was suggested that we take the train directly to Florence upon arrival, I knew my parents could not do that. So we settled for 2 nights in Rome. I had been there before, so it wasn't agonizing to spend such a short time there.

I was able to get my parents bulk head seating for the whole trip, with a wheelchair for GM in the airports. I did not want to risk her falling again when she was tired. This was great especially upon arrival in Rome, as they did not have to stand in line for passport check and customs. I also had a limo driver from the hotel waiting there for them.

Day 1- Friday March 31. We slept well and woke up easily. Arriving at night really makes jet lag almost nonexistent.

As we were getting ready to go down to breakfast, DD called me over to the window to look. What could she want me to see? I was disappointed that we did not have a view of the Pantheon like I had asked. There was only an alley out there. She wanted me to smell the coffee and the pastries out the window.
She also pointed out the shutters which had potted flowers right in the middle of each shutter. If you craned your neck around you could see the Pantheon.
And of course, you could hear the noises of the city waking up. I would have never stopped to notice all of those details. Maybe she would be teaching me a few things about traveling.

We met GF and GM downstairs for breakfast and then started our day. Our one day in Rome was going to be spent primarily at the Vatican because DD goes to Catholic school and that was one thing she actually did want to see because she had learned so much about it. We weren't in a big hurry to get over there though because I had read that the lines were longer in the morning.

We started at the Pantheon. I had written notes about every sight we were going to, trying to find things that might be interesting to a 14 year old.
We looked for the square hole where Brunelleschi had cut into the dome to analyze it. We looked outside to see how the street level of Rome has risen.

Next we went ot the Santa Maria Sopra Minerva church. I wanted to see the Michelangelo statue Christ bearing the cross. I think GM was enjoying my commentary more than DD. Both stops were quite brief.

From there we were on our way to the Vatican. We went by way of the Piazza Navona and through a side street- Via Governo Vecchio. I got this tip from a Fodor's shopping thread compiled by infotrack. This was a great way to go as it was a lovely street lined with interesting boutiques. DD and GM loved the shops that were filled with unique handmade clothing, bags, and shoes.
We took plenty of time to get over to the Vatican.

Vatican: We stopped for a quick snack from one of the carts and then got in line for the Vatican museums.

The line went really fast- maybe 15 minutes. We took the straight through walk to the Sistine chapel. GM and I talked about how we would have loved to have rented headsets and spent hours there. GF would not have had the patience, and DD definitely wouldn't have either. GF kept DD amused saying things like "I think they should sell one or two of these statues and install elevators" DD was giggling the entire way. I was hoping no one would overhear. GM and I enjoyed the Sistine chapel the most, and she liked my commentary. I read Michelangelo and the pope's ceiling before the trip, which I would highly recommend.

St. Peter's: We took the door to the right to exit the Sistine chapel and went straight to St. Peter's. DD seemed to come alive as we entered. She knew so much, she was telling us all about the saints and we found Bernini's bees on the altar. She asked for the binoculars to see the Pieta and told me to pay attention to the folds in Mary's
dress. She also loved the mosaic copy of Raphaels's transfiguration. We spent a long time in St. Peter's. Outside, GF was most interested in seeing the Swiss guard. I think that was his favorite thing about the Vatican. We also went to the spot where Bernini's columns line up.

We took a taxi back to the hotel - a good move. GM and GF left us to eat and rest. DD and I headed back to Pizza house for slice of pizza and shopping.

Shopping: The rest of the afternoon (it was about 3pm now) was spent shopping on Via Del Corso and Spanish steps area. We went to Zara, Energie, Killah and Dimension Danza(that was a must see for my dancer daughter) and many more.
We really enjoyed the shopping but didn't buy a thing.

Dinner: I had a few restaurants in mind but GF didn't want to walk far so we asked at the front desk for a recommendation. We went to Antonio al Pantheon on Via dei Pastini 12. This is a moderately priced, small family run restaurant. I would recommend it. I had
spaghetti cacio e pepe which was delicious. DD was excited to try wine
with dinner but didn't really like it.
Dinner came to about 60 euro for the 4 of us.

