STILL loving every single word!!!
I am hooked, I admit it ;-)

gravysandwich, thank you for your interessing and entertaining trip report.
You did a great job describing my beautiful city, Rome.
Rome has a magic effect not only to a first time visitor, but even to those that keep coming back again and again to this glorious magnificent city .

Final Installment and Reflections on Italy, as authored by gravysandwich

I am mixed in my emotions as Iwrite this final chapter about our trip to Italy. I am happy that I can stop writing on fodors.com, and can go back to reading on fodor.com (which is way more fun). I am also happy that I had the sticktoittiveness (it's a word / look it up)to actually complete this journal of sorts of our adventure. I willnow take my longwinded remarks, and compile them into a document that I can keep on file. I may leave in some of the nice things that so many of you have said. It will make my mother and my high school English teachers proud.

On the other hand, the conclusion of this epic signals to me that the trip is, indeed, just a fond memory. There is no more enthusiasm (and trepidation) about an upcoming trip. The thought of that makes me sad, but it also strengthens my resolve to go back to this wonderful place one day in the not too distant future.

Now, about our last day in Rome. My report will be short and only mildly interesting. Melissa of the Nicolas Inn had arranged for a car to meet us and take us to the airport. After our final elegant breakfast, we completed the final stages of packing and made our way downstairs to meet our waiting cab. We exchanged pleasantries with Melissa, and thanked her for a wonderful stay. One final word about the Nicolas Inn, and it's proprietors, Francois and Melissa Nicolas. They were most gracious to us, offered us any and all help that we would need in the way of places to see, eat and avoid. For Americans,like us, Melissa was like a security blanket because she was from Chicago, and it was most relaxing to have a dialogue with her. I don't intend to slight Francois, but we only saw him once, and he was quite pleasant. I have no reservations about suggesting that you make a reservation at the Nicolas Inn, especially if you want to be in the area of the Colosseum, the Roman Forum, and the Palatino. I loved the location and my wife especially loved the large, squeaky clean bathtub.

Our route out of Rome took us down the few remaining blocks of Via Cavour to the intersection of Via dei Imperioli. From there we took a left and then watched the magnificent Colosseum grow larger, and then sadly, smaller in our window. I thought it fitting that final recollection of Rome would be the thing that had made such an impact on me a few days before. We encountered some snarled traffic, finally emerged from that and got to the airport in plenty of time. 5 passport checks later, we were leaving on a jet airplane (a very full jet airlane) en route to JFK. Delta was right on time, the in-flight entertainment was good, and 8 hours and 51 minutes later we were in New York. After a brief 6 hour layover (always desirable when you have just flown 9 hours with a 5 year old), we boarded our final leg for Charleston. Two hours later, we were home with a headful of memories.

John Steinbeck, I ain't, so you'll get only a layman's impresion of Italy here. What was better, the Grand Canal in venice, the awe of staring at Davids in Florence, looking out at miles of beautiful tuscany from the vantage point of a 200 foot towe, or drinking the casa rosso and eating sauteed mussels in the shadow of the Pantheon? I won't deal in absolutes, because almost every sight we saw brought with it its own beauty and memory (OK, the Florence traffic sucked, you shouldn't have to pay extra just to sit down at a restaurant, bidets are just too strange, and cokes shouldn't cost $8.00, but I digress...). From a pure scenery point of view, is Italy any prettier than the Yorkshire Dales, or Yellowstone National Park? Probably not. Are the people any friendlier than anywhere else? Quite possibly. Is their imprint on architecture, engineering, art and religion unmatched by any other country? Absolutely.

But I said that I wouldn't deal with absolutes. For us, the trip was not intended just to cherry pick the most famous sights, and then come home, once again considering ourselves lucky to be Americans. It was a trip of discovery, a place to see that I had only seen on movie screens and read about in books since I was child. We discovered Italy for ourselves, but also were reminded that it is a vast world out there, and that the center of the universe is wherever you are at that moment. Italy was a good place to be, and 2000 years ago, it really was the center of the universe. I suspect that Italian national pride runs deep and strong, because it is a country with so much to be proud of.

We were guests in this country (alright, paying guests), and were treated with friendliness and warmth (well, there was this one toll booth operator...) It was also an opportunity for us to see this place through the eyes of our son, and my only hope is that the memories don't fade away too much. A lot of pictures and video will help. The Italians treated him beautifully, and they were defenseless aginst him when he used his remedial knowledge of their language against them. Great place for a kid.

