SingleMom

Hi,

I will be travelling with my 9-year-old son to Italy end December, and will be spending 3 days in each of Venice and Florence before going skiing. I am longing to get some serious art viewing, he thinks naked bodies are embarrassing. (he's a boy, and he's that age). But we probably will never get to these places again so I would like to do things we can both enjoy and remember, so we will be taking in the Uffizi Gallery etc so that he can remember it later, when it becomes more meaningful (hopefully!).

I have been reading other threads and would like to know what people might suggest he would enjoy, and also about the Secret Itinerary tour (of what, or is that a secret? How much and where do I book?) and possibly getting to Pisa from Florence (same questions).

As I am a single mother and our currency is 7.8 to the euro, budget is always important, and we are both very fit so walking, climbing steps etc is not an issue.

As always when planning exotic trips, planning definitely is half the fun so thank you to all the people who contribute your practical experiences.

kappa

Hi, where are your 3 other kids?

Have a nice trip anyway.

SingleMom

Oops,sorry, I was doing a texting thing and trying to keep the typing down (4 instead of 'for'). Then when I read it later I realised that it really did read as if I had 4 kids, not one. apologies for the ambiguity - now I've had to type extra to explain myself!

ira

Hi Mom,

>...he thinks naked bodies are embarrassing.<

Don't worry, he'll get over it.

You can make reservations for the Secret Itineraries tour of Doge?s palace at 011 39 041 520 9070.

You will not be charged if you don't go on the tour.

They take you into the parts of the palace that were not open to the public. I think that your son will find it interesting.

You can visit the rest of the palace as well.

Train schedules and prices from Florence to Pisa are at www.trenitalia.com/en

You might find the science museum of interest
http://galileo.imss.firenze.it/

For advance tickets to Uffizi and Academia Museum Reservations
The easiest and cheapest way is to call Florence 011 (U.S. international access code) 39 (Italy's country code) then 055-294-883 8:30-18:30 M-F and 8:30-12:00 Sat. Florence time. You will get an English speaking operator and in 2-3 minutes YOU CAN RESERVE FOR BOTH. This is through the reservation service at the Uffizi and costs beyond the normal entry fee only about 1.60 euro for the service. This is MUCH cheaper than the commercial booking services.
You will not be charged for the reservations unless you use them.

I can recommend an inexpensive B&B in Florence, www.bedinflorence.it. We stayed there for 11 nights, and were very pleased.

janier

Florence has a medieval armour museum that probably would be of great interest to your 9 year old son. I don't remember the name of the museum, but I do remember that it was closed on Thursdays.

RufusTFirefly

Some naked bodies are more embarassing than others. Gotta get to the gym.

Ralstonlan

My husband and I took our 9 year old son to Italy last year and it was the most wonderful trip we have taken. We were in Venice and Florence, among other places. He had a fantastic time, so we are leaving in 2 weeks for London and Paris with him.The things he enjoyed most in Venice( he is sitting beside me as I write and telling me what to write!)were his gondola ride and seeing the glass blowers. The Secret Itinerary tour was very cool. We got to see places in the Doges Palace where other people could not go. The torture chamber was really cool. In Florence he liked seeing the "Naked David".(not too sure how cool the naked part was). Loved climbing to the top of the campanile the first day, and then climbing to the top of the duomo the next, which was even higher.He did not enjoy shopping for jewelry on the Ponte Vecchio.Well, that is in his own words. In my words, it was a magical time spent with our son. I highly recommend the Secret Itinerary tour, it is well worth it. Teach your son a little Italian- count to ten, and how to order a Pizza Margharita using basic manners. My son loved being able to order his meal in a few Italian words and the waiters loved him! He is still asking when we are going back to Venice. A side trip to Pisa may be worth it. Kids love the tower, it is quite a "cool" walk up. Make reservations in advance to walk up the Leaning Tower- they only let 30 people up at a time, every 30 minutes.Let me know if I can be of any help and have a wonderful, memorable time with your son.

sprin2

You might try these two sites. We used parts of them on our trip this summer and they were fun for our boys.

This one is a really neat kids journal to download for a small price http://www.kidseurope.com/

This one has neat Italian activities and language items to print.
http://www.allaboutspace.com/themes/italian.shtml

Grinisa

In Florence, he might enjoy visits to the Science Museum and La Specola which has wax models of body parts and other gross stuff like decomposing bodies. My nine year old loved that kind of thing.

SingleMom

Hi,

Thanks for all the ideas - this is very encouraging! We have been learning basic Italian phrases, already, as well as doing some internet searches on the 2 cities.

I really want him to get a broader education than just the stuff we get to see in textbooks here, but I also want him to have fun.

And in case you think he's weird (he's not, he's gorgeous and I love him to bits!) he's fine about nudity in the family, with his friends, etc, but when he saw a picture of Michelangelo's David and saw the size of the statue compared to the people clustered around, he did start getting giggly.

But I have been reading other topics and saw that 'Italian policemen cannot be relied upon to give directions'. One of my most pressing problems is what would happen to him if something incapacitated me and he was in a strange place on his own. When we visited NYC from South Africa I told him that in case this ever happened (without alarming him, natch) to find a lady, ask her to help him find a policeman, and then present a card with his name, hotel details and nationality to said policeman, and explain that something had happened to his mom and he needed help. I made sure he carried the card at all times! He was 7 at the time and thank heavens it wasn't necessary.

