Viva Italia 07/19/09

[abdalums]

Anyone joining us on Viva Italia 07/19/09? Since my last post in April, I am curious if anyone new has joined the board and heading to Italy. Our family--me, dh, dd12, ds10, dfil and dmil--leaves for five days in Paris on the 13th before flying to Rome on the 19th. With two ABD trips (Ireland 2007 and Wyoming 2008) under our belt, we have nothing but great things to say about ABD. We are looking forward to another "magical" experience. (Yep, I've got my Disney lingo on.) Would love to hear from any alums about what you did during the arrival day (we arrive quite early and won't be dealing with jet-lag) and any free time on other days. Any tips or warnings? Anything you packed and thought: "What was I thinking?" OR wish you packed? The countdown is on for us... we're so excited.

 

[northernlights]

My family will also be on that tour. 10 day count down until we leave!! Myself, dw, dd16 and ds12. flying direct to rome a day early on the 18 to help with jet lag. plan to visit borghese gallery and one or two cathedrals on the preday and before reception. want to stay out of the heat and congestion until we climatize.

 

[mikeb1982]

Myself and my DW are going. We are leaving the 16th and arriving the 17th, but are heading to Naples first and going to do Pompeii since we are so close. We both just re-read Angels and Demons and saw the movie (We thought it was greatly different from the book and kinda a let down...but thats another topic), so we are planning on touring some of those sites that we don't stop at as a group. I know that Castel Sant Angelo is one of those stops.

 

[glassslipper2004]

I think some of the folks on our trip last year did some day trips on that first day - maybe even to Pisa. Sounds like you are going to have a great time!

 

[mwebsite]

For your pre day, you could walk up to the Borghese Gardens and rent bikes. The gardens are beautiful and they have all different kinds of bicycles to rent, the kids would enjoy it. There is also a small bioparco (zoo) there but we never got to it. If you arrive on a Sunday, I think the Pope makes an appearance in Vatican City. The metro (subway) station is just outside the Bernini Bristol and it is 10 minutes to the Ottoviano station near the Vatican. (We arrived on a Wednesday and took the metro to see his blessing.) We actually took a regional train to Nettuno Beach on the first day, but that was a pretty adventurous outing. The one thing I regret we didn't do was have dinner at the rooftop restaurant at the Bernini Bristol. It looked pricey, but what an incredible view for dinner!

 

[wdwsos]

One of my clients is traveling on that date with his wife and 12-year-old daughter, so your daughter has someone her age!

What I wished I had packed for Viva was facecloths since most hotels in Europe don't have them. Another was Bonine (generic Dramamine) for the long, winding roads and the somewhat bumpy boat ride from Venice to the airport.

For Bella Italia last month, I really missed my favorite hair product. I found a tube in a salon in Florence for 25 Euro so decided I'd rather have a week of bad hair days.

What I packed and appreciated on all four trips was moleskin - lots of walking!

This time I brought thank you cards for the guides and enough cash so that I wasn't scrambling on the final night. I'm a slow learner.

Bring a *converter* not just an adaptor if you don't want to set your hair on fire with your curling iron. I wished I brought a few since there were six of us and lots of things to plug in.

I can't think of anything I brought that I didn't need. At my age, you forget things instead of bringing extra.

Dotti

 

[glassslipper2004]

The whole atmosphere of the trip is just lovely - I wished I had brought a few more nice tops to wear to dinner, especially on the days in Rome which were very hot (and so I felt a bit dusty at the end of the day).

Next time we travel I might bring some Pepto or related medicine - DD10 felt sick, luckily DH managed to find some stomach meds at a little store in Rome, but it wasn't a sure thing.

Wish I could go back! Eat lots of gelato - don't say "oh, none for me this time" - the trip goes by way too fast.