missypie

We are safely back after almost two weeks in Italy. On the trip with me were my husband (DH), 15 year old son (DS15), 13 year old daughter (DD13) and 10 year old daughter (DD10). I have a tendency to write very long trip reports, but I'll try to limit it to what I think might interest you.

ARRIVAL IN ROME: Our flight was Dallas to Zurich on AA, then Zurich to Rome on Swiss Air. We splurged on wonderful truffles while in Zurich; one never knows when one might need chocolate therapy on a long trip.

I had arranged for us to be picked up at the Rome Airport by Rome Shuttle Limousine. It was 50 euro for the 5 of us (in an 8 passenger van) and it went well. After dropping off our luggage in our flat just off the Camp dei Fiori, we headed off to Santa Maria sopra Minerva, the Pantheon, and St. Ignatious Chuch. They were having a service at St. Ignatious, and we were able to see a procession led by a cardinal. The congregation was singing a familiar hymn, so DH and I embarrassed the kids by singing along in English. After all, it was Sunday. We then headed to the Trevi Fountain, which was beyond crowded. On the way back to our flat, we listened to a bit of a free early music concert at a Reformed Church.

Dinner was pizza at Buffeta Due (or something like that). Folks here said it was the best pizza in Rome. It was fine, but we all LOVED the tartuffo for dessert.

ROME DAY 2 (MONDAY):

We walked through the market at the Campo dei Fiori at about 8:30 am and even at that time, not all of the vendors were set up. Don't believe the guide books that say to arrive at 7 am...you'll be alone. The produce was just lovely. We went back to our flat to meet our landlord (and pay him), then walked to the Time Elevator.

I would recommend the Time Elevator to folks with kids; about half the people in the audience didn't have kids-I wondered why they were there! After that we went to the Mammertine Prison, which was unfortunate, because I was not aware that it was included on the tour we were taking later in the day. After a grueling and ill advised walk to San Clemente church (it looked closer on the map!!!)we met up with Sarah of Icon Tours for our Forum/Colleseum tour. There were 13 people on the tour. We were all glad to have a guide, to explain what we were seeing.

After the tour, we walked to Da Giggetto for dinner, but my notes did not indicate that it was closed on Mondays. Frustrated, we plopped down at a restaurant a few doors down. Dinner started out nicely, where we ordered the house antipasti and I tasted my long awaited artichokes and squash blossoms.

Things then went downhill. DD13's calzone was mushroom instead of the ham that she had ordered; my gnocchi with clams was just that - a ring of clams, with no sauce, the gnocchi absorbing the fishy clam water. It really had a nasty taste. Everyone else liked their food and shared with DD and I. The waiter noticed our full plates, however, and I admitted the problems. The waiter was convinced that I just didn't like gnocchi.

DH had ordered a menu that came with dessert. After a while he asked for that and the waiter indicated that he had a surprise for us. We were expecting a fancy dessert, but boy, were we ever surprised! He brought DD13 a whole new ham calzone and me a whole new order of clams with spaghetti! I couldn't stand the thought of eating another bite! The waiter was so pleased with himself, however, that we had to eat a bit of the food and pass it around the table to make more of it be gone, but we laughed and laughed and swore we would never again admit that we didn't love the food.

more later....

missypie

ROME DAY 3(TUESDAY):

On Tuesday I finally used the clothesline outside the bathroom window at our flat...it was kind of funny showing DS15 his boxer shorts out on the line for all to see.

We walked over to the Vatican and met up with our Icon Tour. The tour had 15 people and was good but tiring; no place to sit the entire 2 1/2 to 3 hours. Afterwards we toured the crypt to see the final resting place of John Paul II, etc. I enjoyed seeing all the priests and nuns around the Vatican. I'm not Roman Catholic, but I like to ponder how significant a visit to the Vatican must be to these folks who are devoting their lives to the Church.

