Here is the start of trip report to Italy from plmn..."My Travels with Mom & Dad"
Oct 21st, 2004, 05:07 AM
#25
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Part D, Day One:
We arrived alive finally at the little plaza near the Albergo Cesari! I swear I don't know how they do it. All that traffic on those tiny little streets, so exciting and exhilerating! A feat of physics or something how they can squeeze those buses and trucks and scooters and bikes and people down those litle, charming streets.
I was overjoyed at the hotel I had chosen. Thank you Fodorites for the go ahead on my selection. A fantastic location within walking distance of the Trevi Fountain and Pantheon. Also, just up the little street (Via di Pietra) to a main street, Via del Corso was a bus stop where we waited for many a bus during our three day stay. There was a TIM store nearby, banks, and newstands, (especially important so my dad could buy his all important International Herald Tribune.) The all important Tabacchi (sp?) where you buy the bus tickets was only a few doors away from the hotel entrance.
We checked in with a very pleasant desk clerk. He explained all the details of the hotel and how you are supposed to leave the key with the front desk when you go out. I did not expect this and was a bit concerned but it turned out ok. It seems this way the hotel knows if the room is empty or not. Albergo Cesari has free internet in their little lobby.
The moment I walked in I felt comfortable. It was clean and attractive.
Somehow all three of us and the bellman and ALL the luggage made it to the 3rd floor in the tiny little elevator. Our room was large enough for me even if my dad kept sneaking little comments in on the trip on how he might have felt it was too small. Honestly, after all he put me through to find something decent in the price range he gave me I thought I had done fantastic. It was one of the rooms featured on the hotel web site and I was pleased that the picture was a good representation. The bathroom had a tub as promised and my mother made good use of it.
It was noisy outside but the window did have a sort of noise barrier that couold be closed with the window, at least I think that was how it was set up. If you leaned out the window a little you could see the little piazza where I would go to smoke. I would sit on a parking thingy and take my breaks from my parents when they would drive me to insanity.
In the plaza was a little drinking fountain that many people used, including the poor little old lady that used it to wash her clothes. At least she used detergent!
Well, I have to go to work now...perhaps more tonight.
We arrived alive finally at the little plaza near the Albergo Cesari! I swear I don't know how they do it. All that traffic on those tiny little streets, so exciting and exhilerating! A feat of physics or something how they can squeeze those buses and trucks and scooters and bikes and people down those litle, charming streets.
I was overjoyed at the hotel I had chosen. Thank you Fodorites for the go ahead on my selection. A fantastic location within walking distance of the Trevi Fountain and Pantheon. Also, just up the little street (Via di Pietra) to a main street, Via del Corso was a bus stop where we waited for many a bus during our three day stay. There was a TIM store nearby, banks, and newstands, (especially important so my dad could buy his all important International Herald Tribune.) The all important Tabacchi (sp?) where you buy the bus tickets was only a few doors away from the hotel entrance.
We checked in with a very pleasant desk clerk. He explained all the details of the hotel and how you are supposed to leave the key with the front desk when you go out. I did not expect this and was a bit concerned but it turned out ok. It seems this way the hotel knows if the room is empty or not. Albergo Cesari has free internet in their little lobby.
The moment I walked in I felt comfortable. It was clean and attractive.
Somehow all three of us and the bellman and ALL the luggage made it to the 3rd floor in the tiny little elevator. Our room was large enough for me even if my dad kept sneaking little comments in on the trip on how he might have felt it was too small. Honestly, after all he put me through to find something decent in the price range he gave me I thought I had done fantastic. It was one of the rooms featured on the hotel web site and I was pleased that the picture was a good representation. The bathroom had a tub as promised and my mother made good use of it.
It was noisy outside but the window did have a sort of noise barrier that couold be closed with the window, at least I think that was how it was set up. If you leaned out the window a little you could see the little piazza where I would go to smoke. I would sit on a parking thingy and take my breaks from my parents when they would drive me to insanity.
In the plaza was a little drinking fountain that many people used, including the poor little old lady that used it to wash her clothes. At least she used detergent!
