(This is Eeyann's husband.)

We just got back from a family trip to Rome, Florence and Venice and I want to thank all the folks here at Fodor’s TravelTalk for your excellent suggestions, (especially mrand). That information really made our trip wonderful.

It had been 20 years since my wife and I last visited Italy and we really wanted to experience it again with our 3 teenage kids. Our oldest is heading off to college in the fall and has taken her first art history classes this year. Our middle daughter (15) loves to travel and is also interested in art and history. Our 13-year-old boy has just studied Roman history in school and we thought that now would be the perfect time to visit Italy. With our kids growing up, I’m also aware that we may not have too many more opportunities for family vacations.

JULY 2 - 6, ROME

We flew from San Francisco on Lufthansa to Munich then onto Rome, arriving at 9:00 pm. The flights were fine, but I missed the TV screens in the seatbacks that are available on other airlines. We’d arranged with the hotel for a driver to pick us up at the airport and after a long wait for the luggage (I had to retrieve one bag that had fallen behind the carousel!), he took us to the Hotel Farnese. The Farnese is a lovely old villa that has been transformed into a hotel. It’s outside the historic Rome area, but is about a 15-minute walk to St. Peters. We’d reserved a double and a triple room (with wonderful air conditioning). Our double room, #41, has a beautiful small terrace that we enjoyed in the evenings.

The next day we toured the Colosseum and ancient city with our guide Sara from Rome Walks, www.romewalks.com . Everyone really enjoyed this private 3-hour tour. Sara is an archeologist from Italy and her talk really made the history of the ruins come alive. We were ready for hot weather and managed to find areas of shade throughout the tour. My son particularly liked hearing about the gladiator fights and the elaborate system of trap doors in the Colosseum floor. We ended the tour outside the Palatine Museum designed by Michelangelo and the ancient Roman influence on the Renaissance artists really became clear. I was fascinated by the layer-upon-layer of history in that small area.

After the tour we stopped for gelato and that became a delicious routine for the rest of the trip. We reviewed the activity lists that the kids had made before the trip and added some new ideas. Our initial restaurant experiences were pretty sketchy and we soon discovered the value of taking the time to make reservations at the Rick Steve’s recommended restaurants. Alessandra, the concierge at the Farnese, was very helpful making many arrangements for us.

Because there was a taxi strike in Rome, we always walked or used public transit. The bus system is great and there was a metro stop at the corner near our hotel.

On Tuesday we walked over to St. Peters and met our tour guide, Daniella Hunt from Mirabilia Urbis Walking Tours www.rome-tours.com in a little park nearby. She gave us an excellent tour of the Vatican museum and the Sistine Chapel. Ann and I had visited the museum before, but having a guide really made the experience much more interesting. Daniella vividly connected the ancient Rome world we’d learned about the day before with the work of Michelangelo and the other Renaissance artists. I’d warned Daniella that our kids might have a hard time with a three-hour museum tour, but she geared her talk to their level and it was interesting for all of us.

Just to get off our feet, we made the mistake of taking a mid-afternoon double-decker bus tour in the heat of the day. Normally it would have been great, but in the intense sun it was almost unbearable.

Wednesday and Thursday were unplanned days and I’m really glad that we left that space. Our two younger kids wanted to see the Borghese Gardens and we took the Metro to the entrance and walked up the hill to the lovely little lake. It was a cool oasis and the younger kids and I rented a rowboat, each of us taking a turn at the oars while my wife and older daughter wrote postcards from a park bench. Next all the kids and I trekked over to the bicycle rental stand and rented a four-passenger surrey/bike. It was really fun, but the kids especially enjoyed taking dad down the hills at terrifying speed. After eating a picnic lunch on the grass, we made a quick exit when the sprinklers suddenly came on, spraying everyone in sight. The water actually felt great and it was nice to laugh with the Italians of all ages who’d also been surprised.

My daughters wanted to go shopping and we walked over to nearby Via del Corso. My son and I waited outside the dress shops and watched the amazing parade of fashionable Italians and tourists. The street was alive with people having a good time and we enjoyed slowly making our way down the street.

At the end of the day we found ourselves near Campo de Fiori and we took Rick Steve’s recommendation and ate at an outdoor table at Ristorante Al Carbonara. I know it’s a place for tourists, but the square was magical at twilight and I can’t think of another public space that comes close to that lively, beautiful atmosphere.

