lydialikestotravel

I am trying to get an expense list for my trip to Rome with grandchildren (13 and 12 year olds) and myself. I have all the usuals (I think) apartment, airport transfers and admissions, but the food really has me baffled. (If I missed anything, let me know.) We are not foodies and here in the states, they are content with lunch at McDonald's, breakfast can be pancakes, french toast or last resort cereal.

I have rented an apartment so breakfast and some dinners will be at the apartment. I have thought maybe euro 100 per day. Too much, too little, about right?

Also, rather dumb questions, is white bread as we know it in the states available? How about pancake mix? Yes, I do know how to make pancake mix from scratch!

When I was in Rome, I was with an adult friend and food was when we were hungry we ate, but I don't think my grandkids will be the same.

Christina

I think your budget is fine, but pancakes and French toast for breakfast every day is very poor nutrition. Cereal would be superior to that, if it were not surgary cereal. Pancakes are flour and sugar, mostly.

Pancakes take about one minute to make from scratch, seriously.

Zerlina

IF - and it's a big if - white bread as you know it is available at all, it will only be at Castroni on Via Cola di Rienzo or Via Flaminia. Pancake mix is more likely to be available, at the same place. White sandwich bread is widely available, but it's not as soft and squishy as American white bread. Maybe you should use the opportunity to broaden the kids' palates a little instead of trying to give them what they are used to.

Given what you've said, 100 Euro should be ample. But be aware that soft drinks are more expensive than wine or water in restaurants. If the kids have to have Coke, buy it in a supermarket and have them drink it at home.

tower

Lydia..I predict you will do much better than €100..more like €60-70 or less. I'm basing this on you personally not being a foodie and the kids being, well, kids.

One more treat for them (and you!) beside the tons of gelato you will all consume, will be considered "touristy" (how I abhor that non-word!) by many posters ...but in Piazza Navona, the resto "Tres Scalini" offers a true "death by chocolate" dessert..."tartuffo"...kids can split one and you can even have a spoonful if you wish.

Also, Lydia, remember, <i>paninis</i> are the best friends to a budget...wide varieties everywhere...delicious, nutritious and el cheapo. You will all have a grand time in Roma without breaking the bank.

Stu

tower

p.s. Lydia....p-i-z-z-a....everywhere.

StCirq

I wouldn't take children that age to Italy and go hunting for American-style white bread for them. It's not even good for them, and Italy has a tremendous selection of great breads. Maybe it's just me, but I view travel as a chance to expand horizons, including culinary ones. And Italy has one of the greatest and most kid-friendly cuisines in the world. It's hard to imagine a child that age going to Italy and not enjoying a cornetto or panino or the baskets of bread and rolls and breadsticks you get with any restaurant meal. Or pizza or pasta or really just about anything an Italian child that age would eat.

And I think you'll do just fine on 100 euro a day, probably less, depending on how much gelato the kids eat.

lydialikestotravel

Thanks for all the responses, you guys are quick.

For all the white bread naysayers - it's ONLY for french toast! They are not really bread eaters.

They are not much pizza eaters, unlike MomMom! But I do know pizza in Rome is NOT US pizza and thinking/hoping they will find it tastier than the home type.

Pasta - yes! We all like pasta.

Panini will be new to them and a nice introduction to something different.

Cornetto - what is it?

Drinks - they occasionally have soft drinks but we will be there in August and I WILL push water all day, everyday. Might have to mark my map for restrooms though!

Gelato - they love the soft type ice cream, think Rita's or Dairy Queen. I have never had gelato (not an ice cream person) and neither have they. Something new for us all.

Thanks again,
Lydia

charnees

StCirq is absolutely right! This is part of the Italy experience. Find a little bakery near your apt and let the kids go in and choose their breakfast breads. Cornetto is a croissant, and I will bet they will love them. We also had some marvelous cheese breads. Just be aware that the bread does not keep for days, so you need to get it fresh all the time -- and that makes the bread even better. If you absolutely must buy white bread, look in a supermercato -- I forget which chains operate in Rome. Be aware supermarkets are quite small in Rome. They are "super" because they stock lots of different products instead of just meat or bread or deli.

