Italy Trip Report - Rome/Venice - late December
 

Finally.......here's the start of my trip report!!!!

Italy Trip Report…. or …
“Is it cheaper than a Roman Coke?”


Who – (1) DH - 50+; enjoys food, wine, history, art; hates the hassles of traveling; looks the other way when I pay the hotel bills but never hesitates to splurge on a good bottle of wine; (2) me - age withheld to protect my ego; official travel planner; enjoys any holiday during which I don’t have to cook or clean or do laundry; (3) DS#1 – almost 16; the mellow one who never complains and can’t make a decision to save his soul; loves pasta; hates shopping; does whatever he can to annoy DS#2; (4) DS#2 – 14; the opinionated one who always has a comment (some good, some bad, some confusing) about everything; loves seafood; loves to shop; middle name “Dad – can I get……….”
What – family vacation
Where – Rome and Venice
When – late December 2007
Why – because (1) I didn’t get my act together enough to finalize our planned trip to Thailand, (2) we haven’t been to Italy, (3) we love Italian food, (4) there wasn’t much of a time difference so minimal jet lag, (5) we needed to get out of Azerbaijan, (6) there is wine in Italy, and (7) I could get to Italy on a direct flight. (Did I mention there was wine in Italy?????)

Just a note - After 7 years of living overseas and planning family trips, I have developed a good sense of what works for us.
(1)We like to stay in the center of the city (or near the main sights) to avoid having to take a lot of buses, metros, and taxis. The extra cost is worth it for us. We don’t need a 5* hotel, but we like to be comfortable – preferably with breakfast, mini-bar, internet connection, lounge/bar area, and cable TV (okay – the boys want that – I don’t really care). Of course – I would LIKE to stay in 5* places but since we need 2 rooms – the price gets nasty!
(2) Food is a big part of our travel adventures. We live in the middle of nowhere, so when we travel - being able to get good food/wine is a real treat for us. Our general philosophy – if we have enjoyed the meal – the price is worth it. We are occasionally disappointed – but not too often. I tend to only order appetizers (in a pointless attempt to watch my weight when traveling), so that helps balance out the cost. We seldom have dessert but almost always have a nice bottle of wine (which the boys now insist on tasting!).
(3) We don’t try to see everything. We have a “must see” list and a “would be nice” list. As long as we get through the “must sees” – we’re happy.
(4) We don’t generally do tours, preferring to do things on our own and at our own pace.
(5) We take lots of breaks – for coffee, cokes, wine, snacks. We learned long ago not to go at a break-neck speed. We also tend to go back to the hotel in the late afternoon for a rest before heading out for dinner.




DAY 1
Travel - For a change, our flight out of Baku didn’t leave until 10 am, which meant leaving our house at 7 am. Much better than the 1 am pickups we are used to for the 4 am flights to the US! Our flight to Milan on AZAL (Azerbaijan Airlines) was uneventful (always a good thing!). We had several hours in Milan before our connecting flight to Rome, during which DS#2 window shopped (he particularly liked the Ferrari clothing store). We finally arrived in Rome, collected our luggage, and easily located our driver. The hotel had arranged the airport transfer for us, and the cost was 65€ for the 4 of us. We arrived at the hotel around 6:30 pm.

Hotel - I looked at a lot of hotels, checked out comments on Fodors and TripAdvisor, and finally settled on the Albergo Cesari (www.albergocesari.it). It is located on a small square (Piazza di Pietra), just off Via Del Corso. It is a great location – just a 2 minute walk to the Pantheon, 2 minutes to Trevi Fountain, and maybe 15+ minutes to the Roman Forum (depending on traffic). There are a ton of restaurants in the area and some great shops. We had 2 double rooms (185€ each, including breakfast) and while the furnishings were simple, I was surprised at the size of the rooms – quite large for Europe. Even the bathroom was spacious and well-equipped. The breakfast was basic, but quite good – cereals, meats (great salami), breads, pastries, and cheeses. There is a computer near the lobby, and there is a small bar area. But that is probably the only real “negative” I have – the bar was not well stocked and the wines weren’t really stored properly.

