# Andiamo Adventurer's: A 2014 Viva Italia Trip Report - Complete!



## mare1203

Buongiorno e Benvenuto! My sister, Kathy (kanadar), and I have just returned from the Adventures by Disney Viva Italia trip and are excited to begin our trip report. It is our first time doing a full trip report of any kind, though we have contributed to the Disney Dining Live Thread before. 

While we saw there was just a trip report done for Viva Italia, we did experience a few differences from the previous poster and we had been planning on doing our own report for a while. Im sure you wont mind another one! Most notably was the change in hotel in Venice and a very different last night activity, so we hope you find it enjoyable to read. I believe that most adventure groups will begin doing our Venice experience in the coming weeks. 

This was our first Adventures by Disney trip and we had an amazing time. We were in Italy from June 18-27 (we added a pre-day in Rome). 

First, lets have some introductions:



​My name is Mary. I am 29 and I live in Arizona. I am a fan of Disney culture and tradition, though I am quite bad at Disney music and movie trivia. Before moving to Arizona I worked as a cast member in Disneys Animal Kingdom where I was a paleontologist at the Dino Institute, so Disney is in my blood. I also did a college program. Although I loved my time at Disney, I decided to move on and now work in higher education. I have always wanted to go to Italy and love to travel. I most looked forward to seeing all the history and sampling the wonderful food and drink. 









Part two of this tag-team is Kathy. She is 26 and lives in central Illinois. Kathy has just finished her studies to teach English as a Second Language and is looking for a teaching position. She also just got engaged to her Prince Charming, Jeff. So, after completing this trip she will dive head first into planning a Disney Fairytale Wedding (yep, we arent loyal to the brand at all). Kathy loves ice cream, so I know she looked forward to gelato and seeing the sights.  



​The main man and person for whom the trip is for is Bob. Bob also lives in central Illinois, about 45 minutes from Kathy, and he owns a meat distribution company. He will also be turning 60 in a few weeks. He started us on the Disney vacation love in 1994 and his favorites are resorting at the Polynesian and visiting during the Epcot Food & Wine Festival. Our family enjoys indulging in food & wine, so that was something we were very much looking forward to during the trip. He was most excited for the entire trip, spending time with his girls (he is a Dad, after all), and enjoying Italy. 

So, benvenuto and andiamo adventurers as we explore all that Rome, Tuscany, Florence, and Venice have to offer, and maybe get a few surprises along the way!


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## sayhello

Looking forward to your report, Mary!  We can never have too many Trip Reports!  Each report gives us a unique perspective on the trips.  You find there are as many experiences as there are Adventurers!  

My only thing is, I already can't tell you and Kathy apart!  You definitely look like sisters!  I guess there will be a lot of confusion there going forward!  

Sayhello


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## Sarabi's Cubs

I am very excited to read your trip report!!! Please include any delicious dining you found for your on your own time.

Laurie


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## BrennaM

Yes the more trip reports the better in my opinion!!  Everyone experiences things differently and has a different eye.  I'm hopefully going to be doing a report for my upcoming Ireland trip.  First time for me so I gotta remember to journal every day.  heheh


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## mare1203

sayhello said:


> Looking forward to your report, Mary!  We can never have too many Trip Reports!  Each report gives us a unique perspective on the trips.  You find there are as many experiences as there are Adventurers!
> 
> My only thing is, I already can't tell you and Kathy apart!  You definitely look like sisters!  I guess there will be a lot of confusion there going forward!
> 
> Sayhello



I agree! I love reading the trip reports! And I figure there are about a gazillion for WDW, so the more the merrier! Don't worry, I will do my best to keep it clear who is who! Thanks for joining in. 



Sarabi's Cubs said:


> I am very excited to read your trip report!!! Please include any delicious dining you found for your on your own time.
> 
> Laurie



Glad to have you on board! I will definitely be reporting on all the delicious dining we did, both included and on our own. I think we made some pretty good decisions (though I'm not sure we would have known otherwise!)



BrennaM said:


> Yes the more trip reports the better in my opinion!!  Everyone experiences things differently and has a different eye.  I'm hopefully going to be doing a report for my upcoming Ireland trip.  First time for me so I gotta remember to journal every day.  heheh



I agree! I would love to read your Ireland one; I hear it's a great trip!! Good luck on the journal-ling, I tried my best to journal and didn't get very far.  I'm still working on completing mine and then transferring it here.


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## Cousin Orville

Excellent!  Looking forward to following your trip report.  Did you eat out on your own in Venice?  Any recommendations?  How was the weather?  We'll be there next week.


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## tgeorge

I, too, am very excited to read your report. I'm was thinking about doing Italy in 2016, but now seriously contemplating 2015 so looking forward to reading about all go your adventures! Thanks for taking the time to write a report and sharing your experiences with us


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## mare1203

Okay Adventurer's here is our table of contents. I will link to the page(s) once I've completed the entry for easy viewing later on and edit as I am sure some of these will end up as multiple posts. 

_Pre-Trip:_
Introductions
Our Viva Italia Backstory
The Surprise Reveal

_Rome:_
Travel Day and Arrival, Part 1
Travel Day and Arrival, Part 2
Wait, I think the map says this way, Part 1
Wait, I think the map says this way, Part 2
The Adventure begins
Rome is like a lasagna, part 1
Rome is like a lasagna, part 2
They pillaged the marble...Recycling!, Part 1
They pillaged the marble...Recycling! Part 2
A funny thing happened on the way to the Forum
A Roman Dinner

_Vatican City_
Who are those guys in the funny looking outfits? Part 1
Who are those guys in the funny looking outfits? Part 2
A view from the top...of the Castel Sant'Angel
Maybe we should try a different gelato shop...nah!
It's just us and the guards
Dinner in Trastevere

_Tuscany:_
We lost Chris!
Is that the parade again?
The Feast of Corpus Christi Orvieto
Lunch at Relais Gli Ulivi
The Fastest Wine Tasting Ever
Oh no! My pasta volcano is overflowing!
Marco, is Sarah your girlfriend?
Dinner and a show at the Monastery

_Florence:_
Thank goodness Troy was there to catch us 
Walking tour of Florence
Tuscan T-Bone

_Venice:_
Are they laughing at us riding in these gondolas?
We knew Venice might be wet, but not this wet!
Dinner with friends in Venice
Doges Palace
Maybe they can save my mask with the glitter magic
Jolly Roger Dinner Cruise
Did we just stop to let on a DJ??
Arrivederci, Italia

Final Thoughts
Packing List


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## mare1203

Cousin Orville said:


> Excellent!  Looking forward to following your trip report.  Did you eat out on your own in Venice?  Any recommendations?  How was the weather?  We'll be there next week.



Welcome! We did eat out on our own in Venice. Ate at a little place about a 7 minute walk from Piazza San Marco called Ai Barbacani. It was one of our favorites of the trip, wonderful seafood and pasta dishes. We just had pizza for lunch the next day, but it wasn't anything special. 

When we arrived it was rainy, but the evening and next day were gorgeous. A little warm, high 80's I would say. Enjoy your cruise! 



tgeorge said:


> I, too, am very excited to read your report. I'm was thinking about doing Italy in 2016, but now seriously contemplating 2015 so looking forward to reading about all go your adventures! Thanks for taking the time to write a report and sharing your experiences with us



Glad to have you! I would highly recommend the trip. We found it a wonderful way to be introduced to Italy!


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## Cousin Orville

A table of contents? That's awesome!  So organized.

Thanks for the recommendation on Ai Barbacani.  I'm going to map that out tonight.


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## kanadar

Cousin Orville said:


> Excellent!  Looking forward to following your trip report.  Did you eat out on your own in Venice?  Any recommendations?  How was the weather?  We'll be there next week.


 
Our Italy guide made us the reservations at Ai Barbacani, we ended up eating with 3 of our fellow Adventurers! It was a very small place so reservations might be a good idea, plus when your seated you get a small glass of Prosecco!!


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## mare1203

In just a few weeks our dad will turn 60. We have always been close as a family, going on vacations and especially enjoying yearly trips to Disney. In 2003 we lost our mom to cancer and have been even closer ever since. We have done lots of different things with Disney throughout the years, but whenever my Dad saw an ad for the Adventures by Disney he casually mentioned it might be fun. This always stuck in my head. He also mentioned a number of times that he'd really like to see Italy. We have traveled all over the U.S., but only been abroad once, to London & Paris while Kathy was studying abroad in 2009. I knew I wanted to do something special for his 60th birthday and decided to see if Adventures by Disney might be an option. I began to look into the trips they offered and doing some initial research. The price tag was definitely a bit of a shock, as I think it is for everyone, but the reviews were also stellar. I ordered the viewbook and (im)patiently waited for it to arrive. In October of 2012 I told Kathy about my idea while she was nursing me back to health after I got my wisdom teeth out (Im not sure she believed me at first...would you, haha?!). 




I distinctly remember running Princess Half Marathon in 2013, not only because it was our first half marathon and you cannot forget that pain and excitement, but also because it was the weekend that we made the decision to take the plunge and book a trip to Italy with ABD.

From late March on, Kathy and I got very excited about Italy. We knew the 2014 dates wouldn't come out for another couple of months, so we had some waiting to do. In 2013, Viva Italia was still split between the 2 trips; initially we were deciding between the regular and the signature trips. When the 2014 dates came out we were actually on a family vacation in Hawaii, so it was hard to not get super excited and blow the surprise. 




Thanks to Adventure Insiders we learned that in 2014 there would only be one Italy option, so it made our decision pretty easy. Kathy and I decided we were going to tell him for his 59th birthday while I was in town for a wedding over the 4th of July. Time to begin our plan about how to tell him. This was half the fun! And all I'm going to give you for now...until next time adventurers 
​


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## west&east

How did you become Adventure Insiders before you took your first ABD?
Look forward to reading more in your trip report!


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## apurplebrat

kanadar said:


> Our Italy guide made us the reservations at Ai Barbacani, we ended up eating with 3 of our fellow Adventurers! It was a very small place so reservations might be a good idea, plus when your seated you get a small glass of Prosecco!!



Love Prosecco.  Sounds like this is a place to check out


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## carman754

What an incredible trip, one of the best trips I have been on and such a surprise from my girls, I'm sure the posts ahead will be great and we will be going on more ABD trips in the future, the best way to tour countries especially with a language barrier. Want to thank my girls for the great surprise.


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## mare1203

west&east said:


> How did you become Adventure Insiders before you took your first ABD?
> Look forward to reading more in your trip report!



There is a link on the Adventures by Disney website under "special offers and programs". I just filled out the form and they started sending me the information. I don't know if I would have been able to book on that day because we didn't try, but at least they sent the free gifts and info out!


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## mare1203

Kathy and I made the decision to make a day of clues leading up to the big reveal. Since were were doing an Adventures by Disney Italy trip, we decided to do something that related to either the trip or ABD. It took some thought, but we ultimately decided to make a day of it. 




We started off the day with some Italian coffee for breakfast and a postcard one of his employees picked up while in Italy a few weeks earlier.  




Our first activity completed the Adventure piece of the Adventures by Disney reveal. Bob had never been horseback riding before, so we booked a horseback ride in a nearby nature preserve. It was a nice little ride and Bob had a good time. 




For the Disney connection we went to see a Disney movie. Monsters University had come out a few weeks prior, and no one had yet seen it, so that was our pick. 




Probably the easiest part of our day to plan was dinner at a local Italian restaurant. 



 


Inside his birthday gift, we put an envelope that contained a letter telling him about the trip. I crafted a letter using descriptions from the Adventures by Disney Italy site and YouTube video as though it had been written from ABD to him and we also included a list of the dates. We got the Italy stickers and the travel stickers from Michael's, in case anyone is interested. 




Coincidentally, our dad had asked for a new carry-on suitcase for his birthday, so that was his birthday gift. Needless to say, he was speechless when he opened up the letter at the end of the day! 

Planning and executing the reveal day was one of the highlights of the entire experience for us and we had a great time doing it. 

We talked about doing a number of weeks when we gave our dad the list. Since we are all adults we could have chosen an adults only trip, but we had a discussion and decided it would be fun to do the trip with kids. I somewhat assume the adults-only trips tend to draw an, how do I say, older crowd, but Im not sure?? Since Kathy just finished school and is looking for teaching jobs, she wanted to do it after classes ended or over summer to ensure she could go. 

We settled on the June 19-27 trip and decided to book through Dreams Unlimited travel. The nice thing is that since Disney takes care of so much, there isn't much else to do. Somewhat sad for the planner in me, but very nice not to have to worry about anything. We also decided to add on a pre-day in Rome. A friend had said its easier to start on your own than end, because by the end you are both tired and spoiled by Disney. I can say that I would agree. Although I would have loved an extra day in Venice, it was nice to have a full weekend to relax before heading back to work. I assume Disney would set up the water taxi so long you book your post days through them, but that was a highlight for us. We felt so fancy! 

But, first, let the adventure begin! I promise the next post will begin with actual Italy info!​


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## mare1203

Welcome back, adventurer's. With the background out of the way, it's time to head to Italy!

We left for Rome on June 17, arriving on June 18. Our air travel ended up being based a little more on convenience than usual, since I live in AZ and Bob and Kathy live in IL. 




We both flew to Charlotte where we met up and flew to Rome together. We did the same thing on the way back, this time flying from Venice to Philadelphia together and then moving on. We flew US Airways/American Airlines and they included a free glass of wine with the meal. This was a bit of a surprise since I had heard there was no free alcohol on US-based airlines across the Atlantic. The flight was fine, but long, and as usual it was hard to get any real sleep, though we did try. 




We arrived around 9 a.m. on Wednesday morning and were met at the airport by Maria. She escorted us from the bag check to our driver who took us to the Gran Melia. It was really nice to not have to worry about transportation into Rome from the airport. The car was really nice as well; much better than the transports I usually take! When we got in the car the radio was playing From the windows to the walls which just made my sister and I laugh. 



 

 
After about a 45 minute drive we arrived at the Gran Melia where we were greeted and checked-in. Our room was happily ready, and we were able to go check it out immediately. We thought it a nicely appointed room, but a bit cramped because as a family of 3 we had a King bed and a roll-out. You can see the roll-out placed right against the end of the King bed in the picture above. The Gran Melia was the only place we felt the roll-out was a real nuisance. Really, the only negative we had about the trip was that a party of 3 only has the option of booking 1-room . There isnt a way or even an option to book a party of 3 with 2 rooms, which is what we probably would have done if we were doing the trip on our own. You would have to do a party of 2 and a party of 1, which seems silly when you are a full party of 3. The bathroom was cool and we had the fancy shower (apparently not all rooms have the double shower-head). I guess there is also a pillow menu, but we did not use or see it, however I think thats cool and interesting. 




As others have mentioned, the Gran Melia is located across the bridge from central or downtown Rome. It is about a 5 minute walk across and then you can go from there. Before leaving I was thinking of getting up and going to a coffee bar, but thats not really possible at this hotel, so you will want to take advantage of the breakfast. The hotel also offers a shuttle across, but I dont think it would save much time if you are an adult who can walk with ease. There is a spa and nice pool if you would like to take advantage. We did spend a little time at the pool, but did not experience the spa. 

After checking in we headed out in search of food and an ATM. Luckily, neither were far away. I had heard there are lots of food choices at the Piazza Navona, so we took the map and set out in search of it. We never made it. I am good with directions, but for some reason I couldnt get Rome straight! Actually, we did end up quite close to the Piazza, but found a little place to eat a bit off the main drags as many others had recommended to us. There were lots of little shops and eateries that lined the street. 




We found Gino e Pietro that looked like a little hole in the wall with an Italian family eating and some open tables, so we decided to stop there (we realized later it was actually quite large with a back room!). The waiter spoke some English and we didnt have any trouble communicating our wants. I studied Italian for about 2 months before arriving, and although my Italian is terrible, I did give it a whirl. I used 2 apps, Duolingo (free) and Babbel (about $9 for a month), to study my Italian and I found them quite helpful to at least give me a foundation and I would recommend both highly. We found the waitstaff patient and willing to work with my terrible Italian and my families non-existant Italian throughout our trip. 




For lunch we started with one of the antipasti I was most excited for in Italy: prosciutto e melone, or prosciutto wrapped canteloupe. Its catching on here in the States, but it was even better since we were in Italy. 



 


We also got a carafe of the house wine (I think at least 50% of the pictures I'm in involve a glass of wine or food...I regret nothing!). For our meals we each ordered a pasta dish. 




I got the gnocchi special and thought it was very good. It was served traditionally, in a bolognese sauce and the gnocchi was firm, but melted in your mouth.




Kathy got the pasta carbonara. This is a popular dish and you will see it on most menu's. Olive oil, bacon, egg, and pasta...really, what's not to like?!? She enjoyed this. 




Bob ordered the house ravioli. I'm not sure what it was filled with, spinach and cheese, I think. He enjoyed it. 

We rated this a good first taste in Rome. Gino e Pietro is on a street with lots of other places to eat. I don't think this one stands out from any of them, but we also didn't feel as though we paid for overpriced tourist food, either. We liked that there wasn't anyone outside beckoning us to come in. While dining it had begun to rain and we were tired from our travels, so we decided to go back to the hotel for a nap when we were done.




This is getting kind of long, so I'm going to split it up. Next time: Do we force ourselves up from our nap or let jet lag take over?! Stay tuned to find out!


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## sayhello

Great report so far!  Looking forward to more.



mare1203 said:


> We talked about doing a number of weeks when we gave our dad the list. Since we are all adults we could have chosen an adults only trip, but we had a discussion and decided it would be fun to do the trip with kids. I somewhat assume the adults-only trips tend to draw an, how do I say, older crowd, but I’m not sure?? Since Kathy just finished school and is looking for teaching jobs, she wanted to do it after classes ended or over summer to ensure she could go.


Nope!  In my experience, your assumption would be wrong.    The Adults Only trips tend to get a wide range of people and ages.  I've done 4 of them, and we've had young couples, folks taking their young-20's Adult children on special trips, older couples, middle-aged couples, singles of all ages, etc.  I've only had one trip have an actual elderly couple, but they kept up really well.



> We settled on the June 19-27 trip and decided to book through Dreams Unlimited travel. The nice thing is that since Disney takes care of so much, there isn’t much else to do. Somewhat sad for the planner in me, but very nice not to have to worry about anything. We also decided to add on a pre-day in Rome. A friend had said it’s easier to start on your own than end, because by the end you are both tired and spoiled by Disney. I can say that I would agree. Although I would have loved an extra day in Venice, it was nice to have a full weekend to relax before heading back to work. I assume Disney would set up the water taxi so long you book your post days through them, but that was a highlight for us. We felt so fancy!


Yes, if you book your post-day(s) through ABD, the transportation (water taxi) to the airport is included.

Sayhello


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## Cousin Orville

mare1203 said:


> [/URL]
> We also got a carafe of the house wine (I think at least 50% of the pictures I'm in involve a glass of wine or food...I regret nothing!). For our meals we each ordered a pasta dish.



Sounds like you did Italy right!


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## mare1203

sayhello said:


> Nope!  In my experience, your assumption would be wrong.    The Adults Only trips tend to get a wide range of people and ages.  I've done 4 of them, and we've had young couples, folks taking their young-20's Adult children on special trips, older couples, middle-aged couples, singles of all ages, etc.  I've only had one trip have an actual elderly couple, but they kept up really well.



Interesting and good to know!


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## mare1203

2 hours later we forced ourselves to get up and headed out to explore Rome. While all roads may lead to Rome, the Roman roads do not lead in a straight line (built on a grid this city was not!), so we found ourselves lost, confused, and turned-around many times. However, we werent really in a hurry, so this was all part of the fun. For our evening journey we did manage to find:




the Piazza Navona, 




the Pantheon, 




and the Trevi Fountain, 

soooo...success! The Trevi Fountain has just begun a restoration project expected to last through 2015, so there was no water. However, we were lucky enough to see it before the scaffolding covered it completely. Along the way we walked through many little streets lined with restaurants and shops, though we didnt go into any of them at this time. 

Both Bob and Kathy and myself had brought along guidebooks, so before leaving the hotel earlier in the day we decided we wanted Roman pizza for dinner. My guidebook recommended a place called Pizzeria Bafetto located near the Piazza Navona. As luck would have it, one of Kathys best friends had also recommended the place separately. Well, that sealed it, Pizzeria Bafetto was our goal for dinner. Now, to find the place Since we were at the Trevi fountain, we did our best to backtrack. Twisting and turning down streets we did make it back to the Pantheon, but found ourselves a little hungry. Time to stop for some gelato! 



 


That's me and my dad, and the other pic is of Kathy. 

We picked a place right by the Pantheon and it ended up being one of our favorites of the trip. I chose straciatella and miritti as my flavors (also known as chocolate chip and blueberry), and I will say that that blueberry was awesome! If you love blueberries and see Miritti as a gelato option then do yourself a favor and get some because its totally worth it. Straciatella was a family favorite throughout the trip. Kathy got fior di fragola (a strawberry flavor) and a caramel creme. Bob got the caramel and something else. He said this was his favorite spot overall. Our bellies feeling happy with gelato we continued on our way to dinner. 

Consulting the map, we were confidently striding towards Roman pizza. Unfortunately, we were confidently going the wrong direction. Darn map! We came upon some ruins and tried to find where we had gone wrong. Turns out we went left when we should have gone right. No matter, Rome is not a large city and our 10 minute detour in the wrong direction did not end up putting us too far off the path. Plus, we were at least on the right main street, so we turned around and continued on. Good thing we had that gelato after all. 




We finally found our side street and at the end of it was the pizzeria, success! This small street ended up being a gold mine of restaurants and, funny enough, our general landmark for the rest of the trip when we were between Piazza Navona and Campo di Fiori! If we hadnt gotten lost or if we were coming from the hotel, the pizzeria is only about a 5-10 minute walk, for anyone interested. There was a line to get in, but this is not a place where people do a lot of lingering, though as in all of Italy they do not rush you. Its quite touristy, but we ended up being seated with and standing around a number of Italians as well, so it is not a tourist trap by any means; just good pizza. 

We waited about 30 minutes for a table and were escorted upstairs. The place is way bigger than it looks at first sight. The menu is in 4 languages, which confused the heck out of my dad who was like, well what is different about the British menu and the Italian one?? Just the language Dad! Haha, he thought they listed different options! Nope, just easier to read if youre in the English section. 



 


We decided to split 2 pizzas, the Baffetta special and a prosciutto pizza. It was filling, but we could have each ordered our own as the pizza is very thin (just how we like it!). 




The pizza at Via Napoli in Epcot is cooked in the same manner as this pizza, for context. Most parties seemed order one for each member of their group. The party next to us (we were seated at long tables shared with others) ordered bruschetta to start and it looked quite yummy. Since pizza and beer go so well together, we got 2 Morettis as our beverage and my sister got a Coke. Oh, we are Coke Zero fans and werent sure if it was a thing overseas. Well, Im happy to report that it is and it was as easy to find throughout the trip as it is here in the States, maybe even easier! This was one of our favorite meals of the trip.  By the time we finished dinner it was after 10 and we headed back to the hotel to sleep! 

All in all, a successful first day in Rome. What will day 2 bring (hint: we get lost again, lol!)


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## Cousin Orville

That pizza looks awesome.  Looks like you had a great day!


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## Sarabi's Cubs

Really enjoying your trip report so far!!!  Looking forward to the next installment!

Laurie


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## mare1203

Hello Adventurer's! After a few busy days at work it's time for another Italy update! 