Well, I have to go to work now...perhaps more tonight.
Oct 21st, 2004, 01:07 PM
#26
Oh, this is so much more fun than helping you pack!
There is a long thread on Fodors right now about the custom of leaving your hotel key at the front desk... how we could have missed telling you this among all the rest of our invaluable advice is beyond me.
Please continue...
There is a long thread on Fodors right now about the custom of leaving your hotel key at the front desk... how we could have missed telling you this among all the rest of our invaluable advice is beyond me.
Please continue...
Oct 21st, 2004, 04:36 PM
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It is now Monday, close to lunch time. We have unpacked. Dad is tired and we encourage him to take a nap. Mother and I are hungry and go downstairs to grab a bite to eat. Just opposite our hotel is a restaurnat with sidewalk tables. People seem to be enjoying themselves so we decide to give it a try. The food wasn't anything to get excited about but the wine and cappucino combined with the fact that I was actually in Rome made the experience worthwhile.
I had ordered Chinati and they brought me a small bottle of which I wish I remembered the name because I really enjoyed it. I didn't finish the whole bottle at lunch so I was able to take the remainder back to the hotel. (I knew I would probably need a glass or two before the night was over.)
We went back to the hotel to see how dad was doing. Mom decided to relax for a bit also so I decided to go out and explore. I wandered around a bit and came across a TIM store. (Which I probably would never found if I had been looking for it.) There was a short line so I decided to wait, I figured it probably wouldn't take long. Boy, was I wrong.
While I was waiting my turn an Italian lady entered the store. She was quite obviously agitated. She paced around a moment or two then approached the front of the line. One of the young female clerks was in the middle of waiting on a man, but that didn't stop this lady from butting in. She started to yell at the clerk and wave around a receipt.
The most wonderous part of what was going on was that the clerk was yelling back! I have never heard of such a thing. (It is something I have dreamed about doing in my job but seeing as though I need to keep my job, I refrain
)
For almost 15 minutes there was this back and forth. (A cop even stopped in to observe.) Ahhh, the Italian cultural differences already on display?
During the entire event the clerk continued to help the man she was waiting on. When the man complted his transaction the clerk indicated she was ready to help me. I had to go nearly behind the counter to work with the clerk because of the agitated Italian lady. All the other customers seemed nonplussed. Eventually the agitated Italian lady got what she wanted and left the store. I was then able to complete my transaction. 50 Euro total for my TIM chip. The clerk put it in the phone for me, showed me my new cell phone number and gave me a packet of information which I couldn't read because it was all in Italian.
The clerk thanked me for my patience and I left in a daze. I made my way back to the hotel to tell my parents all about it.
I had ordered Chinati and they brought me a small bottle of which I wish I remembered the name because I really enjoyed it. I didn't finish the whole bottle at lunch so I was able to take the remainder back to the hotel. (I knew I would probably need a glass or two before the night was over.)
We went back to the hotel to see how dad was doing. Mom decided to relax for a bit also so I decided to go out and explore. I wandered around a bit and came across a TIM store. (Which I probably would never found if I had been looking for it.) There was a short line so I decided to wait, I figured it probably wouldn't take long. Boy, was I wrong.
While I was waiting my turn an Italian lady entered the store. She was quite obviously agitated. She paced around a moment or two then approached the front of the line. One of the young female clerks was in the middle of waiting on a man, but that didn't stop this lady from butting in. She started to yell at the clerk and wave around a receipt.
The most wonderous part of what was going on was that the clerk was yelling back! I have never heard of such a thing. (It is something I have dreamed about doing in my job but seeing as though I need to keep my job, I refrain
)For almost 15 minutes there was this back and forth. (A cop even stopped in to observe.) Ahhh, the Italian cultural differences already on display?
During the entire event the clerk continued to help the man she was waiting on. When the man complted his transaction the clerk indicated she was ready to help me. I had to go nearly behind the counter to work with the clerk because of the agitated Italian lady. All the other customers seemed nonplussed. Eventually the agitated Italian lady got what she wanted and left the store. I was then able to complete my transaction. 50 Euro total for my TIM chip. The clerk put it in the phone for me, showed me my new cell phone number and gave me a packet of information which I couldn't read because it was all in Italian.
