i love trip reports that make me laugh out loud!

NorCalif

Well done - you are making me so excited about our trip to Italy with two other families (our prenatal group can you believe) with the resulting 4 * 15 yr olds in October.

Look forward to hearing how you found Sleep in Italy. We are staying in the Carrozze apartment neat the Trevi.

Don't you meet the neatest people in sleeper cars on trains? My DD then 11 spent a night playing cards with the only Cambodian doing his PhD in Tourism on the Reunification Express between Hue & Hanoi in Vietnam.

Chapter 8: in Rome –

On first night in Rome go out to dinner with friends at place they know about a couple blocks off Campo dei Fiori, about 5 minute walk from our apartment. It’s about 10:30 PM, temperature has decreased from rolling boil to mere gentle simmer, and outdoor cafes are filled with people who seem to be at one big party. In fact all of Rome (the parts we were in) seems to be one big party every night. DD says she wants to move to Rome. Still detectable pattern, but now uttered on first night of stay rather than last! Outdoor cafes all full till very late, people wandering the streets talking, laughing, eating. Of course a lot of these people must be tourists like we are, so are not on work schedules. But still it’s a great festive atmosphere and plenty of Italian is heard in the crowd.

After dinner we walk over to friends’ Trastevere apartment on vicolo del Bologna. Their apartment is small but nice except for rather strange choice in artwork covering, and I do mean covering, the walls. Huge Fernando Botero (definitely an acquired taste) prints with “The Bath” front and center in the living room (google it if you’re not familiar with his work). Agree with friends that looking at naked out-of-shape middle-aged bottom gets a little tiresome, day after day. (And I should know because in my very own mirror … never mind.) But while the indoor scenery is worse in their apartment than in ours, the air conditioning is better. We both indulge in little bit of apartment envy, but are basically happy with apartments, especially given last-minute bookings, and are ecstatic about locations. Can (and do) walk to all the sights – Pantheon, Piazza Navona, various churches (loved Santa Maria sopra Minerva), Vittorio Emanuelle monument, Colosseum, even walk from the apartment right down beside the Tiber all the way to the Vatican and back.

DS is very happy to see sights he has learned about in Roman history courses at Cal and is fount of interesting facts about very early Roman times, the creation and fall of the Roman Empire, etc. He communicates his fascination with those times so well, making the personalities come alive, that it even generates enthusiasm for the subject in me, something I’ve heretofore been impervious to. So while we probably have most expensive tour guide in Rome (when we consider all we’ve paid for his tuition), we find him quite knowledgeable and charming and well worth the money. Would recommend him to anyone.

Settle down into daily routine for week: go to morning market at Campo dei Fiori, buy fruit (best cherries ever) for snacking, go to outdoor café for coffee, meet friends, choose sights for day, walk to sights, eat pizza, see sights, eat gelato, walk around more, eat more pizza, eat more gelato, go back to respective apartments and take nap before dinner (have I mentioned it was very, very, very hot?). Meet friends again around 9:00 PM and decide where to go for dinner – stick to our neighborhood or Trastevere. Liked pizza at Dar Poeta and had best meal of entire trip at … please forgive me, but I cannot remember name. Around corner from vicolo del Bologna. Mentioned in one guide book. Moderate prices, very good food – zucchini flan appetizer, tagliatelle with goat cheese, perfectly cooked rare tuna with some sort of green sauce, beef with Tuscan oil and herbs, and so on. Other diners we run into as we leave rave about dessert cheese plate. Know friends will remember name, but they are now in Switzerland. Sorry to be so derelict in this aspect of trip report responsibility.

Adults linger at dinner and talk while 3 teenagers head off to begin (!) evening revelries at midnight. They go to dance clubs in neighborhood and dance till (almost) dawn. Set curfew at 3:00 AM (not as crazy as it sounds, streets filled with people till all hours). Meet with protests that clubs don’t even close till 4:00 AM. Ignore protests. Issue strict rules that all 3 have to stay together; give paranoid parental lectures about creepy people who prey on young tourists, date-rape drugs, etc. etc. Kids feign attention enough to be allowed to go. Girls are walked home every night by 3 or 4 admirers en masse, while brother ambles alongside bemusedly (he has serious girlfriend at home).

Could get used to above schedule as lifetime pattern. Will look into winning lottery.