But the trip was my idea nad my wife and son were willing and wonderful travel partners. I was looking at the obituaries in our local paper in January of this year, and spotted the announcement of the death of a man, age 45 (my age), who had beena successful attorney, and had three young children. By any measure, he had the world by the tail, but was gone far too soon. Reading his notice, I began to think of what I had yet to see and do, and how fragile life was. At that moment in time, I decided that I would cross the trip to Italy off the "places I've never been, but would sure like to go" go" list, effective March 26, 2005. I still haven't seen the pyramids, but I've seen the Sistine Chapel. I haven't had lunch on a cafe on the Left Bank, but I've sipped espresso in St. Mark's Square while I watched my son chase pigeons. There is a lot I haven't done, buit I sure am glad that I did this. If you are looking for a travel destination, go to Italy. I was a little bit like Emily Dickinson with Italy. My travels were all in my mind. Now that we have gone, I feel lucky on so many levels.
As all of you know, it is tradition to throw a coin in th eTrevi Fountain in Rome to ensure your return thewir one day. My son threw 2 coins in the Trevi Fountain. The reason he threw the second coin was because Dad screwed up the photo op on the first throw. I guess I could consider the second throw his proxy throw for me, because I very much want to return. He didn't throw three, so that may leave my wife out of the mix. Forget I said anything.

In closing (applause), thanks again to all of you who were our facilitators and travel advisors, and have also been so nice before and after our trip. I will try and troll on this forum now that I have found it. I hope that th elittle green monster of envy doesn't eat me up inside when I read everyone's posts about upcoming trips. It hasn't yet. I am even happy (can it be) for those of you who are going - especially you first timers. Soak it all up, bring some of Italy home with you (no potted meats, mind you), and post your report soon so we can all vicariously go back to this magical place.

God Bless,

gravysandwich

(Hey everybody. Sorry about the typos on the previous post. I made corrections on the "edit" line, but they didn't take. Here is the edited version)

Final Installment and Reflections on Italy, as authored by gravysandwich.

I am mixed in my emotions as I write this final chapter about our trip to Italy. I am happy that I can stop writing on fodors.com, and can go back to reading on fodors.com (which is way more fun). I am also happy that I had the sticktoittiveness (it's a word / look it up) to actually complete this journal - of sorts - of our adventure. I will now take my longwinded remarks, and compile them into a document that I can keep on file. I may leave in some of the nice things that so many of you have said. It will make my mother and my high school English teachers proud.

On the other hand, the conclusion of this epic signals to me that the trip is, indeed, just a fond memory. There is no more enthusiasm (and trepidation) about an upcoming trip. The thought of that makes me sad, but it also strengthens my resolve to go back to this wonderful place one day in the not too distant future.

Now, about our last day in Rome. My report will be short and only mildly interesting. Melissa of the Nicolas Inn had arranged for a car to meet us and take us to the airport. After our final elegant breakfast, we completed the final stages of packing and made our way downstairs to meet our waiting cab. We exchanged pleasantries with Melissa, and thanked her for a wonderful stay. One final word about the Nicolas Inn, and it's proprietors, Francois and Melissa Nicolas. They were most gracious to us, offered us any and all help that we would need in the way of places to see, eat and avoid. For Americans, like us, Melissa was like a security blanket because she was from Chicago, and it was most relaxing to have a dialogue with her. I don't intend to slight Francois, but we only saw him once, and he was quite pleasant. I have no reservations about suggesting that you make a reservation at the Nicolas Inn, especially if you want to be in the area of the Colosseum, the Roman Forum, and the Palatino. I loved the location and my wife especially loved the large, squeaky clean bathtub.

Our route out of Rome took us down the few remaining blocks of Via Cavour to the intersection of Via dei Imperioli. From there we took a left and then watched the magnificent Colosseum grow larger, and then sadly, smaller in our window. I thought it fitting that final recollection of Rome would be the thing that had made such an impact on me a few days before. We encountered some snarled traffic, finally emerged from that and got to the airport in plenty of time. 5 passport checks later, we were leaving on a jet airplane (a very full jet airplane) en route to JFK. Delta was right on time, the in-flight entertainment was good, and 8 hours and 51 minutes later we were in New York. After a brief 6 hour layover (always desirable when you have just flown 9 hours with a 5 year old), we boarded for our final leg for Charleston. Two hours later, we were home with a headful of memories.

John Steinbeck, I ain't, so you'll get only a layman's impression of Italy here. What was better, the Grand Canal in Venice, the awe of staring at David in Florence, looking out at miles of beautiful Tuscany from the vantage point of a 200 foot tower, or drinking the casa rosso and eating sauteed mussels in the shadow of the Pantheon? I won't deal in absolutes, because almost every sight we saw brought with it its own beauty and memory (OK, the Florence traffic sucked, you shouldn't have to pay extra just to sit down at a restaurant, bidets are just too strange, and Cokes shouldn't cost $8.00, but I digress...). From a pure scenery point of view, is Italy any prettier than the Yorkshire Dales, or Yellowstone National Park? Probably not. Are the people any friendlier than anywhere else? Quite possibly. Is their imprint on architecture, engineering, art and religion unmatched by any other country? Absolutely.