DS15, the big softie, was heartbroken by all the beggars he was seeing. We came up with the concept of "beggar change." Every day I would give him my small change and he could donate to whatever folks tugged at his heartstrings. He was grateful for that.

At the Vatican we caught a cab to St. Susanna's to pick up our Papal Audience tickets. My plan was to eat at a nearby restaurant that was recommended on St. Susanna's web site. We arrived 30 minutes before they opened for dinner and it was then that I realized that my family's expectations of Mom the Trip Planner were entirely too high-everyone totally expected me to have a fun activity or sight to see while waiting for the restaurant to open. (They were disappointed.)

We walked around, then went back to Da Giovanni's. I would not recommend it. The veal and mushrooms I ordered was covered with CANNED mushrooms; I cannot remember when I have been served canned mushrooms at a restaurant. Also, DD13 ordered the 1/4 roast chicken; the waiter came by later and told her they would be serving her a chicken breast instead (and it was just a plain boneless breast), but about 10 minutes later, the lady next to us got the 1/4 roast chicken...we never did figure that one out.

After dinner we walked over to a tap dance show for which I had bought tickets (all three of my kids take tap) and the kids loved it. I sat there there whole time wondering HOW IN THE WORLD we were going to get home, as it would be about 11:30 when the show was over. There was one cab outside the theatre, and it only had room for 4; we begged the driver to take the 5 of us anyway and he finally relented. Even though it was late, the Campo dei Fiori was buzzing and the kids still got their daily gelato.

missypie

ROME DAY 4 (WEDNESDAY):

We were up and out early to get to the Vatican by 8:30 to get good seats for the papal blessing. I knew to sit by a wide aisle; the Japanese tour group near us knew that, too, because they were running to the aisle and sitting one deep, then lunging over their chairs to save seats several rows behind them. I didn't let the lunger get our seats (although it did seem a bit unseemly to be fighting over seats to see the Pope.) It as pretty funny when, a few minutes later, a group of boys from Chile sat by the Japanese folks and were trying to convince them to move their chairs so THEY could be on the aisle. After sitting for two hours, five minutes before the Pope was to arrive, a tiny Italian nun came to us and wanted the aisle space for herself! How was I going to argue with a nun? As it turned out, she was no taller than my daughters, so I was able to totally see over her head. The Pope passed by us twice; being Presbyterian, I felt kind of guilty about having such a close up view.

Later in the day we went to the Piazza Navonna, and DS15 was thrilled to see the Fountain of the Four Rivers and St. Agnes church. Our daughters enjoyed seeing the various street entertainers, although the Grim Reaper was pretty creepy. (Funny to see the living statues stopping to take a smoke break.)

We had dinner at L'Orsso 80. It was good BUT....when we got there, before we had ordered, a guy came by talking about spinach ravioli in Italian. DH thought he was describing the special of the day; I said, "Or maybe we just ordered it." Sure enough, in a few minutes, the waiter brought five servings of spinach ravioli. It was good, but then the girls were full. DH was pretty irritated but I thought it was fine that they had brought us something good...until we got the bill. They had brought us five adult portions of spinach ravioli - that's 50 euro worth of ravioli!!! We never would have ordered that many servings, given how little the girls eat. The rest of the meal was fine.

We found our way back to the Piazza and bought some of the famed "Death by Chocolate" which really was good.

missypie

ROME DAY 5 (THURSDAY):

At dinner the night before we made a list of what we hadn't seen that we still wanted to see. I then studied the maps to figure out the best route to see what we could. We started the day at the Mouth of Truth (the church is under major restoration and the interior really can't be seen).

Next stop was climbing to the top of the Victor Emanuel Monument. We were delayed by about 15 minutes because the new president of Italy was being inaugurated inside. There was some security, but nothing like if the president of the US had been there. We stood around and eventually saw the president - at least we assume that the guy smiling and waving the most was the president.