But can anyone advise me what should be printed on the card this time, so that there are no misunderstandings?

jspowell

SingleMom;

You will have an unforgettable time! I went with my wife and 10-year-old son in June, 2003.

The Museum Janier is referring to is the Stibbert Museum. You can find info and photos at their website (sorry, I can't find the URL). It is a nice, small museum set in a house full of suits of armour. There were only 2 other vistors the day we were there -- nice -- and it was a pleasant break from the typical hustle and bustle of the city.

As for Venice, I would definitely recommend the Secret Itinerary; the Doge's Palace is so interesting!

One of the "themes" of our trip, at least for my son and I, was that if it was a tower, we would climb it. This included the Tower in Pisa. It was a relatively easy train trip from Florence, followed by a 30 min(?) walk. VERY touristy, but we HAD to do it!

You are getting a little short on time, but one thing that got my son very interested in Venice was reading a book called "Vendela in Venice". It is set in modern times, so it describes venice as you will see it, and also throws in a history lesson.

Finally, despite my son being completely UNinterested in art, he will tell you that seeing Naked David was something he will never forget. My son is still not a fan of art, but at least he has had exposure to the best.

ira

Hi Mom,

>...find a lady, ask her to help him find a policeman, and then present a card with his name, hotel details and nationality to said policeman...<

Excellent idea.

Italian police are just as reliable as those in NYC.

SingleMom

It's so great to find people who think like I do! You're all being really helpful - thanks so much.

The idea of climbing all the towers is a great one, and we'll probably need the exercise after sitting on planes and trains for long periods. We both felt really robbed when the Statue of Liberty was closed indefinitely while we were in NYC, 'cos we had so wanted to climb up inside.

Funnily enough, the exhibit that he really enjoyed at the Metropolitan Museum was the Arms and Armour display, so I'm sure he'll appreciate a whole museum full of the stuff - just please tell me the Museum shop doesn't sell complete life-size sets that I'll have to lug home again...

And did you walk all the way to the Leaning Tower from the train station, then climb the tower then walk back again? I'm impressed!

I was going to ask the friendly Fodorites how to get from the Pisa train station to the view site, without incurring large taxi fares, now I know - I guess it's thoroughly signposted as well? Does anybody know where I can book the climb part, please?

I will check with my local bookshop about the book you recommend - my son loves reading so I'm sure he'll enjoy it. Most of what we have read so far is a long list of historical buildings which start to look the same after a while (when they're all 3 in x 3 in pictures in a book), and a story about Marco Polo.

Besides the Polo house, is there anything else about Marco Polo in Venice? He enjoys the explorer type thing but the house itself doesn't look too exciting.

Ralstonlan

You can book tickets online at www.duomo.pisa.it, click on tickets, or www.opapisa.it -that will bring you to the same site. We also climbed a tower a day with our ten year old son. Actually, one day we climbed two! It made for a great "theme" for the trip. Have a wonderfuyl time. I am GREEN with envy.

SingleMom

Okay, so now as I am really into being a careful parent/ traveller, please advise me with security issues : I have been reading PLMN's Italian trip report regarding the stolen wallet and she made a comment about "don't leave the copies in the suitcase". So if I'm carrying a spare credit card as well as all the copies (in triplicate) of every item of relevant identification I can possibly come up with, and I have handed a Xerox copy of our passports to every hotel I'm staying in so that I keep our passports, where do I stash the stuff if my suitcase is also going to be rifled?
I'm not paranoid (yet - until I see them coming for me!) and I have stayed in many African countries where the worst that ever happened in this regard was that the room attendant used my makeup once (looked better on her than it did on me!), so please tell me how vigilant I need to be? Where do I hide the documents? Do all places have safes that can be relied upon, and is it worth the schlep? We'll be staying in mostly 2/ 3 star establishments.

KathrynT

Other suggestions:

Tell him about or read with him "The Merchant of Venice" so he can think of Shylock when he is on the Rialto Bridge in Venice.

Take a gondola ride. Very expensive, I know, but how often is one in Venice? I believe you can take a group ride that is cheaper through the American Express office. However, Italians love young children (expecially boys) and you may be able to barter a decent rate if your little boy looks adorable. (I'm sure he can pull that off without any difficulty!) One trick we used was asking the price and then saying we might come back tomorrow. The rate dropped down right away.

Visit the Basilica of San Marco (you can get advance tickets through their website) and climb the stairs to view the horse statues. The real ones are upstairs and inside the Basilica and copies are outside on a lovely ledge overlooking the square.

Climbing to the top of every tower and church seemed a real highlight for my children.

If you have the Rick Steves book you can show it and see a glass-blowing demonstration in a shop on the San Marco square. The number of the shop was incorrect in our book (2 years ago) but the description of how to find the shop was accurate. The owner took us on a tour of the shop and then was saw a vase made which my children reallly enjoyed. I did feel a bit guilty not buying anything but a small tip to the glass-blower seemed very acceptable (and not even necessary.)

Last, but perhaps the most important tip: eat gelato often!

Have a great time!