After a final breakfast at the wonderful Cafė 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 place—I 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...
Lazy Morning Since our timed tour of the Borghese Gallery wasn’t until 2pm, we had a lazy morning. After a late breakfast, we found a great bookstore connected to a palazzo, with a caffè as well! Libreria Palazzo Esposizioni is a lot bigger than it first appears, with multiple rooms in the back, including a dedicated area for author readings. A notebook with a...