A Great Family Trip to Italy-- Three cheers for Mauro and the our Guides
Jul 5th, 2008, 07:26 PM
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A Great Family Trip to Italy-- Three cheers for Mauro and the our Guides
My family of five (children 14, 11 and 9) returned from a wonderful trip to Italy and I wanted to share a few highlights from the trip as Fodorites were so helpful to us in planning our trip.
We left May 30 and flew into FCO-- which incidentally is a long way from the tourist sites in Rome. We were fortunate to have booked our apartment through Mauro (email at
[email protected]) and were so happy to see his smiling face and placard at the baggage claim! Mauro was an excellent reference point for us in Rome (I believe I sourced Mauro from someone else on Fodor's talk) and a real gentleman that offers exceptional service at a good value. He picked us up and dropped us back at the airport between our stay at our lovely apartment at via del pellegrino 81. The drive to the apt. was peppered with interesting insights about Rome. The link for the apartment is
Http://www.consult-italia.it/rome_ap...partamento=013
We paid 680 Euro for 4 nights which included transportation to and from the airport which would have easily been at least 50 Euro each way for the five of us. Also, for five of us-- we would have had to rent two hotel rooms at most locations for quite a bit more—so we were very pleased with the accommodations. Mauro also gave us a cell phone that we could use to contact him at any time and we gave it out to family back stateside before we left if they needed to contact us.
The apartment we rented was clean and a marvelous location, situated equal distance from the Vatican, Coliseum, and Pantheon. Mauro also was a great source for booking top-notch guides at the Forum, Vatican and for a stroll around Rome that included a church and the Pantheon (Flavia, Fabio and Serena were terrific as all three spoke great English and each had Ph.D's in archeology). The final note on the apartment was that it was two blocks from Campo di Fiori-- a wonderful square filled with excellent restaurants. Our apartment was also less than a block from a local grocery where we stocked up for breakfast, lunch goods and beverages. We had tacked on this four night stay in Rome to a Mediterranean cruise at the last moment-- so Mauro's help in arranging quality guides was a key positive for us.
Our first day we visited the Forum with our guide Flavia. It was a wonderful, hot day in Rome and we spent about 4 hours there before the short walk to Coliseum. The Forum continues to grow as new archaeological teams expand the site through the years. Flavia had herself participated in one of the recent digs which made it more interesting in some respects for our children. We also took in the Capital Line Museum. Flavia left us after an overview of the Coliseum and we were all so thankful to have had her wonderful insights as made our way through the Forum. The coliseum was an hour or hour and a half well spent before venturing back to Campo Fiori for a magnificent family style Italian meal where we split a few appetizers and a few entrees between the five of us. I was prepared for the worse in terms of expense in Rome-- but the restaurants at Camp Fiori were a decent value for the quality of food with entrees running about $15-18 each.
The next morning our guide, Serena met us at the apartment and we set out through a very light drizzle through the side streets of Rome on our way to the unforgettable Pantheon. On the way, we stopped in at a Church to view a wonderful Caravaggio painting that Serena was familiar with. She told the story of the painting in such detail that we were all captivated by the nuances she explained. Then we wandered through "story filled" streets with our guide to the famous Pantheon-- an amazing precursor of the basilica-styled churches and an astronomical wonder. After a tour at the Pantheon, Serena walked us to Trevi Fountain at which we through a few coins before heading back to the apartment for lunch.
After a quick lunch we headed over to the Vatican to meet our guide Fabio-- a guide that was second to none. Fabio knew the Vatican inside out and spoke perfect English. The Raphael room was a highlight for sure but the entire tour was unbelievable. Fabio was patient enough with our children but also had an amazing knowledge of the art works and history that could keep my wife and I on our toes. We ended the tour with a walk through St. Peters—where we had worshipped the previous Sunday before walking out through the square and bidding Fabio farewell.