The next morning we woke up and went down to breakfast, which was included with our stay. They have a very nice spread with what I thought to be a nice variety of choices. There were a number of breads to choose from in addition to fruit platters, a salad bar, cured meats and cheeses, and some hot bacon, sausage, eggs, tomatoes, and potatoes. My absolute favorite? Making my own ricotta and honey bruschetta. So, so yummy. The waiters will give you coffee Americano, cappuccino, or espresso among other options for drinks. Sorry, we don't seem to have any pictures of breakfast!




The previous evening we had received our Adventures by Disney welcome gift. Inside it said our adventure guides would be available throughout the day to meet and say hi. After breakfast we went to the lobby to do just that. 




When we arrived we were met by one of our guides, Troy. He gave us some information about the welcome happening that evening and took our menu orders. We also sat and talked for a few minutes. One of the things he recommended was to go out the gates of the hotel and turn left rather than right. Up the hill was a childrens hospital with a park that he said offered a great view. 



 

 


Some pictures from the hill. He said there was an even better view from further up, but we never made it. 

As I previously mentioned, the hotel offers a shuttle across the river. After speaking with Troy the shuttle was set to leave in about 20 minutes, so we went up the hill and then came back down to give it a whirl. 




The shuttle dropps you off at Museo dell'Ara Pacis. It houses an alter from 9 BC dedicated to peace. We did not go in.

While talking to Troy he had recommended the Piazza di Popolo as a place to head that day. We had booked tickets a few days earlier for the Borghese Gallery and saw that the Piazza was near one of the park entrances, so we decided it would be a good use of our morning to head that way. From the shuttle we walked to the Via del Corso, a major shopping street in Rome, though not the designer shopping. The boulevard led straight to the Piazza, so we couldnt get lost, yay! We strolled down the street, popping into shops and admiring the city. 




We decided to stop into a church, the San Carlo al Corso (we made sure to be dressed for it. Though no one was checking, there were signs) and were stunned to see an absolutely gorgeous interior!



 

 





 

 



The church was home to the relic of the heart of St. Charles, which is pictured. Also, it had an amazing organ (nerd alert!) and I would love to have heard it in action. It was my second favorite of the trip (after St. Peters). After that we were hooked into just popping in and seeing what there was to offer since you never really knew! 

In order to maximize pictures, I am going to end this post here. I'll post the 2nd half a little later this evening! 
​


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## mare1203

When we got to the end of the street we hit the Piazza del Popolo, which was a nice place to sit and enjoy people watching for a while. Not incredibly busy, but bustling with activity nonetheless. 




You could also climb the stairs for a panoramic view of the city and the Piazza below. In this picture you can see people doing just that. 




We also took the time to visit the Basilica Parrocchiale Santa Maria del Popolo (phew, that's a mouthful, isn't it?). Here is Kathy in front of the church. 



 

​This church was restored by Bernini in the 1600s and features a number of works of art by Raphael and Caravaggio. I also believe it was featured in the movie Angels & Demons, making it a popular destination. We found it busy, but not overly so. 




It was nearing noon and with our tickets for 13:00 we knew we should get some lunch. We had seen the Panini e Porchetta shop near the end of the road, so we decided to give it a try. They specialized in pork paninis and would slice the pork off the larger roast as you waited. You could also get other types of paninis or just take some meat to-go. There were 2 guys working and although they didnt speak much English we were able to convey our wants and ended up with a nice panini. 




We took our paninis to the Piazza and ate for a bit before deciding to finish them as we walked towards the gallery. The pork was nice and juicy with a crispy outside. I believe the pork was cooked with herbs inside and that gave it a nice flavor. 



 


Now, I knew going in that the Borghese Gallery was deep within the park, but everything to that point had been fairly close together. This walk, however, seemed to take an eternity! I would not recommend walking from the Popolo to the Borghese Gallery, though it is a beautiful park to stroll through and take some pictures. Just not when you arent entirely sure of where your final destination is located. 




We followed the signs, made a few wrong turns, and finally came across the Borghese Gallery. You can pre-purchase your tickets on-line for a strict 2-hour time window in which to view the gallery. I think there were still tickets available when we went, but when I went online to buy them a few days prior there were some times that were already full, so I would recommend buying them early. 

By this time we had been walking for a long time time and my sister especially was getting tired (and her feet hurt), so I do think it impacted our experience at the gallery. Thats not to say we didnt enjoy it; quite the contrary, its just that we didnt spend the whole 2 hours since there arent many places to sit down for a spell. Had we been fresh, we could have easily spent 2 hours admiring all the rooms. 




Some of the paintings were incredible, especially the ones on the ceiling. The gallery is also home to a number of Bernini statues, most notably the Apollo and Daphne. Sorry there aren't more pictures. Honestly, this was one of those places where the pictures just wouldn't do it justice. One of our guidebooks recommended starting upstairs with the majority of paintings and then heading back down for the statues to avoid the majority of people who start at the bottom. 

While I was there I saw a couple who were with a guide and I caught some of the information she was giving them. Im not sure if it was a local guide or a special guide you can book, but either way, next time Im definitely looking into it, because the bits I heard were fascinating. We all think it would have been really nice to have context and history behind the art, even with being tired. They do provide some information in the gallery and as we learned after, there is also an audio guide you can rent. 

Either way, we thought it was a great use of our free day since it was the one thing that we continually saw recommended that Disney wasnt actually going to do. 

We left the gallery at around 2:45 and with the intention of going back to the hotel. The only problem was how to get back to the hotel. In hindsight we should have just taken a taxi, but we did not. On the edge of the Borghese Gardens is this wretched traffic circle (that's actually not fair to the traffic circle; it's very nice and I'm sure quite helpful if you know how to get out). 




We reached this traffic circle with relative ease. However, it quickly became the bane of our existence, as we couldnt for the life of us figure out how to get OUT of the traffic circle to a street that was safe for pedestrians. We went down one road and about a quarter mile down the sidewalk ended and it being a busy street, we turned back. Another road seemed to go in the opposite direction from what we wanted and we couldnt figure out a thoroughfare through the park. I believe if we would have walked through the ruin wall and into the neighborhood and toward the hotel we would have run into it, but we couldn't tell on the map and didn't want to get further lost.




We spent a lot of time doing this, haha!

By this time we were tired, hot, and frustrated! Should have just taken a taxi. Or I should have eaten the data and pulled out my phone to use the Google Maps feature to get us back. At any rate, we made the decision to basically retrace our steps to the Piazza and go from there. Certainly not the most direct way back, but at least we knew it would get us there. It probably took us an hour to get from that wretched traffic circle (which we would see again) back to the hotel on foot. We were all in decent footwear, but Kathy was feeling pretty sore, even at the Borghese Gallery. By the time we made it back to the hotel I think she was feeling pretty miserable. We did stop for some gelato on the way back, though, so it wasnt a complete loss. This gelato was pretty good, but not as good as the one we had the day before. 

I dont think it helped that basically all we wanted to do was get back to the hotel. When we stopped for gelato we were on the right track, close to following the river back to our bridge. Well look back and laugh about our misdirection from the night before, but I dont think well be looking back and laughing at this one. I can tell you, though, we were READY for Adventures by Disney to take over! 

Finally, we made it back to the hotel. I dont have a picture, but another landmark we used throughout our time in Rome to note our location was the Gran Melia parking garage. The Gran Melia is great when youre heading across the river because youre going downhill and fresh. Coming back...not so much. That hill was tiring after a day of walking! The parking garage was about ¾ of the way up and whenever we saw it the leader would call out parking garage! almost there! Kind of silly, but something we enjoyed. As soon as we got back Kathy took her shoes off and relaxed. 

My dad and I, however, decided to go BACK down the hill (were gluttons for punishment, apparently) to see if we could find a small convenience store for some wine. The night before we had wandered into a cute little grocery/convenience store with a nice wine selection and I had wanted to find it again to get a bottle. Unfortunately, it wasnt in the direction we were going earlier in the day and I certainly wasnt going to try and find it again, so we just turned right at the bottom of the hill instead. There is a little store just a few doors down where we purchased a bottle of wine and some water. 

It worked out well and would be good if you needed something small and definitely cheaper than you could get at the hotel. Returning to the hotel we had about 30 minutes to relax and then it was time to meet our fellow adventurers and start the welcome event!  ​


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## mare1203

Hello Again! After our long afternoon of trapsing all over Rome it was finally time to start our Adventure. Without further ado,



​	The welcome event for our adventure was to be held at the restaurant in the hotel. We were asked to meet in the library next to the lobby before going over. So, at 5:30 we headed down to the lobby. We were greeted by Troy and our other guide, Marco, who gave us name tags along with a card listing all the members of our group. There were 41 total adventurers. We took a seat in the middle of the room and waited for the others to arrive. As the families trickled in there were a few side conversations going on, but for the most part everyone seemed to keep to themselves. We struck up a conversation with a couple and a solo traveler and had a nice chat. 




This is what everyone was waiting for!​
About fifteen minutes later Troy gathered everyone together and then guided us to the restaurant where the festivities began. We were told that for the welcome event only, they had pre-assigned our seats at the various tables. As we walked in there were small tables set up with bowls of chips and nuts as well as a bar in the front. Since an appetizer, entree, and dessert were coming I dont think people really touched the food. Also, meeting in the library prior to going to the restaurant gave little reason to stand around the high-top tables and everyone headed toward the tables instead. 



 

​We found our table, dropped our purses, and then headed to the bar to fill up our glasses. They had a variety of choices of beer and wine in addition to water and pop/soda, and it was included with the dinner. During this time we also took the opportunity to introduce ourselves to our table mates. We were seated with a family of 4 from Southern California who had just arrived. It was also their first time on an Adventures by Disney trip. 

After giving everyone a chance to get a drink and introduce themselves to their table mates our guides began the evening. 



​Troy was the emcee of the event and started by welcoming us tour our Italian adventure, but prefacing that it wasnt the first adventure for everyone. He then acknowledged families who had been on other adventues by giving them pins and had them tell us where else they had been. There were 2 families on our trip that had actually met on a previous adventure in Costa Rica and then decided to do the Viva Italia together.  Another group had been on the London/Paris Adventure. Another adventure group had been to Greece, China, and one more I dont remember previously with ABD. Finally, there was one adventure couple that had been on 6 previous adventures! Troy said they had to special make a pin for them, so i dont know if they have the official title of most adventures, but if not, then they are close! I cant remember where all they had been but the ones I do remember are Italy/Switzerland, Ireland, Arizona, and Montana. 



​Once the previous trip pins had been given out we were all given our welcome pins and asked to introduce our family and what they were most looking forward to/why they chose Disney. Our group was from all over the U.S. and even a family from Bermuda. At the end of the introductions were our guides: Troy and Marco V. (aka Marco the Fifth as we dubbed him). 



​When he isnt doing Italian adventures, Troy lives in Seattle, Washington. It is his first year with ABD and this was his 4th or 5th group. 



​Marco V. is currently completing his 7th Year with ABD and when he isnt adventuring he lives in Vietnam, but hes from Milan. He was very fun, especially with the kids. 

We thought both guides were wonderful throughout the trip and they worked well together. They have different personalities that complemented one another. 



 

​For dinner we had a primi piato choice of risotto or gnocchi. My dad and I both had the risotto and thought it was very good. The rice was light and the portion was just right. Kathy chose the gnocchi and said it was okay, but not as good as the gnocchi from our lunch. 



​The main dish was a choice between steak, fish, and pasta. We all chose the beef and thought it was good, but not overly memorable. I apologize that I dont remember what dessert was, but it wasnt great. I would have preferred to forgo dessert and get gelato after instead. The welcome dinner ended around 8 as people began to head up. Here are a few more pics from the welcome









​
Many had arrived that day and were ready for some rest. Plus, we knew we had a busy day ahead. 



​We decided to go back to the hotel room ourselves and had a night in with the bottle of wine we had purchased earlier in the day. 
​


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## figment52

This  trip is under consideration for 2015 o I am most anxious for your report. Thanks for taking the time to recap your trip for us.


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## twentyco

[Now, I knew going in that the Borghese Gallery was deep within the park, but everything to that point had been fairly close together. This walk, however, seemed to take an eternity! I would not recommend walking from the Popolo to the Borghese Gallery, though it is a beautiful park to stroll through and take some pictures. Just not when you arent entirely sure of where your final destination is located. ]

Fantastic trip report -- thank you for doing it!  

We did the trip immediately after yours, and did the Borghese Gallery on our arrival day (which one might think was a little nuts, but ...)  For those who may be reading this who may want to do that, it's reasonable to get there via the subway as another option -- it does seem like it would be an incredibly long walk from the hotel without using a subway or cab.  To get there by subway, you go to the Ottaviano subway stop, which is about a 15 or so minute walk from the hotel.  From there, you take the subway to the Barberini metro stop.  (Subway costs 1.50 Euros per person each way; just use the machines to buy tickets, one per person per trip (so for us, with two people, it was four tickets total).  They accept cash for sure, and I think credit cards as well.  It is easy to do).  Exit the Barberini stop to "Via Veneto," which is a beautiful tree lined street.  Right at the Metro entrance is the Capuchin Crypt, if you're so inclined (my daughter wanted to do it, so I did -- but I could have gone the rest of my life without seeing all of those bones).  At the end of Via Veneto is the traffic circle that is in Mary's pictures; you go through that into the park, and then turn right and walk to the end of the park where the Borghese Gallery is located.  It was a pretty walk, and not too bad from our perspective.  On the way back we got gelato, which helped.   

In terms of tours, we did not do a guided tour of the Borghese Gallery, because I thought it would be too much for our first day.  However, Context Travel offers small group tours of various things in Rome, including the Borghese.  We did one of their tours to Ostia Antica the day after we arrived (day the adventure started), and it was fantastic.  I would really recommend them.  Our tour guide was an American who has lived in Rome for about the past 25 years and was incredibly knowledgeable.  There were only five people on the tour (their maximum is 6).  Really learned a lot and enjoyed them; if I had it to do over, I might consider doing them for the Borghese as well.  Frankly, I wasn't sure if we'd be able to get there the first day, and didn't want to eat the cost of the tour (as opposed to just the tickets) if we could not.  

The only other "off schedule" thing we did was the Uffizi museum in Florence, also without a guide.  We had a 4 p.m. reservation, which worked out perfectly.  We finished with the ABD Palazzo Vecchio tour (the guides put us in the first group through) at about 3:45, and it's about a five minute walk over to the Uffizi.  It was well worth it for us because my daughter is very in to art ... she was absolutely in awe at the Uffizi.  More than once when we walked into a room, she would say "is that the real ...."  (And I would immediately say, "I don't know, I have to check the plaque," since I am absolutely clueless about art).  We spent all the time we wanted to there and were able to make it back to the meeting place, a very short walk away, to get the earlier of the two shuttles back, which I think was at 6:00 or 6:30.  We then had dinner at the hotel in Tuscany.  Made for a full day of sightseeing, and we missed out on shopping in Florence, but from our perspective it was worth it.  And of course we could have stayed in Florence until the later shuttle back to the hotel and done some shopping, but we were just too tired.  

Both the Uffizi and the Borghese Gallery have to be booked in advance, but you can book the tickets online.  The Uffizi is harder than the Borghese to get tickets to; I booked it right after the 70 day cancellation window passed.  I certainly could have booked it after that, though -- I think Rick Steves recommends that you book a few weeks in advance, for what that is worth.

Hope this helps someone!  Thanks again to Mary for the awesome report!


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## DDuck4Life

Just found your trip report and am following along. Sounds amazing so far and can't wait to read and see more. We have our trip coming up in a couple of months so I'm loving everything in your trip so far.


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## mare1203

DDuck4Life said:


> Just found your trip report and am following along. Sounds amazing so far and can't wait to read and see more. We have our trip coming up in a couple of months so I'm loving everything in your trip so far.



Glad you are enjoying it! 



twentyco said:


> Fantastic trip report -- thank you for doing it!
> 
> We did the trip immediately after yours, and did the Borghese Gallery on our arrival day (which one might think was a little nuts, but ...)  F
> The only other "off schedule" thing we did was the Uffizi museum in Florence, also without a guide.  We had a 4 p.m. reservation, which worked out perfectly.  We finished with the ABD Palazzo Vecchio tour (the guides put us in the first group through) at about 3:45, and it's about a five minute walk over to the Uffizi.
> 
> Hope this helps someone!  Thanks again to Mary for the awesome report!



Thanks for the wonderful information! We did not end up doing the Palazzo Vecchio (we were a bit 'arted out' at that point), though it's one small regret I have as the pictures looked awesome. Looks like the Palazzo Vecchio and Uffizi are great reasons for us to go back!



figment52 said:


> This  trip is under consideration for 2015 o I am most anxious for your report. Thanks for taking the time to recap your trip for us.



Glad to have you reading along!


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## mare1203

Hello again adventurer's. I hope you're all well rested and ready for some history, because this Roman tour was non-stop and action packed! Today's first lesson? Rome is like a lasagna! Let's go, shall we? 



​
For our first full guided-day in Rome we got an early start. I had heard from prior reviews that this was going to be a long day and boy were they right! Make sure to dress comfortable for the day; we were glad we did.  My dad and I got up early and went for a run down by the Tiber River. There is a nice path the runs along it and it wasnt too hot, so we enjoyed the path. Troy is also a runner, so he recommended a couple paths to run in the morning. Afterwards we got down to breakfast so we would have time to eat before meeting the group in the lobby. When we got to the lobby we also noticed a new member of the group. She was impeccably dressed and a bundle of energymust be our local guide! 



​
Cristina was our local guide and she has been working with Adventures by Disney groups for a number of years. She studied for 5 years to get hour tour license for Rome. Our entire group just loved her. She was no-nonsense with a bit of spunky and smart-alecky attitude that worked well with both the kids and the adults in the group. I think everyone was ready to put her in our pockets and take her with us for the rest of trip. Plus, I think us ladies would have also killed to go shopping with her! 



​The guides gave us all radios and headphones to help us all hear Cristina even when we were moving. It made touring easy because it allowed for us to wander a bit and take in the sights without feeling like we needed to be right next to the guide the whole time. 



 

​At this point we headed toward the bus and met our driver, Angelo. During the ride Cristina gave us information about the city and began our history lesson. This is when she told us that Rome is like a lasagna, with lots of layers. 



​It is thought that Rome is on about its 7th layer, but archaeologists continue to find more and more relics and artifacts as they dig down. 



​Remember this traffic circle? We certainly do! Well, we drove right by it on the way. The driver dropped us off about a 5-minute walk from the Spanish Steps. 



​Cristina told us a little about the history of the Popes and how they influenced the city. Since Popes were unsure of how long their rule would be, they took the power while they had it to build the wealth of their families. If the Romans didnt invent nepotism, they perfected it, and made sure to reward their family with titles, work, and power while they reigned (hmm, that doesn't  sound familiar _at all_ )



 

​We arrived at the Spanish Steps and Cristina began to tell us about how/why the Spanish Steps got their name. Although ultimately built with funds from a French Diplomat the project was originally suggested by the French in the 17th century, but not approved for another 100 years. 



​The stairs connect the Piazza di Spagna next to the Spanish Embassy shown here to the church and piazza above (which were also once owned by the French (sorry France, another loss, as Cristina would joke). 



 




 

​We maaaay have had a little fun on the steps along the way down! I think were a pretty good looking group, dont you?!  The junior adventurers were asked to count the steps as they went down to see who got the right number (apparently this was also on the Amazing Race recently?). 



 

​It was here where one of our Adventurer's got a special surprise. Turns out, it was Bella's birthday! Since this is Disney, she got a card and we all sang her Happy Birthday. Yeah, we aren't having any fun at all on this trip...

From the Spanish Steps we began our walk toward the Trevi Fountain. On the way Cristina said we were walking through the main Roman designer fashion district. She joked that Adventures by Disney deliberately comes through this area before all the stores are open because otherwise we might lose some lady adventurer's! Probably true! 



 

​We arrived at the Trevi Fountain where our Adventures by Disney guides handed out coins for each of us to toss into the fountain. Although the fountain is currently dry and being covered in scaffolding you can still throw a coin in. Of course my Dad was the one who threw his coin and bam! hit the plastic wall, haha! Dont worry, he made it over the second time. At this point the guides gave us a break of 20 minutes. 



​They recommended a coffee and gelato spot next to the Trevi fountain that had a nice bathroom. Not the best gelato in the world, but the staff was nice and the bathroom was clean. I got an espresso, my sister a strawberry gelato, and my dad a gelato espresso drink. I tried it and thought it was rich, but very good. 

Okay all, apparently we only made it through half the morning! I am going to end it here for today, but don't worry, there is still much to come!


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## mare1203

Okay Family! It’s time to continue our Roman walk. From the Trevi Fountain we headed toward the Pantheon. Along the way we hit 3 spots. 







The first was a shop featuring Pinocchio, where we took some fun pictures.​
The second was one of the famous Roman water fountains. The water in Rome is pulled in from the aquifers and is absolutely safe to drink. If only the water at the Magic Kingdom could taste this good. It was a warm, but not overly hot, day in Rome so the stop was welcome to fill up our bottles. 




Cristina and Marco demonstrating how to properly use the water fountain!







Then it was our turn! 



 

​We also made a stop at a church. This is the Church of St. Ignatius of Loyola and it is dedicated to Ignatius of Loyola, the founder of the Jesuits. 



 



 



​There were some lovely frescoes on the ceiling. The main draw is the fact that it is all a play on the eyes. Although it looks to be domed and vaulted this is all effect and the ceiling is actually completely flat. 

Our next stop was the Pantheon. I’ll be honest, I was not paying as close attention as I should have been at this point. It was a beautiful day and I enjoyed people watching along with listening to Cristina. 




I remember something about Hadrian (we heard a lot about him) and that it is one of the best-preserved of the Ancient Roman buildings. 



 



 



​We went into the Pantheon and admired the open dome and got a chance to roam around a bit. The last picture here is of the draining feature of the Pantheon, which catches the rain. Even though the dome is large and open, the rain does not flow any further than is roped off. Pretty amazing. 



​We saw the remains of Raphael, who was considered beautiful, a bit of a playboy, and enthusiastic about life/Rome in addition to being a genius, unlike Michaelangelo who was a recluse and not so pretty (as I type it’s all coming back to me!). Cristina was a big fan of Raphael and I must say, I was as well. We’ll see more from him later. 



​We also saw the remains of Queen Margherita of Italy, for whom it is rumored the Margherita pizza was named due to her preference for a pizza topped with the colors of the Italian flag: basil, mozzarella, and San Marzano tomatoes (most likely not true, but a fun story nonetheless). 

After the Pantheon we headed toward the Piazza Navona, one of the busiest squares in Rome. It was built on top of an old stadium and built to follow the form of the stadium. There are a few well-known pieces of art and architecture in or on the piazza. 



​First is a family palace (a quick Google search reminds me it is the Palazzo Pamphili) of Pope Innocent X (who I am sure was quite innocent throughout his reign...right). 



 



​Second is the Fountain of Four Rivers done by Bernini. It was a beautiful statue. Cristina gave us quite a bit of information about Bernini and especially a few facts about his feud with Borromini, which, in true competition, drove the two to create amazing works throughout their life. 

At last, we headed toward the Campo di Fiori for lunch! I think we were all craving some down time about then. When we arrived the market was bustling with activity. 




Our group ate a restaurant called Obika, mozzarella bar.​
We sat down to large platters of antipasti. The caprese salad was phenomenal and my favorite part of the meal. The mozzarella was fresh with a wonderfully mild flavor and the tomato was big and fresh. We also received a grilled veggie and charcuterie plate to share. 