Dinner - By the time we got settled in our rooms, it was about 7 and we were tired and hungry. So, on the desk clerk’s recommendation (seeing 2 American teenagers and immediately thinking of pizza), we went to a small pizzeria about 2 blocks away. Can’t remember the name, but it was something like “La Cava _____” and it was located in Piazza St. Ignazio. The food was okay, but not a place I would really recommend. We headed back to the hotel and crashed.

DAY 2
Vatican Museums - I decided to book a tour of the Vatican Museums because I didn’t want to wait in line. Standing in long lines is not something the “Y-chromosomes” in my little family have an abundance of patience for. I booked online through Viator. Although we were supposed to be ready for 7 am, we weren’t picked up until almost 7:30. But that gave us time (in shifts) to run up to the breakfast room for a quick coffee/tea/juice and a croissant. There were about 40 people on our tour and we were split up according to language. Since we don’t do a lot of group tours, this was my first time using the earphones to hear the guide – it was quite nice being able to wander a bit and still hear the commentary.

I really didn’t know what to expect, and I had not done much background research (since I knew we’d be doing a tour). We are not a very religious family, but I have tried to teach my sons the importance of religion in history. I wouldn’t have guessed it at the time – but based on their later comments – the boys really enjoyed the statues, the geometric mosaics, and the tapestries. While DH and I marveled at the Sistine Chapel, they were a bit under-whelmed. But in fairness, it was toward the end of the tour, we had gotten up very early, and we were all quite tired.

Lunch – When the tour was over, we took advantage of the tour guide’s offer to drop us off near the Trevi Fountain. We found the fountain, threw in the obligatory coins, took a bunch of photos and then headed off to find lunch. We found a nice little place just off Via dell’Umilta (by Via Di San Marcello). The restaurant was called La Scaffi (again – I’m a little fuzzy on the name but it’s on a little square across from a Chinese restaurant). DH, DS#1 and I had various pasta dishes and DS#2 enjoyed a beautiful grilled sole and followed it up with a crème caramel. I think the waiter was amazed that my skinny little child could finish off the sole, but he did. And he didn’t offer to share!

Time Elevator Roma – After lunch we thought it would be fun to go to the Time Elevator Roma (www.timeelevator.it/) – a theatre that shows a “living history” movie on Roman history. The theater is located on a small alleyway between the Trevi Fountain and the Vittorio Emmanuel Monument on Via SS Apostoli. The movie on Rome was a nice, easy way to get a refresher course on the 3000 years of history. We also saw a 3-D movie about the origins of life on Earth (quite interesting and very well done). It is one of those “interactive” movies, with moving seats and special effects (won’t mention them and spoil the surprises!). It was fun and provided some good background information. Amazingly – we ran into a co-worker of my DH’s who was visiting Rome with her daughter. Small world!

Shopping – After the move we backtracked to our lunch spot because there was a neat little book/print shop around the corner from the restaurant. The shop, Libreria Antiquaria (Via dell’Umilta, 77/a), was full of interesting old books and prints. We looked around, made our purchase, and then headed back to the hotel for a rest.

Pantheon and Piazza Navona – After our rest, we strolled out of the hotel and headed toward the Pantheon (through Piazza dei Pietra and down Via di Pastini), looking in shop windows and scoping out potential restaurants. This is a pedestrian area and is quite nice to stroll. At one point, we passed one restaurant and then immediately stopped as the door opened and we all smelled wonderful scents drifting into the street. That place immediately went to the top of our list for potential dinner spots.

I guess I had seen pictures of the Pantheon but I was not really prepared for its elegant simplicity. It definitely has to be one of the most stunningly beautiful buildings I have ever seen. While trying to educate my offspring on the history of the building, my younger son noticed that near the top of the dome – a balloon of a horse had gotten stuck! That caused no end of chuckling from the boys, extinguishing my hopes that they had finally outgrown childish adolescent amusements! (Note: upon returning to school and commenting on this to a classmate who had been to Rome a few days after us……the balloon was still there when she visited!).

