We took the train from Salzburg, up and over the mountains into Italy, stopping in Vipiteno, which is in South Tyrol. We spent a few hours in Vipiteno before heading on to Verona. Vipiteno was super charming and quaint. The main drag in Vipiteno, with mountains in the background. [click to enlarge] It’s a very tiny town, with a very tiny train station, and one...
Teresa and I visited Verona in 2021, in late November, but they didn’t have the Christmas Markets that year due to COVID, so we wanted to return. The Christmas Market did not disappoint! There’s been some internal debate about which was our favorite market, with both Verona and Salzburg getting votesโI can’t decide between the two, as I liked them...
After a final breakfast at the wonderful Cafฤ Carducci in Verona, we all headed for the train station. The kids’ train to Milan hit a snag, as a portion of the track en route was closed for some reason. So, they put everyone on a bus. Two buses later, the kids arrived in Milan, where they’ll fly out very early the next morning. Rooftop view from our hotel...
We got up at 6am and headed straight to Trevi Fountain (a 6 minute walk from our hotel). Instead of hundreds of people packed like sardines, there were maybe a dozen or so early birds (including an annoying “influencer” and her partner who must have taken over 100 photos and acted as if they owned the placeโI may or may not have wandered into their shot a...
We met our guide from Enjoy Rome at 8:45am for a 3-hour tour (cue Gilligan’s Island theme song) of the Colosseum, Palatine Hill, and the Roman Forum. I had tried to get tickets from the official website, but the guided tours all sold out immediately. They go on sale 30 days in advance, and I was up in the middle of the night (morning, Rome time), but no luck...
We had an early morning guided tour of the Vatican Museums (and Sistine Chapel). We also saw the gardens and automobile collection (Pope Mobile!), but didn’t go inside St. Peter’s or the crypts. I highly recommend a guided tour of the museums. There’s so much to see, and it’s so much better when you know what it is you’re looking at...