​There were then 4 different types of pizza delivered: veggie, quattro formaggio, margherita, and prosciutto. For some reason our table didn’t receive the margherita pizza, but the other 3 we pretty good. We did not think it was in any way superior to the pizza we had at Pizzeria Bafetto. This pizza was a bit thicker, but still quite tasty. We did notice that most of the kids didn’t seem to each much. Water, soda, and coffee were included with beer and wine available for purchase, which many took advantage of. One thing I liked about all our lunches with ABD is that it did not feel rushed. 



​They gave us plenty of time to eat, relax, and converse with one another. It was nice to take a break and we made sure to take advantage as our afternoon was going to be just as busy! There was time to stop by the market before we left, but our family chose not to do so. 

Once we finished lunch Cristina led us from the Campo de Fiori to the bus. 



​On the way Cristina stopped to point out the French Embassy (she took any chance to take a swipe at the French which I enjoyed fully for amusements sake). During her explanation she told us that, due to a contract loop, the French only pay 1 Euro per year to use the building. We also walked down the Via Giulia, which is the most expensive street in Rome. Thankfully, the bus was right around the corner. 

North, South, East, West, All Roads Lead to Rome (don’t you miss that iconic line from Spaceship Earth sadly cut during the latest overlay???). Stay tuned as we head back in time to the age of the ancient Romans!


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## disneyphx

Loving reading this.....and would enjoy hearing about the people watching too!

Michele


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## RSM

Great report Mare1203.  Brings back alot of fun memories of Rome for us.


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## mare1203

Welcome back, Family! Its now time to learn about how the ancient Romans lived. I want to preclude this by saying I love history, so take that as a warning for whats to follow (you already know Im wordy). I was looking forward to the Coliseum and Roman Forum for the afternoon. It was about a 30-minute bus ride to the Coliseum during which time we took a bit of a drive around the ancient city and learned about the history. This is what I took away from the discussion: After Rome fell they pillaged the marble...recycling! 

Okay, so thats definitely not all I took from the discussion, but I did find it fascinating that much of the marble/travertine/etc. used in churches and other monuments around the city was built using marble that once covered the structures of the ancient world. I can only imagine it was incredible to see the Baths of Caracalla or the Coliseum covered in bright marble. 

Anyway, before I get to that we went by a few other notable sights. First up, the *Largo di Torre Argentina*. 



 

​This is sight of Roman ruins which houses 4 temples and an ancient opera house. The opera house, *Pompeys Theatre*, is where Julius Caesar was killed. Although Shakespeares play has Julius Caesar assassinated in the Capitol, it has been determined that he was actually assassinated in the square of Pompeys Theater. Cristina told us a few different theories about Caesar, but the only one I remember is that Caesar may have known he was sick and had the assassination arranged rather than die from his sickness. The Largo di Torre Argentina is also notable today because it is a cat sanctuary for homeless cats. Rome has many homeless cats found throughout the city. 

We continued our driving tour towards the Coliseum at the *Piazza Venezia*, located in the heart of Rome. Although you could visit here on your own, it is very busy with vehicle and bus traffic. We only stopped briefly for pictures while still on the bus. 




*The National Monument to Victor Emmanuel II* was built in honor of King Victor Emmanuel.​



Apparently, this horse is large enough to hold 40 men for dinner. They know because some of the builders ate in the horse after it was built. 




This is also where the *tomb of the unknown soldier* is located in Rome. You can see shades of the flame in this picture.​




While we made our way, Cristina gave us a history lesson in ancient Rome. Ancient Romes city center was made up of 7 hills. I believe this is Esquiline hill and the location of Emperor Nero's golden home. The 7 hills were joined together by the Servian walls and this is where the vast majority of people, rich and poor, lived in ancient Rome.​


 


One of the main meeting points was the *Baths of Caracalla.* Like most public works during that time, the baths were built for political propaganda. The idea being that if people enjoy themselves and feel happy, then they will attribute this happiness to the place of pleasure and thus, the government. The baths were used until the hydraulics were destroyed and the aquifers no longer fed water into them, forcing people to move. When Rome fell, this is how most people were eventually run off. The baths were home to a number of gyms, pools, and areas to converse.​
Also notable is that the Baths of Caracalla are currently home to the Rome Opera company during the summer months. They were getting ready to start the summer season when we drove around. 

Although once covered in marble and adorned with statues, the Baths were pillaged of their outward layer after Rome fell...recycling! Most of this marble can now be found in the various churches of Rome and the Vatican. You can see from the pictures there are holes in the facade where the marble was once secured. This will be more noticeable at the Coliseum. 

We also drove around, but did not go in, *Circus Maximus*. Sorry, I don't have any pics of this. The Circus Maximus was the chariot racing stadium in ancient Rome. It held a number of large events and served as a main entertainment venue for the public. When we saw it, it was serving much the same purpose. That weekend, the Circus Maximus was to host the Rolling Stones and it was closed to allow time for the production team to set the stage and get ready for the concert. 

After driving around some of ancient Rome we came upon our next destination: *the Coliseum*! Since there were 41 in our tour group, it was decided we were to split up with half visiting for the Forum first and half visiting the Coliseum. Our group stayed with Cristina and Troy and went to the Coliseum first. But, not before taking a few pictures! 







 

​
The Coliseum is where we first felt the full effects of the Disney advantage. It was hot and, unsurprisingly, the Coliseum was jam packed with people. Of course, Disney had pre-booked our tour time and we slipped right by the giant line into the pre-paid ticket and tour line, no waiting. Our own personal Coliseum Fastpass, whoo hoo! 




When we got to the end of the line we came upon a padlocked gate...but never fear, Disney had taken care of that and the padlock was opened just for us.  Goodbye, regular people! Here we were introduced to our Coliseum tour guide, Francesca, who gave us the history of the Coliseum.​



We happily sat on some stone steps to listen.​
The Coliseum is the largest amphitheater in the world and considered one of the iconic works of Roman architecture. It was completed in 80 A.D., taking 10 years to complete. The structure was originally known as the Flavian Amphitheater in honor of the 3 Flavian Emperors who oversaw the building, opening, and completion of the structure, most notably Emperor Titus. The Coliseum could fill in 20 minutes and used an entry system imitated by the vast majority of stadiums today (the efficient and safe ones, anyway). Rome was all about efficiency and had it down to a science. As Cristina says, Rome may not have invented much, but they perfected a lot (why reinvent the wheel, right?) Even the steps were engineered to be extra steep so the masses of people had to slow down while going up or down the steps. I found this ingenious. Games were held in the Coliseum for anywhere between 80 and 120 games per year, decided upon by the reigning emperor. Like the baths and the Circus Maximus, it was all used as political propaganda and was originally covered in Travertine. All that remains is the interior walls, but Francesca did have pictures of what it is thought to have looked like in the first century.

To be continued, adventurers...


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## mare1203

Okay, adventurers, lets continue our tour of the Coliseum! 



 


Our first stop in the actual Coliseum was the underground tunnels. Also, there is no mortar between those stones; they just stay like that due to the pressure.




They led the gladiators and animals to beneath the stage (imagine Kathy, only with less light).



 

​Having gladiators come in under ground allowed for the dramatic entrances to enthusiastic audiences. Spectators did not know where the gladiators would emerge from as the stage was covered in a variety of overlays and had a number of entrances the general audiences could not see. 



 

 

​Also used was a system of elevators and pulleys to add in props or other elements for the show. There is good evidence that early games had a hydraulic system enabling the stadium to be flooded, but historians cannot be sure. The Gladiators trained at gladiator schools and audiences would clamor to see their favorites compete. Gladiators were enslaved and had to win a certain number of battles to earn their freedom. Unfortunately, this was generally impossible since the best gladiators were kept out of competition or the games fixed to have him lose. 



 


Here is us having some fun underground! I was lucky and Kathy saved me from being executed. I'm not sure I would have done the same, LOL (juuuust kidding!)​
The stage is being built, so we did not go on it, but were able to explore all around it. I thought it was really incredible to get to experience this rather than just walk around inside. From our vantage point below, we also had a view of the cross placed in the Coliseum. 




This cross is significant because it marked a blessing by the Church and stopped all pillaging of the edifice. It is believed that had the structure not been blessed the Coliseum may not be here today as it had been used as a quarry. Other destruction is due to earthquakes. 



 

​From the area below we made our way to the 3rd tier of seating for a birds eye view of the stadium. Most tourists are on the 2nd level. We were told about how guests were seated, the Coliseum filled, and Francesca noted that there used to be an awning above to shade some sun. 



 

​We also got to take some pictures. I thought Francesca was an amazing guide and she did a great job. She is originally from Chile, but moved to Rome to complete a Masters degree in Museum Studies. Although she also volunteers and works at a nearby excavation site and museum, she makes a living by doing tours of the Coliseum. Cristina joked that, like so many ladies, a Roman man kept her here (Francesca did not disagree!). If she trained for her tour license, I think shed make a great Disney guide. 




Remember how I told you about the homeless cats of Rome? Well, heres one who has made his home in the Coliseum. His name is Nero ​
One thing to note is that we did not have time to stop and look in the gift shop or tour much on our own. If this is something you would like to do, just be aware that you may or may not get the opportunity. I am sure there is an online gift shop and there are countless other shops to get your souvenir of the Coliseum. I found this true for nearly our entire trip. If you want to do souvenir shopping it will either be during your breaks or plan for it ahead of time. Next, it was off to the Forum!


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## Sarabi's Cubs

I'm just loving your trip report!  So much detail and great pictures!  It's getting me even more excited for our adventure in September.

Laurie


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## DDuck4Life

Loving all the pictures and info! can't wait to see more. I can just feel all that history there through your pictures.


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## tufbuf

It's great ABD go down the Coliseum tunnels now. Viva Italia was our very first ABD, 6 years ago! Great trip report and it's so sweet of you to give your dad a very special gift.


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## tracyv

Love all your pictures and your entire report! I am so excited for our trip in October!


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## mare1203

Sarabi's Cubs said:


> I'm just loving your trip report!  So much detail and great pictures!  It's getting me even more excited for our adventure in September.
> 
> Laurie



I'm glad you're enjoying it! The TR is a fun way to keep the trip alive (and help me remember what all we saw!). You are going to have an amazing time in September 



DDuck4Life said:


> Loving all the pictures and info! can't wait to see more. I can just feel all that history there through your pictures.



Thanks so much! 



tracyv said:


> Love all your pictures and your entire report! I am so excited for our trip in October!



You'll have a great time; it's a fantastic trip! 


disneyphx said:


> Loving reading this.....and would enjoy hearing about the people watching too!
> 
> Michele



Thanks for reading! Don't worry, we've got plenty more people watching and ABD antics coming up! 



RSM said:


> Great report Mare1203.  Brings back alot of fun memories of Rome for us.



Thanks for reading!


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## sayhello

Thanks so much for such a fun, detailed Trip Report!  Please be sure, at some point, to put a link to your Report in the Trip Reports sticky at the top of this Forum!

Sayhello


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## mare1203

Family! Are you paying attention?? Haha, we heard this a lot from our guide Cristina. It's time to head to the *Roman Forum*, so without further ado...

We did not spend a ton of time in the Forum, which I think the vast majority of our group appreciated because; by this time we had been going nearly non-stop since 8:00 a.m. Most of us were tired, so Cristina took it easy on us. I will also note that the guides and Cristina were great at finding shaded areas or shaded walkways to help keep us cool. We were also not lacking for water, so I commend them for that. 




This is how we spent much of our time in the Forum. I will also say that the Forum was where I heard the most people comment on Disney. All around you could hear people saying, look its Disney or whats Disney doing here, etc. Some were even like, hey, we should go to Disney, lol!  Our popsicle along with Cristina giving out boatloads of information made for some curious tourists. 



 


Between the Coliseum and the Forum (just a walk across the street) is the *Arch of Constantine*. It will remind those of you who have been to Paris of the Arc de Triomphe or Londoners of the Marble Arch as they were inspired by the Arch of Constantine. It is a triumphal arch to commemorate a victory of Constantine (over what I do not remember).



 

 

 
Just inside the Forum is the *Arch of Titus*, which is of similar form to the Arch of Constantine but differs in that it is an honorial arch...honoring the Emperor Titus (its weird how that works, right?) rather than his victory over something specific. 



 

​
The Roman Forum served as the governmental center and general meeting place of many Romans during the dynasty. Today, it is 1 of the 3 most important archaeological centers in the world. Inside we discussed the Vestal Virgins and the story of Romulus and Remus along with how the forum functioned during its use. 




I thought it was incredible to be walking on these stones and through an area that has been used by humans for more than 2,500 years. 




I can imagine that the kids had a great time in the area because though it is an archaeological center, its also a bit of a playground with lots of old stones and areas to run and play. 




I love this picture of a Forum excavation site with the Coliseum in the background​
With everyones heads swimming in history and feet weary from walking all day it was mercifully time to return to the bus! That evening was on our own in Rome and also happened to be the 2nd World Cup game for Italy.


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## mare1203

Hello again, adventurers! Are you getting hungry, because by this time we certainly were! Andiamo!



​After the Forum we were dropped off at the hotel for an evening on our own. I will say that this day was so jam packed with sightseeing we did not have a chance to really get to know any adventurers. I think most families just went out on their own. 

Cristina told us that no Romans would be out and if we were thinking about dinner that we should not be surprised by slow to nonexistent service until after the game. Not a problem for us since we had planned on going to watch the game somewhere and eat late. I also want to commend Cristina because she was not afraid to be real with us. A family said they were planning on going to a particular restaurant for dinner and she shot them down. She said that she had heard of it and tried it for herself...twice. Her rule of thumb is that the first time could be a fluke, but the second is a pattern...so, she gave them a different dinner recommendation and they were happy to not be heading to a mediocre spot. Another reason our guides are the best!

Once we got back to the hotel we decided to find a place to watch the game near the Campo de Fiori. Unfortunately, by the time we got back to the hotel the game had already started, so staking out a place was out of the question. 

We got to the Campo at halftime and found a bar full of people to watch. Italy did not win this game, nor did they score while we were watching. I was really hoping to be a part of an Italian goal, just to see the elation around me. Oh well. The game ended and we began a search for food since it had been a while since we last ate, we were feeling hungry, and there was no telling how long it would take for us to pick a place to eat. 

Before we left my Dad had purchased a small data plan to ensure we could at least do a bit of texting or other while in Italy. I am a Yelper and although it is not nearly as big in Europe as it is here in the States, it did not let me down. 



​We decided to eat at a place with good reviews called *Da Tonino*. It turned out to be just down the street from our Pizza place a couple days earlier. Phew, no getting lost, we know where that is! 




We came upon the nondescript building and found it to be busy, but not packed. They seated us right away. Our waiter came by to take our order. In addition to a carafe of wine, we each ordered a pasta dish and a second course meat dish.




I order the pasta arrabiata, or angry pasta. It was a basic pasta with a spicy tomato sauce. I thought there were nice flavors, though I did not find it overly spicy. 




My dad went with the pasta carbonara and thought it was very good (He got more than this, we were just too hungry to remember to take pictures when it arrived). He enjoyed this dish. 




I am sorry I cant find the name of the pasta dish Kathy ordered. It is a penne with a light tomato and basil sauce. She thought it was very good. 




For our second dish we all ordered the same thing: la polpetta, or the meatballs. Holy meatballs, these were soooo yummy and delicious! They had a nice flavor and stayed together nicely, but crumbled easily when cut with a fork. Each of us got 2 giant meatballs. Although we could have shared two plates I think were all glad we didnt.​
We did not get dessert here because we had something else in mind...gelato! Across the street from Pizzeria Baffeto and just down the road from Da Tonino was a place called the *Fridgidarium*. 



​This was hands down THE BEST gelato I had during the trip. The was an artisanal gelato spot, with lots of options. Artisanal gelato shops use natural ingredients and make the gelato by hand without whipping it to fluff it up, which adds air and takes away from the flavors of a true gelato. 



​This shop is small, just a store front, but the workers are passionate and they have many homemade flavors that you will not find elsewhere. You get 2 scoops for 2 Euro and can have it topped with a dark or white chocolate topper (similar to  the topping on a Dairy Queen dipped cone) for no extra charge. Some people want to keep the gelato pure and dont get the topper. I myself recommend it. We each got a double scoop. I do not remember what all we got because the flavors werent obvious like at many gelato spots. My sister got a flavor called Frigidarium; I couldn't place the flavors other than knowing it was a scoop of deliciousness. 

After filling our bellies we headed back to the hotel for a good nights sleep. It was going to be another early morning, for we were headed to the Vatican!


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## Sarabi's Cubs

Love it!!!  I especially appreciate your descriptions of the meals you had on your own and how you found those places! That's really helpful.

Laurie


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## kanadar

I can't remember what my dish was called but it was like a bolognese sauce and was amazing!  I knew eating it if the meatballs used the same meat that was in the pasta sauce then they would be delicious, and they were! Probably my second favorite pasta of the entire trip (#1 Mary hasn't gotten to yet so stay tuned!)


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## Cousin Orville

Rome is such a great city.  Great photos.  I look forward to hearing how he Vatican went.


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## mare1203

Happy Sunday Adventurers! Thanks for all the kind comments! Next we are headed to the heart of the Catholic Church and the world's smallest country: *Vatican City*! 




*Andiamo!*​
We woke up pretty early in the morning and headed down to breakfast. From there we made our way to the lobby to meet up with our group. The guides were there to make sure everyone was dressed appropriately and of course Cristina was there looking as cute as ever. Vatican City was a day I was very much looking forward to. There is such a history with the Catholic Church. 




Before we left for the day the guides gave each group a postcard and told us to write to someone (or ourselves) and they would send them from Vatican City. That way we would get a stamp from a different country! We wrote our postcard to ourselves, but I’ll have to ask my dad if he’s received his yet. Once our group was all there it was time to andiamo!​
The Gran Melia is actually very close to Vatican City and we were able to walk. Disney takes a rope drop mentality to its day at the Vatican and tries to get there early. 



 

 


When we arrived at *Piazza San Pietro* it was still pretty much deserted. This gave us the opportunity to take some wonderful pictures without anyone in the background. The square is huge and I can’t imagine what it looks like when the Pope is giving mass, a blessing, or there is a celebration. 




I actually got this gorgeous pic from Wikipedia. 
Here is the source: "St Peter's Square, Vatican City - April 2007" by Diliff - Own work. Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons - http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/F...Peter's_Square,_Vatican_City_-_April_2007.jpg​



St. Peters Square was designed by none other than Bernini to allow for the greatest number of guests. Bernini defined the area by placing *giant colonnades* all around the piazza with the giant *obelisk in the middle*. The obelisk was there before Bernini. 








This is the *papal balcony* that Pope Francis used when he addressed the giant crowd & millions of viewers for the first time after being elected Pope in 2013. She told us that he lives a very simple life choosing to live in the guest house rather than the papal apartments. These apartments were also used to house the Cardinals in the conclave (but not for the conclave itself, more about that later) after the death of Pope John Paul II and the resignation of Pope Benedict. 




The Vatican is secured by the *Pontifical Swiss Guards* who also protect the Pope. To serve, the guards must be Catholic, single males with Swiss citizenship. They must also be between 19 and 30 and have completed at least high school. They wear a very colorful uniform! 




Here is Cristina giving us an overview of the layout of St. Peter’s. I will be honest in saying I don’t remember anything about what she said here. 

We then made our way up to the security entrances of the *Basilica San Pietro*. There were 2 times we passed by security and both times went without incident. Tour guides are not able to begin their tours until 9:20, so we got about 20 minutes to explore St. Peters on our own before Cristina took over. It was nice to wander the entirety of this church. I will leave you here with some general pictures of St. Peters. In my next post I will go into more detail about some of the more iconic relics. Enjoy!







 



 



 



 



 



 



​


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## mare1203

After taking some time for ourselves to look around we met back up with Cristina for the guided portion. 







We started out with *Michaelangelos Pieta*. The Pieta depicts Jesus Christ draped over Mary after the Crucifixion and is the only piece Michaelangelo ever signed. Also notable about this sculpture is that Mary looks very young, nearly the same age as the depiction of Jesus Christ, which was unusual for the time in Italy. In the body of Jesus there is no sign of The Passion because Michaelangelo wanted to show him as beautiful as possible. Cristina had a book of the Pieta she used to show us the incredible detail of this sculpture and the emotion in the faces. I thought this was a beautiful sculpture and found it hard to believe it was sculpted out of marble. Oh, it should also be noted that the Pieta is behind bullet proof glass because a crazed man came in and attacked the sculpture. It has since been restored, but steps have been taken to ensure it does not happen again.




Directly next to Michaelangelos Pieta is the *Holy Door*. This door is only opened during Jubilee years. I believe Jubilees currently happen every 25 years, but Im not sure on that. 




In the middle aisle, St. Peters has marked off where the largest churches in the world end in comparison to St. Peters. 




A great many popes have also been buried, or interred, at St. Peters, including Pope John Paul II. 



 

 


Near the middle of the church you will find the *altar with the baldacchino*. There is good historical evidence that St. Peter is buried directly underneath the Basilica. The site is marked by this altar. The baldacchino was designed by, who else but Bernini. In the back you can see the Chair of St. Peter (also a Bernini). Its one giant and ornate throne!  



 


The last piece we discussed at some length was the tomb of Alexander VII. I found this one highly interesting and thought provoking because of the red marble drape. I have no idea how Bernini makes that marble seem so delicate! The statue is actually located over a door. The picture isnt great, sorry! 



 


The vast majority of art in St. Peters is mosaic tile. This is why photos are welcome and encouraged while inside the Basilica; there is no deterioration caused by flash and elements to mosaic. The Vatican houses one of the largest and best schools of mosaic in the world. The students both work to restore old works and create new ones. Cristina said she couldnt imagine doing that kind of work and I must agree. I love jigsaw puzzles, but those tiny mosaics would drive me crazy and the time it takes just to finish a square foot is something like a month! 




Troy with some lovely ladies!




A few of our junior adventurers with Cristina 

This marked the end of our tour of St. Peters Basilica. Cristina, Troy, and Marco informed us that we would be going to one of the official Vatican gift shops for a little shopping and the opportunity to use the restroom. Walking out of the Basilica we saw the line that had been non-existent when we arrived had ballooned to nearly an hour and a half. If we had done Rome on our own there is no doubt that we would have been standing in the line, so we were appreciative of the Disney advantage.​


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## Sarabi's Cubs

St. Peter's looks even more incredible than I imagine!  Were there small alcoves where you could step off to pray and light a candle if so inclined?

Laurie


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## sayhello

Sarabi's Cubs said:


> St. Peter's looks even more incredible than I imagine!  Were there small alcoves where you could step off to pray and light a candle if so inclined?
> 
> Laurie


Oh, Laurie, you're going to *LOVE* St. Peter's!  Of course, I spent most of the time staring at and taking pictures of the Pieta (we didn't have a guided portion) but it's an amazing place!  

Sayhello


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## kristilew

Thank you so much for this  detailed report!  It's not only getting me totally excited for our trip in December, but helping me make a list of some educational points to help DD get the most out of this.  She will be taking an art history course starting next month, so I'm hoping that will be a big help!

Glad you had fun and keep the details coming!


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## Cousin Orville

mare1203 said:


> If we had done Rome on our own there is no doubt that we would have been standing in the line, so we were appreciative of the Disney advantage.​



Yep.  I've stood in that line.  It's not cool.  Great trip report!


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## mare1203

Sarabi's Cubs said:


> St. Peter's looks even more incredible than I imagine!  Were there small alcoves where you could step off to pray and light a candle if so inclined?
> 
> Laurie



Oh yes, you'll LOVE St. Peter's! 

