Eat, Pray, Love -- But Just the Eat Part: Italy 2023 Trip Report

[Jess_S]

Hi everyone,

This is my trip report for the July 4, 2023 Viva Italia (Rome, Tuscany, Venice) Trip. On this trip, I travelled with my husband, D, and my son, P, who is now 10. I apologize in advance because I am sure that it is going to take me forever to finish this report. Please feel free to ask questions in the meantime.

In my prior trip report, I made the mistake of saving my overall impressions for the end. This time, I'm starting with overall impressions. The day-by-day portions of the report will include the good, the bad, and the ugly for each day. Here we are:


About the Trip

Why ABD for Italy? Two words. Heat and crowds. Because Italy is hot and crowded in the summer, I knew that pre-booking major sights would be essential. The tourist who decides they are going to just drop-in on the Vatican when the whim strikes finds themselves in a long line – or worse – turned away. Given that reality, I knew that our trip would be fairly structured regardless of whether we went on our own or with a group. So, I decided to let someone else handle all the planning and logistics for our trip.


Prior Experience with ABD – Scotland 2018

This was our second trip with ABD. We visited Scotland with ABD in 2018 when P was almost 6. In my trip report for that trip, my big picture review of ABD was that it was an option that we would consider for future travel but only for the right trip. I liked having someone else be the “mom” for our family, handling the logistics and carrying the items (snacks, water, first aid kit) that I would usually carry. The trip included activities that we would not have tried and locations we would not have visited on our own that became trip highlights. And the guides (two adventure guides who travel with you, along with local guides at each destination) were wonderful with children. However, I was really surprised that – despite billing itself as a family travel company – ABD attracts very few families with young children. Most of the “kids” on our trip were older teens or young adults. P was the youngest traveler on the trip by several years and there were only 2 other children under the age of 13 (a pair of 10-year-olds).

The biggest negative for us was the pace of the trip. We generally like to take our time and enjoy sights at a leisurely pace. ABD often packed multiple big-ticket sights into a single day, which meant that our time at each place was very limited. For that reason, I decided that we would only use ABD again where we felt the benefits of using a tour company outweighed this negative. Using ABD to visit Italy in July passed that test. There wasn’t going to be any lingering in a packed Coliseum or Vatican Museum, so we weren’t given anything up by travelling with ABD – only gaining benefits.

Impressions of ABD Italy Trip

Italy in July is brutally hot – hot enough that it brought more than one person in our group to tears. (Yes, I was one of them). If you can travel in the shoulder season, you absolutely should. But, if you must travel to Italy in the summer, ABD is a great way to do it. At most of the attractions we visited in Rome, Florence, and Venice, we walked past long lines of tourists waiting in the hot sun and were immediately admitted via a separate entrance for pre-booked groups. The exception was the Vatican and that’s because we visited the Vatican museums 2 hours before they opened, so no line had formed when we entered the museums. Between the heat and crowds, I would have been overwhelmed coordinating tickets and finding the correct entrances for sights; I really appreciated having someone else in charge.

• Itinerary: I thought the itinerary for this trip was well-balanced with a good mix of seeing marquee attractions in major cities, relaxing in the countryside, and doing hands-on activities like mask making. Just like with Scotland, several of the trip highlights – pasta making on the farm, the pirate cruise in Venice, etc. – were not things that I would have booked on my own.

• Adventure Guides: Our adventure guides, Gabby and Massi, were a great team. They were wonderful with P, ensuring that he had fun despite his total lack of interest in Italian history or culture. And they made everything run smoothly in a friendly and unobtrusive way. (For example, when I got heat exhaustion in Venice, Gabby could tell something was wrong and checked in with me. But when I told her that I didn’t need help and just wanted to sit the activity out with my head down, she didn’t push or argue).
• Fellow Adventurers: We had 42 people in our group. I did not find the group size to be a problem on this trip. At many of the attractions, we were broken into two or three smaller groups – each with its own local guide. And when we were in a larger group for walking tours, we were in such a sea of people that the size of our tour group was irrelevant. Most families on the trip were parents traveling with their teen or college-age children. There were 3 kids under 13 in our group, P (10) and two brothers (12 and 9ish) and two adult only groups (a couple and an adult daughter with her mom). Everyone in the group was friendly and respectful of their fellow travelers. For example, no one was ever late for our meetups. My son and I are shy with new people – something that has gotten worse since the pandemic. That meant that we were probably the least friendly and outgoing people on the trip. But we still enjoyed chatting with other travelers from time to time and always felt welcome in the group.
• Food: I was a little worried about food because the vegetarian options on our Scotland ABD were very repetitive. The options in Italy were more varied and much tastier. Massi, who is from Tuscany, said that it has become very easy to find vegetarian and even vegan options in Italy. He felt that gluten free is still a challenge (but ABD did accommodate the person in our group with a gluten allergy).