Chapter 9: Rome continued –

We only vary above schedule (if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it) on one day and take a day trip to Sperlonga – a beach about an hour and a half south of Rome. Meet friends at Termini station for first part of trip on train – about an hour – since we have railpasses it’s free. Get un-air-conditioned car. Not ideal, but with windows open it’s tolerable. Good scenery in parts along the way. In Fondi change from train to bus for half-hour ride to beach. Bus filled to bursting. Also not air-conditioned. Many young German kids on bus, they get off before beach. Wonder where they’re going?

Finally get there, very hot and more than ready to jump in water. Only I can’t. I can’t even wade. Had sustained severe toe injury from gigantic boot landing on sandaled foot in crushing line at Vatican day before. Entire toenail ripped off – eww - and deepish cuts sustained. Had to see doctor at American Hospital in Rome to have it attended to. Toe now wrapped in gauze bandages and water prohibited for a few days. Will just have to sit on beach chair and … eat gelato. Water is calm as a lake and very warm. Everyone enjoys swimming. Pretty little beach town, bougainvillea, flowers everywhere, Mediterranean ambience. Nice little beachhut type café right on beach, which we are in and out of all day – proprietors helpful and friendly. Have totally relaxing, pleasant day away from big city. Head back about dinnertime; this time get air conditioned train car. Am very grateful as will admit heat is getting to me.

Week comes to end. Time to catch evening train to Milan and change to sleeper train to Paris. This time we are all booked in same T6 couchette. Share it with 2 Frenchwomen who keep themselves to themselves, so no long conversations. Just sleep.

To be continued …

What a great trip report! Your family has made such great memories. Well done!

SO sorry about your toe - made my skin crawl just to read about it!
Sounds like you spent a lot of time going back and forth to Trastevere. To me, that means it couldn't have been to inconvenient, right? The apartment we've reserved for trip with 2 teen grandsons is on Vicolo del Cinque, looks like just a short distance from pedestrian bridge, and has 2 br's, 2 ba's. It's 20 euro per night more than the Falegnami (which also looked good), but I'm thinking the extra bath will be worth it. I'd love to hear more about your apartment!

Hi NorCalif, I am still loving your trip report and your sense of humor and thinking process, lol.

About your toe and toenail, that sounds horrible. A question if you do not mind. My health insurance claims they will reimburse for any medical expenses outside of the US..if I send them an itemized statement regarding the medical cost. I have always understood that Italian hospitals do not supply that as there is the Italian government health system so unless you go to a private clinic you cannot get an itemized statement. So my question is; how did going to the hospital work for you? Were you given free care, billed or did you have to pay up front and if so did you get an itemized statement? Thank you in advance.

I can just hear the three young ones getting all of the various rules before they took off for the clubs, lol. Hopefully it didn't go in one ear and out the other. You were lucky that you had your son to go with them. And when you learn how to win the lottery, please advise ;;)

Enjoyed this and thanks for the tips. Waiting for the name of the place with the great food....

Thanks so much. Your report is terrific! What a great surprise when I opened this thread. Better than a movie!!

Hi NorCalif - from across the Bay. I've stopped laughing and caught my breath, so I'll explain the paragraph thing.

Your first post, after the rules contained one looooong paragraph and also your second post. I didn't mean to sound like your old junior high school English teacher.

When I read long paragraphs (only if I'm really really interested in the content), my eyes start to go in three or four different directions at the same time. Sorta like Linda Blair in the Exorcist. Not your fault, faulty eye installation.

You accomplished in 2.5 weeks what it takes most of us seven or eight months to do. You could be my idol - but then what would I do with the 6.5 or 7.5 months before the trip. That might mean that I would have to get a life - way too late for that.

So, when's your next trip??

Nina

P.S. DH just said that because I am on a Web TV, the line breaks may be interupted differently. He'll check it out on his laptop - I want a second opinion :-)

The best Trip Report I have read in years,

I love the spontanity, the family closeness, your reunions with friends, your "happy-go-lucky" approach,

naturally there must have been "family frazzles" along the way, but what a wonderful trip (so far),

looking forward to next installment.

This is a wonderful trip report!

What Aubrey/Maturin-related sites did you pass while in London?

Lee Ann

Oh, No, toe injury, how awful. Sounds like you were a trooper though. Looking forward to the rest.