Night walk: At dinner we had decided to walk down to see the Colosseum and Forum after dinner rather than seeing it in the morning before Florence. I think Grandfather would have loved to have spent a full day in that area. DD didn't care to go at all. I tried to talk GF into letting me take him there in the morning. GM could entertain DD.
But GF did not want to arrive in Florence late. He wanted to leave Rome in the morning. He said Rome wasn't even in our original plan and it was a bonus just seeing it at night. So we walked down to the forum and went behind the Victor Emmanuele monument(which is also beautiful at night)to get a good view. We spent ages up there looking. We were lucky there was an event there and they were shining spotlights into the forum so you could see alot. Then we walked past Trajan's column and market and down far enough so that we could get a view of the Colosseum. I'm glad I had been there before or it would have killed me to not go in. Last time I didn't see it all at night though. It is magical at night.

When we were back at our hotel we got gelato and sat outside and watched all the people in front of the Pantheon. It had been a wonderful day. We all enjoyed being together and it was nice to see my daughter enjoy her grandparents.

Here are a few excerpts from DD's notes about her first day in Rome:

We woke up early today and outside it smelled sooo good like coffee and breakfast stuff when we opened the window. We met Nana and Grandad for breakfast. Then mom and I went to the Pantheon. It was cool to look at for like 5 minutes. There were all these people outside selling trinkets and toys. Then we went to a little church and then walked really far to the Sistine chapel and the Vatican. We shopped a little along the way ...
Walking through everything (in the Vatican museum) was boring but the actual Sistine chapel was cool for like 5 minutes, but people shoved you and it was hot.

St. Peter's was cool. It had a mosaic that looked like a painting and it had the Pieta. I thought it was prettier and nicer than the Sistine chapel.

... After dinner we walked to the Forum and the Colosseum. We just looked at the Forum from up high, but that was enough for me. Mom and Grandad loved it and thought an old city of crumbling rocks was cool.

to be continued

Great report. Looking forward to the rest.

Tom

tledford,

This except below...

"The reason she is so against touring is that I have really overdone it with my kids on our vacations. I have dragged them to more historical monuments, museums and homes
than they could stand. Thank goodness dad was always there to keep me under control."


...reminds me of my childhood. Except it was my dad who dragged me and my sister to every battlefield on the East Coast. No wonder I'm a history buff now. That's probably one of the reason I fell in love with travel.

Love your report, can't wait for more!

More please...my kids are 14, 13 and 10 and we leave in about 6 weeks!

This is like getting 2 trip reports in one! Thanks for sharing your DD's journal with us.

LowCountryIslander, I saw my share of battlefields as well. I don't think I really appreciated them at the time.

Day 2- Saturday April 1. This day was a little boring, I promise April 2 is better.

We woke and went down to breakfast to meet my parents at about 9:30. I have to admit, my picky eater brought cereals from home and each day brought one down to breakfast. I don't allow the sugary cereals at home so it was a treat for her to get her Golden Grahams or Honey Nut Cheerios. She usually had fruit, a croissant and juice with it. I love the yogurt in Europe so I picked different flavors every morning. Ananas is the best- it is pineapple yogurt. Why can't yogurt taste like this at home? I also love the strong coffee served with hot milk. At home I only drink tea but I change to a coffee drinker in Europe.

After breakfast we checked out and had the hotel call a taxi for us to go to the train station. I didn't buy tickets ahead of time, because I wanted some flexibility. I don't know where all the time went, but we didn't get to the train station until about 11:45. I bought 2nd class tickets to Florence on the 12:30 train.

GF and I stood with the luggage and people watched while GM and DD shopped in the train station.

It was very easy to find the train.
The train station has a large board with arrivals and departures so you just find your train on the board and it lets you know the bin number. Our train was at the bin early so we were able to find our car and seats about 15 minutes early and sit and relax.

We used the time on the train to talk about Rome. GF and GM spent 3 nights there. Although they didn't see too much, GF said he was glad to have been able to see a little of Rome. He thought that if you weren't going to be able to stay long in Rome, our area was definitely the place to stay. He and GM spent lots of time in little outdoor cafes.

I knew DD loved Rome, so I asked her if she felt bad about leaving so soon.
She said that she didn't because she had seen the Vatican and done some shopping
and those were her top two things that she wanted to do in Rome.

She said she also didn't feel bad leaving because she thought she would
be back some day. Next time, she said her trip would be for 6 days and she would see all the things that she wasn't
interested in now but that she would want to see when she was older.

