First, I say THANK YOU!! to all fodorites!!! Your information, that I devoured over the last six months, cropped up at perfect moments for instant recall on what to do, what not to do and everything in between.

Here's my trip report to Italy. This is a bit long, so - apologies in advance! It isn't as informative or poetic as other reports (like Statia's), but I hope it provides some value. My dad is a "health nut", and I don't eat very much, so for those individuals looking for food recommendations, this report will not be of any use to you. (sorry) Since this was my first trip, you will probably hear a lot of "amazing, incredible, etc...", but I hadn't realized how wonderful everything would be until I was in Italy. So, please bear with me..

Who? Dad (53) and myself (30) - left hubby at home; First trip to Europe for me, but Dad has been around the world.
Where? Rome, Pompeii, Florence and Venice
When? August 31st - September 9th

ROME
Left Chicago on August 30th and arrived in Rome on August 31st at 7:40 am. Found the Trains to go to Roma Termini. Pretty cheap (around 16 euros a piece, I think). Went ahead and bought tickets to Pompeii for the next day, which was a bit of a mistake, but we didn't learn that until later. (Pompeii - round trip 88 euros for two) It was extremely hot in Rome when we arrived, and if you plan on going in the summer, I do NOT recommend taking the train to Roma Termini. I would recommend reserving a car. The train does not have air conditioning and by the time we reached the station we were extremely hot.

After reaching Roma Termini, we walked outside to get our bearings, and were asked by a non-official taxi driver for our intended destination. I told him the Hotel Aberdeen, and he explained that it would be 25 euros. Thanks to the board, I knew this was very overpriced and not an "official" taxi, so we said "no thanks" and decided to walk to our hotel. The Hotel Aberdeen was only a 10-15 minute walk from the train station, so we made the right choice.

We reached the hotel around 11 am. The Hotel Aberdeen was a nice hotel. The rooms were standard size, not too small, but the bathrooms were pretty tiny. The price was fantastic though. 80 euros a night for each room, which was a Summer Special, but it is only 102 euros in regular season. The location was fantastic as well. The hotel is located off of the Piazza Republicca and had a Metro and a Bus stop right around the corner. In addition, it is right across the street from the Ministry of Defense and around the corner from the Palace. A lot of police, military, and other defense personnel are walking around, so it was a very safe place to stay. Breakfast was good, and served from 7 am - 9 am.

Once we checked in, we received directions to the Metro stop, and took the A line to St Peters. We walked around the square a bit, heard the Pope's broadcast address from Gandolfo, and then walked into St Peter's Basilica. Absolutely incredible! We were just in time to join the Italian mass inside the Basilica!! Attending mass at St Peters was one of our trip requirements, and to actually attend Mass in the Basilica, instead of a side chapel, was incredible!! After taking a ton of pictures, we decided to walk up to the cupola. Whew!! My dad runs 5 miles a day and works out regularly, but I don't, so this was a bit rough for me. (Sad, isn't it?! Dad's in better shape than me.) The view was beautiful! We took a ton of pictures, and then decided to leave St Peter's.

Although we hadn't eaten anything since breakfast, I was too hot to contemplate eating anything, so we just went back to the hotel for a couple of hours to rest and take showers. Around 6 pm, we headed out again, and walked to the Trevi Fountain and the Spanish steps. The Trevi was great! We threw our coins in the fountain, so that we could return. There was a lot of people just sitting around and eating gelato, so we decided to join them. We ordered our gelato from the little place on the corner. My first taste of gelato (chocolate and coffee) and I was in heaven! My dad ordered Pistacchio and Hazelnut. Although we wouldn't know this until the end, this was the best place for coffee flavored gelato throughout our trip! We made our way from the fountain to the Spanish steps. Along the way, we got lost, found the Planet Hollywood (t-shirt for my brother), window shopped, watched all the strollers, and finally, made it to the Steps. We took some pictures of the steps and the people, and then meandered our way back to the hotel. Since we had eaten gelato, I wasn't hungry, so we decided against dinner. Although it was only 9:30, I hadn't slept on the plane, so I was exhausted and just wanted to go to bed.

Pompeii
Got up early on Monday and took the 8? Am Eurostar train to Naples. My first experience on the eurostar and I loved it. It's a great way to travel. We reached Naples, and realized that we did not have reservations on the Circumvensia line (sp?) but instead, we had tickets for the regular FS train. Since the tickets were paid for, we decided to take the FS to Pompeii. My recommendation: Take the eurostar to Naples, and then buy the Circumvensia tickets to Pompeii, because this will allow you to get to the ruins by the front entrance instead of the back entrance. However, I would recommend taking the FS line back to Naples because you get to view the Mediterranean Sea along the way. It was a very beautiful trip down, however, we had to walk to the Pompeii entrance, and it was not the entrance with the guides, which is recommended for a trip through the ruins. So, we bought a map and a guide book, and walked the trip on our own.

Pompeii was mind-boggling. Weird word, but I can't think of anything else to describe the amazing ruins and the history of the city's destruction. Definitely one of the highlights of our trip!