• Accommodations: The Gran Melia in Rome and the Hotel Borgo di Cortefreda in Tuscany were both exceptional. The Gran Melia is located near the Vatican on expansive grounds that used to be the villa of Emperor Nero’s mother. It is close enough to the main tourist attractions in Rome that you can walk, but far enough away that you can get away from the hordes of other tourists. Service here was wonderful. Hotel Borgo di Cortefreda is more rustic but so charming. We had beautiful views of the countryside from our loft-style room. We did not love the Hilton Molino Stucky in Venice. It is on Guideca Island, just across from St. Mark’s Square. Views from the hotel are lovely and the rooms are updated while maintaining the historical character of the old mill from which the hotel was converted. However, the shuttle boat to the hotel has a sporadic schedule that can mean waiting as much as an hour to get to or from the main sights in Venice, something that made on-our-own sightseeing difficult in the heat. And the hotel’s beautiful pool can only be used by those with a reservation, which must be made by waiting in line at 8 am each morning. P also did not love that the hotel staff took squirt guns to the pigeons repeatedly during our stay – but maybe the pigeons appreciated the cool shower?
• Value: ABD is very expensive. However, for this itinerary, I felt that it was an acceptable value. When you add the cost of hotels (particularly the Gran Melia, which was upwards of $1200 per night this summer) and tours ($300-$500 per person for an early morning tour of the Vatican Museums), there were days where it would have cost us more to book everything in the itinerary on our own. That made the overall markup for the trip pretty reasonable, in my opinion. ABD did raise the opening price for this trip by about $1000 per person, so my math might not check out in future years, though.
• Packing Tips: Believe it or not, Italy does not have a standard plug type. They have C, F, and L outlets. We brought our Ceptics universal adaptor with the type C and F outlet plug pieces. We needed both types. The hotels in Rome and Venice used one plug type and the hotel in Tuscany used the other. (An L outlet can take a C or F plug, so we didn't bring the third type of adapter). There were 3 days where we needed to have our shoulders and knees covered to visit churches. I packed lightweight linen pants and t-shirts for that purpose. Other women in our group wore long dresses and brought a shawl to cover their shoulders.

 

[*WDW*Groupie*]

Sounds like a great trip! I remember how scorching hot Italy is in the summer and vowed not to go back in June, July or August (I'm going in late October this year).

Forty-two sounds like a huge group; probably too big for me.

Can't wait to read more of your trip report -- thank you for sharing!

 

[Jess_S]

It was one of our favorite vacations. We agreed not to go back to Italy in the summer though, so it will be at least 8 years before we return. (At that point, P will be in college, so we won't need to follow the school calendar). I was really thankful that we finished our trip before the Cerberus heat wave. 90s was rough, but it beats 100 plus.

I was really worried about group size when I saw our trip was full. ABD's max is really a bit too large. But I found that it didn't really impact us on this trip. We were lucky with the guides or group or both, it seems.

 

[hilarys]

It was one of our favorite vacations. We agreed not to go back to Italy in the summer though, so it will be at least 8 years before we return. (At that point, P will be in college, so we won't need to follow the school calendar). I was really thankful that we finished our trip before the Cerberus heat wave. 90s was rough, but it beats 100 plus.

I was really worried about group size when I saw our trip was full. ABD's max is really a bit too large. But I found that it didn't really impact us on this trip. We were lucky with the guides or group or both, it seems.

I agree - we went on the June 9 departure and had a few hot days in Rome at about 90 - I cannot imagine high 90 or 100 plus. I had one day in Rome that I felt a touch of heat stroke. We really enjoyed the pool in the afternoons in Rome.

We had the same size group and it was not an issue for us - I think it was to the credit of the guides we had and the fact that we had a very low-key group (the most low-key of our 5 trips).