You can imagine how happy it made me to hear this. I asked why she liked Rome and she said she like the mix of new and old and the way every time you turn the corner there is an amazing building or fountain. She also said she loved the way it was so full of life.

Arrival in Florence: I thought walking to our hotel which was 300 meters away from the train station would be easy but it wasn't. First, we had stairs to navigate then we had to cross two busy streets. Then we turned the wrong way on Via della Scala. I probably worried too much about GM, too which made every distance seem 3 times as long.

Our hotel: The Adler Cavalier on Via Della Scala. 185 euro/night.

This hotel was similar to the Albergo Del Senato, although it is a 4 star and the Del Senato is a 3 star. It was a little more plush, I guess, with nicer shampoos, nicer linens and there were spa facilities. There was a nice courtyard in the middle of the hotel that my parents enjoyed. They also had a bar upstairs that was very nice with appetizers set out for the guests. They included delicious peppers, sun-dried tomatoes, olives, bread sticks, potato chips, biscotti and more. That was nice to come home to in the late afternoon.

After we checked in, we went to the room and immediately put our Restoration Hardware down pillowcases on our pillows. We really like that find, another Fodor's hint. It was great for the plane, too.

It was about 3:00 by then, and GM and GF wanted to rest so DD and I went shopping. This is why so many people on this board don't recommend moving cities too often. I admit we were a slow group but this whole day was dominated by a one and a half hour train ride. Anyway...First we went to get- you guessed it - pizza - then we started our shopping at Santa Maria Novella Perfumery. I was really looking forward to going to this shop. It was a beautiful shop and I loved the history of it, but I couldn't get past my practical side and buy something.

We walked on to the Ponte Vecchio, stopping to take pictures. DD liked seeing this because I brought a puzzle of the Ponte Vecchio home from my last trip to Florence. We shopped alot, got gelato, then went back to change for dinner.

We had reservations for dinner at Buca Mario's fo 7:30. We left the hotel with GM and GF who looked very nice and were ready to go out. We were a little early so DD was excited to show her grandparents the beautiful scene that was just around the corner from the hotel. We walked down to where they could see the Ponte Vecchio, took more pictures then went for dinner.

Dinner at Buca Marios: I had been here for dinner 3 years ago. When I walked in they took us to exactly the same table I had been at before. I told them and I was treated like a long lost friend. We asked for help ordering, and I told our waiter that DD was a picky eater. He said he had kids that age, don't worry he knew what to bring. Our first course was a caprese salad and an artichoke salad. Next he brought the pasta with DD in mind- a basil fettucine
that we all loved. DD loved it. Then he brought deep fried shrimp and calamari, and chicken strips for DD.
DD loved the chicken. It was fried in a light batter just like our seafood. We were supposed to have sea bass after that but we were all so full we could not eat another bite. It was a long pleasant dinner. Cost with wine- 129 euro. As we left we were given a bag of chocolate chip biscotti to take home.

I just wanted to add that I having been trying to edit my posts but after I preview my reply, no more editing seems to work. I do press edit my reply, make the changes, but nothing happens.
So I apologize for my typos and for using "nice" as an adjective over and over.

Nothing to apologize for. It's a wonderful trip report. I love reading both your report and your daughter's commentary. It's like reading a real dialogue between the two of you.
Paule

Hellotledford, I am travelling along with you and your family as we took our daughter to Italy and consequently I am smiling as to how young daughters can help you see things you might normally not notice. Reading your daughters comments is precious. And how fortunate you were that your parents could enjoy this time in Italy with you, certainly something you and your daughter will remember forever.

BTW, I have had problems with the edit feature sometimes also. Don't worry about it please. Your trip report is so charming and if there are any errors I sure didn't notice. As I said, I am just travelling along with you..and of course wishing I was back in Italy right now with my daughter when she was a teen. Special memories!!

A great report, and I really enjoy reading your daughter's journal as well. How wonderful that she loved it all, you have surely instilled a love of travel in her. I was fortunate enough to go to Europe very young (we returned on my 8th birthday), a month-long concert tour to eight countries with a children's chorus, and I'm sure it had something to do with my desire to go almost anywhere as often as I can!