We watched the World Cup semi-finals that night at our hotel. Italy’s win put an unexpected happy glow over Rome. My son was wearing an Italian soccer jersey he’d bought that afternoon and the excitement about the game was everywhere. We’d seen the construction of the big projection screen in the Circus Maximus that morning and we could hear a huge cheer go up over the city when Italy won the semi-final game.

On our last day in Rome we walked over to the Castel Sant’ Angelo. The views of the Tiber were great from the top of the castle and my son loved the armory. On the way back we passed a temporary outdoor theater and a small complex of swimming pools on the side of the river. Later, the younger kids and I returned to the swimming pool area and played in the water for the rest of the afternoon. The pools were not crowded and it seemed nutty and great to be basking poolside next to the Tiber. (8E, plus 4E for a required bathing cap). Earlier, we’d tried with no luck to find out about swimming in Rome and this was perfect for the kids on a hot afternoon.

On Friday Alessandra arranged for a small van to pick us up and take us to the train station. We had our reservation for the Eurostar to Florence that I’d made through the Trenitalia website www.trenitalia.com (please read Fodor’s warnings about this site). At the station we bought tickets for the second leg from Florence to Venice. I accidentally went to the Trenitalia “Club” desk and the ticket agent was very helpful. My wife informed me later that I should have gotten into the long line at the regular ticket desk. I’m very thankful though that the agent took pity on this dumb American.

We waited on platform 4, listed on the train board, until about 5 minutes before departure time, but still no train. My wife overheard another American ask a station agent and he pointed down the long row of platforms. My wife approached the same agent and he wrote “12” on our ticket and motioned for us to hurry. I realized that the agent on the loudspeaker had been announcing this change in Italian and we had not understood. Later, at the Florence train station, I was thankful that they announced the trains in both Italian and English.

We hustled over to platform 12 and made the train just in time.

My early anxiety on this trip had been about getting our little troop on and off the trains with our luggage. We traveled with 26” luggage that I know is universally frowned upon by Fodor’s experts. It was so warm we really used every change of clothes we packed. If we owned something between the 26” and 22” I would definitely have used it because the 26” monsters were not easy to heave up into the overhead racks. No excuses though, I should have listened to you all!

NEXT FLORENCE

Great report, can't wait for the next installments! We'll be taking our 2 teenage grandsons to Italy next March, so this is great to hear what REALLY interests kids of this age. We're thinking of renting an apartment in the Trastevere area, near the Ponte Sisto bridge, hoping to walk or get to buses/trams for most attractions. After Rome, we'll either stay one night in Orvieto or Florence, then 2 nights in Venice, so can't wait to hear about your adventures there. Thanks so much for posting!

Eeyan, we were in Rome for the W Cup semifinals, too. Wasn't it so exciting! The Italians really went wild! (In fact, we were there July 3-6 with our teenagers!)

Sounds like you had a fantastic time in Rome. I'm really enjoying your report so far. I wish we had learned to manage the bus system better than we did. We walked A LOT because of that taxi strike.

Ditto. Thanks for the report. We're going next June with our two daughters (21 and 17) for our first trip to Rome, Venice, Florence (and Paris) so your details...particularly as they relate to keeping the kids happy and satisfied are very helpful.

Thankyou Eeyann's other half. We heading of to Italy with two other couples and three 15yr olds. We alll met at prenatal classess nearly 16 years ago. THe kids are like brothers & sister.

We are very interested in what enthuses kids.

Keep writing

Good report!

Thanks for a great report. Looking forward to more. We travel our boys, 12 and 15, and have not been to Rome yet so your info is useful.

Sounds like a great trip. It's always interesting to travel with teens. It's particularly illuminating to hear what they find to be the highlights.

Thanks everyone for your encouragement! As I review our Italy trip journal, I’m a little sheepish that we’ve stayed so close to the itineraries of countless other American tourists. That said, I’m also impressed that the sights in our Italy visit have all seemed greater than I ever imagined. Italy is the real thing and I’m glad we all have had a chance to get a taste of such amazing history and beauty.


JULY 7 – 8 FLORENCE

We enjoyed the trip on the Eurostar from Rome to Florence. We’d reserved first class seats and I think they were worth it just for the extra room (3 seats across, instead of 4). They also served a snack and drinks, much nicer than lining up in the restaurant car.