Myself and another Mom commented that we were so glad we were not having to deal with making and managing all the timed entries to the sites, train etc. The crowds were intense which did not surprise me since it seemed like a third of my social meeting is in Italy, Greece or Croatia this summer.

 

[Mathmagicland]

In my prior trip report, I made the mistake of saving my overall impressions for the end. This time, I'm starting with overall impressions.

Thanks for doing this report! I’m curious - why did you feel it was a mistake to save overall impressions for the end of your last report?

Adventure Guides: Our adventure guides, Gabby and Massi, were a great team.

Gabby is wonderful! I had her on a trip last year, happy she seems to be the same for your group in Italy.

 

[Jess_S]

Thanks for doing this report! I’m curious - why did you feel it was a mistake to save overall impressions for the end of your last report?



Gabby is wonderful! I had her on a trip last year, happy she seems to be the same for your group in Italy.

When I saved the recap for the end, it forced everyone to speculate on whether we enjoyed the trip. I didn't want to do that again, especially because of my issues with heat-related illness. I am hoping that the overall impression gives context to the ups and downs in the day to day report.

 

[Jess_S]

Italy Trip Report: Travel Day and Pre-Day 1

Our Adventures by Disney tour started on July 4. We chose to fly to Rome on July 1. That gave us two days in Rome before the tour started. If everything went well with our flight, then we would have those two days to recover from jetlag. And if something went wrong, odds were we would still arrive in Rome before the tour started.

We chose to fly Delta for two reasons. First, Delta’s customer service is wonderful. Second, and more importantly, we had some credits on Delta that were set to expire. Happily, Delta had a direct flight from Boston to Rome. Unhappily, it cost $1400 per ticket – for economy – expensive enough that we considered postponing our trip. Our decision to shell out for our tickets was vindicated when Disney raised the price of the Italy tour by $1000 per person for 2024, ensuring that we came out ahead on the price for the trip – even with the ridiculous airfare.

Our flight left Boston Logan at 4:30 pm. Because it was a holiday weekend and I did not know if there would be traffic, I arranged for an Uber to pick us up at 12:15. This was my second time using Uber Reserve, which allows you to request a ride up to 30 days in advance. A driver who accepts the ride is paid a premium, which both makes it more likely that someone will accept the ride and also compensates the driver for their wait time. I was nervous that we might not find any takers for our pickup because we live in the burbs (the near burbs, but the burbs nonetheless). When a driver accepted our ride around 8 am on the 1st, my worries dissipated.

There was no airport traffic, which meant that we arrived at the airport before 1 pm. Despite the empty roads, our driver spent the entire trip complaining that we had chosen to book a flight that left in the afternoon when traffic was “guaranteed to be terrible.” To stress his point, he spent every redlight gradually lurching through the intersection – I assume to make up for the imaginary traffic to which we had subjected him. I spent my time en route trying to figure out if the driver would know if I gave him a less than 5-star review. But I ultimately chickened out and gave him both 5 stars and a generous tip. He repaid me by giving me my first less than 5-star review on Uber. Despite all of this, Uber will be our new go-to for getting to the airport because the reserve feature has worked well for us on our last two trips.

When we arrived at Logan, our terminal was empty. We made it through security in 5 minutes and headed to one of the restaurants for some overpriced veggie burgers. (On our last vacation, our airport meal was the most expensive of the trip. On this trip, it came in at number two – but only because we treated ourselves to a fancy meal in Rome to celebrate our anniversary). We ate as slowly as possible, but we still wound up with more than 2 hours to kill in the airport. P and I powerwalked two laps around the entire terminal and looked at all of the stuffed lobsters in all of the gift shops. While we browsed, we noticed the terminal was beginning to fill up. If we had left a bit later, we would have stood in quite a long security line, it seemed. This somewhat vindicated my overly cautious airport arrival time.

Shortly before boarding, the gate crew checked everyone’s passports. Then we boarded our flight and found our seats. “This is not a very nice plane,” P remarked. He was not wrong. If Delta was trying to design an economy class that was uncomfortable for everyone, they succeeded. No leg room for tall people. Narrow seats to confine larger people. Headrests that hit short people right in the back of the head. And no seat padding so that everyone gets a good jab in the back throughout the flight. On the plus side, Delta’s customer service was as friendly as ever, our meals were tasty, the wine was free, and the entertainment system was loaded with enough content to get us to Rome and back several times over. D and I toasted to our trip and then I relaxed by watching Silence of the Lambs while my ten-year-old sat next to me. I am pretty sure he kept his eyes on his own screen. Maybe.