The next morning we got up intending to try to get in stand bye at the Borghese Gallery. Unfortunately, the Gallery was closed due to Independence Day celebrations in Rome. We walked through the lovely grounds and wandered our way to Villa Medici, which was also closed due to the French Ambassador's luncheon there later that day. The good news is that we were not far from the Spanish Steps and the Trinity Church. We took in both before a nice luncheon at the bottom of the stairs. From there we grabbed the Metro and stopped a few stops later at St. Mary Marjorie Church, which had amazing art and sculptures. After the church, we grabbed a bus out of the city to the Catacombs and the Apian Way. The catacombs were interesting and it was nice to take in a bit of the Roman countryside on the Apian Way—the original road in and out of Rome-before returning back to the center city and our apartment.
The next morning Mauro was at our apartment in plenty of time for us to make the flight from FCO to Athens where we caught our cruise. It was a short stay in Rome-- but absolutely packed with beauty and fun.
We left May 30 and flew into FCO-- which incidentally is a long way from the tourist sites in Rome. We were fortunate to have booked our apartment through Mauro (email at
[email protected]) and were so happy to see his smiling face and placard at the baggage claim! Mauro was an excellent reference point for us in Rome (I believe I sourced Mauro from someone else on Fodor's talk) and a real gentleman that offers exceptional service at a good value. He picked us up and dropped us back at the airport between our stay at our lovely apartment at via del pellegrino 81. The drive to the apt. was peppered with interesting insights about Rome. The link for the apartment is
Http://www.consult-italia.it/rome_ap...partamento=013
We paid 680 Euro for 4 nights which included transportation to and from the airport which would have easily been at least 50 Euro each way for the five of us. Also, for five of us-- we would have had to rent two hotel rooms at most locations for quite a bit more—so we were very pleased with the accommodations. Mauro also gave us a cell phone that we could use to contact him at any time and we gave it out to family back stateside before we left if they needed to contact us.
The apartment we rented was clean and a marvelous location, situated equal distance from the Vatican, Coliseum, and Pantheon. Mauro also was a great source for booking top-notch guides at the Forum, Vatican and for a stroll around Rome that included a church and the Pantheon (Flavia, Fabio and Serena were terrific as all three spoke great English and each had Ph.D's in archeology). The final note on the apartment was that it was two blocks from Campo di Fiori-- a wonderful square filled with excellent restaurants. Our apartment was also less than a block from a local grocery where we stocked up for breakfast, lunch goods and beverages. We had tacked on this four night stay in Rome to a Mediterranean cruise at the last moment-- so Mauro's help in arranging quality guides was a key positive for us.
Our first day we visited the Forum with our guide Flavia. It was a wonderful, hot day in Rome and we spent about 4 hours there before the short walk to Coliseum. The Forum continues to grow as new archaeological teams expand the site through the years. Flavia had herself participated in one of the recent digs which made it more interesting in some respects for our children. We also took in the Capital Line Museum. Flavia left us after an overview of the Coliseum and we were all so thankful to have had her wonderful insights as made our way through the Forum. The coliseum was an hour or hour and a half well spent before venturing back to Campo Fiori for a magnificent family style Italian meal where we split a few appetizers and a few entrees between the five of us. I was prepared for the worse in terms of expense in Rome-- but the restaurants at Camp Fiori were a decent value for the quality of food with entrees running about $15-18 each.
The next morning our guide, Serena met us at the apartment and we set out through a very light drizzle through the side streets of Rome on our way to the unforgettable Pantheon. On the way, we stopped in at a Church to view a wonderful Caravaggio painting that Serena was familiar with. She told the story of the painting in such detail that we were all captivated by the nuances she explained. Then we wandered through "story filled" streets with our guide to the famous Pantheon-- an amazing precursor of the basilica-styled churches and an astronomical wonder. After a tour at the Pantheon, Serena walked us to Trevi Fountain at which we through a few coins before heading back to the apartment for lunch.
After a quick lunch we headed over to the Vatican to meet our guide Fabio-- a guide that was second to none. Fabio knew the Vatican inside out and spoke perfect English. The Raphael room was a highlight for sure but the entire tour was unbelievable. Fabio was patient enough with our children but also had an amazing knowledge of the art works and history that could keep my wife and I on our toes. We ended the tour with a walk through St. Peters—where we had worshipped the previous Sunday before walking out through the square and bidding Fabio farewell.
