cybertraveler

Hi again,

jent-the more I hear about the Forum and Colosseum, the more I think we should get the guided tour. (We saved enough on the Positano-Pompeii connection that we can probably justify it!) We can read the books and listen to the audiotapes beforehand (at least I will!) to get a bit more background.

NoCalGal-I agree that we are a bit heavy on the museums and history. I’m hoping that they’ll get more and more interested as they learn more about it. My boys will undoubtedly let me know when they’ve had enough—and that’s when they can go sit at a café with their iPods! Probably DH will volunteer to sit with them!

So, no offense taken at all; in fact, I’m sure that we’ll have to rethink as we go to accommodate what they would enjoy more. The hotels will probably have some good suggestions, too. The nice thing is that since DH and I have been to many of these places before, we won’t feel cheated if we don’t do everything on our “plan”.

RMMR2: Thanks for the feedback on Albergo del Senato, and the suggestions on the area around there. Just wandering around can be wonderful!

Delaine-isn’t Santa Maria del Popolo the church in DaVinci Code? The boys haven’t read that but DH and I have. It sounds fascinating.

Betty-thanks for your kind comments. I’m definitely looking for an upswing in their World History grades next year! ☺

Thanks again for all of your suggestions!

Delaine

Cybertraveler, yes, Santa Maria del Popolo does feature in Angels and Demons (as does Santa Maria della Vittoria). That's not the reason I went there, but it is definitely another point of interest.

Jent103, if you go back to Rome, try again; it's a great church. I went to Venice 2 times before the campanile at San Giorgio Maggiore was open, and the first time I went to Rome, the Capitoline Museums were closed.

cybertraveler

So far, I still can't find a tour of the Forum/Colosseum/Palatine for less than 250 Euros!

It's really hard to justify that much money. I can't see a link to book a tour online at the Colosseum website. Does anyone know if you can get a guide right there for less than 250E?

ParadiseLost

I realize that carting around a Rome guidebook for your entire trip would take-up valuable space but it would be a shame to miss-out on the detailed info of the many major and minor historical sites that you will come across.

The 'Oxford Archaeological Guide Rome' is the best guidebook for the sites but it is larger than an novel-type paperback and has 455 pages.

In the past I have seen it for sale in the Termini bookstore and I believe the Colosseum bookstore in would be a valuable book to pick-up.

The other option is to razor cut the binding so that you have the sections that apply to your visit which is from Page 60-288 which comes out to 114 actual still bound pages (a little duct tape helps hold it together) and take it with you.
A used copy from Amazon or other sites would make the book destruction less painful.
Just a thought.

These sites are color models and artist drawings that will help you visualize the way these ancient sites looked like.
Try them on your Iphones.
(Roman Forum)
http://home.surewest.net/fifi/index50.html
(Assorted Rome)
www.maquettes-historiques.net/P5.html

This is long-winded but scroll down to my 'March 1, 12 11:35PM' which shows Julius Caesar's assassination site which is ~300m from your hotel.
It's a city block of excavated ruins (mainly 4 temples) fenced-off and below street level.
Had to miss and you'll be passing it a few times during your stay, it's called the 'Largo di Torre Argentina' which is also where the famous 'cat santuary' is located.
http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...lking-tour.cfm
Regards, Walter

lowcountrycarol

You have gotten great advice for your family trip. As someone suggested you might try and get in some things for the teens.

If you are not going to Pompei you might want to consider going to Ostia Antica easily reached (Rick Steves can guide you). I second crossing the Tiber and going into Trastevere, stopping first to check out the Campo d. Fiori market (closes around 2:00). Head into the old Jewish ghetto before going over the Tiber.

Absolutely the best 1 piece of advice is get a very good map of Rome and mark down ahead of time areas you want to see and the places to eat along the way and what there is not to miss in each area....or maybe there are apps or other tech ways to do the same thing. That way you will not miss anything and you can see how your plan works out for the areas you want to cover each day.

Lexma90

I have the Oxford Archaeological Guide Rome, and like it and have taken it on vacation. But it is heavy and IMHO, of more interest to a history / archaeology geek.