The timing of the flight, coupled with the uncomfortable seats, made sleeping difficult. None of us got more than a 30-minute nap in. We arrived in Rome on July 2 exhausted and, if I am being honest, more than a little bit stinky. We dragged ourselves to immigration, which took about an hour to clear. In defense of the Italian immigration folks, our plane arrived about an hour early, at a time when only one person was on duty. Additional windows began to open about 30 minutes into our wait. So, I assume that if we had arrived on time, we would not have waited so long for our arrival stamp.

Once we cleared immigration, we proceeded past customs and baggage claim to the arrivals area of the airport. An ABD representative was waiting for us. Even though I did not introduce myself, she knew exactly who we were and introduced us to our driver. Within minutes, we were on the road.

(Above: Gran Melia)

From the airport, it is about a 40-minute drive to the Gran Melia. We passed through the suburbs of Rome, which reminded P and I of the outskirts of cities we have visited in Central and South America. Before we knew it, our driver was leaving us at the Gran Melia. The staff there took our bags and checked us in. As expected, our room was not ready. Seeing how exhausted we were, the staff suggested that we visit the hotel restaurant for a complimentary welcome coffee. Unfortunately, the coffee did not have the desired effect of perking us up; I nodded off several times while drinking it. So, we returned to the front desk to ask where we could freshen up.

Although the Gran Melia has a gym and pool, it does not have locker rooms. That meant that we could not shower. Because I was exhausted and fixated on the idea of a shower, it took me several walks back and forth between the front desk and the bathrooms to realize that the accessible restroom would work as a locker room in a pinch. We were all able to freshen up and change into our swimming gear. We then headed to the pool for a nap on the pool chairs. (The pool does not open until 9:30). When the pool opened, we also had a quick swim. At around 11, the front desk called to let me know that our room was ready. I was amazed that they had a room ready for us so early given how crowded the hotel was. I told the front desk staff this in rambling and incoherent English. I think they understood that I was happy.

We headed to our room where we were finally able to shower (yay!) and eat a room service lunch. After lunch, we took another nap. I suspect that this will be controversial because it is almost universally insisted that the best way to recover from jetlag is to force yourself to stay up the day of your arrival. I have tried that multiple times and it has always been miserable. In contrast, when I travelled to Europe in college without the benefit of the stay awake advice, I took a long nap on arrival and adjusted to the new time zone immediately. So, on this trip, we decided to try naps. I did set an alarm to ensure that we didn’t sleep the day away.

When the alarm went off at 2:30, we dragged ourselves out of bed and out the door for a walk. Castel Sant’Angelo, which was built as the mausoleum of Emperor Hadrian, is only about 10 minutes from the Gran Melia. We picked it as our destination. According to my pre-trip research, there is never a long line at the Castel. And sure enough, when we arrived, the line was not long. It was very, very long. I decided to try and buy tickets online in the hopes of skipping the line. No tickets were available. Further research revealed that was because no tickets are necessary on the first Sunday of each month. We gave up on skipping the line and queued up. Because no one had to pay for tickets, the line moved quickly.




We were soon inside the building, which is an interesting mix of old and new. The building has had many uses over the years, from mausoleum, to Pope’s palace, to defensive structure. These are all explained on signs. In its current incarnation as tourist attraction, the building also hosts some modern art displays, a shirtless man in pantaloons prancing around a fountain, and a café with wonderful views of the city. After wandering around for a bit, we had some lemon sodas at the café while we looked out over the rooftops of Rome.


After our snack break, it was time for dinner. I used the Taxi Now app to call a cab to take us to Pizzarium Bonci, a restaurant known for Roman style pizza. Roman style pizza is rectangular in shape with a thick, crispy crust. It is sold by weight. Bonci is so popular that you need to take a number upon arrival and wait for your turn to order at the counter. When our number was called, we went in and ordered the first pizzas that looked vegetarian. In hindsight, we should have taken a deep breath and looked at all of the options before ordering. But, fortunately, our eggplant and tomato/cheese selections were tasty. We enjoyed them standing outside the restaurant, where there were a few counters for leaning.