But I said that I wouldn't deal with absolutes. For us, the trip was not intended just to cherry pick the most famous sights, and then come home, once again considering ourselves lucky to be Americans. It was a trip of discovery, a place to see that I had only seen on movie screens and read about in books since I was child. We discovered Italy for ourselves, but also were reminded that it is a vast world out there, and that the center of the universe is wherever you are at that moment. Italy was a good place to be, and 2000 years ago, it really was the center of the universe. I suspect that Italian national pride runs deep and strong, because it is a country with so much to be proud of.

We were guests in this country (alright, paying guests), and were treated with friendliness and warmth (well, there was this one toll booth operator...) It was also an opportunity for us to see this place through the eyes of our son, and my only hope is that his memories don't fade away too much. A lot of pictures and video will help. The Italians treated him beautifully, and they were defenseless aginst him when he used their own language against them. Great place for a kid.

But the trip itself was my idea and my wife and son were willing and wonderful travel partners. I had a very real reason for going. I was looking at the obituaries in our local paper in January of this year, and spotted the announcement of the death of a man, age 45 (my age), who had been a successful attorney, and had three young children. By any measure, he had the world by the tail, but was gone far too soon. Reading his notice, I began to think of what I had yet to see and do, and how fragile life was. At that moment in time, I decided that I would cross the trip to Italy off the "places I've never been, but would sure like to go" go" list, effective March 26, 2005.

I still haven't seen the pyramids, but I've seen the Sistine Chapel. I haven't had lunch on a cafe on the Left Bank, but I've sipped espresso in St. Mark's Square while I watched my son chase pigeons. There is a lot I haven't done, but I sure am glad that we did this. If you are looking for a travel destination, go to Italy. I was a little bit like Emily Dickinson with Italy. My travels were all in my mind. Now that we have gone, I feel lucky on so many levels.

As all of you know, it is tradition to throw a coin in the Trevi Fountain in Rome to ensure your return there one day. My son threw 2 coins in the Trevi Fountain. The reason he threw the second coin was because Dad screwed up the photo op on the first throw. I guess I could consider the second throw his proxy throw for me, because I very much want to return. He didn't throw three, so that may leave my wife out of the mix. Forget I said anything.

In closing (applause), thanks again to all of you who were our facilitators and travel advisors, and have also been so nice before and after our trip. I will try and troll on this forum now that I have found it. I hope that the little green monster of envy doesn't eat me up inside when I read everyone's posts about upcoming trips. It hasn't yet. I am even happy (can it be) for those of you who are going - especially you first timers. Soak it all up, bring some of Italy home with you (no potted meats, mind you), and post your report soon so we can all vicariously go back to this magical place.

God Bless,

gravysandwich

At the moment all I can come up with is "wow" and "thank you."
annabelle

Thank you so much, g.sandwich!!!! I invested in a beautiful writing journal for my Italy adventure (in a week!) but don't think I can come close to writing so eloquently as you have. You've provided us a travel journalistic gift. Did you jot down notes as you went along or do you have a fab memory to write so well on this site?
Oh, this question is for everyone:
HOW LONG SHOULD WE PLAN TO VISIT
1) the accademia
2) the uffizi
3) the vatican and St. Peter's
4) the borghese
5) the borgello in Florence?
THANKS MUCH>

Bravo and thank you !!!
Next March I will be in Charleston area-how about a Fodors Get Together ?

Your report has gone to the top of my list for trip reports. You are a talented writer, and you breathe life into your writing.

To quote Guiseppe Verdi "You may have the universe, if I may have Italy." I am just biting the bit waiting for my 2006 trip to Italia.

As an aside, your wife if a lucky woman.

Gravysandwich,
WOW! What a fabulous essay. You write with such style and emotion. You transported me back to those places and I saw them from my memory and yet - I also saw them through your eyes. Awesome.

Thank you for sharing your experiences and your feelings.

May you have many happy travels.

Dear Gravysandwich,

You were in awe of Italy, we have been in awe of you. A simple thank you does not seem merely enough to extend to someone that has transcended you through time, perhaps to a moment perhaps you once experienced, or to somewhere that has only been a reverie.

This is what I know to be true, Italy has touched you heart, Gravysandwich, as it did mine, and so many others here.

The best part is that it will never leave you, and you may visit now at any moment.

Once four years ago, a stranger asked me if I had ever traveled to Europe. I responded yes, and when he asked, I sat and told him about Italy. How was I to know that at that moment a glimmer of the passion I had for Italy touched him and he would later become my husband.

She is contagious and now will ever be a part of you.