The clerk thanked me for my patience and I left in a daze. I made my way back to the hotel to tell my parents all about it.
Oct 21st, 2004, 05:31 PM
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Enjoying your report very much. Love all the little details; this is what makes the report wonderful...the personalities of all involved are already coming through.
Please continue to give us all the dirt.
Please continue to give us all the dirt.
Oct 21st, 2004, 06:26 PM
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Good report thus far. But please include more details about the food, menu items, etc in subsequent parts.
I also hope to hear about your bus riding experiences.
When I went with my parents to Rome, the bus rides were the most stressful times.
I also hope to hear about your bus riding experiences.
When I went with my parents to Rome, the bus rides were the most stressful times.
Oct 22nd, 2004, 03:23 AM
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Good morning.
Now, for some reason I can't find my notes for the remaining portion of my time in Rome. So some of these events may be out of time sequence.
I know it is still Monday because after I got back to the room from the cell phone event we decided to figure out what to do for dinner and many of the places we wanted to go for dinner happened to be closed on Monday. ADVICE: If there is a particular restaurant you know you will want to go to make sure it is open on Monday. Also, many of the finer restaurants require reservations and calling early in the day does not always work. You may find they have been booked up for days.
I had printed the sections from Slowtravelers.com regarding making reservations. This is a guide that has scripts and all kinds of great information on how to make reservations in Italian. I had also printed the sections on ordering, but we didn't acutally use those.
What I was looking for was a good restaurant within close proximity to our hotel. I used a map that plotted each suggested restaurant. (I feel guilty saying so, but this was information from Frommer's Italy 2004.)
One of the places we considered was the Dal Bolognese but it was all booked up. Eventually I was able to make reservations for that evening with a restaurant named Bramante. It is at Via della Pace 25. Using the guide I had printed I called and started to make the reservation. As I stumbled over the words and phrases my mom & dad shouted word suggestions at me to use. This is the first inkling that there may be trouble with the Italian they had led me to believe they knew. It seems that they are better versed in French and Spanish so for the remainder of the trip when they would try to give or get info in Italian they would slip up and use these other two languages. Of course this made for some interesting situations I will touch upon later in the report.
Finally, reservations were made and I hung up, exhausted. (Of course situations in real life rarely can be scripted )
We got ready. I had brought one dress. A dress I really like and I felt looked good on me. I have had many compliments on how I look in this dress. Well, my fashion maven dad (she says facetiously,)started to voice his dislike of the dress. He said it made me look matronly. I blew it off and I believe I took a swig of my left over wine about that point.
We had a big discussion about which credit/bank cards to bring and which to put in the room safe. (Hmm, this means at some point earlier in the day my Mother and I must have visited a bank to get Euro cash because we had some by this time. Mom and Dad had each brought to Italy 100 Euro each and some of it was spent on the van and tip.) My mother has never used an ATM before this trip and I walked her through the steps. She found it fascinating. The look on her face is the same look she had when I took her to a casino while we were on a cruise and she was playing the nickle slot machines.
Anyway, we were ready to go and set off for the restaurant. We stopped at the front desk and asked them to show us on the map they had given us upon check-in how to get there. It turned out it would be an easy walk from the hotel and it pretty much was.
(Have I mentioned that I was one of the open mouthed wonderous tourist people of Rome? Every building I saw, every street I encountered gave me this strange feeling of peace. More on this later.)
We arrived at the restaurant and were seated at an outside table. The weather was lovely, a tiny bit on the cool side but I had a wrap with me. We appeared the only people there and wondered if this was a bad sign. Not to fear, as the evening progressed they filled up pretty well.
The table was a bit wobbley and we asked for something to put under one of the legs. I guess this happens often because the people seated at the next table had the same problem. The tables are on cobblestones so this is to be expected and thankfully my folks didn't make a big deal about it. I was pleasantly surprised they didn't ask for another table.
