Here is my plan for my upcoming trip to Italy with my 14yr old daughter. Please let me know if you think there are any trouble spots.

Day 1, (Monday) Arrive at Venice, Marco Polo airport. Buy 72hr vaporetto pass, take the bus to the Piazza Roma, take vaporetto #1 to Ca Rezzonico stop, check into hotel, Casa Rezzonico, (140E/per night, canal view) for a 3 night stay. Wander Venice, find a cute place for dinner.

Day 2, Vaporetto or walk to St. Marks Square, take in the sights, feed the pigeons, do Secret Itinerary tour around 3:00pm. Return to hotel, out for another casual dinner per Fodor's or hotel recommendation.

Day 3, More wandering around Venice, getting lost and just simply taking it all in. I don't want to over do the museums here because I think just being in Venice is going to be awe-inspiring. We may vaporetto over to Murano if we want to see more glass-blowing. I think we'll do a gondola ride this day/night. Has anyone ever had luck finding some other folks to share the ride? Does the price change per person if you have 4 people vs. just 2? I read that the American Express travel office sells rides. Any comments on this? Dinner our last night in Venice may turn into something a little nicer than the previous 2 nights. Any suggestions for this Mom and teenage daughter that have lots of atmosphere but won't break the bank?

Day 4, Train to Florence at 10:32am, arriving at 1:21pm. Check-in to Hotel Aurora, (125E per night) located near the train station. Go to Accademia Gallery for a 4:00pm reservation. I believe the gallery is open until 6:30pm. This should give us enough time, correct? We'll get there earlier than our reservation time and go in early if they allow us to. Dinner at another recommended trattoria or pizzeria.

Day 5, 8:30am train to Pisa, bus to Field of Miracles, 11:00am reservation to climb the tower. My daughter really wants to do this, and frankly, so do I! We can't go all this way and NOT do it, right? Return to Florence on the 1:29pm train. Reservations at 4:00pm for the Uffuzzi Gallery. Same plan as Accademia Gallery, get there earlier and hope!
Same dinner plan as the previous night.

Day 6, Do some laundry if necessary, at the laundrymat located near the hotel. I'm assuming there won't be any "safety" issues here on a Saturday morning....
Take the 1:29 train to Rome, arriving at 3:05pm. Transfer to subway and go to Spanish Steps stop. Check-in at Relais Piazza di Spagna Bed & Breakfast (144E/night)
Spend our first night in Rome wandering around the Spanish Steps area.

Day 7, Angel Tours "Heart of Rome" tour, rest of day will be spent where we feel like after the above tour. Any suggestions?

Day 8, Angel Tours "Vatican and St. Peter's" tour. I'd anticpate spending most of the day here around the Vatican, we are Catholic and daughter attends a Catholic school so this is going to be a "big" day for us! My regret is that we aren't going to be able to see the new Pope. These opportunities are only available on Saturdays and Wednesdays, if I'm not mistaken. Unfortunately, those are our arrival and departure days.
Dinner that night in a Trattoria or Pizzeria, maybe in a different neighborhood than where we've been.

Day 7, Collossuem, Pantheon and Palatine Hill. We will buy our tickets at the Roman Forum/Palatine Hill (I'm not quite sure exactly which it is) in order to by-pass the lines. My 14yr old should be free if I bring proof of age? Spend the day wandering this area.

Day 8, Leave for home, our flight is at 9:40am. How much time should we allow for the subway and train out to Fiumicino in order to get there 2hrs before flight time?

I thank you for your comments and help. I've been reading and learning from you folks nearly every day and hope I've put your advice and ideas to good use. I know I've got a lot of "wandering" time built in this trip but with a teenager, you always have to allow that kind of time. Shopping and browsing are big on her list. I intend this trip to be an introduction to Italy and hope that we are able to enjoy the sights and sounds without being "freaked out" about the details. Well, maybe just I'm the one who is "freaking out"! LOL! My biggest fear is the access to money as I don't want to carry large sums of cash around and plan to hit ATM's every couple of days to cover expenses. I'll also use credit cards where possible, even though there is the 2-3%fee attached. I've checked with my bank, have 2 different ATM cards with 4 digit pins to use to withdraw Euros. I'm sure I'll be okay but Mom's worry, don't they?