We continued our stroll over to the Piazza Navona. I had read a lot about this spot, but I was a bit disappointed. The main fountain in the middle was being worked on, so it was hidden behind some fencing. I had read that this was a great place to sit out and enjoy some coffee or a glass of wine at one of the cafes, but most of them seemed to have put away their outdoor seating. This could have been because of the all the stalls set up in the piazza that limited viewing. I’m not sure if these stalls were just part of the Christmas market or if they are there all year. We did walk around, looking at all the things for sale. I spotted some neat Roman ruin replicas (arches, columns) made out of some lightweight material and bought a set of columns. DS#2 was in heaven with all the places selling candy and especially cotton candy – which we promised to come back and get after we had dinner.

Dinner – We eventually made our way back to the “good smelling place.” The restaurant, Rotonda, was fabulous (Via Dei Pastini, 17). DH had a grilled artichoke appetizer and a pasta and seafood main dish. I enjoyed some tomato soup and eggplant gratin, and DS#1 had a spicy pasta dish. DS#2 immediately found a grilled shrimp dish. He really has a knack for finding the expensive things on a menu!! He wanted to order the shrimp and a plate of pasta, but we talked him into just the shrimp. Well, he finished up the shrimp before my DH even had a chance to ask for a taste. DS#2 asked if he could have another order of shrimp. After some head-shaking, we called the waiter over and asked for another order. Again, the boy ate them up. But he wasn’t done. Still insisting he was hungry, he asked for just a small bowl of pasta with garlic and olive oil. The waiter just grinned. Since we had to wait for the pasta, DH and I decided to share a piece of cheesecake. As I said before, we are not big dessert eaters – but this was by far…..the BEST cheesecake we have ever had! Even DS#1 (who really don’t care for cakes and such) admitted it was good and stole a few bites.

I'm enjoying your report and waiting for more!

I do't remember hearing about the TimeElevator. Sounds like a fun rest for a hot June day (when we'll be there with our 13 year olds). Do the movies run in English all day?

Great report! Can't wait to hear more since I'm headed to Rome next month.

Care to share what you're doing in Azerbaijan? Curious minds (ok, nosey Nellies like me) want to know..;-)

Anch'io!

I leave for Rome on Friday and should be packing, but I'm enjoying your report instead! Looking forward to more.

Hello Grcxx3, I am so happy to see the start of your trip report as I remember when you were planning your trip to Italy.

I so loved your description of your family. My two grandson's sound exactly like your sons, lol. My oldest is like your oldest and the younger one is like your younger one so I can really relate! Oh yes, the younger one has always had a bottomless pit when it comes to eating. Really, if I didn't know better I would think you were describing my grandsons!

I remember when kswl took her young teen son to Italy and they went to the Time Elevator Roma. That was the first time I had heard about it. A good choice for all of you.

I look forward to your next installment.

pkdof - If I recall correctly, you wear earphones for the movie and there were certain sections of seats reserved for English, Italian, etc. So, shouldn't be a problem.

Kristina - With sincere respect to the lovely people who live here.....there is no reason to be in Azerbaijan except for work and the main areas of work here are embassies (small, but growing number) and the oil biz and related service companies. There also are a few major corporations starting to put in country managers. We are in the oil biz.

Next installment coming shortly!

DAY 3
Roman Forum – Our plan was to be out the door of the hotel by 8:30 am to go to the Roman Forum, but we got a late start and didn’t head out until about 10. Oh well……. We walked from the hotel, down Via Del Corso toward the Vittorio Emmanuel Monument (which unfortunately is being worked on and is partially covered). It took us about 15+ minutes. Following the walking tour set out in our Fodor’s book, we walked through the Capitoline Hill and the Roman Forum. It was truly amazing! We had planned on also doing Coliseum this day, but one look at the line (combined with my aching feet and DH’s need for an espresso) made us change our mind.

Snack #1- It wasn’t quite lunch time, but we decided to go across the street from the Coliseum for a small snack. Here was our first “oops” of the trip. We went into Cafee Martini, knowing that it would be overpriced because of the strategic location. One espresso, 3 soft drinks, and 2 small sandwiches later……we got our bill and about choked at the 56€ total! Those soft drinks were 6€ each! Hence our motto for this trip - “Is it cheaper than a Roman Coke?”