StCirq

A cornetto is the Italian version of a croissant.

charnees

BTW, gelato is kind of soft, like dairy queen , but the flavor is light-years beyond that stuff! Your grandkids will never look at dairy queen again after Italy.

suze

Lydia~ Before you get too set on your menus, you need to look at how your apartment kitchen is stocked. Not all are going to be set up like home with mixing bowls, utensils, griddles, large pasta pots, etc. Also I don't think it makes sense to be making things from scratch (you're really going to go buy a whole bag of flour, baking powder, oil, butter, syrup, etc.??)

StCirq

Why American-style white bread for French toast? Italian bread's just as good for that (better, actually).

I agree with suze that buying supplies to make pancakes with (don't even know if you could find the syrup) doesn't make sense and that the equipment can be minimal. Trust me, you are NOT going to be short of possibilities for breakfast (or any other) foods - breads of all kinds, jams, fruits, cereal, eggs, yoghurt, and more are everywhere!

lydialikestotravel

Cornetto sounds great. Do you put anything on them or like croissants, come in varieties?

Love the idea of taking them to pick out their own "breakfast." I know there is a "supermarket" about a block or two from the apartment and yes it is small. I stayed in the same apartment in 2008 so I remember that much. Have to find a bakery, but I seem to remember that the supermarket had a pastry/bread section. I guess that a "real" bakery will have a larger and fresher selection.

As some of you may have picked up, while I see the grandchildren often, I haven't really "lived" with them. So this is going to be a learning experience for us all.

Lydia

suze

I think that's a great idea! Just take a walk in the morning, all together, and go to the grocery store or bakery and let them pick out what looks good to them (rather than trying to mimic what they might be used to eating at home). There will be all kinds of bread, pastry, cheese, meats, fruit, yogurt, etc. to choose from. If you really want to cook something, how about scrambled eggs?

Lexma90

Re your question about cornetti (the plural of cornetto). I suppose you could put jam or butter on them, but we don't. They mostly come "plain," or unfilled (vuoto), but you can also find them filled, usually with marmelata (marmelade), and I think, sometimes with Nutella. We also once had cornetti made with whole-grain flour, but almost always its made with regular white flour. Nutella is similar to peanut butter, but made with hazelnut pasta and chocolate - much more kid-oriented than peanut butter (it's way too rich for me). We can find it in the grocery store here in the U.S., so maybe your grandkids can try it before they go.

I love Tower's Tre Scalini suggestion. My 11yo daughter is a big chocoholic (much bigger than me). We took her to Tre Scalini and I ordered her a tartufo without telling her what I was doing (as I ordered in Italian, I don't think she even noticed). The look on her face when the waiter brought a ball of chocolate, topped with whipped cream, was priceless!

Another item that my daughter loved in Rome was pizza bianca. Lots of places offer it, but my favorite is from Il Forno di Campo di Fiori, right on Campo de' Fiori (#22). It's always very busy and bustling, and they sell other bread items, but their most popular product is the pizza bianca. As you've visited Rome before, you're probably familiar with it.

lydialikestotravel

I sometimes have tunnel vision, thinking in the same old, same old. You guys are reminding me of how I use to cook, large Italian dinners for my family, full breakfasts. Being it's just my husband & me now, all of that cooking has gone by the wayside.

Pizza bianca - actually my granddaughter prefers the white over the red. Little things like this just seem to get lost in this overcrowded brain. BUT, I am young at heart! My age is just a number that even I have to say "I'M HOW OLD" (68), I don't look nor feel it, thank goodness!

Nutella - I love it! I was introduced to it in Paris.

The kitchen in this apartment has as much as my home kitchen! I know there are some on this board that stayed at this apartment www.vrbo.com/32035 so you know how it is stocked. It even had a stock of condiments.

Thank you again,
Lydia

Lynnaustin

As Suze said it would be fun to go grocery shopping and then they can assemble their own breakfast in the morning (fruit, breaks, yogurt, juice, etc.) They are old enough so that you don't have to, they can fix yours also!
You can purchase wonderful items at the Campo de' Fiori and make your own pastas in the evening. I love the seafood there. I think that would be a wonderful experience for the kids.
Remember, no matter what they are eating it always tastes better just because they are with grandma!