The company we rented through also is able to arrange a cook to come in and prepare meals. We had amazing, authentic Italian food each night, prepared for us in our kitchen, for only 200 euros for the week (which included the cook�s time shopping for the food, cooking, and a generous tip). They will also take care of necessary baby items, like a crib, highchair, etc. if needed.
We used Tuscanynow.com for our villa in Italy. You can order a brochure from them online, and they have beautiful places. I�ve found other companies online by searching for villa rentals and the country we are interested in. Others that I�ve looked at have been villarentals.com, which has places in various countries, and corsica.co.uk, which rents in (obviously) Corsica, and which we're using in September. They have a brochure available, too. Both Tuscany Now and Corsica.co.uk are UK based, so they speak English.
The size of the homes varies widely, anywhere from 2 to 30 people. It also varies from place to place as to what age they begin counting children. We had a great time going with other families, and since we were in such a big place, we didn�t get in each other�s ways. We did our own thing in the day, and met for dinner each evening. We loved this option for vacation, and found it the most relaxing time we�ve ever had.
We dove to Genoa (Genova) the first day in about 4 hours. There, we stayed at the Novotel Genova Ovest (www.novotel.com). The next day we went to the Acquario de Genova (www.acquario.ge.it - to purchase tickets online). Not quite the Shedd in Chicago, but a nice stop. The highlight was the 3D movie!
Then, on to Rome (about 5 hours from Genova). In Rome, we rented an apartment (www.romanreference.com - ours was Colosseum - Via Del Boschetto). Parking wasn't easy, but we finally found a garage for 14 euors/night.
On Monday we visited the Vatican City Museums, which included a long line (in the rain!). Once inside, we did purchase the audio guides for the kids, which made the visit more enjoyable for them (they got to punch the numbers in) and we could figure out what we were looking at! The museums in the Vatican are extensive and you must go thru them to view the Sistine Chapel. There is also a Vatican post office and places to buy postcards on site, so you can send items with the Vatican City postmark! Next we walked thru St. Peter's Basilica - amazing! We didn't go up, due to the long line, but there is an elevator to the roof and stairs (300 of them!) to the dome. (Rozenboom note - on our visit to St. Peter's, we went first thing one morning and the lines weren't bad yet. We went to the top and would highly recommend it!)
On Tuesday we toured the Colosseum and Forum. We hooked up with a tour outside of the Colosseum (don't bother looking, they will find you!) and this was a great way to help you understand what you are seeing. Bonus - the dressed-up gladiators posed for anyone in the tour group (otherwise this will cost you about 5 euros). We walked thru the Forum and Piazza Nouvona, which had a market, magicians and human statues.
On Wednesday we went to the Papal Audience (Saul's mom was able to get tickets from the guards outside St. Peter's on Monday). The weather was bad, so even tho we arrived only 15 minutes before the start time, we got good seats. It was really a pep rally type feel the day we were there, with groups from all over the world starting chants and things when their name was announced by a Cardinal. After the Papal visit, we went to Explora, Rome's Children's Discovery Museum (www.mdbr.it). From Explora we walked down thru the Plaza with the Eygptian oblesik in it and on to the Spanish Steps. Carsten pointed out that they seemed pretty much like regular steps to him! That night we headed to Trevi Fountain and yes, we all threw coins over our backs, which means we will be returning to Rome sometime!
Thursday we wandered to the "Elevator of Time" movie threater. It was a bit pricey, but interesting. The seats in the theater move, to make it feel like you are really moving and they even puffed air at your feet and sprinkled you with a few drops of water to add to the reality. You could watch the movie in English and it was an interesting history of Rome. The official age is 5 and up, but they let Mara (4) in. Afterwards, we grabbed a bus and headed to San Calisto Catacombs (where ancient Christians were buried). Then we took a bus to Circus Maximum (next to the Forum, where the Chariot Races used to be run) - the kids had a good run there!
We left Rome on Friday and drove to Pisa (3 hours). We walked around the tower and took pictures, but since the kids weren't allowed to go up (minimum age 8 - but you can fudge alittle here!), we decided to come back another day and go up in the Leaning Tower together. You can buy tickets for the tower online (www.opapisa.it). Then we drove home to Grenoble (6 hours).
A few notes about Rome:
Many places prefer cash (especially the apartments). With the carte bleu limits per day, you might have to plan ahead!
Gelati (Italian ice cream) can cost you double if you sit down inside the shop, versus eating it on the go! Most of the sites wanted to charge admission for the kids, since we weren't European...just show them your French driver's license and don't say anything about being American!
Outside of the Colosseum there are some really neat books to buy that show Rome now, and then with a parchment-type of paper, what Rome looked liked during it's glory days! Very interesting!
- Contributed by Sue Boast