After dinner, which was devoured quickly, I summoned another taxi for our return to the Gran Melia. By this point, it was nearly 8 pm, so we felt okay about putting on our jammies and reading. I passed out with my book around 9 pm and slept through until 5 am. Instead of getting up, I stayed in bed and reminded myself that resting with my eyes closed was almost as good as sleeping. Before too long, I fell back to sleep and did not wake up until P poked me at 8 am. (Thanks YouTube video on insomnia). Overall, it had been a successful first day of sightseeing, eating, and vanquishing jetlag.

 

[Eastridge]

Thanks for doing this detailed trip report!

This might be the same Massi who was a guide on our trip. When we went on this ABD trip, Castel Sant'Angelo was included in the itinerary. The trip has changed a bit since then.

 

[Jess_S]

When did you go? Massi said that he has been with ABD since 2016.

 

[Donalyn]

Castel wasn't on our trip in 2019. The itinerary has changed even since 2019 (more was included in 2019 than now, and more before 2019, as we noted at the time).

We had Massi in 2019 on this trip and thought he was great. (Favorite story - we were on the bus in Tuscany and some kids had shared the "What the Fox Says" song with him and he could not stop laughing.)

 

[Eastridge]

When did you go? Massi said that he has been with ABD since 2016.

It should be the same guide, then. We did the Italy ABD in 2016. Our trip was Massi's "final test" before becoming a full Adventure Guide. He's the person in the middle of this image:

 

[Jess_S]

If you squint at the screen and imagine a beard and a hat, then it looks like the same guy. We really liked both Gabby and Massi, individually and as a team. They met the high expectations set by the guides in our first ABD.

 

[Jess_S]

Duplicate post removed

 

[Jess_S]

Italy Trip Report: Pre-day 2

When I was planning our trip, I posted in a Facebook travel group seeking recommendations for “uncrowded, low-key things to do in Rome” before our Adventures by Disney tour started. Most of the responses that I got were variations on “book an all-day tour to Pompei/the Amalfi Coast/the Cinque Terre, etc.” We took none of those suggestions. So, with apologies to that Facebook group and others who enjoy fast travel, I present our second pre-day in Rome.

I woke up with a start at 8 am to the sight of my son looming over me. He was ready for breakfast. We poked D awake and got dressed. Then, we headed down to the Gran Melia’s breakfast, which was included in our room rate. The Gran Melia’s breakfast is served buffet style. The buffet has a small selection of American/British style hot items – runny eggs, baked beans, sausage, mushrooms – that does not change from day to day. There is a larger selection of cold items, including an entire conference table full of baked goods that do change. The food was fine. I would not pay the 30 euros per person the hotel charges for it, but I wouldn’t skip breakfast if it were included in my rate.

After breakfast, we headed back to the room. Our plan for the morning was to rest, and P wanted to start by resting indoors. While he and D read, I visited the hotel gym. Though small, the gym has a good selection of free weights and new cardio equipment with pre-programmed workouts. I did a surprisingly challenging 30-minute program on the elliptical followed by some strength exercises. Then I grabbed a chilled towel and headed back to the room quite pleased with myself.

We spent the rest of the morning reading. As lunchtime approached, we decided it was time to venture out. I used Google Maps to locate a nearby sandwich shop. With that as our ultimate destination, we set out on a leisurely walk. This time, we were headed to the main tourist area of Rome.

(above: Basilica San Giovanni Battista)

We walked downhill from our hotel, crossed the river, and took our first look at the historic center of the city. The Basilica San Giovanni Battista caught D’s eye and he decided to go in. As churches go, this one isn’t particularly special. But they do claim to have Mary Magdalene’s foot on display. We took a few pictures and continued our walk. Because we kept our distance from major attractions, crowds were thinner than they otherwise might have been. That is to say, there were plenty of people, but not so many that we could not move freely.


When we got hungry, we doubled back to our destination: La Salumeria. La Salumeria is a sandwich shop that specializes in pork. It may seem like an odd choice for a vegetarian lunch, but keep in mind that almost every restaurant in Rome specializes in pork. Being a pig in the Eternal City is dangerous. (The name La Salumeria means deli in Italian, so you might reasonably wonder if I have the name of the restaurant correct. I assure you that La Salumeria – capital L, capital S – is correct).