From there we went to St. Peter in Chains. To find it, look up - the street is elevated from the adjacent street. St. Peter in Chains was frustrating for the girls because they would not let you sit down! There were pews and benches everywhere, all with signs on them prohibiting one from sitting.

Next was Santa Maria Maggiore, then a cab to St. Peters to climb the dome. That was great fun...lots of slants and turns, like a fun house.

It was unseasonably cold on this day (and for the rest of the trip). We were not prepared for such cool weather. I wore my pajama top under my clothes to dinner!

ROME DAY 6(FRIDAY):

Today was a national holiday, so the streets were amazingly quiet. The down side was that all the stores were closed. There was a huge parade near the Colloseum.

This was our Galleria Borghese day. Note that to view the picture gallery, one must go back in the basement, then up some stairs. Everyone in the family loved the Borghese. Some of the pieces are simply exquisite, and I admit that it was nice to have a break from all the religious art.

After the Galleria, we rented a surrey. The skies darkened, it sprinkled, then it poured, then it hailed!!! I was proud of my kids for laughing through this, rather than complaining about how cold and wet they were.

Once the rain let up a bit, we cycled our waterlogged surrey back, then walked to the Cappucin Crypt. I admit that this was a bit creepy for me. Next was Santa Maria della Vittoria, which was decorated with yellow roses for a wedding and looking lovely! I felt sorry for the relatives watching the place like hawks, because some tourists were knocking over the arrangements on the pews, etc. It must be hard to use a "tourist attraction" as your church.

We then walked to the Spanish Steps. On the way I figured out why everyone wears ponchos, and don't carry umbrellas, at Disneyworld....the streets of the Via Venneto were packed with people carry umbrellas...it was very difficult to move. The kids wondered what made the Spanish Steps a tourist destination and I had to wonder with them. The church at the top was covered in scaffolding, there were no flowers; only tourists, umbrellas and rain. We wanted to duck into a cute cafe for hot chocolate, but all the cute cafes were packed, so we made our first MacDonald's stop of the trip. The kids loved having a plate of fries and it least there were plenty of tables where we could sit and dry out.

missypie

TO FLORENCE (SATURDAY):

We had earlier asked one of the "unregulated" van services what it would cost to pick us up at our flat and take us to the train station. They quoted 40 euro. Instead, we walked to a cab stand and took two cabs for a total of 13 euro. I had purchased our tickets to Florence on line, but it was a bit nervewracking, because our platform was not assigned until 5 minutes before the train was to depart.

We were so glad we had packed 22" suitcases. DH tried to help quite a few fellow tourists struggling to deal with larger luggage but some luggage simply would not fit overhead.

The countryside was lovely, making me want to plan a Tuscan trip in the future. We quickly took our luggage to our apartment and set off to climb the Duomo. We had to stand in line for an hour, but that was really the only time we had to do it, given our schedule and its schedule. The sign where you pay admission says "6 euro; no discounts; children under 6 free" but they told my 10 year old to duck under the turnstile and only charged us for 4. The climb was great, as the Last Judgement fresco is fascinating (promting questions from DD10 about whether there is a literal Hell). Inside the Duomo (no line), DS15 announced that he likes Gothic architecture better than Baroque - I thought it was pretty cool that he knows the difference. We next went to the Baptistery; DH (a singer)sang the three tones to make a chord with his own voice; pretty cool accoustics. After that, we climbed the bell tower. (Note: At both the Baptistery and the bell tower, they told both daughters to go under the turnstile, and didn't charge for them.)

We were pleased to find a grocery store about 2 blocks from our apartment; interesting though, by the late afternoon every time we went, the shelves were bordering on empty. Also, there tended to be 20-30 people in line at every check out.

We all agreed that we like Florence better than Rome - less traffic and a more laid back feel.

missypie

Well, I'm obviously completing this for myself (sniff...)

FLORENCE DAY 2 (Sunday):

Our reservation for the Academia was for 9 am; we arrived at 8:30 and were let in. We were able to see the David with only about a dozen people in the room. The entire family was suitably impressed. We spent about 90 minutes in the Academia, then toured the Medici Chapels.