At the train station in Florence we packed into two taxis and headed for the Hotel Orto de Medici. The hotel is on quiet Via San Gallo near the Accademia. It has an unpretentious entrance that leads to a beautiful set of common rooms on the first floor. During our stay I especially liked the muraled breakfast room that opens onto a flower-filled terrace. As a welcome on the evening we arrived, they served complimentary mimosas and soft drinks. Our high-ceilinged rooms were simple and elegant (and wonderfully air conditioned).

My wife had spent five weeks in Florence as a student and she was an excellent guide for our little group. On our first afternoon we visited the Accademia. Six weeks earlier, I’d asked the hotel to reserve tickets for both the Accademia and the Uffizi Galleries. We all enjoyed seeing Michelangelo’s David. The scale and beauty of the sculpture is truly awe-inspiring and I loved showing it to our kids.

On returning to the hotel, I asked the concierge for his restaurant recommendation and he reserved a table for us at a great trattoria nearby called Toscana. The kids relaxed in the room until dinner and my wife and I took a walk and bought several wonderful marbled paper albums at Il Papiro, a gorgeous little shop on Via San Gallo. The gentleman that helped us was very kind and knowledgeable and my wife remembered shopping there when she was in college.

Dinner was delicious and the girls wore the dresses they bought in Rome. Walking back to the hotel, my son spied a toy store that he wanted to visit and we put that on the list for the next day. We bought gelato in Piazza San Marco and headed back to the hotel.

Saturday morning we came back to the toy store called Dreoni Giaccatoli and satisfied my son’s request. I was surprised how huge the place is, fanning out behind a simple entrance to many rooms of wonderful toys. We placed a pin on their huge map that shows the home countries of thousands of international visitors to the store.

The Duomo was our next stop and after looking inside the church (free), the younger kids and I climbed to the top of the dome (6E). My daughter counted every step (464), so she knew when we were finally reaching the top. The view from the top is wonderful and you really get a sense of the tremendous scale of the dome after the slightly exhausting climb.

Meanwhile my wife and older daughter visited the Museo del Opera del Duomo to see Michelangelo’s Pieta and Ghiberti’s bronze doors showing the Gates of Paradise. My wife describes the doors as “magnificent in a modern museum space” and now I wished I’d seen that too.

At noon we regrouped with just enough time for a picnic lunch on the steps facing the Piazza Signoria, near the loggia of the Uffizi. It was great for people watching and everyone felt refreshed.

We reported to the Uffizi ticket office at 12:30 and purchased our reserved tickets for entrance at 12:45. Our oldest girl led the way as she discovered many of the masterpieces she’d read about in art history. Our son especially loved the new exhibit on Leonardo Da Vinci’s machines and inventions.

Afterwards we window-shopped on the Ponte Vecchio and returned to the hotel.

While the kids rested, my wife and I walked over to see the Fra Angelico frescoes at the nearby San Marco priory. We had the museum almost to ourselves and at closing time we laughed as the guard turned out the lights and shooed us out like school children.

On Sunday we visited the church of San Marco during the morning mass and then packed up and took taxis to the Florence train station, just a quarter mile away. It was hard to leave Florence after such a short time, but I'm determined to return soon!

NEXT FLORENCE

Oop! Should have written NEXT VENICE!
Thanks,
Eeyann's Husband

Well hello eeyann's husband, just make sure you continue on with your wonderful trip report please. I just saw it tonight and I have enjoyed it so much. And travelling with children and seeing the world through their eyes is always so wonderful. Now, on to Venice..another great installment I think!

Great report and please do NOT "feel sheepish" because you did what all the tourists do..there's a reason they, and you, did/do it..and it definitely shows in your enthusiastic report...there's a reason people all go to certain places and it's a good reason.

Anxious to hear about Venice!

Thanks Love Italy, your encouraging advice throughout the Italy forum has been so helpful. You hit just the right note in your comments and this Italy beginner appreciates it. Thank you too Dukey, I wholeheartedly agree with your observations about the classic sights of Italy.

I’m working on the last installment of this report. It’s been great for me just to take the time to think about the experiences of our recent Italy trip.

Thanks again,
E’s Husband

love the report- I really enjoy reading what other people did in the same place!
Hagan - Please think twice about staying in trastevere with your grandsons. There are some interesting and lovely things there - st. Cecilia's church and crypt being highligghts for us, but i would rather stay right in the centre - campo di fiori or Piazza navonna. They are "nicer" areas and much more conveniant for seeing the other parts of Rome. Alternaively, if you think that you want to spend a lot of time around the Forum and Colosseum, stay in the Monti area, between the Clolsseum and the via nazionale. you'll spoend longer on the bubses, but they won't be too hot or crowded that time opf year.
IMO T'vere is nice for a day's outing, but not to stay.