After coughing up the money for our snack, we were ready for our afternoon adventure – a Crypts and Catacombs tour (again, booked online through Viator). The plan was to take a leisurely stroll to the meeting point (Piazza Barbarini). Unfortunately, I had forgotten the receipt for the tour, so we grabbed a taxi back to the hotel, got the receipt, then strolled to the Piazza.

Snack #2 - We were there much earlier than we anticipated, and now (an hour or so after our little “oops” snack by the Coliseum) the younger generation decided they were hungry. DH was a little annoyed at having to make another food stop, but I knew that if the boys didn’t eat now…..they would be irritable and grumpy all afternoon! (Always best to keep the beasts well fed!) We strolled up Via Veneto and (just before it curves) stopped at the Alex Restaurant. Several of the restaurants along this street have “enclosed” outdoor seating. So, you get the feel of being outside and watching the world go by, but are protected from the weather. I had some hot tea, DH had a glass of wine, and the boys each had a bowl of pasta with olive oil and garlic - just enough to fortify them for the afternoon.

Crypts and Catacombs Tour – We finished out snack and headed back to the Piazza to meet up with our tour. This tour had 14 people – quite a manageable number. We started off walking over to the monastery with the Capuchin Crypt. I had read that the crypts were decorated with thousands of human bones, but I really wasn’t ready for it! I was amazed at how quickly we were all fascinated with the unique “artwork!” DS#1 picked out a bunch of postcards so that he could include them in the art journal he has to keep for school, and DS#2 picked out several postcards just to show his friends.

Then we boarded a bus for the Domitilla Catacombs, an ancient Christian burial ground just outside the old city walls. It was quite interesting wandering through the catacombs (and I certainly wouldn’t want to get lost down there!). Note – the temperature was quite cool and I was glad I had my jacket and gloves. Finally, we drove to the Church of San Clemente, near the Coliseum. The church is built over a 4th century church which is built over even older ruins. Our guide was an art historian and you could tell that he really enjoyed talking about the various unique aspects of this church. DH and I enjoyed all the stories and the details he gave about this church, but by this time the offspring were getting a little “antsy”. We exited the church, walked over toward the Coliseum, and grabbed a taxi back to the hotel.

Dinner – After a brief rest, we left the hotel and strolled toward the Pantheon. We looked at a lot of restaurants but no one seemed able to make a decision. Finally, finding a place on the piazza by the Pantheon that seemed to have something for everyone, I made an “executive decision” and got a table at Di Rienzo (Piazza del Pantheon, 8/9). The temperature wasn’t too bad, so we chose to sit outside under one of the heaters. I knew that the location meant we would be paying more than we should, but I really wanted to sit looking at the Pantheon (sometimes you just gotta give in to those little desires!). DS#1 once again chose a spicy pasta dish, DS#2 ordered a grilled fish, and I ordered spaghetti bolognaise. DH for some reason chose Wiener Schnitzel. Why he chose this is still a mystery. The veal was dry and rather tasteless, but the rest of us thought our choices were okay (but not great). In short – I would skip this place for meals, and DH considers this “oops #2”, but it would be a great place for a glass of wine and dessert – mainly because the view is just stunning.

DAY 4 – Christmas Eve
Palatine Hill and Coliseum – Again, not a really early start to our day, but by 10 we were out the door of the hotel and heading toward the Coliseum. We bought our tickets at Palatine Hill (covers both Palatine Hill and the Coliseum) and this was a smart move – however, be aware that you can only pay with cash. The view of the Forum from up above is quite nice and it was pleasant walking around the gardens. We spent a little time going through the museum, but didn’t linger. Then we walked down to the Coliseum.

We chose not to get a guide (and a few of them were rather put-off that we weren’t interested) and got in line for security. We were lucky that the line was short and we were through in 1-2 minutes. Then we skirted to the left, walking past the line of people waiting to buy tickets. We were approached once to show our tickets, and then sent on our way. It was quite nice to just walk in without having to wait in a long line.

We really enjoyed walking around the Coliseum, picturing what it must have looked like, and enjoying the view of the city from the upper level. Between the 4 cameras – I can’t even begin to count the number of photographs we have! I had read that there was a model of what the Coliseum originally looked like, but we never found it. But there was a nice exhibit along the upper walkway of mosaics and statues.