ROME
Tuesday, we ate breakfast around 7 am and left the hotel by 8 am. We decided to go to the Vatican. Took the A line metro to the Vatican stop. We were there pretty early, so we were only about 20 people back from the beginning of the line. Although we were offered a guide, we decided to walk through on our own. We bought audioguides so that we could hear some of the history, but mainly, we wandered through each room and took our time. The Vatican was much more than I had expected! The combination of history, art, architecture, and religion was amazing! We wandered around for 4 hours and finally made our way to the Sistine Chapel. We spent about an hour in the Chapel gazing at the beautiful ceiling and walls.
After the Vatican, we went back to the hotel for a nap. Then, headed out again around 6 to the Pantheon and the Piazza Navonna (sp?). This will probably sound crazy, but the Pantheon was my favorite building in Rome. The sheer size, pagan history, and presence of the Pantheon is indescribable! We spent quite a bit of time here. Then, it was an easy walk to the Piazza Navonna. We were going to try the Death by Chocolate (Tartufo); however, I don't like truffles, so I decided to just get four scoops of gelato. (Yes, 4 scoops!) We sat at one of the tables and just enjoyed the piazza for an hour or so. Then, we headed back to the hotel.

Next - Florence

kwn333,

More, more....that sounds so wonderful to travel with your dad!

I can't wait for your trip report about Florence and Venice.

Very much enjoying your report so far, kwn! Sounds you had a wonderful time with your dad. How meaningful! Can't wait to hear more.

Florence:
We took the earliest eurostar train to Florence (around 59 euros for two), and it was a pretty quick trip. Once we arrived, we took a taxi to the Hotel Casci. THANK YOU to all of the Fodorites who recommended this hotel! The people were absolutely wonderful. Between the two of us, my dad and I have stayed in many hotels and this was one of our favorites because of the warmth and welcome we received from the family.

After checking in, we decided to go to the Duomo, the Santa Croce Church, and shop on the Ponte Vecchio. The Duomo is huge! Neither one of us expected such a massive church. It was very pretty with all of the colors. We walked around and took a lot of pictures. We found our way to the Santa Croce church. This was my favorite church in our entire trip. Although St Peters is magnificent, this church was very cool with all of the tombs and chapels.

We then walked towards the Ponte Vecchio and ended spending quite a few hours in this area. (Hours, not money, although it would be really easy!) Beautiful jewelry, but I'm not a big jewelry fan. I bought a blown glass clown and some nice embroidered linens. We made sure that we went by Porcellino for a future return to Florence.

By the time we dragged ourselves away from the store, I was starving and had to eat immediately. Of course, it was about 5 in the afternoon, so I couldn't get dinner yet. I grabbed some pasta from one of the "to go" cafes and it wasn't that bad. We walked around the entire city. Then, we went to an agency around the corner from the hotel and bought our train tickets for the rest of the trip - no fees or commissions. Very nice and easy.

The next day we had early reservations for the Uffizi. This was a nice museum, but after the Vatican, I couldn't gather as much enthusiasm. It was still a great place to visit though. Then, we ate lunch at another side café, had gelato, and then went to see David. What a beautiful man! I mean, statue? Fantastic and exceeded my expectations - for some reason I expected him to be an average 5'10" or 6'. Nice to see a man of his stature. (couldn't resist...)

Then, of course, we went shopping again. My dad was great throughout the whole shopping experience, particularly since he only bought a belt. Probably a good thing that I'm his daughter though. I wasn't spending his money... We ate dinner at a nearby restaraunt and then went back to the hotel.

I did not expect it, but Florence was fantastic. It is a very easy city to walk and enjoy the atmosphere. It is definitely on my list for another visit.

Just had a quick thought for those who want answers to some of the most common questions. Here are my answers:
What did I wear? dark blue tennis shoes or black flats, capris and t-shirts; if going with someone romantic, you may want to bring some skirts.
What was everyone else wearing? everything. (jeans, tennis shoes, shorts, tiny clothes (for those tiny Italians and other Europeans), etc) No, I'm not a bit envious...really.
I took a converter, which I bought at Target for around $20. I bought a dual voltage Babyliss flat iron and it worked great. If you have medium to long hair (like me), then I highly recommend that you take your own dual voltage hair dryer. This is a must for me on the next trip because it took an hour just to dry my hair with the ones from the hotels.
Eurostar? I thought it was relatively cheap. We went second class and typically bought tickets at the train station, which was very easy. Nice way to travel.
Reservations for Florence? the Hotel Casci made them as soon as we arrived. We were able to get reservations for the Uffizi and the Accademia for the next day.

I can't think of any others, but feel free to ask. I'll answer if I can.

Next - Venice - the whole reason for the trip.

I can't wait to hear your report about Venice. My first visit was last July and I totally fell in love with the city and can't wait to go back.

Glad you enjoyed Florence so much, kwn. We did, too...so much art & history. We saw the same sites as you, but we missed Santa Croce Church, so we'll have to hit it the next time.

Looking forward to Venice!

Thanks!! I'm glad you are enjoying reading my report. I wasn't sure what to say or how much to write...

One correction - I bought an adapter, not a converter for the dual iron.

Will write Venice this weekend, as work is really crazy this week.

I searched the boards and never found your Venice trip review... I'm curious because we are also planning to stay at Locanda SS Giovanni e Paolo but have not found any reviews online.