I just want to add that my 13 y-o son and his friend insisted on watching World Cup soccer on Roman tv(8 years ago)with the volume turned way up "so it was more authentic Italian!" They actually said authentic, and neither spoke any Italian at all. With the sound turned down, they lost the World Cup excitement. They also loved going into any church I could find, in the hopes of seeing some saint's body part under glass. Try not to miss Galileo's finger in Florence. It was one of their body part highlights! Admittedly gruesome, but they still talk about the "Bone Church" in Rome, whose name unfortunately escapes me right now. It is near the Barberini metro stop.

JULY 9 – 12, VENICE

The train trip was beautiful and helped make up for the earlier pain of making reservations. (I should have called Visa before attempting to buy train tickets on the Trenitalia website.) We arrived in Venice at 3:30 pm and made our way to the dock outside the station. In the blazing sun and mild confusion, it was surreal to see an Italian musical group dressed like American Indians (complete with feathered headresses) performing in the plaza. I still haven’t figured that one out.

We debated whether to take the vaporetto or water taxi and decided to try the vaporetto. We bought three-day passes for all of us (25E each) and followed the crowd with our bags. The boat was jammed with people, but we enjoyed the novelty of taking the waterbus. Just being on the water felt great in the heat. We got off at the Ca d’ Oro stop and made our way (about 1.5 blocks on Strada Nova) to Campo SS. Apostoli and asked directions to the Hotel Antico Doge. The nice woman at the little gelato stand pointed toward the bridge at the corner of the square. In retrospect, we probably should have taken a water taxi, which would have dropped us right at the door.

The Hotel Antico Doge was my favorite of our hotels. (Thanks for the recommendation mrand!) Our air-conditioned rooms were beautifully decorated in Venetian style, including damask covered walls and Venetian glass chandeliers. The delicate surfaces all seemed fresh and new and I warned the kids to be a little careful. The bathroom of our “junior suite” was huge by European standards.

Forgetting that the World Cup Final Game was that night, I asked the concierge to make reservations at Trattoria da Giorgio ai Greci near Piazza San Marco for dinner at 7:30. This was not my finest hour and I almost had a mutiny on my hands when I discovered that the game would begin at 8:00. I assured everyone that there would be a TV set up at the restaurant and breathed a sigh of relief when my guess was right. We sat amongst the owner’s family and friends and enjoyed an excellent meal. At halftime we headed back to the hotel, my wife and older daughter taking the vaporetto and the rest of us walking the faster route on land. Piazza San Marco was deserted and gorgeous in the twilight. The man selling birdseed was packing up for the night and the children asked me if we could come back the next day. The excitement about being in Venice really struck me as we made our way through the quiet labyrinth of walkways crossing canals. The whole place seemed so much like a great stage set, I had to keep reminding myself that it was real and we were really here!

We reached the hotel first and tuned in the game. My wife and older daughter arrived a few minutes later with a tale about their novice vaporetto pilot who took three tries to dock at each stop. He evidently had drawn the short-straw assignment of working on World Cup night.

When Italy won the game, the streets outside the hotel filled with happy people. My younger daughter and I took a walk to see the celebration and we were amazed to see people jumping from the bridges into the canal and groups singing on the streets. Watching the celebration there was a feeling of being in an older time as revelers surged by in the dimly lit piazza. My daughter and I were both aware that we were having a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

The next day, we met Ilaria, our excellent guide for The Secret Itineraries Tour of the Doges Palace, in the courtyard of the palace. (She admitted that she had jumped into the canal the night before!) The interesting tour showed a Renaissance Venice government operating through a complex system of checks and balances that avoided putting any one person in a permanent position of power. No one was trusted in the mid-level management of the city and a secret bureaucracy was hidden between floors of the Doges Palace. I liked seeing the hidden rooms and Casanova’s prison cell. It was fascinating to walk above the suspended ceilings of the palace rooms and look down on the backside of the Tintoretto painted panels. (Just a warning: this brief part of the tour was in the attic of the Palace and at mid-day, the temperature must have been a stuffy 100 degrees.) As we passed through that area, Ilaria admitted that sometimes people need to leave the tour because of the heat. At the end of the tour we were free to enjoy the magnificent galleries and council rooms of the palace without waiting in line.