Before leaving, we hit the gift shop. While DS#2 bought stupid stuff (including a gladiator-shaped eraser), DS#1 - after much prodding - finally picked out a nice bookmark and several postcards to add to his art journal.

We decided to walk back toward the hotel, grabbing some water and Cokes from a kiosk along the way.

Lunch – I wanted to do some shopping before the shops closed, so we decided to have lunch in the area near the Pantheon. We ended up at L’Arcano (Via delle Paste, 102, where it meets Via Dei Pastini). There is an outdoor area that would be nice when the weather is good, but it was quite chilly and we wanted indoors. It was VERY crowded but we were finally seated. We had a very nice meal, with DH again getting an artichoke appetizer and seafood pasta, DS#2 ordering grilled sea bass, and DS#1 ordering a veal sautéed in wine and butter. I had a grilled eggplant appetizer and a salad. We really enjoyed the meal and the lemon sorbet that DS#1 ordered was some of the best we had.

Shopping - After lunch, we walked around for a while exploring. Then DS#2 and I wanted to do some shopping. DS#1 and DS didn’t. So, they went back to the hotel to check email, read, and relax.

I wanted to get some ceramics and we looked at the masks but knew we would wait for Venice to buy one. I had been window-shopping all along and decided to go to a little store between our hotel and the Pantheon called De Sanctis (Piazza di Peitra, 24). They had lots of interesting traditional ceramic and glass pieces as well as some modern pieces. I selected some ceramic Christmas ornaments in beautiful dark blue, gold, burgundy, and green colors. And I also selected a glass Christmas tree with ornaments attached. DS#2 had money burning a hole in his pocket and just wanted everything!!!! He finally settled on a small glass tree with tiny ornaments. There were some bigger pieces I would have loved to have purchased….but I managed to walk out without breaking the bank!

We also strolled through some of the other shops in the area, and finally grabbed a couple of bottles of soft drinks to take back to the room. We found DS#1 and DH lounging around watching an old “Columbo” and “Murder, She Wrote” reruns!

Dinner – Since this was Christmas Eve, we had asked the hotel to make us reservations somewhere nice – but no where that required really dressing up. We were a little concerned with their choice because we were afraid it would be “gimmicky” – but it ended up being one of our favorite meals.

We had 7:30 reservations at Alfredo’s Gallery (Via della Scrofa 104/A), we left the hotel about 6:30 and just wandered. Most of the shops were closed, but it was nice just walking around. The Pantheon was getting set up for the Christmas Eve service. The restaurants were getting ready for their holiday diners. It was quite nice.

It was only 7:15 when we arrived at the restaurant (we had scoped out the location earlier in the day so there were no problems finding it) and sat outside until the place opened. We ordered our drinks and as DH and I enjoyed our first glass of wine, the waiter told us the story of the restaurant – the home of the original “Fettuccine Alfredo.” We loved looking at all the photos on the wall of famous people –from movie stars, to music legends, to political figures. Of course, most of them were “old” and the younger generation didn’t know who they were….but we enlightened them!

DH ordered an artichoke appetizer and a steak (he just wanted one!). DS#1 ordered a veal escalope with ham and sage. DS#2 ordered a salmon steak. And I couldn’t resist – I ordered the Fettuccine Alfredo! I have to say that everything was fabulous! When my pasta dish arrived I was a bit panicky – I had NEVER seen so much Parmesan cheese piled up on a serving of pasta in my life! But the waiter skillfully mixed it all together and handed me a plateful of steaming, rich-flavored fettuccine. There was no way I could eat the whole thing, so I shared with the 3 Y-chromosomes. By the end of the meal – it was all gone! I also enjoyed tasting DS#1’s veal, which was divine. We were so full at the end of the meal that we skipped dessert.

We, again, took our time strolling back to the hotel, window-shopping and people-watching.