Thank you allowing us to see her through your eyes.

Best wishes for you, your Samuel and your lucky wife, T.

...And keep opening that bedroom door for your morning breakfasts, she may surprise you, hee. :S-

Dear gravvysandwich, I remember so well your threads regarding questions before you went to Italy. I knew you and your wife and your little son would have a beautiful time because your heart was so obviously into getting as much out of your trip to Italy as possible.

What I didn't know is what a joy and pleasure your trip report would be. Thank you does not express the pleasure that you have given all of us reading about your adventures in Italy. But thank you will have to suffice or mille grazie as they say in bella Italia.

Thank you so much for sharing your experiences and impressions of Italy. It was a great read.

Dear Fodorites:

Thanks to everyone for your unwarranted kindness and the gracious remarks on my trip report.

I feel now that I have no other choice but to reveal to everyone that I have never, in fact been to Italy, and my story was a complete fabrication. I gathered all my material from The Travel Channel, Rick Steves Guidebooks, Rachel Ray's program on the Food Network, and multiple viewings of "Tea with Mussolini", "La Dolce Vita", and Roman Holiday".


GOTCHA!!

No, we really did go to Italy, and I brought back a case of raging esophaghitis to prove it. Let's just say I have dramatically reduced my intake of red wine and espresso lately.

I really do enjoy writing, and what better subject matter could you ask for than a trip to Italy in the spring, coupled with the remarkable timing of the death of John Paul II on the day we enter Rome?

It wasn't difficult to make the country come alive with words. Italy is a living, breathing thing, and this keyboard was just a vehicle for me to channel my impressions of this wonderful place.

Pattiboo, I hesitate to tell you how long to spend in each of those places because we were constrained by a 5 year old. We didn't visit the Uffizi in Florence, and felt darn lucky to get through the Accademia without having to pay for some priceless artifact that my son might have destroyed. I think that an hour to 90 minutes would be enough in the Accademia, unless you are truly a student of sculpture, in which case you may want to allot a bit more time. I could have spent 30 minutes or more just looking at David. The Vatican is kind of like the Smithsonian, you can bite off as much as you can chew. I think, reasonably, with a private tour and including the Sistine Chapel, that 3 hours would probably be enough. You could pore over every article and take more time than that, but we were so excited to get to the Sistine Chapel, that we didn't loiter too long in the museum proper. Probably a mistake, because it is magnificent from the moment you enter until you leave. As for St. Peter's Basilica, there was the little matter of Il Papa lying in state that kept us from seeing that. My guess is to allow a full morning or afternoon for the Vatican and St Peter's at a bare minimum. We only got as far as the Spanish Steps, so we didn't see the Borghese Gardens, but it is a huge area. Your time spent at each of these areas will depend on your ability to cover ground quickly, how compacted your itinerary is, etc. etc. I read these manic type schedules being proposed on this forum, and I think that they sound more like torture chambers than leisurely vacations. In my view, Italy is to be enjoyed, casually, deliberately, and with some wiggle room. Don't miss out on the great sights and attractions, but don't schedule too tightly either. The other places you mention I can't comment on, having not visited them.

Aunt Grapes, you have a date, as long as we can do it over a half liter of Chianti Reserve. Charleston ain't Rome, but it ain't bad.

Tiff, I loved your comments. How romantic that you met your husband in Italy. I suppose Italy must hold a strong emotional attraction for you. You share my vibe on Italy/

I am kane, that Verdi guy had a way with words and music. I can think of a lot of real estate that I would give up if someone offered me Italy.

LoveItaly, I am reminded of what Dorothy said when she says goodbye to the Scarecrow when leaving Oz. She says, "I think I will miss you most of all". You have been so helpful, and your input and info have been invaluable to us on our trip. As I said once before, your moniker is a true one. You are an ambassador for Italy to us newbies traveling there for first time.

I may return.

gravysandwich

As Sergeant Carter said, "I can't HEAR you!"

gs

Dearest Gravysandwich,

I believe you misunderstood, we didn't meet IN Italy, it was over a discussion OF Italy that led us on, shall we say, love's path, rather dramatic description I know, but Ahhhhh, you're clearly a romantic, so there you are. In fact, forget the above, if you want to think we met and fell in love in Italy, go with it, I will forever perish the thought of anything other than that.

I will miss your updates, please do visit us often lest we go into withdrawals!

Best wishes, T.

Hello gravysandwich, thank you for your very beautiful and kind remarks. I am truly touched. I am so happy that I was able to add to your joyous trip to Italy. And I do believe that you and your family will return to Italy. I think you left your heart in Italy?

And again, my recent trip to Charleston, your city, was such a joy. Best wishes to you and your family

Thank you, Scarlett, I couldn't find this.