I chose La Salumeria for two reasons: it was close to our hotel and it had a selection of vegetarian sandwiches beyond the Caprese available almost everywhere. After reviewing the list of a dozen vegetarian sandwiches, D selected . . . the Caprese. I went with a cheese, pear, and greens sandwich. P had a cheeseboard. As it was now after 12 pm, D also ordered a carafe of the house white wine. (This began a trend that was almost certainly ill-advised given the heat). I am sure that randomly selecting a restaurant using Google Maps has its risks, but we were very pleased with this gamble. Our meal was tasty and inexpensive.

After lunch, we decided it was time for the first gelato of the trip. I once again called upon Google Maps, which informed me that Gelateria Frigidarium wasn’t too far away. We found the shop and each ordered a small cone. A small at most gelaterias in Italy includes two flavors. Frigidarium also adds your choice of chocolate sauce or whipped cream. I had a very boozy Zabaglione and some pistachio topped with cream. As we were standing in the road eating, a British family stopped to chat with us. They had noticed P’s soccer jersey, which had the name of the local club team that P plays on. It turned out that the British family knew the man who had founded the kid’s soccer league in our town. We chatted long enough to establish that we did not have a friend in common, wished the family well, and finished up our treat.

By that time, P was ready for the pool. We made the sweaty 10-minute walk back to the hotel to find our room had not been made up. We surmised that it was because we had not put out the “please makeup room” sign and called down to the front desk to report our mistake. It was a mistake that we did not learn from on this trip, no matter how often we repeated it. Perhaps someone reading this will learn from it instead. In Italy, put out the “please makeup room” sign if you wish to have housekeeping service.

Down at the pool, there were a number of open chairs in the shade – just what we were looking for. We were promptly informed that those chairs were reserved and directed to sit in the blazing sun. (The pool situation at the Gran Melia is strange. Each day, there were a block of chairs reserved. No matter how long we stayed at the pool, we never saw anyone sit in the reserved chairs. Nonetheless, the pool attendants would sooner turn guests away than allow them to sit in those special reserved chairs).

The early afternoon was spent swimming and working on our sunburns. At around 3, we headed back to the now spotless room to get cleaned up for our evening plans. When we were ready, I again used the Taxi Now app to call for a ride. This evening, however, we did not have luck with the app. After several minutes of effort, the app informed us that no drivers were available. Fortunately, we had allowed for this possibility. We had time to make our way to Trastevere on foot.

Although it was nearly 90 degrees, the walk was bearable because it was mostly shaded. We arrived in Piazza Trilussa with a solid 10 minutes to spare before the start of our evening with The Roman Food Tour. D and P took advantage of the extra time to souvenir shop while I waited at the designated meeting place. Within minutes, our guide, Alina, found me and we chatted until D and P returned and the rest of the tour group assembled. In a continuation of the “small world” theme from earlier in the day, most of the other families on the tour were from New England. One family even ran a dental practice less than 2 miles from our house. The group was a lot of fun and my usual social awkwardness quickly evaporated as the tour began.

(Above: Alina leading our tour)

The Roman Food Tour runs a variety of walking food tours in different neighborhoods in Rome. We chose Trastevere at Twilight, a 4-hour tour that progresses from appetizers to desserts over the course of the evening. Alina, who was born in Romania, but is a long-time resident of Rome, was a friendly and knowledgeable guide. She did a wonderful job of making sure that everyone was well-taken care of, including ensuring vegetarian options for us (and several others) and non-alcoholic beverages for P.

(Above: church facade in Trastevere)

The restaurant choices for the evening differed somewhat from the ones listed on the tour company website and I did not keep good notes. (Given the amount of wine we were served on this tour, taking any kind of notes at all would have been a challenge). However, I do know that we started at a wine bar, Essenza, where we sampled some cheeses and bruschetta. Vegetarians received pumpkin and ricotta spreads in place of the hams usually offered. We then moved on to our second happy hour where we enjoyed fried zucchini blossom; fried sage, a surprise hit that tasted like a savory donut; and eggplant. Then we visited Peppo al Cosimato for our main course, our choice of pasta and a selection of pizzas. The pasta and pizza here were some of the best of the trip. Finally, we wrapped up with our second gelato of the day.


This was a fantastic tour. The food was delicious, and the neighborhood was fun to walk around. We ended the evening happy and overfull. Then we made the 20-minute walk back to the Gran Melia for some much-needed sleep before the start of our Adventures by Disney tour the next day.