There were some side alcoves. There was one in particular that Cristina pointed out to us, but they were having mass, so we were not able to pray. However, there were a couple of places inside to pray. The candles, not so much. One of the things we noticed of church's in general in Rome were that they had switched to the fake candles (it just doesn't have the same feel when you're just flicking an on/off versus the lighting of the fire)


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## mare1203

Hello again, adventurer's. Let's continue our journey in Vatican City, shall we?




After a break we were headed to the Castel SantAngelo. This is the one thing on the tour of Rome/Vatican City I did not much enjoy. It was kind of interesting, but not nearly as thought provoking as the other things we had seen (in my opinion, Im sure others really enjoyed it). 




We saw this on the way in. It's not my kind of thing, but we took a picture nonetheless. 








One story to note during our tour of the Castel SantAngelo was that this is one of the first places to use an elevator. The elevator was put in because there was a Pope who was so fat he couldnt walk. So, they created an elevator system to raise and lower him in. The building began as a mausoleum for Emperor Hadrian, then as a fortress and jail, and finally as a museum.  In the past, this has also been used to house the Pope as it is connected by tunnel to the Vatican. 








There is a legend that the archangel Michael appeared at the top of the structure wielding a sword. Here is a picture of Cristina imitating the statue. Today, a bronze sculpture depicting that event stands at the top. 












While on our way up to the top our Disney advantage was the opportunity to go in and explore the jail cells. 












A few pictures of the inside artwork
















We walked through the museum all the way up to the top where we had the chance to take some pictures. It was a beautiful view. You could really take in St. Peters and the different bridges from this vantage point. 




During our time on the rooftop it hit high Noon in Rome and they fired off the canons. That puff of smoke in the picture is from the canon. This marked the end of our time and we headed down the stairs to the exit. After the Castel SantAngelo we had the afternoon to ourselves. 

Alright, I'm ending this post here and will finish off with a secondary post about our afternoon before I go into the Vatican Museum experience.​


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## mare1203

As I mentioned before, we had the afternoon to ourselves in Rome. But first, a random story I remembered that made me laugh, so let's get started!

One of the things Cristina pointed out and asked if us ladies had noticed was the hot priests of Rome calendar. As she said, ‘America has hot firemen, we have priests!’ Oh Cristina, always there for a sassy comment; we’re gonna miss you! 

By the time we left Vatican City I was craving some serious shopping time. We had not done much shopping, or even much window shopping so I wanted to devote some time to that. But first, we needed to get some food. Since we had such luck in the Piazza Navona area we headed back that way to see if there was anywhere that stood out. We ended up a few blocks off the Piazza Navona, probably a 5 minute walk, at a place called *Il Corallo*. For anyone interested, it was around the corner from a place called the *Bar del Fico*. There were always men playing chess outside and it had a casual, local atmosphere to it. We never had a chance to stop in, but it looked like a nice place to spend some time. Il Corallo was located on a side street with about 5 tables of outdoor seating. 




In the shade it wasn’t too hot, so we happily took a seat outside to dine al fresco (or whatever the Italian term is called). It was here I made the only menu reading mistake of the trip. I had heard fried artichokes were very good, an Italian tradition, and worth trying, so I thought I ordered those. Turns out, my sister had read the menu more closely and she was pretty sure it was fried anchovies I ordered. 




Yep! She was totally right. They were filled with cheese, and, as I mentioned, fried, so how bad could they be? Not my favorite thing ever and I would have preferred them to be artichokes...oh well! When in Rome, right? For our entrees we all ordered pizza. 




I got a prosciutto with mushroom, while Kathy went with prosciutto, and my dad got a Margharita. These were Roman style pizzas, similar to the ones at Pizzeria Baffeto. I thought it was great pizza with a nice ratio of crust to sauce to cheese, plus, you can’t go wrong with prosciutto. I thought this was a nice place to stop for lunch, but it didn't stand out. I still think you would have to search to find a bad place, rather than the other way around. 

We had planned on doing some shopping and exploring after lunch, but Kathy’s ankle had been bothering her and she was nearly in tears. I think it was all the walking the past two days, and the cobblestones weren’t making it any easier. She decided she wanted to hobble back to the hotel, which wasn’t too far. Kathy insisted we not follow her and go on and explore. My dad and I did a little walking up and down the streets around the Piazza Navona. It being Saturday afternoon this is the first time I really noticed the crowds. We popped into a few stores, but didn’t find anything we couldn’t live without. Since we hadn’t looked at the market the day before we went to look around the market at the Campo de Fiori. 








There were lots of little booths selling all sorts of things. Everything from your typical t-shirts and hats to olive oils, limoncello, and pasta. We didn’t end up shopping for that long because it just wasn’t the same without Kathy. Before heading back to the hotel for a little rest my dad and I decided to make a little stop...at our favorite gelato stop. 












Back to the Frigidarium we go! It was busy when we stopped by (I think this gem is always busy). This time I got the Frigidarium flavor as well as another one that I couldn’t quite place (I think it was called Spagnola), but tasted like vanilla with cherry. With the chocolate shell it tasted like a chocolate covered cherry...yum. While we were there we heard 2 priests talking with their families and they both said it was the best gelato place they had found in Rome. Well, if 2 priests say so, it must be true! 




When we got back to the hotel I found Kathy like this. Of course, being the good sister I am, I woke her up. 




My dad spent a little time doing some work

We decided to spend some time by the great pool. The water was a little chilly, even in the heat (or it could be that the water typically needs to be close to 87 before it feels warm to this Phoenix girl). It was nice to just take some time to relax. 

Coming up next time, we visit the Vatican Museum!​


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## mare1203

Hello again adventurers! We all know what's next, so there's no reason to waste any more time getting to it. Andiamo!

We met up at 6:00 and boarded the coach for the *Vatican Museum*. This is a huge perk for Adventures by Disney travelers. Only about 150 people per week are granted the permission to enter the Vatican Museum after hours. With the number of Italy tours ABD is running they must take nearly all those 150 spots. 




We had to wait outside for someone important to let us all in. You can't really tell, but this is the door we entered. 

We made a number of stops in the Vatican Museum. There is so much to see there was no way we could make it all the way through. I thought the museum was spectacular. I found one of the most interesting things about the museum to be that they had the windows all open letting the air through. Its not every day you experience a museum alone, feeling a breeze from the beautiful summer evening. I also want to note that as I was walking through I didn't feel the pictures would do the Vatican Museum justice. Kathy took my camera and got some pictures, but I don't have a lot. 




We started by making our way toward the *Octagonal Court*, also known as the courtyard of statues. Cristina allowed us to look all around at the statues in the courtyard, but spent some time discussing a couple of them. 




The is *The Laocoon*. It is a depiction of the priest and his two sons being attacked by sea serpents during the Trojan War. It's a large statue with amazing detail in the depiction of agony and suffering. 












These are pictures from the *Round Hall*. The feature in the center is a large basin. 




This is the bronze statue of *Heracles*. We didn't discuss it, but got a picture of it nonetheless. 

Tapestries
Although tapestries are found in many parts of the world, the ones at the Vatican are somewhat unique. The reason they are unique to the Vatican is that Italy is located in the Mediterranean so there was little to no need for tapestries since it never got too cold in the area and thus were not used for heat. You will rarely find tapestries elsewhere in the area. We did not get any pictures of these.

*Raphaels Rooms;*













Although everyone loves the Sistine Chapel and it is probably the undisputed favorite, I found Raphaels rooms to be awe inspiring in their own right. As I mentioned previously, Cristina was a big fan of Raphael, so we spent quite a bit of time in these rooms. The information she was able to give about each of the paintings was incredible and quite detailed. I really enjoyed the frescoes of Raphael and the style in which he painted. Some of these rooms were actually completed by his students, after Raphael had died. Throughout the rooms you can see the change in style, yet it remains distinctly Raphael.

We spent the vast majority of our time in *The Room of the Signatura*. The colors in this room were bright and drew the eye in. This room reflected the contents of the Popes library and depicted themes of philosophy, jurisprudence, theology, and the poetic arts. One of my favorites was the fresco based on philosophy: *The School of Athens*. 








Many of the great philosphers of the time and of the past are depicted in this fresco, including Plato, Socrates, and Aristotle. One of the most interesting things about this fresco is that the man at the front, in the contemplative stance, is actually Michaelangelo. Michaelangelo was originally a sculptor, but famously became a painter when he was asked to do the Sistine Chapel. Raphael, like many others, was skeptical of his being chosen and were also put off by his secretism. Unlike Raphael, Michaelangelo worked alone and did not do much tutoring of young artists. Legend has it that Raphael snuck in to see the progress of Michaelangelo and was immediately impressed and in awe of the artists talent. So, he decided to paint him into the picture. Raphael himself is also in this fresco. 

*Disputation of the Holy Sacrament:*




This fresco depicts the Church, with Heaven up top and Earth at the bottom. Apparently we only got a picture of the Heaven part.  

*Gallery of Maps*:
One of the last rooms we spent some time in was the gallery of maps. It houses a number of painted maps depicting Italy. There is a map of Italy itself, but also a number of other works focusing on different regions and the prominent cities. Cristina showed us the region where her family is from and Marco also pointed out his familial roots. 




The only map that has not changed since the time these were painted is *Venice*, due to its being an island. 








They are in the middle of restoring these maps, so Cristina also pointed out the difference between the ones that have been cleaned and the ones which have not. You can definitely tell the difference! 




The ceiling was intricately decorated as well. Everything in the Vatican museum has some significance and there is so much to see!

Sistine Chapel 
*The Sistine Chapel* was truly moving. It is really something one has to see for themselves. to only have to share this space with 41 others made it seem even more grand. You could really feel the expanse of the space. They are currently allowing guests to take pictures without flash. Ours came out pretty blurry. 

A number of years ago the Sistine Chapel was restored allowing the colors to really come to life. During that time the archivists did some scientific work on the chapel to determine how the ceilings were painted. As it turns out, tests show Michaelangelo did nearly 80% of the ceiling freehand making the feat that much more impressive. 

Cristina let us look around for a few minutes and take in the scene before giving us more information about the ceiling. She then went into some detail about the Nine scenes from the Book of Genesis. It was nice to listen, but I remember very little of the details. 





















The Sistine Chapel is used for the papal conclaves, when the Cardinals are choosing a new Pope. The chimney is only used for conclaves, and is rebuilt each time. Originally, the choosing of a new Pope did not require seclusion, but after a particularly long deadlock authorities became frustrated and it was decided the College of Cardinals would be locked in until they chose a new Pope. The custom has continued ever since. 

We spent probably 20 minutes in the Sistine Chapel. There are benches around the outside covered in plastic, so you could sit and admire the ceiling and room. There is also an altar at the front where you can stop to say a prayer if you like. It really was an incredible experience. This perk alone nearly makes the trip worth it. 

Once we were done in the Sistine Chapel we slowly made our way to the exit. There was one person working the register for anyone who wanted to make a purchase. The actual exit to the museum is downstairs, so those of us not making purchases made our way down and we waited for the rest to finish up. This is also where we said our final goodbye's to Cristina and received our pins for the day.​


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## Sarabi's Cubs

Absolutely incredible!  Can't wait to see this in person!!

Laurie


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## Cousin Orville

Incredible!  That must have been an amazing experience to have the Sistine Chapel and Raphael Rooms practically to yourself.


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## sayhello

I just can't imagine the Sistine Chapel with just your group!  What an amazing thing.  I'm really pretty jealous right about now!   

Sayhello


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## georgiagirl2

I am loving your trip report!  Thanks so much for all the details and pictures.  We went on the May 26-June 3 trip this year, and I am reliving our trip through your posts.  The private tour of the Vatican Museum was incredible, and a definite highlight of the trip for all of us!  (A lot of our pics of the Sistine Chapel were blurry too.  The clearest ones were actually on my iPhone!)  


Cristina was our local guide in Rome too. We thought she was terrific and learned so much from her. 


I can't wait to read about the rest of your trip!


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## tufbuf

I think the changes they made to the itinerary in regards to the Vatican is simply amazing! It's enough reason for me to want to do it all over again. I LOVE Italy and I could always go back there numerous times! We also had the pleasure of having a private tour of the Vatican Museum and Sistine Chapel during our DCL Med cruise last year. Since our Rome day was on a Sunday, everything was closed but DCL made arrangements for the DCL and ABD people to visit the museum. It's a much better experience than when we first went there where it felt like we were in a can of sardines! They didn't allow photographs of the Sistine Chapel then but again, a wonderful experience of being in there with about 20 people.

Keep posting! It's a fun trip report!!


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## mare1203

Cousin Orville said:


> Incredible!  That must have been an amazing experience to have the Sistine Chapel and Raphael Rooms practically to yourself.



It definitely was. Gave the opportunity to just gawk without running into hoards of people! 



sayhello said:


> I just can't imagine the Sistine Chapel with just your group!  What an amazing thing.  I'm really pretty jealous right about now!
> 
> Sayhello



It was pretty special. Although now I'm just spoiled 



georgiagirl2 said:


> I am loving your trip report!  Thanks so much for all the details and pictures.  We went on the May 26-June 3 trip this year, and I am reliving our trip through your posts.  The private tour of the Vatican Museum was incredible, and a definite highlight of the trip for all of us!  (A lot of our pics of the Sistine Chapel were blurry too.  The clearest ones were actually on my iPhone!)
> 
> 
> Cristina was our local guide in Rome too. We thought she was terrific and learned so much from her.
> 
> 
> I can't wait to read about the rest of your trip!



Thanks for reading along! We thought the whole trip was fantastic! 



tufbuf said:


> I think the changes they made to the itinerary in regards to the Vatican is simply amazing! It's enough reason for me to want to do it all over again. I LOVE Italy and I could always go back there numerous times! We also had the pleasure of having a private tour of the Vatican Museum and Sistine Chapel during our DCL Med cruise last year. Since our Rome day was on a Sunday, everything was closed but DCL made arrangements for the DCL and ABD people to visit the museum. It's a much better experience than when we first went there where it felt like we were in a can of sardines! They didn't allow photographs of the Sistine Chapel then but again, a wonderful experience of being in there with about 20 people.
> 
> Keep posting! It's a fun trip report!!



Thank you! Glad you are enjoying it. Those private tours are special; I don't think pictures can do it justice, but it was cool to be able to take them.


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## mare1203

Welcome back, adventurers! After a full evening of art and history there was only one thing to do...eat and try to make sense of what we just experienced! Andiamo. 

Once we were done at the Vatican Museum they dropped us off at the hotel; this was around 8:00 p.m. We asked Marco for a recommendation and he said that a 15-minute walk from the hotel was the Trastevere area where we would find lots of restaurants and nightlife. He didnt make any specific recommendations and I kind of wish he had, or would have offered to make a reservation because it was Saturday night. While we didnt find it necessary to have reservations nearly anywhere, Saturday night did result in the most waiting we did our entire trip. No matter, because we ended up finding a nice restaurant on our own, but it took some time. The Trastevere neighborhood has been found by more tourists over the years, but still retains a more local feel than across the river. It has an artistic past and you can find lots of bohemian highlights around. This area also has a big student population. By the time we got there, though, we knew we should think about some food. 

We explored up and down the many cobblestone streets looking at restaurants and seeing if anywhere looked good. As the World Cup was in full swing there were lots of people out for both dinner and looking to watch some soccer. No one could make a decision about where to eat and we inquired at a few places that said they werent taking walk-ins, only reservations. Confession: There are times when we are totally indecisive and end up just wandering around debating on where to eat. This was one of those times. I will also own that sometimes I get weird about where to eat as well, not wanting to end up at a tourist trap.  My dad finally inquired at a place called Taverna della Scala where they said they would take our name and it would be about a 30 minute wait. Not the best, but at least we were on a list. My sister took a seat across the way and we just hung out a bit. About 5 minutes later they called our name and showed us a table outside. Sweet! 








We ordered a bottle of their house wine and perused the menu. We ended up ordering a couple of pasta dishes and a couple meat dishes to share. 




First, we must have started with a salad, since we have a picture of one...




For our pasta, Kathy got the lasagna.




I got the black truffle ravioli. Black truffle was widely available while we were there and the star of many a menu (though expect a much higher price tag for these dishes...its worth a splurge at least once). I thought this was wonderful. The black truffle was center stage, but didn't overpower the dish. 








We got two different types of beef for our secondi piato. One was a simple grilled beef steak and the other was a beef steak with balsamic vinegar. We thought both were very good. I enjoyed the flavor of the balsamic vinegar with the beef. The simple steak was well-seasoned and flavorful.

After dinner it was pretty late, so we just headed back to the hotel. This marked our final meal in Rome. The next morning it was off to Orvieto. It was quite the trip!​


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## Cousin Orville

That dinner looks awesome.  Looks like you guys chose well.


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## christannj

Great trip report.... several of us reading your posts are on the same trip coming up in September so this is especially informative.  For planning purposes, did you find that you paid cash or did you use your credit card for your meals on your own.  If using euros can I ask an estimate of how much they cost to prepare for what we should have on hand when we go out.   Can't wait to see the next installment.  It has been great looking at the group shots as well to get a sense of what people are wearing on the tours etc.


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## Cousin Orville

christannj said:


> Great trip report.... several of us reading your posts are on the same trip coming up in September so this is especially informative.  For planning purposes, did you find that you paid cash or did you use your credit card for your meals on your own.  If using euros can I ask an estimate of how much they cost to prepare for what we should have on hand when we go out.   Can't wait to see the next installment.  It has been great looking at the group shots as well to get a sense of what people are wearing on the tours etc.



We just returned from Venice.  I typically pay for meals with CC, but you could just as easily pay in Euros.  Whatever you're comfortable with.  Meal prices range just as much in Italy as they do here, so it really depends where you go.  We found an amazing take out pasta restaurant in Venice.  We also ate at more somewhat fine dining restaurants.  Before a trip, I'll look up restaurants near the hotel on trip advisor and lots of times they have website links with menus and prices.  For pre days, sometimes I'll find a restaurant I really want to try, so I'll email for reservations.


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## mare1203

Okay adventurer's, it's finally time to leave Rome and explore the Italian countryside. Our first stop is Orvieto and let me tell you, it is a stop we'll never forget! Let's get to it! 




Little did Troy know that this was a foreshadowing of things to come




On Sunday morning we got up and made our way to breakfast in Rome for the final time. We were not leaving until 9:00 a.m., but had to have our bags outside the door at 8:00 a.m., so it didn’t much matter. This morning we got on our new luxury coach for the ride into Tuscany. When we got on they were piping in Italian music. I myself enjoyed hearing the haunting, but beautiful Love Theme from the Godfather. As we left Rome we heard Arrivederci Roma, and we all shed a fake tear. 

And then it was onward to Orvieto and Tuscany! Although we all enjoyed our time in Rome I think everyone was ready to be heading out of the city to begin our Tuscan holiday. They gave us a little information about the town, which has a renaissance feel to it and has been inhabited since the Etruscan times. It is best known for its ceramics and, somewhat oddly for Italy, its white wines. Troy and Marco gave us some information about where to shop in Orvieto. 








It took about 45 minutes to arrive in Orvieto. To get to the main town we took the funicular, which was very busy. We didn’t have to wait in line, but it was crowded with people. It was a beautiful Sunday morning, so this wasn’t entirely surprising. 




Troy and Marco told us that it was about a 20 minute walk from the funicular stop to the duomo and center of town. 








As we were walking up we all noticed the very colorful banners and flags up everywhere. Finally, one of the adventurers asked what the banners and flags were about and we were informed that it was a feast day and the town is not usually so colorfully decorated. Apparently, there was also to be a parade later in the day. 




The closer to town we got the busier the streets became, with lots of locals and others out and about. At one corner Troy asked about the parade and was told we were ahead of it, so we kept on going. Once we arrived at the Duomo Troy and Marco told us that we had until 12:00 to explore and shop, however, if we got back by 11:45 they would buy us gelato (incentive!). 








All the adventurers began to disperse, but we were quickly foiled by the arrival of the parade. The streets are not wide anywhere in Italy, so with the people lining the streets and the parade there wasn’t a way to slip by. We decided to watch the parade (I mean, how long could it be, right?). 
















The parade had some really cool costumes and regalia from the Renaissance. 












Luckily, it didn’t last but about 20 minutes and we were able to do some exploring. 

We looked about town for a while and stopped in a number of shops. I really enjoyed stopping into the food stores and seeing what specialities they sold. In Orvieto there was a lot of black truffle (yuuum), olive oil, honey, and wine. The wine was super cheap and supposed to be good quality. There were a lot of very cute little shops all around. I won’t say I felt out of place shopping, but it seemed like we were the only people there shopping that day. Even after the parade there were lots of people milling about and crowding the streets. It almost seemed as though there was going to be more going on than the parade. 








We made a couple of purchases and then went back up the hill for some gelato. I thought this gelato spot was pretty yummy. I got pistachio and blueberry, I think. Pistachio is a popular gelato flavor and one of my favorites. Everyone congregated on the steps of the Duomo. We all finished our gelato and began to wonder when we were headed out. It seemed like everyone was there, but alas, they weren’t! Turns out, we were waiting for a final member of our group that hadn’t yet made it. We lost Chris! The guides spoke to the rest of the family to see where he might be or what to do. Of course, his cell phone wasn’t on and his watch wasn’t on the right time (we all had a chuckle about this). 

Aaaand, that's where I'm ending it for today! Stay tuned to see what happens next...will we find Chris? ​


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## sayhello

A parade!  How often do you get to see a pretty parade like that?  Cool.

(I have to admit, I'm not *too* worried about the "did you find Chris?" mystery.    The Adventure Guides *will* find him, I'm sure, but there will be a great story attached.  -- this same thing happened to us in Delphi, only his name was Rich.    )

Staying tuned...

Sayhello


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## mare1203

Who's ready to find Chris?! Andiamo!





We waited for a bit as the guides discussed what to do next. It was decided that Marco would stay at the top of the hill while Troy would take the rest of us back down the hill to the funicular and bus and then they would connect to decide what the plan of attack would be. One of the other adventurers stayed back with Marco as well (they had met on a previous adventure, kept in touch, and ultimately decided to do the Italy trip together, so they were good friends). Thus, the rest of us began our trek down the hill. As we made it to the main street we were stopped...by the parade! 









Wait, we thought the parade had ended?! Apparently, we had just seen the first part of the parade and the much longer section was making its way through town. We knew we would have to find a different path. Now, how to get across the street?!? 

Troy talked to a security cop and we were told to hustle across in a slight parade break (some of us were lucky to make it across!) and we wound our way through side streets to the funicular. This experience really bonded the group as we laughed about the crazy long parade and discussed that it can’t be every day an adventure group loses an adult! The family of the missing adventurer took it in stride and added to the joking; we found it quite entertaining, if not a little nerve wracking (the guides...not so much). We finally made it down to the street across from the funicular, and...wait, is that the parade again?!? 








That’s right, we ran right smack dab into the beginning of the parade! How long is this thing? How far do those guys walk? No wonder they are so solemn looking. These were a few of the comments being made throughout this interaction. Luckily the beginning of the parade was the short section and it gave Troy a chance to connect with Marco and Nick, who had not yet located Chris. So, we went down the funicular, took a bathroom break and boarded the bus. 

It had been decided that we would bus to lunch and then when they found Chris they would all take a taxi to lunch. When we got on the bus Troy busted out a portable speaker and played “Happy” for the bus (partly for us, mostly for himself) and we had ourselves a bit of a bus dance party. Aaaaand, Marco called to say they found Chris! And were on their way down the funicular! Yay! I have to commend the guides once again for their calm during all this. I don't think anyone thought we wouldn't find him, but what with the long parade and huge crowds it was a high stress situation (they didn't actually find out about the celebration until that morning). They did a great job of keeping the group calm and happy, even though we could totally see the panic in their eyes. And they thought quickly on their feet; it was in a situation like this that we appreciated how hard these guys work and how they keep everything moving as best as possible. Thanks guys!  