Such an amazing trip report! I am truly enjoying reading this! You are inspiring me to take my SO to Italy next Christmas. We have made a tradition of traveling abroad (we live in Charlotte, NC) for the holidays and I think Rome, Florence, and Venice may be the it for 2008. I have traveled in Italy before, but he hasn't. We're both in our late 20's (soon to be 28 and 29) and truly enjoy eating and drinking while on vacation. Thank you for detailing your dining spots- like you, I often order appetizers instead of entrees (makes me feel like I'm saving calories even though I know I am not!). I can't wait to read your next installment.

Please be patient - the next segment will be a few days in coming. The younger generation and I are heading to Dubai for a rugby tournament. Will add more as soon as we return!

Grcxx3...

LOVE this report! I was also in Rome for Christmas this past year, we probably were in the Piazza near the Pantheon on Christmas Eve at the same time, our dinner reservation were for 7:30 at a place a few blocks from there and we walked through at about the same time you were there!

I am completely re-living my Rome experience through your trip report...Thanks for posting! :)

If the worst thing that happened to you over two days around Rome's Coliseum was the expensive Cokes, I say, cheers!

We took the subway to the forum area, and were duly wary of pickpockets. Nevertheless, I found myself literally being pulled by my shoulder strap out the subway doors at the Coliseum by my superhero travel companion. At the same moment, I realized that the two young men who'd hemmed me in were a ploy, and even think I felt a hand leaving my shoulder bag as I was being yanked purposefully from the other end!

Sure enough, once on the platform I saw that several pockets of my nifty GAP canvas shoulder bag were freshly unzipped, and at the bottom of one was still, yes -- a shiny silver camera loaded with vacation shots.

Phew, have a Coke and a smile!

For those with a trip to Rome still in their future, we'd highly recommend the Borghese Gardens and the exquisite gallery in the villa there, built in the early 1600's by Pope Paul V's favorite nephew, Cardinal Scipione Borghese, lifelong patron of Bernini. We enjoyed an exhilarating afternoon there and were privy to so many other delights of Rome, thanks to Insider's Italy, a personalized travel planning service out of Rome/New York.

We can recommend, and henceforth would not consider a visit to Rome -- or anywhere in Italy, without them. If you peruse their site http://www.insidersitaly.com/ , you'll see that they are a personalized travel planning service for the intellectually curious and the independent. That can encompass bambini, as this outfit now has considerable practical experience tailoring trips to include and delight children as well.

Among their many opinionated, always spot-on suggestions, was a visit to the once proletariat Testaccio neighborhood where we spent an exciting weekday morning. First we visited Volpetti, Via Marmorata 47, Rome's best food store according to Insider's Italy, run by two brothers, Claudio and Emilio Volpetti who sell hard-to-find, Slow Food-resurrected and classic cheeses and hams/salami, as well as fresh pasta, dried pasta (Insider's told us about the Latini brand), legumes, honey, wines, freshly baked pizza, excellent breads and prepared dishes.

Laden with purchases, we turned round the corner to the Piazza del Testaccio market, a covered square, with fishmongers on the left, butchers at the back, cheesemongers at the front, and shoe and general goods merchants on the right. And at the center is the produce market -- the most dynamic and beautiful one we visited in two weeks in Italy.

Whatever your interests, wherever your passions lie, Rome probably contains some aspect of these in its many and complex layers. Though we'd been to Rome before, we felt that the planning executed by Insider's Italy utterly maximized our experience. Cheers!

wrldpeas, no need to register just to advertise this company. You should be aware that advertising is not allowed on this forum.

Grcxx3, no fair that we have to wait for more. I won't get to read it until I return from Rome myself! Oh well, guess I won't complain about that! :-d

Thanks for the report Grcxx3. I'm looking forwarding to the next installment.

Just a note to let you know that I am really enjoying your trip report and looking forward to more.

Hi LCBoniti, I am sure enjoying it also. And her sons..love the stories about them. Now if I could just have some of the wonderful dishes they were served, that would be heaven.

And yes wrldpeas, one should not "jump" into the middle of a Fodorite's trip report and start giving their own report and I too think you are advertising. That is against Fodor's Rules, have you bothered to read their rules?

Just bookmarking - I'm headed to Rome and Venice in Oct and I'm always looking for good information - and it sounds like you have a lot of fun on your trips!