 

[sayhello]

I love starting a trip with a good food tour!

Sayhello

 

[CaliforniaGirl09]

Love food tours and wine, LOL! sounds like the trip is off to a great start

 

[Jess_S]

We decided to do the food tour based upon all of the recommendations here (although we went with a different company than most had recommended). It was definitely a great recommendation. It was one of our favorite things that we did. And it got us out enjoying the city without exhausting us before the ABD.

The wine plus the 90 plus degree heat every day was probably not recommended, but I had a hard time skipping any of the wine. It just seemed like the appropriate thing to drink with so many meals. (And the ABD had a ton of included wine.)

 

[Minniedoc]

It should be the same guide, then. We did the Italy ABD in 2016. Our trip was Massi's "final test" before becoming a full Adventure Guide. He's the person in the middle of this image:

View attachment 780106

I did ABD Italy in 2018 with Massi and Chris Brown. There were 42 of us as well, but it was just a great trip. Had the pleasure of traveling with Chris again this past June to Greece - another incredible ABD Itinerary.

 

[Jess_S]

Sorry for the long delay between report segments. P is still home for summer vacation and I feel bad spending extra time on the computer working on my report when I could be hanging out with him (to the extent that he still lets me).

Here is the first installment that talks about the ABD portion of the trip.

Trip Report: ABD Day 1

After two days of exploring Rome on our own, it was time for the start of our tour. Our morning began with another 8 am wakeup and buffet breakfast at the hotel. Then, we stopped at the hotel bar to meet our Adventure guides, Massi and Gabby. We knew where and when to find them because a welcome letter was delivered to our room the night before our tour started.

We introduced ourselves and Massi and Gabby offered some suggestions for how to spend the morning. (Our first activity was a 3 pm visit to the Colosseum. Theoretically, this timing allows guests to arrive the day that the tour starts, something I definitely do not recommend). I made a mental note of some of the possibilities but knew that sightseeing would need to wait until after we had accomplished our primary objective for the day: P wanted to buy himself a football (soccer) jersey. Massi, who is a football fan, was very excited to hear this. His top suggestion was to wait until we got to Florence where P could purchase “the most beautiful purple jersey.” I bet you can guess which team Massi roots for. P did not need a hard sell; he quickly decided to buy jerseys in both Rome and Florence. Massi marked the official fan shops for both of Rome’s football teams on a map for us and we headed out for some shopping.

In front of the hotel, I opened my trusty Taxi Now app and requested a ride. After a short wait, the app informed me that there were no drivers available – again. A long walk in the heat sounded like torture to us. I opened Uber instead. In Italy, Uber has an option to call a taxi. We used it and -- after a short wait – we had an assigned driver! We were soon on our way across the river and into the most touristy part of Rome. On our way to the fan shop, we passed ruins, churches, obelisks … and more ruins, more churches, more obelisks. I tried to figure out what we were looking at so that we could return to see some of it on foot, but the city was so densely packed with historic things that I was never quite sure if I had correctly identified them. Before too long, our driver dropped us around the corner from the fan shop, pointed us in the right direction, and bid us “Ciao.”

Rome has two football teams: Lazio and Roma. In consultation with Massi, P had decided that he preferred a Lazio jersey. But the Lazio shop only had adorable baby jerseys and XL men’s jerseys. P is nearly as tall as I am, but he is a long way from a men’s XL. We convinced P that spending a large sum on a shirt that he might never grow into was a bad idea. Fortunately for him, the Roma shop was a ten-minute walk away. We stretched the walk out a bit by stopping frequently to admire old buildings and monuments. I had some success identifying sights by Googling their key features. That our destination on this journey was a fan shop kept P from complaining about walking in the heat. He did, however, question whether it was necessary to cross the street so frequently. (Only if you want good photos of all the columns with little Roman military dudes on them).

P had better luck shopping in the Roma fan shop. It was enormous with every size and style of jersey imaginable. P found a jersey that he liked and, even after we explained the unfavorable exchange rate, he was willing to spend his savings on it. Then, we continued our walk. Without the carrot of a souvenir, P soon announced that he was tired, hot, AND hungry.

We had been headed in the direction of the Victor Emmanuel II Monument, a sight that Massi and Gabby recommended for its views of the city. I quickly confirmed that the monument had a café and restrooms and then proposed it as a lunch destination. To my delight, P and D signed off on this plan.