Hi tledford,

I am so thoroughly enjoying your trip report, what a treat! Please continue, I cannot wait to read the rest. What a memory in the making. It pleased me so much to read that it was your DD's suggestion to invite GM & GF along, speaks volumes about the young lady she is, you must be very proud.

Thank you for taking us along on your journey.
Tiff

tledford - great trip report, thank you.
And
You guys are great! Traveling with family? I rented a motorhome to take my DW's family to the Olympic penninsula in Washington state. I can still see her adult sister jumping from the slowly moving vehicle as they were all trying to decide what to do next. Can you imagine? All I can say is, "You guys are great, and this is a treat to read."

VS :-"

Thanks for the feedback, I'm glad that I am able to give back to this forum -- it was incredibly helpful during my planning.

Day 3: Florence Sunday, April 2

We woke up in Florence and went down to breakfast where GF was already up. We had reservations at the Accademia for 11:00 that morning. GF had already made friends with the breakfast server. The Adler Cavalieri had a very friendly, welcoming staff. GF told us that GM was
feeling fine, but wanted the morning off.

Accademia: DD was Ok with going to this museum as long as we were just going to walk in and see David then walk
out. I agreed to that, but as we walked over I started talking about Michelangelo's 4 prisoners. I told her that they appeared to be unfinished and I wanted her opinion when she saw them-- did she think Michelangelo was finished or not? I had also tried to sneak in having her find the Tree of Life. I showed her a picture in the guidebook the night before.

It was great having reservations, the line was long at 11:00. We found the four prisoners and DD said she thought Michelangelo was finished because they were all at about the same level of completion. I also read a little about them from my guidebook.
I hoped I wasn't pushing my luck.

Then we saw David which is amazing of course. I talked about how Michelangelo used to do examine the dead so he could learn more about the musculature of the human body.

Just around the corner from David was the Tree of the Cross, which DD spotted.
We looked at that for about 1 minute and then left for more shopping.

San Lorenzo: We went to the Piazza di San Lorenzo next for 2 reasons. I wanted to see the Cappelle Medicee which I had missed on my last trip. Also, I thought DD would like the street market. GF was happy to take DD Shopping in the market
while I "toured". Put this chapel on your list- it was beautiful and the Medici tombs were very impressive. The entrance and hours are different from the San Lorenzo church which is why I missed it on my first visit.

I left the chapel and found DD and GF. DD had found earrings that she wanted me to see. She really enjoyed this market. She ended up with 2 pairs of crystal earrings, one in pink and one in blue for 5 euro for both.

Mercato Nuovo: We walked from there to Mercato Nuovo. GF stopped at Piazza della Repubblica at an outdoor restaurant while we went to Mercato Nuovo. We rubbed the snout of the boar, then shopped. The shops in here are similar to the ones in San Lorenzo, but
seemed to have more trinkets and souvenir type items. We preferred THe San Lorenzo street market for shopping, although I liked knowing that it had been used in the 1500's as a central market.

Piazza della Repubblica: We left to meet GF at his cafe. He was enjoying a beer and we ordered drinks and helped him finish his prosciutto and mushroom pizza. It was very good. GF wanted a beer mug as a souvenir and asked to buy one. Our waiter brought him a new mug wrapped in paper and told him there would be no charge. This restaurant was
Gran caffe Giubbe Rosse. There is a carousel in this square and the Rinascente department store is on the corner. There were many Italian families with there children here.

We walked back to our hotel, and found GM ready to go out. I was relieved that she was doing OK. Now GF was done for the day. The new trio took off, starting with more shopping on and around the Ponte Vecchio. DD bought a photo album from Il Papiro for 40 euro. The sales clerk explained a lot about the paper making in Florence. She brought out loads of colors for us to choose from. DD picked a pink one and the sales clerk wrapped it up so beautifully it was a shame to unwrap it.


Uffizi courtyard and Piazza della Signoria: I wanted to make sure we went this way because it was Sunday and the Uffizzi would be closed on Monday. We weren't going in, but I wanted DD to see all the activity outside.

DD wanted to stop to see all the artists and watch them draw. She is a pretty good little artist and enters art contests occasionally. We also posed for a photo with the living statues.