My daughter will want to bring her backpack. If she carry's it in front of her on trains and subways, she should be okay when we are travelling, right? I'll carry a small purse on sightseeing days which I'll not relinquish to anyone, no matter how many flying babies are thrown at me! We've been practicing how to say (yell, really) "Get Away" in Italian and I know how to ask if credit cards are accepted so I think we're all set! We aren't going to be paranoid or rude Americans, just 2 country-girls from Naples, Florida out on a grand adventure! I hope we make it....my husband has his doubts!

Thanks for the advice and helpful hints. Let me know if you think I've covered the bases well enough.

There is a 18 minute slot between 8:13 and 8:31 that you haven't accounted for. Sloppy, very sloppy planning.

Hi moll,

Lucky daughter.

No major trouble spots.

Your day 5 is busy, but doable.

> Does the price change per person if you have 4 people vs. just 2?<

You rent the whole gondola, whether its 2 or 4 people.

Have fun.

I think I would reverse the museum schedule in Florence. The Academia is very small and you probably won't spend more than an hour there. We went in mid June and were in line for 5 minutes to buy tickets for the Academia at 1:00 pm.
You don't mention the time of year that you will be traveling. Sometimes the museums have summer hours and stay open later.

Your day in Pisa/Florence seems rushed and it doesn't seem like you have allowed time for lunch on either of your Florence days. Pick up some food in Venice to take on the train for lunch and in Pisa there is fast food available at the train station if necessary.

Day 7 (Sunday?)- Rome - I'm not familiar with Angel tours but I would skip this or schedule for the afternoon and head to the Vatican in the morning for the Pope's Sunday blessing. I'm not sure why you thought this was on Saturday/Wednesday but the Pope always has a Sunday blessing when in Rome. Suggest you check www.vatican.va to see if the Pope will be in Rome when you are there.

I would switch the days of the two Florence museum visits. As previously noted, the Accademia will take much less time to tour, so putting it on Day 5 will ease that day's activities a bit.
And, you can go to the Uffizi earlier on Day 4, which will allow you to tour that wonderful museum without rushing.

Be sure to find time to see the Duomo in Florence and perhaps climb the Campanile or the dome for wonderful views of Florence. You might be able to fit that in on day 6 even if it means taking your dirty laundry to Rome. We found the laundry service in Italy to be very affordable.

I'm not sure if it would appeal to you but one of the fabulous sights in Venice is the Rialto Market at the end of the Rialto Bridge. You can get off the Vaporetto at the Rialto Bridge stop and wander through the market.

I agree with switching the Accademia and the Uffizi. You need only an hour or so at the Accademia. Be sure to walk through the Piazza della Signoria on your way to the Uffizi. And don't forget stops for gelato every day! Enjoy!

I will take your advice and switch the Accademia and Ufuzzi musems days.

For kybourbon, thanks for the heads up about the Sunday Papal appearance. I don't know why I thought it was Saturday, not Sunday.....It appears that he is going to be in residence the day we are there. I have contacted Angel Tours to see about doing the Heart of Rome tour in the afternoon, after we see the Pope. The Vatican information says the Pope appears at midday to do a reading and make a blessing. Do you know if "midday" means 12:00 noon? How long does the reading/blessing take? My thinking about taking the tour with Angel Tours was that it would be good to get a general overview for the city and the main sights the first full day we had in Rome (a Sunday) and then go back to what we wanted to see again on Monday afternoon and Tuesday.
I was planning on picking up a light lunch in Pisa from someplace near the Field of Miracles, do they exisit? Nothing fancy, just a pannini or slice of pizza and a drink. I assume it's perfectly acceptable to eat while on the trains? We'll pick up something to snack on for the train trip from Venice to Florence for sure. Thanks, kybourbon for reminding me and not letting us starve!