The Victor Emmanuel II Monument – also known as the Alter of the Fatherland, the Vittoriano, and the Wedding Cake building – is an enormous white neoclassical building in the middle of the historic part of Rome. If Rick Steves is to be believed, many people find it unsightly. I am not those many people. Standing at the base of the building with an endless white staircase in front of me and multiple winged victories above me filled me with awe. I assume that’s what the architect intended. Or maybe he just wanted to sell slushies to hot tourists. Either way, his vision was fulfilled. Because after climbing all those stairs in the hot sun, we were ready for some slushies.

We enjoyed our slushies and a mediocre pizza in the monument’s terrace café. The views are ridiculous. Everywhere you look is some important monument: the Colosseum, the Arch of Constantine, the forum. So many interesting things are crammed together that it is surreal. I had to remind myself several times that I was looking out over the actual city of Rome and not some theme park recreation of it.




After lunch we called an Uber and headed back to the hotel to rest. P vetoed the pool in favor of reading in our air-conditioned hotel room. So, when we arrived back at the Gran Melia, we made a beeline for the room. Unfortunately, upon arrival, we discovered the “Do Not Disturb” sign on the door of our room.

“Why did you put out a ‘Do Not Disturb’ sign?” I asked D.

“That’s the ‘Please Make Up Room’ sign,” D said hopefully.

“It says ‘Do Not Disturb.’ In English,” I responded, pointing at the words for emphasis. “The other side is Please Make Up Room.”

“What kind of hotel puts ‘Please Make Up’ room and ‘Do Not Disturb’ on one sign!?”

“All of them.”

And that is how we wound up taking an afternoon swim, after all. Before we left, D called the front desk to apologize for his sign mistake. When we returned to the room to change back into our regular clothing, the room was spotless.

My biggest concern about taking a group tour was that we might be forced to spend a lot of time waiting for stragglers. Not wanting to bring my own fear to life, we arrived at the lobby bar 10 minutes before our meeting time for the Colosseum tour. I needn’t have worried. For this tour, at least, everyone was chronically early. When our official meeting time arrived, we were on our way to the bus with whisper headsets in our ears. (ABD uses small headsets to allow you to better hear the guide in crowded locations. On this trip, we each received a set on the first day with instructions to return it at the end of the trip or face a hefty fine).

In addition to our two Adventure Guides, we had one or more local guides in each city who provided the narration about what we were seeing. One of our local guides joined us on the bus and told us a bit about the city as we travelled to the Colosseum. Once at the Colosseum, we parked in an area designated for tour buses and walked a short distance to the arena. It was packed with tourists, but we were able to use an entrance that required only a minimal wait in a security line.

Once inside, there was a quick bathroom break. Pro tip: If you leave your earbud in while using the restroom, you can learn about the bathroom habits of the ancient Romans while using the bathroom. When I came out of the ladies’ room, P was still giggling about poo sticks.

(You will notice that my trip report has a lot more family photos going forward. For those new to ABD, that is because the guides take photos for you. There is a link to download them in the trip handbook).

Once everyone was reassembled, we walked out into the arena itself. The feeling that you have while standing in the Colosseum and looking up at the stands is indescribable. I think that even someone who knows nothing about the structure would understand that it is a place that has seen epic things. You need only squint to imagine the stands full of toga-clad spectators. As you have probably guessed, being on the stage was the highlight of the Colosseum for me. But going into the stands to see the stage from the audience’s perspective rounded out the experience.

After our tour, we returned to the Gran Melia for the welcome dinner. The dinner was held in the same restaurant where we had our breakfasts. It featured an open bar with beer, wine, and soda; some munchies placed on each table; and a buffet of salads, pastas, and meats. At the end of the meal, there was a long delay and then the dinner buffet was switched out for a selection of desserts. We were glad that we asked Gabby before turning in for the night; P would have been heartbroken if we had caused him to miss tiramisu. My only complaint about the evening was that the table set up discouraged mingling. Both appetizers and the main meal were in the same room at assigned tables. I would have appreciated a stand-up aperitivo time so that I could have met more guests early in the trip and – maybe – learned more names.

After the welcome dinner, we headed straight for bed. We were in for a 5 am wakeup the next morning and didn’t want to lose a wink of sleep.

 

[cheryllarsen]

Thanks for posting. I enjoyed the read!