Piazza Michelangelo: We walked back to the hotel and I realized that my tour group was getting tired of walking.
Although we loved our hotel, it's location by the train station was not that great. We decided to take the bus to Piazza Michelangelo. I did not understand that the SITA buses were different from the orange city buses.
The SITA bus station has buses going to
San Gimignano, Fiesole, etc. The city buses are orange and they go all around Florence. We all enjoyed the view.

Dinner: Dinner was at Tira Biralla, on Via della Scalla close to the hotel. I had Gnocchi with eggplant.
This restaurant was very good and moderately priced- only about 50 Euro for 4.

DD's notes on Day 3:
(keep in mind that this was just her notes on the day, written so she would remember, not as a Fodor's trip report.)

First me, mom and Grandad went to see David at the Accademia museum. Then we went to the San Lorenzo market where vendors sell leather jackets, jewelry, and knockoff purses. Then we got Nana and dropped off Grandad. We went to the Ponte Vecchio, Uffizi Courtyard, and the Piazza Signoria. In the Uffizi courtyard we saw artists paint scenes of the city and in Piazza Signoria there were Statues and a replica of David. Then we ate lunch at a little pizza place. Later we took a bus to Piazza Michelangelo, a place with a view of the whole city.

Day 4: Florence Monday April 3.

Today we got an early start and were out the door by 9:30, with all 4 of us.

Ferragamo shoe museum: Our first stop was the Ferragamo shoe museum, which I had seen on a travel show. I put this in our itinerary because I really thought DD and GM would love it. DD likes designing screen savers for our computer, she likes sketching dress designs, and she likes home design. Both DD and GM love clothes and fashion. The museum is located on the corner of Via Tuornabuoni next door to the shoe store. The large wooden doors are unmarked. It was hard to believe we were at the right place.
We went upstairs after entering and there was still no one in sight. Someone finally came and told us just to go on in. There was no admission charge and there were no other visitors.

The museum is dark with lighted displays of shoes lining the walls. It was really well done. Each case shows one or two related shoe styles with the original signed drawing underneath.
There are photos on the walls of Ferragamo with various Hollywood stars.
Now this was a museum that DD could sink her teeth into. She kept calling me over to look at a shoe I might have missed. DD and GM liked looking at what materials were used to make the shoe, and GM was particularly interested in the year they were made. GF walked right past about 3 rooms of shoes to find a documentary of Salvatore Ferragamo's life. We made it to that room eventually, and we watched most of the movie. GF loved the documentary because it was a rags to riches story. He talked for ages afterwards about how Ferragamo had fought his way back from bankruptcy.
I have to add that when we showed
DD(16) our pictures from the trip she liked the one of the jewel encrusted heels from this museum the best. She asked why we didn't take more photos from this museum.


Santa Croce leather school and factory: Next we walked over to the leather factory and school behind Santa Croce. We walked through the Uffizi courtyard and Piazza Signoria since GF had missed it, but the Courtyard was almost empty today.

It was interesting to see the craftsmen working on the leather at the school. We all enjoyed this stop.

I had planned to go to Leo's for lunch, but it is closed on Monday so we went back to Giubbe Rosse after way too much time and energy was spent deciding where to eat.

Duomo: GM and I had read Brunnelleschi's dome so this was our next stop. All day yesterday and this morning, GM was asking when we were going to go inside the dome. GM loved it, and we followed up by going to the Baptistry which I had somehow missed on my last trip.

San Lorenzo market, again: DD wanted GM to see this market so off we went. GF went off on his own. We stopped in a few stores to look for a purse for GM and I. GM was successful and found a brown leather purse for 60 euro. Then she found a wallet to go with it at the
San Lorenzo market.

Tonight we did not go out to dinner
since we had had a big, late lunch. We had appetizers and drinks upstairs in the hotel and went to the room early to pack and get ready for a big day the next day.

DD's notes on Day 4- this is classic.
you have got to read this one.

Today we started at the Ferragamo shoe museum which was cool cuz it showed all kinds of shoes since about the 1930's. Then we went to a leather factory which was cool cuz you saw really nice leather and you could watch them make purses. Then we went to the Duomo which wasn't that great. Then we got lunch at a little place in Piazza De Republica. Grandad left us so we went shopping again at the San Lorenzo market and other places. Nana bought a leather purse and a wallet that she loves. Then we came back and rested.

Love it. Old shoes=cool; Duomo=not that great.