Re taking a tour, we did not take guided tour when we took DD to the Forum and Colosseum (she had enough with these two, and we didn't visit the Palatine hill on that trip). We used the Rick Steves guide, the little book with the overlays (I looked it up on Amazon, it's called "Ancient Rome: Monuments Past and Present" and much more expensive there than it was in Rome) and, I believe, another big and heavy book, the Blue Guide to Rome (which has less detail on Archeology than the other book, but more on everything else). That was more than enough to provide all of us with enough information. The other advantage to doing it on your own is you can spend whatever amount of time you want at each place. We did the same during when we visit the Vatican Museums on that trip (we took a guided tour once when we visited the Vatican Museums, and felt like we just sped through, so we wanted more time there).

Another idea for Rome - the cat sanctuary at Torre Argentina (also renknowned as the site where Julius Caesar was killed).

cybertraveler

Many thanks for your helpful information!

Walter, those resources will be great to share with the boys, and your other post is amazing!

Carol, I appreciated the reminder to mark things up on a map as well. I do have a map from a previous trip, so that will be tonight's project!

Lexma, thanks for sharing your experience with your DD. I think that we will be able to glean just enough info from guidebooks and we do already have that overlay book. Also, being able to leave when we've had enough is a good thing.

After all this planning, I NEED a vacation!

Vttraveler

If you do go to Piazza del Popolo, you should take time to walk up to the Pincio Gardens for a fantastic view of Rome.

Another place for a great view is the Janiculum hill. We visited it (we took a bus up) after spending a morning and early afternoon at the Vatican Museums. You can walk downhill from there to Trastevere seeing San Pietro in Montorio with the Tempietto in the courtyard on the way.

For timing your visits to churches, remember that many are closed in the middle of the day.

When we visited Rome a few years ago with our then-16 year old son, he was very interested in the Roman sights. He also enjoyed going to the Piazza Navona to watch the artists and street performers (and one evening a student demonstration).

we all enjoyed checking out the cat sanctuary in the Torre Argentina mentioned by other posters and counting the cats we could see lounging among the ruins.

sundriedpachino

Ttt

cybertraveler

Vtt-thanks for sharing your experience with your 16 yr old; I'm hoping our boys will really enjoy all the ancient Roman sights. That cat sanctuary sounds like something they'd like to see. I'm adding all these suggestions to my map of Rome!

ParadiseLost

The Cat Sanctuary welcomes vistors and a small donation to their operation is certainly appreciated.
Below is a past post of mine. Regards, Walter

That is the 'Torre Argentina Roman Cat Sanctuary'.
www.romancats.com/index_eng.php (click-on the 'History' link)

They are actually squatters there, every so often they receive an official Roman Gov't eviction notice which they ignore which in turn the Roman Gov't ignores which makes everyone happy on both sides.

In seems years ago they could only feed the cats from the sidewalk as the site is fenced-in and locked.
But an archaeologist who was working at the site at the time give them a key to have better access to the cats.

And they slowly moved-in over time and now have a very nice operation going on given the small space they have available.

I'm a history buff and normally would agree with an eviction to someone illegally squatting at an historical site.

But the area they occupy is just a partial section of the concrete podium/foundation of 'Temple D', most of which is still under the modern street.

Bottomline; Millions of tourists every year walk on 2000yr old streets in Rome, I don't think the volunteers and the kitties can damage anything of archaeological value on a solid concrete podium but I'm a cat person and maybe bias .

valagenn

Bring a water bottle. The water is fresh and cold. It's good to drink as long as you don't dip it into the fountain- who knows what's been there. If you see one with a spout stick your thumb in and it becomes a water fountain/spray your buddies

cybertraveler

I just discovered something VERY cool!

I was trying to locate some of the churches recommended above, using a magnifying glass and my map of Rome (LOL-difficult!) Then, I thought of doing a Google search for the church under maps...

Eureka! Suddenly, I've got a link to the church on the map that I can upload to Tripit, and print to bring with me. Not to mention, it's saved to My Maps on Google. I'll never be lost again!