When we emerged from the Doges Palace, the younger kids fed the pigeons in Piazza San Marco while I went to find out about having lunch at Florian’s. The cafe looked so appealing in the shade with musicians playing for the customers at tables in the piazza, but I just couldn’t go for the 15E (per person) cover charge and the astronomical prices. If it had just been just the two of us, I would have really enjoyed eating at such a wonderful historic place. Next time!

After some pizza, we checked our backpacks at the San Marco bag check office in an alley adjacent to the church. With the red tags from the checkroom, we were able to bypass the long line into the church and walk right in. This was a Rick Steves tip and I still feel a twinge of guilt about walking past the people lined up in the hot sun.

The Byzantine interior of San Marco is glorious and reinforces Venice’s reputation as a showcase of art spanning several ages. I was glad that our kids could see the connection between this 900-year-old church and the end of the Roman Empire that we had discussed at the beginning of our trip.

The younger children and I visited the “treasure room” of San Marco (6E) and I think they enjoyed seeing the strange relics (saint’s skulls and other bones) enshrined in ornate golden cases, but I could have skipped this.

On our way back from San Marco, we made our way through Calle Lovo, stopping to shop for baby clothes for a new niece. It reminded me of our Italy trip 20 years ago when, as newlyweds, we bought baby clothes in expectation of the children that we might have someday. Now those kids are almost grown-up!

We passed the hotel to go to the kids favorite, Gelateria Ca’ D’oro on Strada Nova. At the great grocery store nearby, we picked up treats and soft drinks for the room. That night we made a list of everything that the kids wanted to do on our last day in Italy and I promised that we’d try to satisfy everyone’s wishes. The list included:

1. Early morning photo expedition (me)
2. The Murano glass factories (everyone)
3. Sleeping (older daughter & son)
4. The Accademia Museum (wife)
5. A water taxi ride (son & me)
6. Feeding the pigeons again in Piazza San Marco (son and younger daughter)
7. Shopping (older daughter and younger daughter)
8. The Peggy Guggenheim Collection (wife & me)
9. A gondola ride at twilight (everyone)

The next day we managed to do almost everything on the list (the Guggenheim Collection is closed on Tuesdays unfortunately). I got up early and at 7:00 am, I took the #82 vaporetto completely around the island. In the early morning light Venice is especially beautiful and I photographed workmen loading market boats with produce, vast cruise ships and sleek yachts in the lagoon, old ladies going to mass in Campo Della Salute and craftsmen restoring a gothic palace. The Rialto Bridge looked pink in the early light and the water was sparkling. I liked the feeling of seeing behind the scenes in Venice and the slow moving vaporetto is a perfect vantage point.

I met everyone back at breakfast and we asked the concierge about the water taxi to Murano. A young couple had already arranged for a boat that would leave in 5 minutes from the front of the hotel and we got on board. The free water taxi ride was just as good as the experience at Murano. My son really loved speeding across the lagoon. The taxi dropped us at one of the factories where we watched an interesting glassblowing demonstration. The factory representative then led us into a series of showrooms filled with incredibly expensive sculptures and chandeliers (300E for a tiny bowl to 17,000E for a huge chandelier). It was hard to get very excited about the ungainly, glitzy stuff. I think there must be other factories that have a better designs and prices. (In fact, back in Venice, I bought a beautifully designed and more reasonably priced glass necklace at a fantastic shop called “Arcobaleno” near SS. Apostoli.) I finally asked the rep. if there was a place to have lunch on the island and he showed us the door, but said that we’d have to take the vaporetto back if we left the showroom. That was what we’d planned so we spent the rest of the morning looking at the smaller shops and headed back on the waterbus.

My wife, younger daughter and I got off the vaporetto at the Gallerrie Dell’Accademia and our son and older daughter went on to the hotel to rest. I understood that our rule about getting up early enough to eat the hotel breakfast was not easy for our jet-lagged teenagers and they had been good sports so far.

It was nice to split up occasionally on our trip and we had a very relaxed tour of the Accademia using Rick Steve’s guide. Veronese’s monumental “Feast in the House of Levi” was thrilling to see in person.

Returning on the vaporetto, we got off at the Rialto Bridge and discovered several interesting shops near the produce market on the east side. Our daughter had been looking for a Venetian mask similar to the ones she’d learned about in her drama class. I can’t recall the name, but the shop on the Ruga was filled with excellent traditional papier-mâché masks. The owner, who had created many of the masks, was very helpful as our daughter, with much deliberation, chose her favorite. Before walking back to the hotel, we shared two cups filled with delicious watermelon wedges from the produce market.