Chapter 10: Paris déjà vu –

Arrive in Paris about 8:30 AM at Gare de Bercy after surprisingly decent night’s sleep. Will be catching tunnel train to London at 4:00 PM from Gare du Nord. Decide to go ahead and get luggage over there to store for day. Catch metro to Gare du Nord and find efficient, inexpensive storage lockers are available at station. Bags have to go through security screening first, but then have several size lockers can choose among. We find big locker that holds all 4 suitcases and 4 daypacks for 7 Euros. Now we’re ready for a last day in Paris.

Paris seems cooler after Rome, especially since still relatively early. Also seems cleaner and calmer. First stop, a sidewalk café for breakfast. Find a nice one under some leafy green trees with a really charming waiter. Enjoy ourselves exchanging banter with him for a long time. We have decided to spend day at the Louvre. Take metro over there.

But first have to confront problem of hotel in London for, egads, TONIGHT. As you may recall, had given up on booking London hotel for the last 2 nights of trip as just could not find any reasonably priced rooms with AC. Somehow entire week in Rome slipped by while in major denial, so still no reservations. Last afternoon in Rome had spent an hour at internet café, collecting London hotel names and phone numbers. Berate self for ridiculosity. How could I have thought that finding a hotel now would be easier than in comfort of own home several weeks ago – with all facilities like email, phone, Fodor’s Board, at fingertips?? Used to consider self reasonably sensible person. Clearly must re-evaluate. But too late to cry over spilled hotel reservations. Know that we can find SOMETHING if willing to a) set standards low enough – i.e. rooms without AC and with bedbugs or b) pay tariff high enough – i.e. rooms for 12,539 pounds per night. Each.

Hope to find some middle ground. But we will arrive in London in less than 8 hours. Must take action now. So while DH, DS, and DD start in Louvre, I sit on shady steps in courtyard and begin frantically calling from my list of London moderately-priced hotels with AC. “Any rooms available, like, um, tonight and tomorrow for, uh, well, actually, 4 people?” I’m embarrassed each time I ask. Answer same each time I ask: negatory.

Sit and stare at glass pyramids in courtyard. Start thumbing through little notebook where I had jotted notes from Fodor’s, while still at home, about places to stay. Find some notes about Windsor. Oh yes, close to Heathrow. Nice 1800’s manor house called Oakley Court, right on the Thames, acres of grounds - rejected as too expensive. (Oh, those innocent days.) Well clearly time for Rule # 2 again and decision to go for option (b) above. At least would be paying for something more interesting than the equivalent of a random Marriott – which we can’t get anyway. Can they possibly have room? Call them. They have a family room available for the four of us! Can barely contain happiness. But it gets better – they have “Legoland package” for only (see, I’m getting in the London swing of things) 150 pounds per night - room for all 4 of us, inclusive of full English breakfast and dinner for the parents. Swimming pool, fitness room, riverfront, gardens. Plus free picnic lunch and passes to Legoland. In delirium of joy I babble, “Well do we HAVE to go to Legoland?” Geez, what a moron I am, I think, like they’d force us to go under armed escort if we try to play Lego hooky. “Well, no Madam, you don’t have to go to Legoland,” the receptionist says, in the calm, reassuring voice one uses with agitated mental patients. “I’d like to book the room,” I say tremulously.

What’s seeing the Mona Lisa again compared to this?? I have booked a hotel room, if not actually in, then near, London.

To be continued …

OK, you've teased me with the next chapter, now I just cannot go to bed tonight without hearing the rest!

I have tears rolling down my face-you are HILARIOUS!! This is the kind of travel report I wish I'd see more often! Keep it coming...

Just checking to see if you made it in to see Mona. You can't possibly be doing something more important (living your life, etc.) than writing your trip report, can you?

NOrCalif - As with everyone else I am enjoying your trip report. How lucky you were to get into one of the apartments at La Calcina in Venice. My Italy/Paris trip is 8 1/2 months away and there isn't a reservation to be had either in the hotel or apartments during the time I will be in Venice. What a lovely writing style you have :)

More more!!

(just a little thing, I notice you call it the tunnel train, which I am sure is correct, but it is referred to as "the Chunnel" here in the UK (the tunnel thru the Channel)

OT, read this and see why American Fodorites might not know what to call it anymore ! LOL
http://fodors.com/forums/threadselec...p;tid=34810578

NorCal, I am sending this to my daughter, who plans her trips almost a year in advance, down to the last minute..I hope you will rub off on her a little ~lol~
Looking forward to reading more!!