Just had to share that!

sundriedpachino

Another convert to the cyber world of maps!

ggreen

And I was just about to chime in on this thread to say you should definitely consider using digital maps instead of - or at least in addition to - paper ones! Glad to see you have it all figured out, especially the terrific My Maps option on google maps.

During my trip to Italy two years ago, I vowed I would never again travel without an adequate mobile device to hold my guidebooks and for the maps. On that trip, I traveled with two Fodors guidebooks that were really very good in all the ways I needed <i>except</i> the maps! Rome was especially frustrating. Now, I "star" places such as restaurants on google, so when I'm in an area, I can quickly figure out where to eat. It's so great!

Speaking of guide books: Since my partner and I are interested in the history and architecture but at an amateur level, the Ancient Rome section of the guide book was fine for us, without the time and money constraints of a guided tour. For me, it's always incredible just being able to wander around the jumble of ruins, knowing that it's all been there for so long - getting to take it all in at our own pace. (In Herculaneum, however, I wished we weren't quite so DIY - but that's for your other thread!)

// In our usual rather aimless wandering, we happened upon the Torre Argentina cat sanctuary just after sunset one day. In the dusk, first one then more cats slowly distinguished themselves from the bleached white stones around them. We were mesmerized! Then suddenly we heard a low, increasing roar from somewhere behind the ruins: it was a fleet of racing cars circling the area, rumbling in low gear as they stopped for a traffic light. Only in Rome!

One place that's off the beaten path for tourists is the beautiful Protestant Cemetery (Cimitero Acattolico) where the poets Keats and Shelley are buried. It's not far from the Piramide metro stop. Might be something to do once you return to Rome from the south...

Lexma90

If you visit Torre Argentina close to lunchtime, or even any snack time, there's a very good pizza-by-the-slice (pizza al taglio) place right that, called Pizza La Florida, Via Florida 25, in Largo Argentina. It's a storefront, really, with maybe two little tables, and most people take their pizza to go (there are a couple of benches nearby outside). But a great selection of tasty pizzas; the turnover's so fast that they're all hot from the oven, and a delicious selection. For example, the last time we went, we had slices of: eggplant with bufala mozzarella and pacchini tomatoes; zucchini and some sort of cheese; and cheese, olives and tomatoes.

jent103

cybertraveler - I'm a big fan of the editable Google Maps too. But if you have an iPhone, iPod or iPad (there may be Android options too, I'm not sure), check out the <b>Rome2Go</b> app. It has basic info on just about every tourist site you want to see, and a metro map (which we never used in Rome, but it doesn't hurt to have). But my favorite feature is that it downloads a searchable map of Rome to your device, so you don't have to use your data plan or wifi to see a digital map, and you can zoom in and out or search for points of interest. Also, if you have a GPS in your device (iPhone or iPad), it will locate you on the map, even if you're not connected to the internet. It's REALLY helpful. It won't have every single street in the searchable database, but it's great for finding the main roads and sites. For the first few days I was in Rome last year I used the map from my Blue Guide, which wasn't really that helpful. Once I remembered that I could use the map on my iPod and zoom in and out, we quit getting lost so much! I used the Paris version on my iPhone in March and it was even better with the GPS.

You can create pins on the maps for your hotel, restaurants, whatever, very similar to what you can do on Google Maps. It is a little more labor intensive being on a mobile device, so I'd only pin things you can't search for.

ggreen

Yes, the "2Go" map apps are available for Android:
www.ulmon.com

<i>it downloads a searchable map of Rome to your device, so you don't have to use your data plan or wifi to see a digital map</i>

FWIW, you can download google maps to be offline, too.

jent103

How do you do that, ggreen? I've never noticed a way. I've been able to see the part of the map that was on my screen before I left wifi/data range, but that doesn't help if I'm not online and need to see a different part of town. I'd love to know!

cybertraveler

Oh, I have found fellow techies! Thank you so much for the tip on Rome2Go-I'm installing it as I write.

The big problem has always been no wifi-this looks like a great solution. I'm going to check back to see if ggreen can tell us how to download google maps to be offline...otherwise, I'll get my techie son on it!