Chris got quite the welcome when he boarded the bus...first an applause for making it, and then some playful ribbing for getting lost. Turns out he got stuck by the parade and couldn’t get out of the store he was stuck inside. Luckily, he was laid back and took it all in stride. For a while anything the happened out of the ordinary was his fault, lol.  ​


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## mare1203

Troy and a few of the other adventurers did some digging about the festival day we experienced while in Orvieto. It’s very interesting and quite the big deal, so I thought I would share it with you. 





*The Feast of Corpus Christi Orvieto:*
This event takes place on the 2nd Sunday after Pentecost, or, the 9th Sunday after Easter. Tradition holds that nearly 700 years ago a priest plagued by doubts about the Catholic belief in Transubstantiation (the idea that Christ is actually present in the consecrated host and eucharistic wine). During a mass in Bolsena, as he was speaking the words of the Consecration blood began to seep from the consecrated Host and trickled over the altar. He became confused, stopped Mass, and asked to be taken to the Pope. Pope Urbano IV, who was living in Orvieto at the time believed the priest’s account and ordered the the vestments be brought to Orvieto. He then had the relics placed in the Cathedral, after much pomp and circumstance. The linen is still exhibited in the Cathedral of Orvieto. A year later, in 1264, Pope Urban IV instituted the feast of Corpus Christi. Catholics may choose, but are not required, to believe this particular miracle, as is true of many miracles throughout history. During the feast the Historical Parade meets up with the religious procession for the Historical and Religious Procession of Orvieto. What we saw as the guides released us was that encounter.  On the 700th anniversary Pope Paul VI celebrated at the in the Cathedral of Orvieto. A fellow adventurer did some asking around and it turns out that the Feast was presided over by the 2nd highest ranking official at the Vatican while we were there. Pretty impressive! Now I definitely understand why no one was shopping. Once we learned the history it was quite cool to know we got to see that (and really just random luck). 

Here are some pictures of the meeting point at the Duomo. 























​


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## Sarabi's Cubs

So did you actually get to go inside the Duomo or was that not possible because of the festivities?

Laurie


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## mare1203

Sarabi's Cubs said:


> So did you actually get to go inside the Duomo or was that not possible because of the festivities?
> 
> Laurie



We did not go inside the Duomo, but I'm not sure whether we actually couldn't or we just didn't.


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## carpenta

I have been inside the Duomo and it is a pretty plain church except for the naive fresco and the holy Eucharist. But you got a better treat in the parade IMO. We returned to Orvieto and my wife bought some wonderful pottery she had promised herself when we visited the first time. Loved Orvieto but love your trip report even more Mare1203. Thanks for your day by day account. I really enjoy it.


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## mare1203

Hello again adventurer's and thanks for your patience. It's getting to a busy time for me, so I might not be able to post as often. Not to worry, though, there's still lots to do and see. Andiamo!

With everyone paraded out and sufficiently hungry we were all happy to be headed to a nice relaxing lunch. It was about a 45-minute drive to our lunch at Relais Gli Ulivi. 












This was an absolutely gorgeous setting and really allowed us to take in the sights. Even though we arrived late we were given about 2 ½ hours for lunch, which I found very nice. 








We were seated outside at a variety of round tables and they brought the food out fairly quickly. 




Everyone started with some salad, gnocchi, and lasagna. It was kind of nice to get a lettuce salad as we hadn't really been eating too many greens as of late! The lasagna was more of a baked lasagna in a brick oven with a crispy top. I thought it was very good. 




The main entree was chicken, sausage, and beef, all grilled with a plate of grilled vegetables as well. All the meats were cooked well, but my favorite was the sausage. Water and iced tea was included, but you could also purchase wine separately. 

I really enjoyed this lunch because it was the first time we got a lot of time to get to know another family or two. The lunch wasnt rushed, nor was it too hot. Plus, since we ate outside there wasnt the same noise level you get at a restaurant. 












The view from the orchard was incredible and quite pleasant. It reminded me of the vineyards of northern California with the rolling hills and green vineyards lining the countryside. Most of us took some time to explore the area. 




















They had a number of paths and lookouts you could walk down to take pictures and enjoy your wine. 












The kids also had (and took) the time to change into their swimsuits and expend some energy in the pool. 













About half an hour before we left they had one of the older cooks come out and show us how to make a traditional Italian dessert: Torta della nonna, or grandmothers cake. It was about a 3 minute presentation and everything was pre-mixed except for the last few steps. Once she was done with her presentation we were, of course, able to indulge in the dessert. They also offered chocolate chip cookies for the kids or anyone else who wanted some. I thought both were good, but not memorable in any way. All in all, this was a great way to spend a few hours and enjoy the time with one another. From Relais Gli Ulivi it was about another 2 ½ hours to the Tuscan hotel. So, with that in mind, we boarded the bus and headed that way.​


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## Cousin Orville

Looks very relaxing!  I'm glad to hear the weather wasn't too hot.


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## mare1203

Apparently I moved some pictures in photobucket and when I do that it loses the pictures from my original posts. I think I got all of them and everything is back up, but if not let me know and I'll try to fix it ASAP!


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## mare1203

With our bellies full and a comfortable coach we started out on our longest drive of the trip. This was the only time we had enough time to show a movie. Troy and Marco chose to show Monsters University for the drive, which was fun to come full circle since that was the movie we had seen when we revealed the trip. 




I’m not sure most of us actually saw the movie as most of us ended up looking like this tired junior adventurer! Other than that, the drive was uneventful and we arrived at the Tuscan Hotel.




As we stepped off the bus we were met by the proprietor of the hotel, Max, who can only be described as a bundle of energy. We were greeted with ‘Welcome! Benvenuto Disney! We are so glad you’re here!’. It was one of the best greetings I’ve ever received at a hotel, that’s for sure. 








We were led into a small courtyard with some super comfy looking furniture. This is my dad looking awkwardly relaxed, haha! 




















Quickly, they laid out a small feast. It was really well decorated. Along with some fruit salad, a caprese salad, and other small munchies they had some water and prosecco. I think everyone enjoyed the welcome, but we were all also ready to get in the room and relax a little before dinner, so no one really stuck around for very long. It did give the guides a chance to check everyone in and get keys without everyone getting too antsy.

Our room was quite large and I thought it well appointed. We had plenty of room to move about and the bathroom was nice. One thing to note about the rooms here is that they are not all alike. So, some families would get one style room and another would get something completely different. It did not seem to matter what size family you had, so I’m not sure how they put families in each room. Probably luck of the draw. That night dinner was separate for adults and junior adventurers.

At 7:00 we met in the lobby where the adults then parted ways with the junior adventurers. Since neither Kathy or I were junior adventurers I do not have much information about their night. I do know that they did an Italian soda tasting, played Italian lawn games, and watched a movie. I can tell you that they had a great time together. Anyone was invited to either option. 




The adventure guides went with the juniors and left us in the capable hands of Max where we made our way to the restaurant for what we lovingly call ‘the fastest wine tasting ever’. Sorry for the blurry pic.








Of course, there were a few antics along the way! Once everyone was seated we began the tasting, which was presided over by Max. 




On our table we found a small plate with tasting spoons and small tastes along with a list of the prices to ship wine across the pond. There was a 10-year balsamic, a piece of parmesan, a honey, a pepper jam, a honey mustard, and a white Nutella to go along with the wine. 

In a period of about 20 minutes we tasted about 5 different wines: 1 white, 1 rose, and 3 reds. I am not sure this is because it always goes this way, or because we were late due to moving the schedule back after Orvieto. 








Max told us about the different types of wines. He goes around to vineyards all over Tuscany to find good wines that he then stocks in his cellar. Max gave us a rundown of the different types of wines you will find in the region as well. 

We started with a white wine. I am not a huge white wine fan, but my sister is. She thought it was pretty good. Our next wine was a rose. My family really enjoyed this wine and we actually bought some to take home. I am a fan of a good rose, and find it is a wine that doesn’t get as much love in the wine world. You can find some refreshing rose wines and this was a good one. From there we moved on to the reds, of which there were 3. I believe there were 2 chianti’s and 1 sangiovese blend. I like Chianti, but they generally run from dry to very dry, so you should be aware of that. Along with the wines we had the chance to try a few different tastes sold at the hotel.  All of the tastings were good, but the pepper jam was different and my favorite. It wasn’t too spicy and had a bite at the end. 








Once we were done with the ‘fastest wine tasting ever’ we had the opportunity to purchase some wine and local products. The cellar was also open for us to peruse the many wines they house at the hotel. I thought the hotel had a great cellar and I could have spent a lot of time in there. It’s open most of the day, so we were able to go back if we wanted later in the trip. 




For dinner, we all went on the patio and took up 2 long tables. It was a leisurely dinner that allowed us to continue to talk and get to know one another. The hotel is home to one of the best rated restaurants in Tuscany and the patio offers a wonderful view. We were served basically family style and did not pick off a menu.




For the main course we had pork in a gravy, chicken, rosemary potatoes, and some greens. I thought the food was delicious. I could have eaten a whole plate of pork and potatoes. The potatoes were seriously some of the best I’ve had and I’m sure it was the simplest of recipes. Tuscany serves more of a farm-to-table homestyle fare where the specialty is meat and potatoes in addition to the pasta. Speaking of pasta, I do not have a picture, but we started with a ravioli and a roasted red pepper penne. We shared a couple bottles of Super Tuscan wine with a couple of families. This was my first time trying a Super Tuscan which is typically dry and full-bodied. I would recommend giving one of them a try if you get the chance. 








Dessert was a chocolate ganache and panna cotta. The chocolate was very rich, so I did not eat much of it, but I know the chocolate lovers thought it was great. My sister doesn’t like nuts, so they brought her out a strawberry panna cotta that she really enjoyed. She said it was one of the best desserts ever, and ended up ordering it later in the trip again. It was light and creamy with a nice strawberry flavor. Panna cotta seemed to be somewhat of a specialty in this area. 

Around the time dessert was served the junior adventurer’s came around to meet up with the adults and we started to disperse for the night. Most of us found our way to the pool area where we spent a while relaxing and talking with one another for the remainder of the evening. 





The weather was gorgeous and the evening was beautiful, though, I’m not sure how the kids were swimming because I thought it was chilly (oh, to be 12 again!). 




They had clearly bonded during the junior adventurer night and were singing the Lizzie McGuire movie anthem at the top of their lungs with Troy and Marco. I don’t think they had fun at all…

All in all, we had a pretty good first day in Tuscany. I think by the time the night ended we were all ready for our relaxing Tuscan pasta-making holiday the next morning. 





As we left to go to our room we ran into Max, his wife, and his adorable little girl, Gabriela! She was super cute and has definitely inherited her daddy’s personality as she was babbling and making all kinds of happy noises in the lobby. It was neat to spend some time talking to them and you can tell Max just loves both the hotel and spending time with his family.​


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## sayhello

We had the same sort of thing with the resort in Santorini that you had in Tuscany.  The rooms were all different configurations, and it seemed a bit random as to who got what.  There were suites, town-house type rooms, and regular studio-type rooms.  They were all large and very nice, but they really varied greatly.  

Sayhello


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## mare1203

Happy Labor Day Weekend, Adventurer's! I finally had the chance to write-up the rest of my trip, which will make my updates much faster! I'm going to try to upload a couple of updates today and tomorrow. Andiamo!

Tuscan Holiday/Pasta Making:




Our next day in Tuscany was the most relaxing of the entire trip. Our itinerary for the day included pasta making at a farm, lunch on the patio (my favorite way to eat), an afternoon on our own, and dinner at a monastery. 




We didnt have to be up super early for this adventure, so we headed down to breakfast around 8:00 a.m. and left for the farm around 9:00. Before breakfast my dad and I took a walk up into town. Theres not much there, but its beautiful countryside. The breakfast spread in Tuscany was enough to fill you up. They had fresh bread, which was quite tasty. The staff would come around and bring drinks for anyone who wanted coffee. 




Their cappuccinos came out special for everyone. Here is a picture of one! 


It was about a 30 minute drive to the family farm, so we all loaded on to the bus. The trip seemed to take a while and I am pretty sure we went around in a few circles. I may not have known where I was, but you just have a feeling when youre lost. Plus, going around in circles is much more noticeable when youre on a bus. Turns out, the bus driver went to the wrong entrance and we had to find our way to the correct one. 




For our next adventure we would be heading to a family farm in the heart of Tuscany. Ive noticed most of the itineraries in Adventures by Disney includes some sort of hands-on activity involving food. Ours was no different as we were going to do some pasta making. I didnt have an opinion either way on this activity before we did it, but I ended up enjoying it a lot. It didnt go so well for me, but it was fun to do and I thought it a fun and different way to spend the morning. 




We were met at the farm by Sarah, the daughter of the farms owners. She was young, sweet, and had a visible passion both for her farm and for cooking in general. We really enjoyed our time with her. Before going in for the pasta making activity, Sarah gave us some general information about the farm and her family's history with it. Her father and uncle immigrated to the Tuscan area looking for jobs over 50 years ago and found employment on the farm. They worked on the farm until they had the opportunity to buy it. 




Today, Sarahs father and uncle, both in their 80s still work on the farm as much as possible. This is her and her uncle, still working hard.  

Sarah said she has always had a passion for food and for the farm. She likes cooking from scratch with her mother and has an appreciation for knowing and understand where food comes from. They run a restaurant and make almost all their own food from products raised or grown on the farm. The farm has a vineyard and cows among other working areas. In the early 200os Sarah decided to write a cookbook dedicated to her familys recipes. To her surprise it was picked up by a publisher and has sold over 5,000 copies. 




After giving us this overview of our location we were led into a room where we found it set-up for us to make our pasta.



 


We each grabbed a spot which included a cutting board, a rolling pin, and an apron for us to wear. We then gathered around Sarah for the pasta making demonstration. She definitely made the process look easy. 



 

 


It doesnt take all that much to make pasta from scratch, but it does take practice and a bit of finesse. She showed us how to roll it out and gave us instructions on how to cut out a few different types of pasta, including fettuccine, ravioli, and tortellini. After seeing Sarah do the demonstration I think we were all thinking pretty highly of ourselves...then we were released to do it ourselves! 



 


I very much enjoyed the pasta making event even though I failed miserably at it. It will definitely take a few more tries to get pasta making right! The activity gave us all a chance to interact with one another in a way we hadnt had the chance to do so far. And by that time we all knew one another well enough to throw some playful jabs in there at the type of pastas people were making. 




The guides got in on the fun as well. There was plenty of flour being strewn on the floor, on clothes, and on faces! 



 


As we finished up our pasta we showed off our creations to the cameras. Some people did a really great job with their pasta!




A group shot of us and our pasta creations.​


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## georgiagirl2

Your pictures are beautiful! The day at Sarah's farm was my favorite one of the trip.


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## mare1203

georgiagirl2 said:


> Your pictures are beautiful! The day at Sarah's farm was my favorite one of the trip.



Thank you! Some are mine, some are my sisters and plenty belong to our wonderful guides!


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## mare1203

Are you all ready for another update? That's a silly question, of course you are! Andiamo!




Once we were finished with the pasta making and everyone had a chance to clean up a little we embarked on part 2 of our day at the farm: a short tour. Honestly, I dont think anyone loved this part or was really looking forward to it, but it was most likely necessary for 2 reasons: 1) it was part of the deal to also host the pasta making and 2) to keep us occupied until lunch was ready. We visited 2 areas during the tour. 



 



First up was the vineyard and barrel room used for wine making. Sarah gave us an overview of the types of barrels they use and a short description of the process. 







This was really the cliffs notes version of visiting a vineyard, but we got some fun pictures.




They put rose bushes to signal something, but I don't remember what. Perhaps Kathy remembers and will comment!

The second part was visiting the cows. While we were there some of the cows were getting pedicures, which was sort of a fun fact. They also keep the cows separated. To be honest, I spent about 3 minutes with the cows and then headed out to wait for the others along with a few of my fellow adventurers. I grew up in the Midwest and have seen more than my fair share of cows. 




The cows were fun for the kids (and Dad's too!)!

While at the farm Marco and Sarah were having a good time bantering back and forth. He was pretty silly, getting flour all over and acting like a kid. A few of the adventurers in the group noticed the two of them seemed to have a great chemistry and jokingly asked Marco, is Sarah your girlfriend?!. He said no, but some of the ladies were ready to set him up! 




 Before lunch, the adults were separated from the kids for a short activity. The junior adventurers made olive oil.



 





The adults went to the patio for a short wine tasting. We tried a red and white. 





Lunch was held outside on the patio overlooking the farm and the Tuscan countryside. It was a gorgeous view. There was some weather coming in, so there was a nice breeze to keep us, well, not cool, but at least comfortable during the meal. Lunch included water, soda, and both red & white wines. 




The lunch was not rushed in the slightest, allowing us to visit, take pictures, and explore the general area. Here you can see Kathy in what I am sure is conversation, with Troy looking on! 

There was a small shop where you could buy pasta, wine, and Sarahs book which she was signing for anyone who wanted one. The wines were pretty good, and at 5 Euro a great bargain. 




Sadly, I only found one picture of our food from lunch. Everyone was eager to eat and forgot. It doesn't really matter, though, because we do have a picture of the one that really matters.  First up was a saffron, pea, and sage spaghetti that everyone raved about. It was light and flavorful, and one of our favorite pastas of the entire trip. 

The second pasta was a pappardelle pasta in a light tomato sauce. This was also very good. Dessert, of which I do not have a picture, was a chocolate cake or berry panna cotta. I got the panna cotta and thought it was light and flavorful. 

The only real eventful thing that happened at lunch was that my dad accidentally spilled red wine on my white pants...eesh! He felt really bad, but what can you do? I was able to get some of it out before it set in, but then Troy came over with the equivalent of a tide stick! With that and some water, I was able to get the stain pretty much out of my pants. We also washed them out when we got back to the hotel and I cleaned them when I got home, but at least they weren't ruined. 

The afternoon was on our own at the hotel. However, there was also an option to go to Pisa if you were interested. Troy and Marco made the announcement the day before and set up a van to take anyone who wanted to go. We had 2 families make the trip. The van picked them up at the farm and then dropped them off at the monastery for dinner. The price is dependent on how many people go. At about 2:30 the rest of us boarded the bus and headed towards the hotel. 

We spent most of our free time just relaxing at the hotel. While we were at lunch the clouds had rolled in and the wind picked up, so it ended up being a cloudy afternoon. Kathy and I spent most of the time out by the pool as did most of the other families. We spent some time talking to one of the families who did the Costa Rica trip the previous year. They really enjoyed their adventure and it sounds like a great trip. They said it was a lot more physical activity than this one, which makes a lot of sense as Italy has so much history to explore. 

My next update will include dinner at the Monastery, but I will leave you with a few more pictures of our fabulous farm venue.



















​


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## kanadar

I can't remember exactly but I believe the rose bushes were placed at the end of rows because there is a certain bug that likes to eat the grapes as well as rose bushes. The roses blossom before the grapes, so if the roses are eaten by the bugs, they know to spray the trees to prevent these bugs from eating the grapes.


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## Sarabi's Cubs

What an amazing view!  We leave in less than 2 weeks.  I am so excited!

Laurie


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## Cousin Orville

sayhello said:


> We had the same sort of thing with the resort in Santorini that you had in Tuscany.  The rooms were all different configurations, and it seemed a bit random as to who got what.  There were suites, town-house type rooms, and regular studio-type rooms.  They were all large and very nice, but they really varied greatly.
> 
> Sayhello



So was our "hotel" in the Loire Valley (France).  There were rooms in the main chateau, rooms in the servant quarters?, and ours was room in the old stables - all converted of course .  It was actually a very cool hotel.


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## Cousin Orville

kanadar said:


> I can't remember exactly but I believe the rose bushes were placed at the end of rows because there is a certain bug that likes to eat the grapes as well as rose bushes. The roses blossom before the grapes, so if the roses are eaten by the bugs, they know to spray the trees to prevent these bugs from eating the grapes.



Well that's clever!


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## mare1203

Let's finish up our Tuscan Holiday with a quick update about dinner. Andiamo!

After an afternoon of relaxation we met up to head out for dinner. Since we had some time before the bus left, my Dad and I stopped at the bar for an aptertif. 




I had seen a bunch of Italians ordering this bright orange drink and wanted to try it for myself. It turned out to be an Aperol Spritz. The Aperol Spritz is a pre-dinner drink of Prosecco, Aperol, and Club Soda. It is usually garnished with an orange. Aperol has an orangey-bitter flavor with some herb notes as well. The spirit does not have an explicit list of flavors, it just sort of "is". I should also note that Aperol is similar to another popular Italian spirit...Campari, and it is made by the same company. Campari is a darker red in color and more bitter in flavor. I did not love this drink, but I was glad I tried one. 




That evening we did dinner at a monastery. We were excitedly met by the junior adventurers who had arrived back from Pisa. 

The reactions to this experience were mostly positive, but I should note that there is some audience interaction. If you don't like to get involved, you probably won't like it. I thought it was quite entertaining. It was more of a medieval style meal and evening. 




We were seated at two long tables where we sat facing one another with the food and waitresses being served in the middle. It was an interesting set up. 



 


There meal started off with some charcuterie and flash fried veggies. 




For the main course we received a couple of different meats. The waitstaff came down the middle and offered the options to each person. I believe there was a chicken and a beef option. It was a hearty meal.



 


Dessert was either an apple crumble type dessert or a fruit and panna cotta-esque option. I had the apple option and thought it was both delicious and I nice change of pace from the creamy desserts we had been having. 








As we finished our dinner the entertainment portion of the evening began. 
















There was a troupe a musician comedians who got everyone up and dancing. 












They mixed music and laughter to create the show. The vast majority of audience interaction were the guys in the group. Most of our men got into it and were good sports. They did 3 different skits involving audience participation. I wont go into the content of each to keep some of the surprise, but my Dad got in on the fun in one skit. As you can see, they did not get into it at all...








At the end they did a final song to show off their skills. One interesting thing about this night was that it was the longest day of the year, so while most groups will experience this at night, it was still daylight out for the entirety of our dinner. I dont know why this would make a difference, but I really felt like it would. Maybe it would have given the monastery a bit more ambiance? 

Once we had our bellies filled and were sufficiently entertained we got back on the bus toward the hotel. I do not remember doing anything in particular that night. The next day...Florence!​


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## mare1203

Hi all! I'm back and ready to give you another update. Andiamo!




I had been anticipating our day-trip to Florence after having heard nothing but good things about the city. Florence, also known as Firenze, has a long and distinguished past as the capital city of the Tuscan region of Italy. 

We did not leave super early for Florence and it was about an hour ride to the city. Adventurers have 2 options on the Florence day for when they leave. Initially, we were planning on spending the entire day in Florence and leaving on the late bus. on the ride over, our guides informed us that it was St. John the Baptist Day in Florence and there would be celebrations going on all day. Celebrations were to include fireworks and a parade (oh no! not another parade!). 




When we arrived, the city was quite lively and our guides commented that it was definitely busier than normal. The flag of Florence was out in full force!




Our first stop was picking up our local guide, Sam. 




He then led us to the Galleria dellAccademia, home to the original David. Of course, I had heard of the David, but honestly I didnt know too much about it. The guides, especially Troy, made it pretty fun by continually talking up the beauty of the David. During one point in our wait, he pulled our guide aside to secretly (aka whisper while knowing the whisper device was still on) tell Sam that he and Troy should be ready to take care of the ladies when they encounter the David for the first time, since women have been known to faint at the sight of him. Our wait to get into the Accademia was the longest wait of our trip. Even though we had pre-bought the tickets there was a snaking line to get in and we waited for about 30 minutes. This gave Sam the opportunity to give us some history about the city. 