We later regrouped and managed to fulfill the rest of the wishes on our list, including another bird feeding session in Piazza San Marco. I can see why the kids loved it. It amazing to have a pigeon on your head!

Our kids wanted to choose the restaurant for our last night in Venice and they picked a place in Campo SS. Apostoli that served pizza. The waiter, who looked like he’d had a hard day, ignored us and we waited until a young couple at an outdoor table warned us that the food was not very good. Moving on, the kids found a better place on the Strada Nova called Osteria Al Vecio Bragosso.

That morning I’d asked the concierge about hiring a gondola and she told me that the price depended on the time of day and was more expensive in the evening. She said that it would be about 90 – 100E for a gondola ride at sunset. I’d read mixed opinions about gondolas, but we loved every moment of it. We wound our way from the main canal into quiet passageways between ancient palazzos; the only sound was the lapping of the water and the gondolier occasionally calling, “Oye!” as he came to a canal intersection. The sunset over the Rialto Bridge and the colors of the buildings in the twilight were especially beautiful. It was a highlight of our visit to Venice and a great ending of our time in Italy.

The next morning we arranged for a water taxi to take us to the airport. Unfortunately, at the appointed time, there was a construction boat parked at the landing. The water taxi pulled-up along side the boat and I balanced between the lumber and paint buckets to pass our !*#@% luggage across to the taxi pilot. The rest of the family clambered over to the taxi and we were off, watching Venice recede into the distance. Whew!

Writing this now I’m aware that the impact of a trip like this grows just thinking about the rich experiences that we had. I laugh at some of the preconceptions and worries I had and I’m so happy that our kids have had this early experience in Italy. I predict that they will all be back and I know my wife and I already look forward to a return trip to Italy.

Here are a few random thoughts about our trip:

1. Even though the guidebooks warn travelers about Italy in July, with careful planning it can be a good time to visit. New exhibits open at the height of the season and the long warm summer evenings are wonderful for walking. Planning for hot weather helps, but I admit there were afternoons that were just too darn hot, the Italian siesta is a great idea.

2. Before the trip, I offered to buy our kids “sensible walking shoes”. They refused of course and adamantly defended their choice of good quality flip-flops and they were right! While my feet ached, the kids’ feet were fine at the end of the day. Reefs and Tevas seemed to be the international choice for teenagers.

3. At most restaurants a jacket is not required for the men and rarely seen in the summer, but I’m still glad I brought mine. I know I’m a dinosaur.

4. Speaking a few words of Italian is a gracious way to begin a conversation and (for me at least) says, “I can’t speak Italian, but I’m trying”. Most Italians go out of their way to be helpful and they will immediately try to speak English.

5. Even though it was the height of the season, by making reservations and following the tips from this site and Rick Steves’ books, we never waited in line more than 15 minutes and usually walked right in after purchasing our tickets. (The Vatican museum was an exception, even with a guide we waited in line about 40 minutes).

6. A private guide for the most important museums makes the experience much more rewarding.

7. Tour groups seem to breed bad behavior. I cringed when we found ourselves amongst a big group of tourists from a cruise ship or bus. They seemed very insulated from the experience around them and were often inconsiderate of other people.

8. Gelato is the number one tool to help jet-lagged kids (and adults)!

9. There is so much to see, I can’t wait to go back. I feel like we just touched the surface.



Thanks to my wife for helping me write this report and thanks to everyone on the Fodor’s Italy page, you made planning this trip so much fun!

Sincerely,
E’s husband

GREAT report! Thank you very much. I'm copying pertinant parts for our trip in October.

Enjoyed your report, esp. since we did essentially the same trip about 2 months ago, with kids ages 10, 13 and 15.

We must have toured the same glass factory/show room on Murano. I think they need a lesson in buyer/consumer psychology. They'd sell a lot more if they steered tourists into showrooms of more modestly priced glass. No one is going to feel obligated to buy a 7000 euro chandlier, just becase they got a free water taxi ride, or even a 300 euro vase.

Thanks nukesafe and missypie! I agree with you missypie about Murano. The glass factory salesman pointed out that the prices are negotiable, but even at half the price it seemed too much. I do think there is a missed opportunity at Murano to showcase this great traditional craft at a reasonable price.

bkm