The next morning we got up intending to try to get in stand bye at the Borghese Gallery. Unfortunately, the Gallery was closed due to Independence Day celebrations in Rome. We walked through the lovely grounds and wandered our way to Villa Medici, which was also closed due to the French Ambassador's luncheon there later that day. The good news is that we were not far from the Spanish Steps and the Trinity Church. We took in both before a nice luncheon at the bottom of the stairs. From there we grabbed the Metro and stopped a few stops later at St. Mary Marjorie Church, which had amazing art and sculptures. After the church, we grabbed a bus out of the city to the Catacombs and the Apian Way. The catacombs were interesting and it was nice to take in a bit of the Roman countryside on the Apian Way—the original road in and out of Rome-before returning back to the center city and our apartment.
The next morning Mauro was at our apartment in plenty of time for us to make the flight from FCO to Athens where we caught our cruise. It was a short stay in Rome-- but absolutely packed with beauty and fun.
Jul 6th, 2008, 05:56 PM
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After our Mauro dropped us off at the airport we made our way to Athens through Munich. We were able to book three of our tickets with frequent flier miles on United-- with a 4 day stop-over in Rome-- which saved us quite a bit of money.
We spent two days in Athens seeing the sites and visiting the historic district of Plaka before heading off on our "Three continent" tour from Trafalgar and Blue Monarch.
Athens was interesting-- we stayed at the Hotel Titania-- which a better than average choice. During our stay, we toured the Archaeological museum and then caught a tour out to Poseidon's Temple along the Aegean Sea. We also caught a traditional dance show in an outdoor theater near the acropolis. One peculiar thing about Athens, is the fact that there a lot of loose dogs roaming the streets.
We had a dog follow us for more than a mile up the hill toward the Acropolis on the way to the dance-- following us right into the outdoor theater where he laid down next to our seats for half of the show! On several other occasions we saw panicked motorcyclists fending off herding dogs biting at their ankles as the raced through the side streets! Absolutely minimal animal control from what we could see.
The subway in Athens is very clean and a great mix between modern comfort and museum quality surroundings. We took in a couple of the excavated sites of the old city that were un-earthed during the building of the subway.
What a difference in food too! After carbo-loading in Italy for four days it was a steady diet of meat-- Sovlaki, gyros etc. galore!
From the Hotel Titania we bused a half an hour to our port at Pyraus, where we boarded the Blue Monarch.
Next post will be the Tri-Continent Tour.
We spent two days in Athens seeing the sites and visiting the historic district of Plaka before heading off on our "Three continent" tour from Trafalgar and Blue Monarch.
Athens was interesting-- we stayed at the Hotel Titania-- which a better than average choice. During our stay, we toured the Archaeological museum and then caught a tour out to Poseidon's Temple along the Aegean Sea. We also caught a traditional dance show in an outdoor theater near the acropolis. One peculiar thing about Athens, is the fact that there a lot of loose dogs roaming the streets.
We had a dog follow us for more than a mile up the hill toward the Acropolis on the way to the dance-- following us right into the outdoor theater where he laid down next to our seats for half of the show! On several other occasions we saw panicked motorcyclists fending off herding dogs biting at their ankles as the raced through the side streets! Absolutely minimal animal control from what we could see.
The subway in Athens is very clean and a great mix between modern comfort and museum quality surroundings. We took in a couple of the excavated sites of the old city that were un-earthed during the building of the subway.
What a difference in food too! After carbo-loading in Italy for four days it was a steady diet of meat-- Sovlaki, gyros etc. galore!
From the Hotel Titania we bused a half an hour to our port at Pyraus, where we boarded the Blue Monarch.
Next post will be the Tri-Continent Tour.
Jul 18th, 2008, 04:35 PM
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Dineroguru - I was so glad to read your report as we rented the same apartment in 2005 from Mauro and we were so happy with it and with him.
He was just a wonderful host and we even met one of his kids who just so nice.
I sure wish we could go back, and if we did I'd certainly look up Mauro again!!!
He was just a wonderful host and we even met one of his kids who just so nice.
I sure wish we could go back, and if we did I'd certainly look up Mauro again!!!
Sep 23rd, 2008, 11:11 AM
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Your trip report sounds fabulous. may I ask how much the guides were? I am trying to book reasonable guides for many of the sites and prefer a more private approach over a large tour. also, do you have the guides' contact information?