For metellus, that 18 minute open time slot is for watching other tourists argue and fight about the days' plans over breakfast, LOL. My husband always laughs about my "planning on steroids"!

For mamc, yes the Rialto market and bridge are on our list of things to do in Venice. That'll take place during "wandering" time. You think we'd have time to visit the Duomo in Florence after the Accedemia, probably around 5:00pm or so? How long should I plan on for this? I'm going to check right now on the hours it is open. May be out of luck on that day but your suggestion about taking the laundry to Rome is well taken.

mollmatt, we returned last month from a trip to Italy with our 14 and 18 year-old daughters. We did the same trip in the opposite direction. Your trip sounds great. My girls loved feeding the pigeons in St. Mark's Square in Venice and the gondola ride. We also wandered around the Rialto fish market and shopped for fancy-shaped pasta.

Our trip to Pisa was pretty quick. We took an afternoon train, maybe 2:20 or so, took the bus to the Tower, walked all the way back to the train station and were back in Florence in time for dinner. So, it can be done in a half-day.

By the way, my 14-year old wrote a trip reposrt when she got back. It was really intended to just let her friends know what she did so it is written in "teen speak" but she let me post it here. Just do a search on my name and it should come up if you are interested. Have a great time!

Suki, I did read the trip report your daughter wrote. I'm sure mine will have some of the same observations!

What is it with our daughters having to see the tower in Pisa?? That was my daughters only must see on our second trip to Italy.

The Sunday blessing is outside in the square and the Pope appears in his apartment window which is to the right if you are facing St. Peter's. There will be a red drape hanging from the window. This is at 11:30 but check to make sure of the time. There are big screens and speakers so you will be able to see and hear. You don't need tickets - just show up on Sunday morning. I'm not Catholic but have been twice to the blessing and was told that anything you take with you will be considered blessed by the Pope. There are official Vatican stores where you can purchase rosaries and other items if you were wanting to take something with you to the blessing. We bought some things just outside of the square at Savelli Galleria which is in Vatican City for friends that are Catholic. It has two locations with the larger one to the left as you are facing St. Peter's outside of the square. http://www.savellireligious.com/

Here is a vote for a nice restuarant in Venice. I think the name was the alla modena or alla moderna. Every time we go to Venice, we return. It was initially recommended to us by two separate locals, and the food is quite affordable and fantastic (I remember it being less than $15 or $20 a person). Try the seafood risotto or anything with squid ink sauce. Be a bit daring, and you will be rewarded. (Don't worry though, there are pickings for a finicky teenagers). To get there, if you were coming from the San Marco side of the Rialto bridge, cross over the Rialto, and take an immediate left to walk along the water (Avoid all restuarants along the water-overpriced and not nearly as good as we have been told). I think it was the second, third or fourth alley entrance on your right. When you look down the alley on the left hand side, You will see a bright, lit yellow sign, usually with locals standing outside waiting for it to open. It really was easy to find using these directions we were given. Enjoy!

Hi mollmatt and SandyD. The restaurant is the Alla Madonna.
And the directions SandyD gave you are absolutely correct. The calle (lane) that the restaurant is located on is C.della Madonna. Yes, it is the third calle from the Rialto Bridge.

My daughter was a picky eater also but she loved this restaurant. Believe you will find the prices are higher now but it has fantastic food and is a fun place to go to.

Hi LoveItaly,
Shuuushh! Lets make a pact not to tell anyone else, or we may not be able to get a seat for dinner the next time we go. Thanks for the name, I will write it down. Cheers!

Hi Sandy, this is the fourth time I will attempt to post an answer to you. Fodor's is not working well today!

Yes, shhh is right! Except I am glad you gave mollmatt the information. I can just visualize the great time she and her daughter will have.

Wish you and I could meet for dinner at Alla Madonna! We obviously love the same kind of restaurants and the same kind of food. Your bringing up the seafood risotto and the black squid ink sure left me bored with my dinner tonight. Take care. Mangia!