After that, we were lured by the outdoor stalls; this is the first time on the whole trip that DH15 complained. We bought ties and other small items as gifts to folks back home. DD10 REALLY wanted a leather coat; it was sad, but I wasn't going to spend several hundred euro on a coat for a 10 year old.

We stopped at a local place for a lunch of pasta, then enjoyed the neat art at Santa Maria Novella and San Lorenzo. It is a bit troubling to have to pay to tour churches. It makes sense, as we are tourists rather than pilgrims, but having visited churches for free all over Europe, it is still difficult.

We worked our way toward the Uffizi, arriving for our 4 pm reservations. I was worried that we wouldn't have enough time there, given the 6:50 closing time, but by about 6 pm we were all pretty numb. The Uffizi certainly lived up to its reputation. I enjoyed how we toured chronologically, so we could see the development of 3-D in art, etc. DD13 loved the Birth of Venus.

Afterwards, we spend a brief amount of time on the Ponte Vecchio; it was hard to get by for all the guys selling knock off purses. DD13 really wanted one of the designer purses with the map pattern - $225 Euro for the "real thing"; $15 for the fake. I left it up to her as to whether to buy the fake and she decided against it.

FLORENCE (PISA) DAY 3 (MONDAY):

Train to Pisa. I now remember that THIS is the baptistery with the great accoustics. Sorry.

Here is a huge warning: I had reserved Leaning Tower tickets on-line and they asked for a passport number. When I arrived to pick up our tickets, the lady wanted to see my passport. I didn't have it with me and she almost wouldn't give me the tickets, even though they were pre-paid. We begged and she finally relented.

After touring the inside of the church, we took a bathroom break before climbing the tower. Inside the unisex restroom (.30 per person), there was this guy who was a traffic monitor. The guys were in one line and the ladies were in another, and if an opening came up on the guys' side and there were no guys in line, he would direct a lady to it. Once, he didn't hear a flush, and asked a lady leaving a stall why she hadn't flushed. Since there were three of us girls together, we were directed to the large handicapped stall. After we exited, a lady tried to help herself to that stall but was scolded by the guy in charge. Pretty funny.

Climbing the tower was fun. I actually love what the leaning tower says about human nature; the concept of throwing good effort onto a lost cause, etc.

After the tower, we shopped the stalls. DD10 and I bought purses. DD's is a cool red leather one, so that made her feel better about not getting a coat.

When we got back to the train station in Florence it was about 3 pm, so we just ate lunch at McDonalds. I'm not a fan of McDonalds by any means, but I'll say one thing for it: The day before, our lunch at a little snack bar of 5 pasta entrees and three drinks was 44 euro. At McDonalds, our 5 combo lunches were 27 euro. (Plus 30 cents for three ketchups.)

We walked down to Santa Croce; I loved the peaceful cloisters. Near Santa Croce, we stopped at a leather store and DD13 found a very fun purse; that made her feel better about choosing not to buy the knock-off before.

Our flat was less than a block away from a little playground. I took the girls down there and two little boys (maybe 3 and 5) took DD10 by the hand and "forced" her to play with them. It was really adorable.

That night we turned in the opposite direction of the Duomo and found a good restaurant for pizza (there were actual Italians in the majority, rather than tourists.) We were outside in a covered area, but DS and I still got wet when the sky opened and it poured. The waiter bustled around like crazy, moving tables, etc.

saps

Don't cry missy...I enjoyed reading your report.

Have you digested all those raviolis yet?

saps

Too funny...I forgot that McDonalds overseas charges you for ketchup.