Florence known as an elegant city with a vibrant culture and considered the birthplace of the Renaissance. Florence was once  one of the wealthiest cities in the world, and is still known for its influence in arts, culture, and fashion. If you are partial to leather, Florence is where you should wait to purchase those items. They are everywhere and you can find options for every budget. 

During its reign as a powerful city in Europe, Florence was ruled by the Medici family. Although the Medicis have a tumultuous past, the family contributed much to the arts and culture of the time, commissioning works by Michaelangelo, Da Vinci, and Botticelli. Today, there are still lots of art and cultural influences in the city.




The David is really the main attraction of the Accademia and it doesnt take long to get through the entire museum. This attraction focuses on statues, especially those from Michaelangelo. Other than the David, none of the statues are complete. There are various speculations as to why, but the most popular theory is that Michaelangelo was so afraid his other statues wouldnt be as celebrated as the David he just didnt finish them. 







Once we got in, Sam took us all around the David so we were able to see all angles and take note of the intricacies of the statue. It really was something to see, and its giant! One fun fact about the David is that the marble used by Michaelangelo had been deemed unusable by 2 other artists, making his ability to create such a perfect structure that much more impressive. 








After seeing the statue we were given time on our own to peruse the rest of the museum and shop in the gift shop. Most of us ladies went back to feign fainting in front of the statue. Dont worry, Troy was there to save us! 
​


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## mare1203

Hi All! I'm back with another update! Let's continue our tour of Florence, shall we? Andiamo!

From the Accademmia, we were off on a walking tour of the city. Our first stop was the Duomo di Firenze. 








It was completed in the gothic style and is well known for its facade rather than interior. The Duomo is enormous! 



 


Its dome was engineered by Brunelleschi while the exterior uses marble panels using colors of white, pink, and green. Sam gave us information about how the dome was constructed, but I dont remember all the details. I do know that he was inspired by the Pantheon. Across from the Duomo is the Florence Baptistry, but it is currently under restoration, so parts of it are covered for those purposes. 




Our tour of Florence was complete with a stop out front of the Disney Store (we are on a Disney trip, after all). While we were walking through the city, Sam gave us some tips on both gelato and shopping. Mostly, that when seeking out gelato, the colors should be more muted, it should at least be in stainless bins, if not in stainless drums, and should not be mountainous. If the gelato is a mountain that indicates it has been pumped with air. In terms of shopping, he said that leather was the main product and that you should negotiate with sellers. The small shops are good, and for less expensive gifts for others the outside vendors with carts are okay. Just steer clear of the guys roaming around with leather goods. 



 


We stopped briefly at the Piazza della Signoria, which is considered the political city center and home to the Palazzo Vecchio and Uffizi Galleries. 



 


Outside the Palazzo Vecchio are a number of statues, including a replica of the David we saw earlier. From this square we headed to a second, the Piazza Santa Croce. This was where we found lunch and an empty stadium that dominated much of the square. It is home to Calcio Fiorentino, or Florentine football. 




It is an ancient game closer to rugby than football and soccer, but with few rules and lots of men beating up on one another. The finals were supposed to be held that day, but apparently the game had earlier gotten out of hand and the mayor cancelled the event. If you look at the left hand corner of this picture you can see the bleachers were still set up. 




Our lunch was held at a restaurant on the other side of the square. We had ordered lunch the previous day and had a few options. 




Troy highly recommended the lasagna, so that is what everyone in my family chose. I know there was also a chicken dish and one other option. I thought the lasagna was very good and the meat sauce to be incredible, but would have preferred to just go out on our own for lunch. We had been given a restaurant recommendation by a good friend who had eaten there years ago. However, they were only open for lunch. We could have left the group and gone their for lunch on our own, but 1) lunch was included in the price of the adventure and 2) we asked Sam about it and though he highly recommended it, he also said it was a bit of a walk and we didnt feel like walking any more since it was hot and we had been walking for the past hour. 




After lunch we were on our own in Florence. There was an option to see the Palazzo Vecchio. By this time, our family was pretty much museumed out and ready for some time to explore and shop, so we did not do the Palazzo Vecchio. I dont regret the decision, but those who did it said it was a wonderful tour, so I would probably opt to do it if given a second chance (another reason Disney should think about adding a 2nd day in Florence!). The junior adventurers who went said it was an interactive and fun activity. Plus, there are some wonderful views from the top. 




Actually, to be honest, I wish we had 2 days in Florence. It was my favorite city and I just dont think we got to experience enough of it. Obviously, it didnt help that this was basically a holiday in Florence meaning it was way busier than usual. I enjoyed staying in Tuscany for the relaxation aspect, but Florence is somewhere I will definitely hanker to get back to in the future. 



 


We used our free time to find some leather and explore the city on our own. We went down many small streets to see what we found and were happily treated to many cute shops. It would have been easy to spend lots of money in Florence!

My sister found a nice sports store where she bought a soccer jersey for her fiance. They had a number of different soccer teams to choose from and would personalize it on site for an extra fee. The personalization was immediate and took about 3 minutes, which was cool. 



 


We also found a well-known gelato spot, Grom, and got some gelato. They are of the artisanal variety and actually a chain. You can also find them in Venice, fyi. I tried a melone flavor and thought it was fresh and flavorful. While we were exploring we decided to head back on the early bus rather than the later. 



 


Before we had to meet the group we found this little German style pub and stopped in for a pint! 

There was another World Cup game that night and the bar in the hotel was going to set up a game-watch for anyone interested. A relaxing night at the hotel sounded pretty good, so we went back and met up with the the group. 




The first bus back left at 5:30 for us and not so surprisingly, only 7 adventurers opted to stay. Also, not surprisingly, those 7 had also done the Palazzo Vecchio, so they probably used that extra time to explore the city. A few people in our group chose to take a taxi back to the hotel after lunch. We heard it was about 80 Euro. Even after our Tuscan Holiday the day before we were pooped. Im not sure this would be such an issue if you went in April/May or September/October since the heat exhausts even the best of us.​


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## kanadar

Something I found extremely interesting about the Duomo was about the construction of the dome. I can't remember all the details but they wanted the dome to be built but something about the size (I think) made it very difficult. So difficult that they said they would reward the person who could figure out how to build it. I don't remember who figured out a way to build it but to this day they have no idea how he did it because he destroyed all of his plans and his research as soon as the dome was finished.


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## Sarabi's Cubs

Still loving this report!  We leave in 5 days for Italy!!  Do you happen to remember the name or general location of the sports store where your sister found the jersey?  A soccer jersey is all my son wants as a souvenier.

Laurie


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## tracyv

This report is so awesome! I look forward to your posts! In Florence, did anyone in your group go to the uffizi and if so did the guides obtain the tickets, or do you have to do that in advance?


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## twentyco

tracyv said:


> This report is so awesome! I look forward to your posts! In Florence, did anyone in your group go to the uffizi and if so did the guides obtain the tickets, or do you have to do that in advance?



I was on the tour a few days after this one.  We booked tickets to the Uffizi in advance for 4 pm, which worked well for us. We toured Palazzo Vecchio after lunch (get in the first group), and then walked over to the Uffizi for our entry time.  It is easy to book online in advance.


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## tracyv

twentyco said:


> I was on the tour a few days after this one.  We booked tickets to the Uffizi in advance for 4 pm, which worked well for us. We toured Palazzo Vecchio after lunch (get in the first group), and then walked over to the Uffizi for our entry time.  It is easy to book online in advance.




Thank you! I will surely do this. How was the uffizi?


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## mare1203

Sarabi's Cubs said:


> Still loving this report!  We leave in 5 days for Italy!!  Do you happen to remember the name or general location of the sports store where your sister found the jersey?  A soccer jersey is all my son wants as a souvenier.
> 
> Laurie



I'm so excited for you! I don't exactly remember the name of the store, but we walked right by it on our walking tour. It may have been called Universo Sport. I found it very easy to backtrack in Florence to re-locate it, though!


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## twentyco

tracyv said:


> Thank you! I will surely do this. How was the uffizi?



I am not really an art museum person, but my daughter, who loves art and history, LOVED the Uffizi.  On more than one occasion, we walked in to one of the rooms, and she stopped in her tracks and said "Is that the real ..." (name of painting).  She would then just stand or sit staring at it for a long time.  So for true art lovers, I would say it is well worth it.  For me it was pretty, but the depth of it was lost on me because I am clueless about art!

We did the Uffizi and gift shop, and then made our way back to the meeting spot and took the early bus back to the hotel.  I think for us the early bus was at about 6:30, so later than for Mary's group.  I am not sure why that was.  But we did not see much of anything of Florence other than museums, and we did not have any real time for shopping.  Those things were not a huge priority for us, but if they are you will probably want to plan on taking the later bus back.  It was a long day, and we were just too tired to do that.  

Also, if you love art museums, we also did the Galleria Borghese in Rome the day we arrived.  (We had a pre-day, so the first day of the adventure we went to Ostia Antica -- but the day we flew in, we arrived in the morning and went to the Galleria Borghese in the afternoon).  If you want any info on that, let me know --we took the subway from the hotel and it worked fine (also booking tickets online in advance).


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## tracyv

twentyco said:


> I am not really an art museum person, but my daughter, who loves art and history, LOVED the Uffizi.  On more than one occasion, we walked in to one of the rooms, and she stopped in her tracks and said "Is that the real ..." (name of painting).  She would then just stand or sit staring at it for a long time.  So for true art lovers, I would say it is well worth it.  For me it was pretty, but the depth of it was lost on me because I am clueless about art!  We did the Uffizi and gift shop, and then made our way back to the meeting spot and took the early bus back to the hotel.  I think for us the early bus was at about 6:30, so later than for Mary's group.  I am not sure why that was.  But we did not see much of anything of Florence other than museums, and we did not have any real time for shopping.  Those things were not a huge priority for us, but if they are you will probably want to plan on taking the later bus back.  It was a long day, and we were just too tired to do that.  Also, if you love art museums, we also did the Galleria Borghese in Rome the day we arrived.  (We had a pre-day, so the first day of the adventure we went to Ostia Antica -- but the day we flew in, we arrived in the morning and went to the Galleria Borghese in the afternoon).  If you want any info on that, let me know --we took the subway from the hotel and it worked fine (also booking tickets online in advance).




Yes I would love info on that! Thank you so much! We do have a pre-day in Rome so that would be awesome. 

Tracy


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## mare1203

We also did the Borghese Gallery for our Pre-Day. Definitely recommend. Here is the website where you can pre-book your tickets: http://www.galleriaborghese.it/default-en.htm 

Our guidebook said to go upstairs first and then make your way down since groups are limited to 2 hour time blocks. This makes for a less crowded experience, though the place is huge so I'm not sure it much matters. If you're really interested in the art I would also do some checking for a private tour guide. They have some information on the website, but a quick Google search could also point you to some guides. We saw a couple with a private guide and their information was much more in depth than just roaming around aimlessly admiring the art. They do provide some information there, but not to the extent a guide would give you. 

I'm not going to comment on the transportation as those who have read my report on that know it went...not well, haha!


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## Sarabi's Cubs

mare1203 said:


> I'm so excited for you! I don't exactly remember the name of the store, but we walked right by it on our walking tour. It may have been called Universo Sport. I found it very easy to backtrack in Florence to re-locate it, though!




Thanks!!!!  Your report has gotten me even more excited for the trip!  Great pictures!!!

Laurie


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## mare1203

Thank you for all the wonderful comments. Our next adventure was spending a relaxing evening at the hotel, which turned out to be one of our favorites of the trip. Andiamo!

Before I get into our evening's activities I want to mention something fun you can do in Florence, and that's look for street signs 'tagged' with some pretty unique art. 




Many of the street signs in Florence have been tagged with these fun street-art-esque stickers. The man behind the art is Clet Abraham, a Frenchman who has been living in Italy for many years. He has spread this type of art to other cities, but it is most prominent in Florence. 



 


I think there is some quirky creativity to the signs. They are not sanctioned by the city, and he has been fined numerous times for the work, but nevertheless they have quickly become a part of the city. Also, they are stickers and come right off.

And now, onto our evening! The World Cup game featuring Italy started just before we got back, so we changed into comfy clothes and went down to join the crowd for the game. There were about 30 people (mostly us adventurers) watching the game. Not soon after, they brought out the pizza. They did a huge Focaccia pizza cut into chunks. It had a nice flavor, even if it wasnt traditional. Also available was a full bar and some chips that were as addictive, but not nearly as greasy, as Lays. Both were nice for a little nibble, but we were definitely going to need some dinner! Unfortunately, Italy was unable to pull of the win and were officially out of the tournament. Poor Marco (but more on that later). 




It was around 8:15 when the game ended, so we checked out the restaurant menu and decided to sit down for a nice meal (it was not this bright out when we dined). What a great idea it turned out to be! 

We were seated on the patio, ordered some wine, and proceeded to check out the menu. We decided to share some antipasti and a Tuscan speciality...




T-bone steak! 

For our antipasti we went with the prosciutto e melone, a mixed plate, and a caprese platter. All were fresh, flavorful, and scrumptious. Plus, they were small enough to whet our appetites for the main course. Sorry, I don't have pictures of the antipasti, but you can imagine what bruschetta, caprese, and prosciutto e melone look like!

At least 2 people must order the T-bone and you pay for it by weight, per 100 grams. I had learned about this in a guide book and knew 100 grams to be roughly equivalent to 4 ounces. Our waiter was also quite helpful, recommending at least 1 kilo for 3 people. 1 kilo is about 40 ounces, so we went with that along with a double order of the roasted potatoes. We found it to be about right for 2 grown ladies and a man. We noticed there were 5-6 other adventure families were also eating. One family said they ordered 1 kilo for 2 men and said it was about right for them. 




About 5 minutes after the waiter cleared our antipasti he came over...with a table...for your steak, he says. Wait...what?!? Thats right, we got an extra table just for our steak! This made us laugh pretty hard and ended up being a highlight of our trip. 




It was really because we were at a small table and the steak comes out on a round wooden board pre-sliced, but it was humorous nonetheless. 

As is usual in Europe, our steak came out pre-sliced, which is helpful for serving. It was a perfect medium-rare and simply seasoned. 




This is what was left...I thought it really hit the spot to have such a simple meal, and it was a nice change from pasta. Also, those potatoes? So, so delicious. I could eat them every day. 




At the end of the meal our waiter brought out the dessert menu along with a Moscato digestif. We each ordered a different dessert (yep, we splurged a little!): 




Tiramisu 




Panna Cotta




Cheesecake with fresh berries.

All 3 were tasty. It was a nice and relaxing dinner on the patio; a highlight for us. We spent some time on the patio visiting with the other adventure families and Troy when we were done. Around 10:15 the van arrived with the rest of the adventurers and Marco. He was sad Marco after the Italy loss. We, somewhat jokingly, told him that the USA would adopt him, but he didnt seem interested, haha! 

With a train ride to Venice on the docket for the next day we headed up to bed.​


----------



## LoveMickey

Enjoying your trip report very much.   I sent you a private message regarding your pre-trip stay at the Gran Melia.

Thanks and looking forward to more on your trip.   I can't wait to try the Gelato.  I've been writing down each of the places you got Gelato


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## Sarabi's Cubs

Yum yum yum!!! That steak is definitely something I want to try in Florence.  Thanks for the help on ordering!

Laurie


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## twentyco

tracyv said:


> Yes I would love info on that! Thank you so much! We do have a pre-day in Rome so that would be awesome.
> 
> Tracy



Mary gave you the info on how to book the tickets.  Getting to the Borghese by subway is pretty reasonable. To do that, you go to the Ottaviano subway stop, which is about a 15 or so minute walk from the hotel; the front desk can give you directions, and is better for that at this point than I am. From there, you take the subway to the Barberini metro stop -- a straight shot, no changes required. (Subway costs 1.50 Euros per person each way; just use the machines to buy tickets, one per person per trip (so for us, with two people, it was four tickets total). They accept cash for sure, and I think credit cards as well. It is easy to do). Exit the Barberini stop to "Via Veneto," which is a beautiful tree lined street. Right at the Metro entrance is the Capuchin Crypt, if you're so inclined (my daughter wanted to do it, so I did -- but I could have gone the rest of my life without seeing all of those bones). Walk to the end of Via Veneto and you will come to the traffic circle that is in some of Mary's pictures from her visit to the Borghese Gallery (one of her pre-days); you go through that into the park, and then turn right and walk to the end of the park where the Borghese Gallery is located. It was a pretty walk, and not too bad from our perspective; we enjoyed looking at the trees and just being in the park, which was less crowded that the rest of the city. We also weren't in any rush, which helped.  On the way back we got gelato, which helped even more. 

In terms of tours, we did not do a guided tour of the Borghese Gallery, because I thought it would be too much for our first day. However, Context Travel offers small group tours of various things in Rome, including the Borghese. We did one of their tours to Ostia Antica the day after we arrived (day the adventure started), and it was fantastic. I would really recommend them. Our tour guide was an American who has lived in Rome for about the past 25 years and was incredibly knowledgeable. There were only five people on the tour (their maximum is 6). Really learned a lot and enjoyed them; if I had it to do over, I might consider doing them for the Borghese as well. Frankly, I wasn't sure if we'd be able to get there the first day, and didn't want to eat the cost of the tour (as opposed to just the tickets) if we could not.  

I'm sure there are also a number of other tour companies that you could use.  I agree with Mary that it probably would have been nice to have some more information about what we were seeing, but since we were tired, I'm not sure how much we would have gotten out of it.  My daughter did buy a book that contains pictures and information about the entire collection in the gift shop (it is the heaviest paperback book I think I've ever seen in my life -- printed on really thick paper, I guess), so that's an option also for more info.

Any questions, just let me know -- and good luck!


----------



## tracyv

twentyco said:


> Mary gave you the info on how to book the tickets.  Getting to the Borghese by subway is pretty reasonable. To do that, you go to the Ottaviano subway stop, which is about a 15 or so minute walk from the hotel; the front desk can give you directions, and is better for that at this point than I am. From there, you take the subway to the Barberini metro stop -- a straight shot, no changes required. (Subway costs 1.50 Euros per person each way; just use the machines to buy tickets, one per person per trip (so for us, with two people, it was four tickets total). They accept cash for sure, and I think credit cards as well. It is easy to do). Exit the Barberini stop to "Via Veneto," which is a beautiful tree lined street. Right at the Metro entrance is the Capuchin Crypt, if you're so inclined (my daughter wanted to do it, so I did -- but I could have gone the rest of my life without seeing all of those bones). Walk to the end of Via Veneto and you will come to the traffic circle that is in some of Mary's pictures from her visit to the Borghese Gallery (one of her pre-days); you go through that into the park, and then turn right and walk to the end of the park where the Borghese Gallery is located. It was a pretty walk, and not too bad from our perspective; we enjoyed looking at the trees and just being in the park, which was less crowded that the rest of the city. We also weren't in any rush, which helped.  On the way back we got gelato, which helped even more.   In terms of tours, we did not do a guided tour of the Borghese Gallery, because I thought it would be too much for our first day. However, Context Travel offers small group tours of various things in Rome, including the Borghese. We did one of their tours to Ostia Antica the day after we arrived (day the adventure started), and it was fantastic. I would really recommend them. Our tour guide was an American who has lived in Rome for about the past 25 years and was incredibly knowledgeable. There were only five people on the tour (their maximum is 6). Really learned a lot and enjoyed them; if I had it to do over, I might consider doing them for the Borghese as well. Frankly, I wasn't sure if we'd be able to get there the first day, and didn't want to eat the cost of the tour (as opposed to just the tickets) if we could not.  I'm sure there are also a number of other tour companies that you could use.  I agree with Mary that it probably would have been nice to have some more information about what we were seeing, but since we were tired, I'm not sure how much we would have gotten out of it.  My daughter did buy a book that contains pictures and information about the entire collection in the gift shop (it is the heaviest paperback book I think I've ever seen in my life -- printed on really thick paper, I guess), so that's an option also for more info.  Any questions, just let me know -- and good luck!





Thank you so much for all the wonderful info! 29 more days!! Woo hoo!


----------



## mare1203

One last tip about Florence. I was reading an article from the Smithsonian Magazine where a woman and her son went on a trip to retrace the steps of an American artist who traveled to Italy in the late 1700's. The article was a good read, but it was her tip about a gelato spot that really caught me. The store was called *Vivoli* and apparently it's supposed to be one of the best in the world. Florence in general is home to some of the world's best gelato stops (yet another reason to spend 2 days in Florence!). Sadly, I did not read this article until I was on the way _home_ from Italy so we didn't try it, but I wanted to mention it to my readers. Her teenage son tasted almost all the flavors before declaring Nioccola (hazelnut) the winner. ​


----------



## tracyv

Wow!! I definitely will look for it when we are there!! Thanks!


----------



## GAN

>Its dome was engineered by Brunelleschi while the exterior uses marble panels using colors of white, pink, and green. Sam gave us information about how the dome was constructed, but I don&#146;t remember all the details. I do know that he was inspired by the Pantheon. Across from the Duomo is the Florence Baptistry, but it is currently under restoration, so parts of it are covered for those purposes. <

If anyone is interested:

In 1418, the Arte della Lana, the wool merchants' guild, held a competition to solve the problem of the dome. The two main competitors were Ghiberti and Brunelleschi, with Brunelleschi winning and receiving the commission.  

The competition consisted of the great architects attempting to stand an egg upright on a piece of marble. None could do it but Brunelleschi, who

...giving one end a blow on the flat piece of marble, made it stand upright...The architects protested that they could have done the same; but  Brunelleschi answered, laughing, that they could have made the dome, if they had seen his design.  By breaking the egg, he was also breaking the mold for design(of their time) and was proposing totally new, unknown processes -the Pantheon probably providing the answers he needed.  I've heard that the method of making concrete had been lost in the Dark Ages, and that for this project Brunelleschi resurrected the process ...not sure how much truth there is to that.


PS --loving your report!


----------



## mare1203

GAN said:


> >Its dome was engineered by Brunelleschi while the exterior uses marble panels using colors of white, pink, and green. Sam gave us information about how the dome was constructed, but I dont remember all the details. I do know that he was inspired by the Pantheon. Across from the Duomo is the Florence Baptistry, but it is currently under restoration, so parts of it are covered for those purposes. <
> 
> If anyone is interested:
> 
> In 1418, the Arte della Lana, the wool merchants' guild, held a competition to solve the problem of the dome. The two main competitors were Ghiberti and Brunelleschi, with Brunelleschi winning and receiving the commission.
> 
> The competition consisted of the great architects attempting to stand an egg upright on a piece of marble. None could do it but Brunelleschi, who
> 
> ...giving one end a blow on the flat piece of marble, made it stand upright...The architects protested that they could have done the same; but  Brunelleschi answered, laughing, that they could have made the dome, if they had seen his design.  By breaking the egg, he was also breaking the mold for design(of their time) and was proposing totally new, unknown processes -the Pantheon probably providing the answers he needed.  I've heard that the method of making concrete had been lost in the Dark Ages, and that for this project Brunelleschi resurrected the process ...not sure how much truth there is to that.
> 
> 
> PS --loving your report!



Thanks for the information! And glad to have you reading along


----------



## mare1203

Hello again, adventurers! It's now time to make our way from the Tuscan countryside to the canals of Venice. Say it with me now...Andiamo!