I will start the next part of my report with the wine order, but now I have to get ready for work...have a great day!
Now, for some reason I can't find my notes for the remaining portion of my time in Rome. So some of these events may be out of time sequence.
I know it is still Monday because after I got back to the room from the cell phone event we decided to figure out what to do for dinner and many of the places we wanted to go for dinner happened to be closed on Monday. ADVICE: If there is a particular restaurant you know you will want to go to make sure it is open on Monday. Also, many of the finer restaurants require reservations and calling early in the day does not always work. You may find they have been booked up for days.
I had printed the sections from Slowtravelers.com regarding making reservations. This is a guide that has scripts and all kinds of great information on how to make reservations in Italian. I had also printed the sections on ordering, but we didn't acutally use those.
What I was looking for was a good restaurant within close proximity to our hotel. I used a map that plotted each suggested restaurant. (I feel guilty saying so, but this was information from Frommer's Italy 2004.)
One of the places we considered was the Dal Bolognese but it was all booked up. Eventually I was able to make reservations for that evening with a restaurant named Bramante. It is at Via della Pace 25. Using the guide I had printed I called and started to make the reservation. As I stumbled over the words and phrases my mom & dad shouted word suggestions at me to use. This is the first inkling that there may be trouble with the Italian they had led me to believe they knew. It seems that they are better versed in French and Spanish so for the remainder of the trip when they would try to give or get info in Italian they would slip up and use these other two languages. Of course this made for some interesting situations I will touch upon later in the report.
Finally, reservations were made and I hung up, exhausted. (Of course situations in real life rarely can be scripted
)We got ready. I had brought one dress. A dress I really like and I felt looked good on me. I have had many compliments on how I look in this dress. Well, my fashion maven dad (she says facetiously,)started to voice his dislike of the dress. He said it made me look matronly. I blew it off and I believe I took a swig of my left over wine about that point.
We had a big discussion about which credit/bank cards to bring and which to put in the room safe. (Hmm, this means at some point earlier in the day my Mother and I must have visited a bank to get Euro cash because we had some by this time. Mom and Dad had each brought to Italy 100 Euro each and some of it was spent on the van and tip.) My mother has never used an ATM before this trip and I walked her through the steps. She found it fascinating. The look on her face is the same look she had when I took her to a casino while we were on a cruise and she was playing the nickle slot machines.
Anyway, we were ready to go and set off for the restaurant. We stopped at the front desk and asked them to show us on the map they had given us upon check-in how to get there. It turned out it would be an easy walk from the hotel and it pretty much was.
(Have I mentioned that I was one of the open mouthed wonderous tourist people of Rome? Every building I saw, every street I encountered gave me this strange feeling of peace. More on this later.)
We arrived at the restaurant and were seated at an outside table. The weather was lovely, a tiny bit on the cool side but I had a wrap with me. We appeared the only people there and wondered if this was a bad sign. Not to fear, as the evening progressed they filled up pretty well.
The table was a bit wobbley and we asked for something to put under one of the legs. I guess this happens often because the people seated at the next table had the same problem. The tables are on cobblestones so this is to be expected and thankfully my folks didn't make a big deal about it. I was pleasantly surprised they didn't ask for another table.
I will start the next part of my report with the wine order, but now I have to get ready for work...have a great day!
Oct 22nd, 2004, 10:18 AM
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Love your trip report.
It reminds me so much of the time I went to Italy with friends for 10 days, then had my mother and aunt fly in to meet me for another 10 days. The first week and a half with my girlfriends was SO easy compared to that last 10 days.
Thankfully, mom and aunt had a wonderful time. But when I came home, I needed another week off.
Can't wait to hear more.
It reminds me so much of the time I went to Italy with friends for 10 days, then had my mother and aunt fly in to meet me for another 10 days. The first week and a half with my girlfriends was SO easy compared to that last 10 days.
Thankfully, mom and aunt had a wonderful time. But when I came home, I needed another week off.
Can't wait to hear more.