Maybe a few packages can be added to the standard packing list.

kswl

Really enjoying your report, Missypie. Good for your son, to be 15 and still so tenderhearted towards those less fortunate. It sounds as though you all had a wonderful trip!

missypie

It was pretty interesting to hear the kids "evaluating" the beggars. The ones that really got to DS were the old ladies who totally knelt down, face to the ground. However, we're still laughing about the guy who appeared to be totally able bodied, sitting in a chair in the shade, doing a crossword puzzle, with a cup out in front of him! (He didn't get any of DS's change.)

DeborahAnn

missy, Good report, don't loose heart because of lack of comments; they will come. It just might be a less active day today on Fodor's

You and your family sound like extremely positive people, glad to hear the little glitches didn't get you down.

Looking forward to reading more about your trip. Deborah

missypie

Thanks, DeborahAnn. A long family trip - where you know no one but each other - puts family dynamics under a magnifying glass. At times I was very aware that the kids were looking to the adults to see how THEY reacted to a situation before they reacted. When you get lost in a maze of tiny streets in the cold rain in Venice, you can swear, cry or laugh; we chose to laugh, so the kids did, too.

missypie

Just an aside about using ATMs for cash. When we went to Paris, I took 200 euro cash and was all ready to use the ATMs to get more when we needed it. So many places took credit cards that we never needed to get more cash. So, my ATM anxiety brewed for 2 more years. The first FOUR ATMS at which I tried to get cash in Rome didn't work. I was getting worried because it was Memorial Day at home and I had no idea if Bank of America customer service would be open if the problem continued. The 5th ATM was a charm, and there was never another problem. Since my unsuccessful attempts were on a Monday morning, I figure that the first 4 were simply out of cash.

Vera

Really enjoying your report. Our trip was a good deal less energetic, as you will see in my report. None of that tower and duomo climbing for us!

We saw a statue taking a ciagrette break, too. Took his picture and he quickly got up and ditched the cigarette.

I never walked out on the Ponte Vecchio, so I missed the purses with the world map. I had seen one here and really wanted one. I think I would have probably bought the knock-off!
Agree with you about Florence vs. Rome. I'd go back to Florence in a heartbeat.

Vera

TexasAggie

Hi missypie!
Don't despair, it has just been a slow day on Fodors. I really enjoyed your trip report
I'm guessing you haven't had ravioli since you got back though, right? ;-)

SAB

Nice report missypie--I know what you mean about feeling like you are writing it for yourself however. I didn't finish my report on trip to Rome/Sorrento because of lack of interest.

laurenzo

Great trip report! Italy is calling my name. So, are you glad you left right after school got out after all?? Your other post mentioned how stressful it was but I'll be it was all worth it .

Martinan

Thanks for your trip report missypie! Detailed reports like yours are very helpful to those planning trips. How did the kids survive all the walking?

missypie

Laurenzo, I have mixed feelings about leaving right after shool was out. The report cards were in the mail when we returned and DS got a 67 on his French final (up from 59 last semester, but still very bad.) He didn't do too well on his biology final either. If we had put more time into quizzing him (rather than getting ready for the trip), he might have done better.

The kids did pretty well with the walking; there were a few complaints, but only when we really HAD walked our feet off. The biggest complaints came when we walked from the Victor Emanuel Monument in Rome to San Clemente, then raced back the same route to meet our tour (which meant 3 more hours of standing and walking). That one really was a bad idea and I appologized for it.

dina4

Welcome back, missypie!

What a great trip!
I loved reading your report.

You mentioned having a grueling walk to San Clemente in Rome. Did you go inside? How was it?
That's something we're going to try with our kids (daughter 13 and son 16. We are also looking forward to climbing St. Peter's dome and the Duomo's dome. We climbed lots of towers on our last trip, but neither of the domes.

The surrey ride sounds fun, too. We've done that in Central Park, NY and loved it. Do you think it would have been worth it without the added excitement of all the hail?

It sounds like your kids are such great travelers. We love travelling with our kids, too, and are leaving on Monday for Paris, Nice, Florence, Montalcino, and Rome! I can hardly wait!

Now you can bask in your memories and look forward to your pool being ready...

Dina