In the morning we woke up and went down to our final breakfast in Tuscany. 
To get to Venice we would be taking a speed train. 








It was about a 30-45 minute drive to the train station. When we arrived there was about a half an hour of time before we needed to board the train, giving us a chance to hit the restroom or get a snack. One thing to be aware of is that at the train station the restrooms require a payment. Troy and Marco said there was a free one, but when we arrived there it was not actually free. The train station has a McDonalds inside that many families took advantage of as well. We did not, so I cant say anything about it, other than its there. 




Our train ended up coming in late and we were moved to a different track, so we had to hustle to make it (there may or may not have been a little running involved...). 








Luckily, our guides got everyone to the right track and on the train in time (with a split second or two to snap some pictures!). We were given a sack lunch for the trip. There were 3 sandwiches to choose from and I got the ham and cheese. The lunch was okay, but nothing special. I think I ate about half of it. There was a muffin that was really yummy. I gave my sister a bite only to find out that she did not save a bite for me! The train trip itself was fine and nice, but there isnt anything much to say about it. 




It was rainy when we left Tuscany and remained that way once we arrived in Venice. 








Adventures by Disney supplied us with ponchos and we had brought along a rain jacket, but it was not enough for a rainy day spent mostly outside. 




From the train station we headed to our next activity: gondola rides. I would say this was the biggest disappointment for the trip for many people, but it honestly wasnt our guides or Disneys fault in any way. Weather is weather and you have to deal with it. Plus, while the gondolas are a romantic way to travel, for us, it did serve as a mode of transportation as we used them to get to our next location. I know there were some in our group looking very much forward to the gondola ride, but it wasnt super high on my bucket list, so I didnt mind. 








The gondolas hold up to 6 people each, which is how we were put into the boats. Everyone took it in stride and wished each gondola well. 








Loaded into the boats with our ponchos we began our canal ride through Venice. I should note that we did not receive any information from our gondola captain. I would assume its meant to be a nice, relaxing ride and not a tour. Along the way we chatted with our gondola mates and took some pictures. There was more than one occasion where we experienced are those people laughing at us? Yep, theyre definitely laughing at us. I found it an amusing and memorable experience, but not for the same reason its memorable for most groups. 

Upon arrival at our destination we tried to find a dry area. We did not succeed. I was going to continue my post, but there are more pictures to come, so I'll split this up into 2. Next up, a walking tour of Venice 
​


----------



## sayhello

Rain is such a hard thing to deal with.  I know the Guides make the best of it they can (we had rain on our Rothiemurchus day in Scotland).  Glad it didn't spoil things too much!  Looking forward to more about Venice!

Sayhello


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## mare1203

I'm back to finish up our rainy tour of Venice. Enjoy!




Oh, I was going to say we were also waiting to meet up with our local guide, but I now remember she rode in the gondolas with us! This is a picture of dry Rosanna because apparently I do not have a picture of rainy Rosanna. She briefly introduced herself while we were waiting. I also appreciated her enthusiasm in the face of having at least 30 of the 42 adventurers in a grumpy mood and wanting to cut the tour short. 




Anyway, we got a walking tour of Venice. All of Venice is fed by canals and boasts a quite illustrious history. 



 


It is almost always a favorite destination of those who visit, with its romantic setting and beautifully unique architecture. In the top picture, you can see one of the many leaning towers. Venice operated as an independent Republic for many centuries and was known as an important trade center in Europe. During its glory days Venice was a very forward-thinking empire and employed many rules and customs in politics that are still used today in republics like the U.S. 




It is served nearly every day by cruise ships (like this beauty that happened to be in Port while we were there!) that descend upon the island in the morning and then leave around 6:00 p.m. each day. Many other tourists will stay on the mainland and then visit Venice during the day as well. This makes for quite the cycle. A well-known fact is that Venice is a sinking city (though there are studies now stating the city is no longer sinking), leaving Venice vulnerable to flooding. Venice has been plagued by floods and a loss of populous for many, many years now. Today, only about 60,000 people inhabit the main island of Venice with most workers commuting in from the mainland each day. Venice is dependent on tourism for much of its economy. Most of the flooding occurs in the winter months, though it is not limited to those months. We experienced light flooding while we were there due to the rains. They are currently completing an engineering project to help alleviate the flooding when tides rise above a certain level. It is set to be complete in the next few years. 








Along our tour we ended up in a small area where we were met by Marco Polo. He told us about his travels as a merchant along the Chinese silk road. After arriving from a trip to Asia, he found Venice embroiled in a war with Genoa and himself imprisoned. He was finally released and lived out the rest of his life in Venice. He gave us some information about the trade history of Venice and our pins for the day. 








We then continued on toward St. Marks Square. St. Marks is perhaps the best known landmark in Venice. St. Mark is an important figure in Venice and you can see the influences throughout the city. He is the patron saint of Venice and is represented by the Lion of Saint Mark. It is a winged lion and the symbol of the city. The remains of St. Mark were stolen and brought to Venice in the 9th century where they have been interred at the Basilica of St. Mark. 




All around it are coffee bars that play music and allow for some people watching. A few of the coffee bars employ bands that duel throughout the day. They will play even when St. Marks is being flooded, much like the band on the Titanic.








The Flag of the Republic of Venice also depicts the lion of Venice. We took some pictures with the flags before getting on the shuttle. With everyone feeling wet and grumpy, the guides mercifully decided to cut the tour short and head to the hotel.​


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## Cousin Orville

Looks like a lot of fun even in the rain!  Thanks for sharing.


----------



## Rapunzellover

Quick question about Florence--  did you tour inside the duomo?  

And quick question about st. Peter's in rome--  did you go up  the cuppola?


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## twentyco

Rapunzellover said:


> Quick question about Florence--  did you tour inside the duomo?
> 
> And quick question about st. Peter's in rome--  did you go up  the cuppola?



We did not do either of these things on our trip -- and I don't think there was an option to do so with the group.  They may be things you can do on your own time -- I am not sure.


----------



## Rapunzellover

twentyco said:


> We did not do either of these things on our trip -- and I don't think there was an option to do so with the group.  They may be things you can do on your own time -- I am not sure.



So no going inside the church at all in florence?  I understand we won't be going up the dome itself, but the itenerary does say tour of the duomo. Why would it say that if all we see is the outside of the place?

Can anyone clairfy?  I'm planning my adventure and want to know what to expect.


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## mapsd

[


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## mapsd

Rapunzellover said:


> Quick question about Florence--  did you tour inside the duomo?
> 
> And quick question about st. Peter's in rome--  did you go up  the cuppola?


The group does not climb the dome at either location.

We did it on our own in Florence during the free afternoon.
Instead of entering the main Duomo entrance, go to the left.  The side door has a specific entrance to climb  the dome.  They limit the #, so their may be a line (you actually have the option to buy a "fast pass" to for a few euros & go to the front of the line).  Was a great experience! and you can stay inside the Duomo after coming down to avoid waiting to enter.

If you want to climb St Peter's, I'd advise doing it before you exit your Vatican tour.  There could be a big line to get back in.  Just reverse your steps and in the courtyard between the Sistine chapel & St Peter's, you'll see the dome line.


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## Rapunzellover

mapsd said:


> The group does not climb the dome at either location.
> 
> We did it on our own in Florence during the free afternoon.
> Instead of entering the main Duomo entrance, go to the left.  The side door has a specific entrance to climb  the dome.  They limit the #, so their may be a line (you actually have the option to buy a "fast pass" to for a few euros & go to the front of the line).  Was a great experience! and you can stay inside the Duomo after coming down to avoid waiting to enter.
> 
> If you want to climb St Peter's, I'd advise doing it before you exit your Vatican tour.  There could be a big line to get back in.  Just reverse your steps and in the courtyard between the Sistine chapel & St Peter's, you'll see the dome line.





Excellent advice!  Thanks a bunch!  

I'm not really thinking of climbing the duomo in florence though. I just want to know if we'll go in the church.


----------



## carpenta

Rapunzellover said:


> Excellent advice!  Thanks a bunch!
> 
> I'm not really thinking of climbing the duomo in florence though. I just want to know if we'll go in the church.



 You should go into the Duomo and see the frescos on the dome ceiling  and also go into the basement for a couple more Euros. We went into the Baptistry (sp?) and it was amazing. The ceiling mosaics rival St. Peters. I understand it is under construction now......sorry. But you can view the original doors carved by Andrea Pisano in the museum located behind the Duomo to the left of the dome. It has a video of how they removed and restored the doors. I do advise you get a guide for the Palazzo D. Uffizi. There is so much artwork and so little time a guide can point you in the direction of the "can't miss" works. Also if you are up for adventure cross the river and wander the neighborhoods and make your way to Piazzale Michelangelo for a great view of the city. Love, love, love Florence and could spend a month sucking up the culture.


----------



## GAN

carpenta said:


> You should go into the Duomo and see the frescos on the dome ceiling  and also go into the basement for a couple more Euros.



Totally agree.  It's not a bad walk up the steps -but whatever effort you put forward is rewarded 10X when you step out on the top.  If you're interested, the remains of the original cathedral(Santa Reparata) can be viewed in the crypt beneath the Duomo ...for me, it was amazing.  Built around the 6th century.  More info can be found here:

http://www.florencewebguide.com/santa-reparata.html


----------



## mare1203

Rapunzellover said:


> Excellent advice!  Thanks a bunch!
> 
> I'm not really thinking of climbing the duomo in florence though. I just want to know if we'll go in the church.



We did not actually tour the inside of the church. The inside is gothic style and makes it seem pretty empty. Plus, many of the artifacts that were once inside the church have been either moved or lost. These were the reasons our guide gave for not doing a tour of the inside. We did, however, spend at least 20 minutes discussing the much more ornate exterior. Also, as has been mentioned, we also discussed and saw the Florence Baptistery, but it is currently under renovation so we did not go in.


----------



## mare1203

Hi All! Thanks for your patience! I had a work conference in New Orleans and they didn't give us an internet password, soooo, all the work I _thought_ I was going to get done in my free time did not get done. Of course I find out yesterday that internet was indeed included, drat! Oh well. Now I'm back and it's time for another update. Andiamo!




Our group was staying at the Hilton Molino Stucky, which was a late change to the itinerary. I believe they are in the process of moving all groups to this new location, though some groups may still find themselves at the old spot. Im not sure why they have decided to switch it and our guides didnt have any thoughts either. The Hilton is a giant hotel located across from the main island in Venice. Throughout the day it serves guests with a shuttle boat holding 40 guests to 2 different locales. One is St. Marks which is served once an hour and the other is to Zattere which is most notably home to the Peggy Guggenheim Collection. You can get across from here, but it will be about a 20 minute walk to St. Marks. The Stucky was the closest to an American style hotel we had for the trip. Many people in our group were happy for this. I enjoyed the European style hotels and am not partial in any way to Hilton, so I didnt love it more than any other location. The rooms were large and offered us the most space. It is a very large hotel and seemed to be a convention hotel as well. 












There is a pool on the roof with a gorgeous view of the city; its great for some pictures. As you can see, the weather finally began to break when we got to the hotel. There are also a couple of restaurants that I would not recommend though I also freely admit to not trying them. I did, however, see the price list and you can find better, cheaper meals elsewhere. 




One of the cool things we got to see when we arrived in Venice was the Disney Magic cruise ship docked in port. Actually, we ran into cruisers on excursions.  




We had a view of the Magic from our hotel room. Once we got to the room we all took the time to clean up a little and had about 2 hours until we had our welcome reception. It was nice to feel dry again! 




We went down to the lobby around 5:45 and began thinking about a dinner plan. We had been checking out the weather and when we were leaving Venice it looked like the clouds might break. As time passed, the weather got better and better. Originally, we were thinking about finding a place to eat on the small island. However, we started talking to a couple other adventurers who got a dinner recommendation from Marco and our plans changed. 6 of us decided to eat together and had Marco make us some dinner reservations for 8:00. 

Our group of 6 was going to take the shuttle over to Venice on the shuttle to St. Marks, but we misread the guide and ended up taking an earlier one that only went to the other stop. Luckily, since it was an earlier shuttle we had plenty of time to make our way towards St. Marks. We also met up with another family who were on the same shuttle and did some exploring. 




Even though I read the map when we got off the shuttle and knew we were traveling in the wrong direction no one seemed interested so we headed off toward the end of the island. 








It was totally okay, though, because we snaked in and out of alleyways with some great little shops and art houses. 








We also walked around the Peggy Guggenheim building. 




Once we made it back around to the bridge (the dad who was with us and hated exploring was not impressed that it would have been a 2 minute walk), we started on our way to the restaurant. 








By this time most of the cruisers had headed back to the ship and the mainland tourists had abandoned for the day making Venice quiet and majestic. This is absolutely how I recommend someone see Venice, especially if you dont like crowds. We could peek in shops and explore the various alleyways of the islands to really fall in love with the city. 




After successfully navigating the winding streets of Venice we made it to our dinner locale, Ai Barbicanni. 








Venice is not necessarily known for its cuisine, but we ended up with a fabulous meal. Our restaurant was run by an older gentleman and one or two others all working at their own pace. The menu was quite Venetian, featuring seafood dishes and other Venetian specialities. 




We ordered a carafe of wine, which came in this lovely pitcher, and explored the menu. Even our non-seafood lovers found something to eat. One of the dishes I knew I wanted to try while in Venice was squid ink pasta. It was happily on the menu, so order it I did. As I perused the menu I saw the seafood stew for 2 and decided I wanted it as well. The only issue was convincing my dad to order it with me. Luckily, he read the description and was on board...sweet! 




The pasta entrees arrived and I got to try my squid ink pasta. Oh my goodness, this was heavenly! It had a buttery flavor that beckoned you to keep eating it. And, like many of my favorite things, it turned my mouth a different color (I also have a pension for blue raspberry slushes). Our table mates enjoyed seeing my mouth change from a pink to tinged in black and it amused them highly. 




Sadly, the pictures dont do it justice. 




After the pasta dishes, our main entrees arrived. Wow, wow, wow is all I could say about the seafood stew. If you are from San Francisco and a fan of cioppino you will love this stew. The sauce very much reminded me of a cioppino sauce and the only thing I would add was a loaf of crusty bread to dip. In the stew was a whole fish (with pin bones, so be careful), shrimp, mussels and some chunks of white fish as well. We were not able to finish this off, but we sure wanted to. 




Our table mates got a variety of dishes. They had a risotto menu that one couple sampled and said was very good. 




My sister opted for a gnocchi pasta dish. Once we were all finished the waiter brought us a dessert menu. We were set to order dessert, but after waiting 10 minutes for the waiter to come back our group was over it and decided to just ask for the check instead. We then walked through a sleepy Venice to the shuttle.




Luckily, we arrived just as the shuttle did and were able to get right on. We thought this was a wonderful meal in Venice and we were happy to have the company as well. It was interesting to dine with our solo diner, who said she had had the chance to go to dinner with every single adventure family. I thought that was very cool, plus her observations were always fun to hear and I enjoyed getting to know her all along the trip. We also enjoyed getting to know the couple we dined with. They both work for Disney and this being trip number 7 had some great stories from other adventures as well. 

I highly, highly recommend going over to Venice for dinner while you are there.  We then layed our heads down to bed. I mention this because I woke up in the morning with my e-reader in bed and my glasses still on...clearly I was a tired puppy AND slept hard. The beds here were super comfortable.​


----------



## Rapunzellover

mare1203 said:


> We did not actually tour the inside of the church. The inside is gothic style and makes it seem pretty empty. Plus, many of the artifacts that were once inside the church have been either moved or lost. These were the reasons our guide gave for not doing a tour of the inside. We did, however, spend at least 20 minutes discussing the much more ornate exterior. Also, as has been mentioned, we also discussed and saw the Florence Baptistery, but it is currently under renovation so we did not go in.



Hummm.... It sounds from your review like you didn't go in st mark's in venice either. This is not a huge deal but it sounded (from the itenerary)  like both churches would be toured inside. I hate when iteneraires are misleading like this.


----------



## kanadar

Rapunzellover said:


> Hummm.... It sounds from your review like you didn't go in st mark's in venice either. This is not a huge deal but it sounded (from the itenerary)  like both churches would be toured inside. I hate when iteneraires are misleading like this.



You need to take into account that our first Venice day was unlike most. Because of the rain and the fact that a majority of our group was wet, and grumpy, we did not go on the full tour. This is just how the tour went for us.


----------



## Rapunzellover

kanadar said:


> You need to take into account that our first Venice day was unlike most. Because of the rain and the fact that a majority of our group was wet, and grumpy, we did not go on the full tour. This is just how the tour went for us.



So were you supposed to go in?  I'm just curious what's normally done.


----------



## georgiagirl2

Rapunzellover said:


> So were you supposed to go in?  I'm just curious what's normally done.




Our group did go inside St. Mark's Basilica. It is different from St. Peter's in that it is based on a Greek cross and there is a heavy Byzantine influence.  The gold mosaics are beautiful. Our local guide, Marina, took us through in a little less than an hour.   


We did not tour the Duomo in Florence.


Mare1203, I'm loving your trip report!  It's interesting the differences in our trips, only a couple months apart.  Our group stayed at the Luna Baglioni, which was right off St. Mark's Square and very Old World inside.  It was one of my favorite parts of the trip.  I am anxious to hear all about your farewell dinner.  It sounds very different from ours!


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## mare1203

Rapunzellover said:


> So were you supposed to go in?  I'm just curious what's normally done.



I'm sorry, but we just can't answer your question. We can only tell you about our tour. All of them end up a teeny bit different due to one circumstance or another. The itinerary says you tour St. Marks and while we did the Doge's Palace, we didn't do St. Marks. The poster below says they did go inside, so I can only assume that most groups do go in and ours was changed. I would call ABD directly to inquire or contact Kevin at Dreams Unlimited as he has much more experience with this than I, or pretty much anyone else here.



georgiagirl2 said:


> Our group did go inside St. Mark's Basilica. It is different from St. Peter's in that it is based on a Greek cross and there is a heavy Byzantine influence.  The gold mosaics are beautiful. Our local guide, Marina, took us through in a little less than an hour.
> 
> 
> We did not tour the Duomo in Florence.
> 
> 
> Mare1203, I'm loving your trip report!  It's interesting the differences in our trips, only a couple months apart.  Our group stayed at the Luna Baglioni, which was right off St. Mark's Square and very Old World inside.  It was one of my favorite parts of the trip.  I am anxious to hear all about your farewell dinner.  It sounds very different from ours!



Thank you! The Luna Baglioni seems like it would have been a great experience as well. I'm somewhat torn, as the creature comforts of the Molino Stuckey were great, but not being on Venice proper was less optimal. I'm leaving for WDW on Friday, so I'm going to try really hard to finish by then!  I used to wonder why it took people so long to finish...doing one myself, now I totally get it!


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## mare1203

Welcome Back! I'm glad everyone is still enjoying the report. With the sun shining, it's now time to finish our tour of Venice. Andiamo, shall we???

In the morning we went down to breakfast. It was a full breakfast buffet and had a lot of different options. There were some clear British influences to the selection and they had American style bacon (I'm not a huge bacon fan, but apparently this is a big deal?!?). I think everyone enjoyed the buffet here. 








Since we had cut our tour short the night before we met up with Rosana that morning to finish our history lesson and tour the duomo. Our first stop was the Doges palace, the residence of the Doge of Venice, or the ruler of the republic. Now, obviously, it is a museum. 












For this tour, the junior adventurers were separated from the adults for their own scavenger hunt in the palace. Ours was more historical in nature. Although the palace served as the residence of the Doge it was also the home to the courts and a prison. The Junior Adventurers and guides aren't enjoying themselves _at all_.




During our tour we saw a wide variety of rooms, most of which were used for governmental purposes. One was the antechamber, a sort of waiting room, which held a number of paintings. We also saw the formal antechamber, known as the Four Doors Room. The doors are framed in fine marble. 












The governmental structure in Venice has many similarities to Rome, and, more recently, the U.S. Prisoners were considered innocent until proven guilty and the goal was that each prisoner received a fair trial. The last photo is of their system of delivering verdicts and sending messages, I believe. 








Though Venice was primarily Roman Catholic, Rosanna told us that they were remarkably open to religious freedoms and for a long period of time did not execute anyone for their religious views. This during a time when it was pervasive elsewhere in the world. 








These are some of the works of art we saw during our tour. I do not know the history behind them, exactly, but at least you can appreciate their beauty.
















This was a large meeting room for the Doge. It is incredibly opulent and offers some great views from above. 












One of the main sights on our tour was the Bridge of Sighs. It is probably the second best known bridge in the city, after the Rialto Bridge. It got its name as it supposedly refers to the last sights of the city prisoners would get on their way to their cells, leading them to sigh. The new building was meant to give prisoners improved conditions, though it did little to do so. This concluded our visit to the palace and our time with Rosanna. I think I'm getting close to my photo limit, so I am going to cut it off here. Tomorrow...masks!​


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## Rapunzellover

mare1203 said:


> I'm sorry, but we just can't answer your question. We can only tell you about our tour. All of them end up a teeny bit different due to one circumstance or another. The itinerary says you tour St. Marks and while we did the Doge's Palace, we didn't do St. Marks. The poster below says they did go inside, so I can only assume that most groups do go in and ours was changed. I would call ABD directly to inquire or contact Kevin at Dreams Unlimited as he has much more experience with this than I, or pretty much anyone else here.



Oh don't be sorry!  I totally get there are things you can't know, and of course every trip has it's own flow. I'm just trying to get an idea. It's really of minimal importance. Churches happen to be my thing so I'm a little extra curious. But feel free to not mind me at all.   

Your trip report, by the way, has been amazing!  I'm so counting the days till I go in May next year!!


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## mare1203

Rapunzellover said:


> Oh don't be sorry!  I totally get there are things you can't know, and of course every trip has it's own flow. I'm just trying to get an idea. It's really of minimal importance. Churches happen to be my thing so I'm a little extra curious. But feel free to not mind me at all.
> 
> Your trip report, by the way, has been amazing!  I'm so counting the days till I go in May next year!!



No problem! I hear ya, it's so hard when you know what you want to know since Disney really only gives a brief itinerary. I think they do a great job on what they do, but if you want to do a real in-depth tour of certain things I'd recommend booking them on your own. Someone on our tour joked that Disney "understands the American lack of attention span" and although that's a simplified way of thinking about it, at its core it's true. We never spent more than an hour or 2 anywhere and then we moved on. I felt like it was a great way to see all the highlights, but that I'd really need to go back on my own to hit any of the spots in-depth (I thought this most true of Florence, but of the other 2 cities as well). I will say that the local guides make up for seeing everything at a quick pace due to their wealth of knowledge on the sites and cities themselves.


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## Rapunzellover

mare1203 said:


> No problem! I hear ya, it's so hard when you know what you want to know since Disney really only gives a brief itinerary. I think they do a great job on what they do, but if you want to do a real in-depth tour of certain things I'd recommend booking them on your own. Someone on our tour joked that Disney "understands the American lack of attention span" and although that's a simplified way of thinking about it, at its core it's true. We never spent more than an hour or 2 anywhere and then we moved on. I felt like it was a great way to see all the highlights, but that I'd really need to go back on my own to hit any of the spots in-depth (I thought this most true of Florence, but of the other 2 cities as well). I will say that the local guides make up for seeing everything at a quick pace due to their wealth of knowledge on the sites and cities themselves.



This is why I booked several pre and post days.  
But honestly, though Disney is fast, sometimes,  many other tour groups are worse.  I've seen Italian tours that only stay a day in a city then move on.  

That's the thing with travel. You can see less things going in depth or more things by going more quickly. When it's a place you might not get to often (over seas) the desire is for as much as possible. I think it's more bang for your buck than short attention span. 

Each way has it's pluses/minues.


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## twentyco

Rapunzellover said:


> So were you supposed to go in?  I'm just curious what's normally done.



I was on the trip right after Mary's, and we did go inside St Mark's to tour it.  We did not go inside the duomo in Florence, but did view and discuss it from the outside.  This may have been because we had a long wait to get inside the Accademia in Florence, so we may have been running behind -- I'm not sure.


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## mare1203

Who's ready for some mask making?!? Andiamo!




Our next destination was the mask-making shop. We were done with the whisper devices, but a couple of the junior adventurers got the mic from the guides and gave us their own tour of the city. It was pretty entertaining. 












The main sight on the way was the Rialto Bridge. It is a beautiful bridge with some great views. 








Our other walk-by was the seafood market. Yummy! 

I also took the time to window shop, get some mask ideas, and admire the beautiful pieces of glass. 




The mask making activity is one that I think a lot of people arent sure about prior to completing it. I had heard from a few sources that although you might think to skip mask making, it is a really cool activity, and not to skip it. 












We arrived at the mask store where they gave us some background on how they made the masks and the different types available. Masks have been a part of Venetian culture since the Venetian Carnival, which takes place around Ash Wednesday every year. The origins of the masks are unknown, but it is thought they allowed people of all social stature to co-mingle and encouraged people to act their real selves without fear of being found out. 








They let us look around the shop if we wanted and then we were led to the back work room where they had a bunch of masks laid out for us to choose from. 




We were told that if we wanted our masks to be silver or gold they would do that for us and then we could decorate from there. 












Otherwise you told them which colors you wanted and they mixed it up for you. Along with small cups of paint we were able to use puff-esque paint to make more intricate designs. 












Once we were done with the initial designs we brought them to the master mask maker to embellish and finish off the masks with feathers or ribbon or other. It was otherwise known as the glitter magic. Most of us were hopeful that the master mask makers could save our masks with said glitter magic!!! 




They had hair dryers to help dry the masks...or hair, depending on who had a old of the dryer!  Once we were done with our masks we had the afternoon to ourselves. 

We spent the afternoon just sort of wandering around the city. We werent looking for anything in particular, nor did we do any specific activities. For lunch we just grabbed some pizza, but it was not something I would necessarily recommend. It just sort of filled our bellies.




We did stop at one of the cafe's on St. Marks square. Sometimes I have trouble with the tourist trap mentality and although I know it's an iconic thing to sit in one of the cafe's overlooking the square I did feel somewhat conflicted. At the same time, I did enjoy the experience. We got this gelato thing that was okay. 


Mid-afternoon we had the opportunity to visit a Murano studio on St. Marks Square. The actual demonstration was pretty quick, but cool to see the hot glass turned into an actual piece of art. 








We also got a tour of the Murano store. There was a lot of stuff in there I could have bought...unfortunately none of it was in my price range! Some of the pieces we saw were incredible. Apparently, the red glass is the most expensive because of the chemical they use to color it. Of course, red is my favorite color (another check on the I have expensive taste list). 

We left the main island about 4:00 to give us enough time to clean up a little and get ready for the evening festivities, which were to begin at 6:30. 








On our way in the Disney Magic was passing through on its way out of port. It went right by us on the shuttle back to the hotel! The day before must have been an embarkation day and today a departure because most people were on deck for what looked like the departure party. It was neat to see it going by up close!

Up next, the Farewell Dinner!​


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## mare1203

Well adventurers, we are almost at the end of our Italian adventure. It's been lots of fun. I will probably make this a double post due to the number of pictures I'd like to post (and you'd like to see!). Our guides did their best throughout the trip to not give anything away about the change to the farewell dinner ABD was making. However, most families knew about the change from both the itinerary we got in our books and from travel planners if they went through one to book. We knew about the Jolly Roger from DisneyKevin and were pretty excited about. Well, enough about that, Andiamo! 

When we met up with the group, most of us had dressed up a little. We headed out and were met by a Jolly Roger pirates ship complete with jesters and wenches! 












Everyone was welcomed aboard and led to the top for a glass of Prosecco or other beverage of your choosing. There were also a variety of appetizers to munch on. 




At the beginning of the night there was some lovely music playing as well.












We spent the evening sailing around the island and basically just enjoying each others company. The ship had two top decks and a lower deck which easily held all of us. 




My dad and this kid were best buds! 




A short time after boarding we were brought our finished masks. 




















Most people tried them on and everyone looked fantastic, but we didnt keep them on for long. 








They served dinner shortly after we set sail, though I dont think any of us ate much. The food was pretty good, but not the focus of the evening. 




It was a celebration of the end of a wonderful adventure. 

We were also treated to an incredible sunset! 







My dad looking sassy!
























Everyone admired the many little islands that make up Venice and we enjoyed waving at the people as we floated by.​


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## mare1203

Let's continue this party, shall we?!?








We were on the ship for a good 2 hours when Troy and Marco had everyone come together and thanked us all for being a great group. We all shared our email addresses to give pictures or stay in contact if we wanted. 








Troy and Marco also put together a slideshow of the trip leading to lots of laughing and remembering the good times we had. At this point, I think everyone assumed the night was over because we docked, only to find out we were just stopping to let on a DJ! 








The ship was turned into a party for another couple of hours. The kids enjoyed dancing while the adults mostly stayed on the top decks. 
















Have you ever had that moment where you became acutely aware of the fact youd literally not rather be doing anything else? Well, its not a feeling I get often, but I definitely felt it on the Jolly Roger cruise. I dont have other Adventures by Disney farewell dinners to compare this one to, but Im pretty sure this one would be hard to beat. 












They got some beauty shots of everyone, haha!

A note about those who might be unsure about this due to sea sickness. Our group did not feel any sort of sea sickness on this experience. There were a couple of people who consider themselves sensitive to boats and motion and they did not seem to have any issues on the cruise, either. It was just a slow sailing in calm waters. I do not, however, know if they took anything. 








A few hours later we docked for good and were let off. This marked the final moments of our last adventure activity.​


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## Cousin Orville

Looks like a great way to end the trip!  I've really enjoyed following along.  Thanks for sharing.


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## tracyv

Thoroughly enjoyed your trip report and all the wonderful pictures! We are leaving in 14 days! Can't wait to share our pictures as well. How do you upload them?


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## carpenta

BRAVO!  BRAVO!  BRAVO!!!!....Thanks for letting us live an adventure through your family. Thanks again.


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## MermaidsMom

I love your trip report! Thanks so much for posting it.  Will you please post what you packed for this trip, how many bags did you use and what you could've left at home?


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## sayhello

WOW!  What an amazing and fun way to end your trip.  I've had some really fun farewell dinners, but that one does look like a topper!

Sayhello


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## tgeorge

I've enjoyed reading your trip report. It gets me even more excited to do this trip in the future. Thanks for bringing us along on your adventure


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## sayhello

Please be sure and put a link to your wonderful Trip Report in the Trip Report Sticky at the top of this Forum!  

Sayhello


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## georgiagirl2

What a fantastic way to end this trip!  Our farewell dinner was in a ballroom at the Luna Baglioni, with the same Baroque musicians you had at the beginning. It was very nice, but nothing like cruising around Venice.  


The thing I liked about our farewell dinner was that it ended early enough for us to go back to St. Mark's Square and sit out at Café Florian listening to the orchestra play.  Such a different atmosphere at night without all the crowds. 


Thanks so much for taking us along on your journey!


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## kristilew

What a magical way to end the trip!  I have to wonder if the December departure will include this. I imagine it will be chilly on the water that time of year!


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## Sarabi's Cubs

That farewell dinner looks like lots of fun!!!!  Thanks so much for your report!  It was very helpful for our on our own time!

Laurie


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## mare1203

Sarabi's Cubs said:


> That farewell dinner looks like lots of fun!!!!  Thanks so much for your report!  It was very helpful for our on our own time!
> 
> Laurie



Thanks for reading along, I'm glad you found it helpful! You'll have a great time!



kristilew said:


> What a magical way to end the trip!  I have to wonder if the December departure will include this. I imagine it will be chilly on the water that time of year!



Yeah, the Jolly Roger was great! I do wonder what they'll end up with in December, you will have to let us know! 



georgiagirl2 said:


> What a fantastic way to end this trip!  Our farewell dinner was in a ballroom at the Luna Baglioni, with the same Baroque musicians you had at the beginning. It was very nice, but nothing like cruising around Venice.
> 
> 
> The thing I liked about our farewell dinner was that it ended early enough for us to go back to St. Mark's Square and sit out at Café Florian listening to the orchestra play.  Such a different atmosphere at night without all the crowds.
> 
> 
> Thanks so much for taking us along on your journey!



The Cafe Florian to take in an evening sounds incredible! I do wish we had one more night in Venice because without the crowds I loved Venice even more. Venice at night is such a special place.



tgeorge said:


> I've enjoyed reading your trip report. It gets me even more excited to do this trip in the future. Thanks for bringing us along on your adventure



Thanks so much; you will love it when you go! 



sayhello said:


> WOW!  What an amazing and fun way to end your trip.  I've had some really fun farewell dinners, but that one does look like a topper!
> 
> Sayhello



It will definitely be hard to top! It didn't hurt that it was a beautiful evening, either. The islands around Venice are all nice to see. 



MermaidsMom said:


> I love your trip report! Thanks so much for posting it.  Will you please post what you packed for this trip, how many bags did you use and what you could've left at home?



Thanks a lot! I can definitely make a post about that topic. There's a lot of information out there it can be confusing to parse it all out. 



carpenta said:


> BRAVO!  BRAVO!  BRAVO!!!!....Thanks for letting us live an adventure through your family. Thanks again.



Thank you so much for reading along! 



tracyv said:


> Thoroughly enjoyed your trip report and all the wonderful pictures! We are leaving in 14 days! Can't wait to share our pictures as well. How do you upload them?



Thank you for reading along! I use Photobucket to upload my pictures. It's pretty easy, but I did end up downloading the app and paying for extra cloud storage because I had so many pictures. I think you get 1GB for signing up and then another for downloading the app. 



Cousin Orville said:


> Looks like a great way to end the trip!  I've really enjoyed following along.  Thanks for sharing.



Thanks for reading; It was a perfect ending!


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## mare1203

Hi All! I'm back for a final post about our adventure. Things have been super busy for me lately; I haven't even been on the boards! But, now I'm back and have some time to tie up some loose ends. Andiamo!

The next morning we got our bags together and headed down for breakfast. The night before each adventure group was given departure information if the occasion called for it. Many people were heading other places and thus had other plans. We, however, were taking advantage of Disney transport and were sadly heading home. Luckily, our departure was not at an inhumane time like 4:00 a.m. and we had time for breakfast. We then went to the lobby to meet our taxi to the airport. 




Troy and Marco met us to give us a copy of the contact list and to say final goodbyes. They were such great guides 




They also introduced us to our escort. You can see her to the left here. She escorted us all the way to the airport and was very nice. 












We took a luxury water taxi from the hotel to the airport. Being the fan of prep fashion I am, I enjoyed this experience in a wood and leather bound boat. We felt so fancy! Our escort said Marco Polo airport wasnt very big and thus shouldnt be a problem to get through quickly. 




Upon arriving at the airport we said goodbye to Italy and goodbye to our first (but probably not last!) Adventure by Disney. 
​


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## mare1203

Overall, I thought Adventures by Disney was a great way to see a new country. I love to travel, but have explored more of the U.S. than I have of the world. The best thing about going on a group tour like this is that you know you will have others to interact with along the way. Plus, if you are unsure about communicating in another country due to a language barrier I think this style of travel eases some of those concerns. Going through Disney meant we also never had to worry about transferring luggage or transportation to and from the airport. All of that was taken care of through Disney Magic (and the hard work of our guides). We also never had to worry about booking tickets 3 months out or waiting in line for 2 hours to see the Vatican. Had we gone on our own we would have definitely been in lines and the whole thing just wouldn't have been as smooth. 

This trip is heavy on history, food, and art. There is not a lot of physical activity beyond walking. While they kept us moving from morning until night, I never felt as though we were rushed and they did have plenty of time for relaxation or family time outside of the group activities. I also thought they had a good number of group meals and meals on your own. We met some wonderful people who made the trip a memorable one, and Disney does an amazing job of hiring capable guides to show you the area. 

I would be remiss to not include any negatives to the trip, because there were a few, though minor. One was that we had read and were told our guides could give us good restaurant recommendations. Perhaps we didn't ask correctly, but whenever we inquired about finding a restaurant we were just given some basic information, rather than any actual recommendations. When we went to the restaurant in Venice, another couple had asked and gotten the recommendation of the our eventual dinner. It didn't really matter because there is very little bad food in Italy, but it did make dinner on Saturday night in Rome more difficult due to crowds and lack of reservation. Clearly, however, we did not starve! Probably the biggest negative is squeezing 3 people into the hotel. If we were a couple and a kid it wouldn't be such a big deal, but 3 adults in European hotels isn't always the best set-up. I also don't know what the answer is, but paying full-price to add a rollaway bed doesn't sit wonderfully with me. 

The other thing is not really a negative, per se, but that I consider this a trip that shows you the highlights and moves on. I found it to be almost akin to a tasting. It's a wonderful way to introduce you to a new country (or for a family that went to Europe once and found it to be too confusing...Disney streamlines everything nicely), but it does not in any way allow you to really explore or experience it in any depth. Of course, visiting 3 areas of Italy in 9 days can't do that and I don't think you can expect it to. Italy is a country I think many people would find rather easy to navigate on their own. Just something to be aware of. 

I cant choose one favorite from the entire trip because there are so many! The Coliseum? The private tour of the Vatican? Our dinner on the patio in Tuscany? An evening with friends in Venice? The Jolly Roger Cruise? So many experiences stand out. What I do know is that we would not hesitate to go with Adventures by Disney for another trip. In fact, we are in the process of deciding on our next one as I type! We have narrowed it down to the Alaska Adventure or the Alpine Magic Adventure in Italy & Switzerland (I think Alpine Magic is going to win...!) 

And many thanks to everyone who has read along and commented; its been fun to engage and re-experience the whole thing!
​


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## mare1203

MermaidsMom asked me to post a little on what we packed and some other tips for people who have booked or are thinking about booking. I know it can be overwhelming to think about everything you need to take with you. Plus, when you search Dress in Rome or similar on the internet you leave even more confused than when you first seeked it out! 

One of the pieces of advice I heard and read over and over is that Italians dress way better than Americans (of course they do, they dont have to figure out how to fit it all in their suitcase!). Popular sentiments included the idea that women and men dont wear shorts, you should think about looking sophisticated or even overdressed, and not to wear t-shirts unless theyre plain. After spending a week in Italy I can tell you that you shouldnt feel as though you need to conform to any of these rules at all! Youre on a group tour and youre going to be doing a lot of walking, so you might as well come comfortable! Unless someone was wearing a baseball hat and college t-shirt or something similarly obvious I couldnt really tell if they were tourists or not. 

I realized that I dont even own a suitcase that has to be checked, so I ended up borrowing one from a friend. The one I borrowed was 24-26 inches (not the big, big kind) and fit everything I needed nicely. My dad and sister both also brought medium-sized checked bags. In addition Kathy and I both brought a small duffle bag (the kind from LL Bean) and my dad a backpack. 

As for clothes, I actually think I packed pretty well. The only thing I wish I would have done is bring a few more casual t-shirts because I feel most comfortable in them. If I did it again, Id bring more comfortable clothes and try less to seem put together. One thing I did do was try to stick with 2 to 3 colors that could be interchangeable. This was pretty easy and I thought it very helpful. None of us had any trouble closing our suitcases or being overweight or anything like that, but we also did not pack as lightly as possible, as you will see. 

Here is the breakdown for me:
3 pairs pants/capris
1 pair of jeans
4 cotton dresses (I did not wear 1, 3 would have been enough). The cotton dresses were my favorite items because they were comfortable and light and didnt take up much room! 
0 pairs of shorts (I wish I would have brought 1 or 2 in lieu of a pair or 2 pants...it was warm and I like to wear shorts)
4 tank tops
5 blouses/shirts
3 t-shirts 
1 cardigan
3 pairs of running shorts/3 running shirts (I used one set as pajamas)
1 light rain jacket
Health and beauty: I did bring a quart-sized bag with the usual toiletries of shampoo, conditioner, toothpaste, etc. in it. A small bag of make-up (I didnt wear it every day, but I did wear it).

Kathy brought a similar number of garments:
2 pairs of shorts
1 pair of jeans
2 pairs of capris
3 dresses
1 skirt
2 cardigans
4-5 blouses/shirts
2-3 casual t-shirts 
3 tanks
1 sweatshirt for the plane
1 light jacket

My dad brought:
2 pairs of jeans
4 pairs of shorts
4 pairs of khakis
5 polo shirts
3 button-ups
4 t-shirts
running shorts and shirts (probably 3 of each)
1 light jacket
Funny enough, he is the worst over-packer of the 3 of us, haha!

Lets talk shoes:
7 pairs of shoes - I regret nothing! (I wore all but one and most were sandals and didnt take up much space)
Kathy brought 5 pairs of shoes
My dad brought 4 pairs of shoes, but it may have been 5 including his slider sandals

I think a woman could get away with 3 pairs total...I recommend 1 pair of strappy walking sandals, 1 pair of walking shoes like Sperrys or Vans or similar, and 1 extra pair of your choosing. You will not need heels, though my sister did bring a pair of wedges she wore on the farewell cruise. 

Men can probably get away with 2 pairs of shoes minimum, 1 walking shoe and 1 casual dressy pair, those lucky ducks! 

Also, if you are a runner (male or female), I always advocate bringing a pair of running shoes if you wear them, as you never know when you might run...we ran 3 times during our trip and walked once. I generally wear them on the plane b/c they take up quite a bit of space. 

I would definitely recommend at least 2 pairs for everyone. There were 2 boys on our trip who only brought one pair of shoes and they had a dry them with a hair dryer after the rainy day. 

What else? In my bag I also brought a small crossbody purse and 3 wine skins. I think we ended up using one or two of them, but they lay flat and I was glad to have them. My dad brought a laptop and an ereader, and my sister an iPad. I brought my E-reader and a journal to keep some notes. Oh, I also brought a corkscrew. We probably could have gotten one easily, but it was nice to have and we did use it. Otherwise we didnt really bring much. Nor did we need much. There wasnt anything I didnt bring that I said, man, I wish I had that. I also had enough room to bring a few souvenirs back, but nothing big. We are not big shoppers, though, so that might be something to consider if you do think youll shop. There are lots of great options, thats for sure!!!


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## LoveMickey

Thank you.  I copied and printed that to my ABD word file.


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## minnie4ever

This was a fantastic trip report, especially your thoughts (and your packing list)after you got home.  I am going solo on an adult only at the beginning of September this year and have not been to Europe in more than 30 years so I am a little anxious (and a lot older!). This trip report (and others like it) are a great help, especially the down time excursions and the restaurant recommendations.
I am certainly looking forward to this trip, especially Venice!


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## mare1203

minnie4ever said:


> This was a fantastic trip report, especially your thoughts (and your packing list)after you got home.  I am going solo on an adult only at the beginning of September this year and have not been to Europe in more than 30 years so I am a little anxious (and a lot older!). This trip report (and others like it) are a great help, especially the down time excursions and the restaurant recommendations.
> I am certainly looking forward to this trip, especially Venice!



Thanks a lot minnie4ever! I'm glad you found it useful! We had such a great time on the trip and found all our adventurers to be very friendly. You can't help but make friends when you're together for such a long time. The guides do a fantastic job of making sure everyone is integrated and feeling good, plus Italy is just beautiful. Aaah, I'm jealous FOR YOU, haha!


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## minnie4ever

If you don't mind me asking, about how much cash do you recommend one should take per person?
I read somewhere that a lot of the smaller establishments do not take credit cards. Thanks


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## mare1203

ATM's were not difficult to find in the areas we frequented, and we found that most places did take cards. There was only one shop that didn't take our cards, and that was in Florence (though, now Chase and Citi are shipping new cards with chips in them, so I'm not sure we would have had the problem if we'd had a chipped card, which is the norm in Europe). We stopped at an ATM when we got to Rome and took out some Euro there, but didn't get any to start in the states. I'll be honest in saying I didn't pay for much on the trip. I think we had one meal a day on our own, on average. We didn't go anywhere super fancy and lunches were pretty reasonable. Gelato is anywhere from 2-6 euro, lunches 5-25 euro, and dinners 20-60+ euro. The toughest spot would be the Tuscan area where ATM's might not be as plentiful, but in Rome, Florence, and Venice you'll have no problems. I would take out a bit in Rome (maybe $250?) to start and then see how it goes for food since that will be your biggest expense, outside of souvenirs. There is an ATM close to the hotel in Rome if you need to go back.


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## minnie4ever

mare1203 said:


> ATM's were not difficult to find in the areas we frequented, and we found that most places did take cards. There was only one shop that didn't take our cards, and that was in Florence (though, now Chase and Citi are shipping new cards with chips in them, so I'm not sure we would have had the problem if we'd had a chipped card, which is the norm in Europe). We stopped at an ATM when we got to Rome and took out some Euro there, but didn't get any to start in the states. I'll be honest in saying I didn't pay for much on the trip. I think we had one meal a day on our own, on average. We didn't go anywhere super fancy and lunches were pretty reasonable. Gelato is anywhere from 2-6 euro, lunches 5-25 euro, and dinners 20-60+ euro. The toughest spot would be the Tuscan area where ATM's might not be as plentiful, but in Rome, Florence, and Venice you'll have no problems. I would take out a bit in Rome (maybe $250?) to start and then see how it goes for food since that will be your biggest expense, outside of souvenirs. There is an ATM close to the hotel in Rome if you need to go back.


Thanks so much for that information.  I already have some Euros so I will start off with those. I am not planning on any fancy places myself so I will just check with the guides when I get there.


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## OKW Lover

Sorry to resurrect an old thread but I had been following another of your reports (Northern Italy & Switzerland) and decided to check out this one as well.  We just got back from the Norther Italy & Switzerland trip a month ago and your TR was very helpful on that one.  Apparently we did it only a few months after you had. 

When I clicked on this report I was delighted to see that it was also a few months before we had done our Viva Italia trip (same one that @Sarabi's Cubs, Laurie was on) so we seem to be following in your footsteps.  Where are you going next? 



mare1203 said:


> We waited for a bit as the guides discussed what to do next. It was decided that Marco would stay at the top of the hill while Troy would take the rest of us back down the hill to the funicular and bus and then they would connect to decide what the plan of attack would be. One of the other adventurers stayed back with Marco as well (they had met on a previous adventure, kept in touch, and ultimately decided to do the Italy trip together, so they were good friends). Thus, the rest of us began our trek down the hill. As we made it to the main street we were stopped...by the parade!



Had to comment on this picture in Orvieto.  That shop in the background, Giacomini, was a great ceramic shop.  Just about everybody on our tour bought something there.  Some to the extent of Thousands of euros!!!  We treasure our pieces.


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## wdwtheplacetobe

Your entire trip report is Fantastico!!!!  If you ever get to Venice again...our Guides, Dusty and Marco B. sent us to the oldest restaurant in Venice... Poste Vecie.  It is located in the old Post Office, the Building is from 1500.  In fact, we went in May 2013 and I just sent a Honeymoon Couple there this week!  It was THAT good!  Google it!

In Rome, they sent us to Memmo's.  It was a local place, down an Alley, but the Guides go there on their time off!

Giacomini in Orvieto was another Fabulous place Kevin from DreamsUnlimited sent me before we ever went!


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