MM trip report

hoffse

We just got back from our trip to Rome & Venice.  H and I went with my parents in an attempt to break the ice for them so that they feel more comfortable traveling on their own in foreign countries.  My Dad has wanted to do this for years, but my mom is a nervous flyer, and that has prevented them from ever going to Europe together. Dad and I conspired to make this trip happen to show her what she's been missing.  We didn't want her fear of flying to prevent her from doing something she would otherwise enjoy doing.  I'm happy to report that it was a success, and my parents are now investigating some river cruises for next summer! My mom even said the flight wasn't as bad as she expected because the in-flight entertainment distracted her for most of the trip

We chose Rome because my parents are Catholic, and it's a holy year.  My dad and I figured that if we only got my mom on a transatlantic flight once, then they should see Rome.  They aren't super religious or anything, but they do attend every week, and I think it meant a lot to them to finally see St. Peter's.  They both love architecture too, so the Roman ruins really wowed them as well.  

We chose Venice because it was new for all four of us, and there is a direct flight between Venice and Atlanta in the summer (didn't want to make my mom connect).  I have to say... for the last 8 years I have been saying Rome is my favorite city in the world.  But Venice MIGHT have beaten it - I'm still deciding  

Onto the MM report:

Best thing we paid money to do: Scavi tour under St. Peter's.  This is the best tour any of us have ever been on.  It's not super Catholic either, because most of the tombs under St. P's are Roman.  It did get a little Catholic at the end when they showed us where Peter is reported to be buried, but nobody is certain it's him.  The bones have actually been studied and carbon-dated, and the guide was really good about telling us the evidence both in favor and against it being him.  Tiny tour - 12 people max - and it's cheap at 13 euros/person.

Best splurge: Breakfast at the Vatican museums.  This was pricey, but it enabled us to walk around the museums an hour before it opened to the general public.  That was critical this time of year, because the museum gets absolutely mobbed with people, especially the Sistine Chapel at the end.  We were able to see the Sistine Chapel with a comfortable number of people, and we actually had the Raphael rooms all to ourselves.  By the time we left, the line to get through security was about 4 hours long.

Best cheap eat: Getting gelato at Giolitti... 2.50 for a massive cone, and it's still the best gelato in Rome that I have encountered.

Best free activity: Probably visiting the Pantheon.  It's free to enter, and the crowds weren't bad at all in the morning.  My parents were really impressed by it.

Best shopping: Venice/Murano island.  I love glass, and we definitely came home with a few things...

Best money-saving move: Food in Venice can be outrageously expensive, but we found that entree prices dropped about 7 euros for every block we walked away from St. Mark's square.  We found 8-10 euro entrees outside of the main tourist areas.  We also arranged our Venice itinerary to do all of our island hopping on a single day so that we could just use a 1-day boat pass, instead of buying multiple one-way tickets.

Best "new" thing for H and I: St. Mark's in Venice.  I've now visited more than 50 European churches, and this one has the most incredible interior I have ever seen.  It's completely covered in mosaics, most of them gold-plated.  We saw it at night with the mosaics lit, and the ceiling just sparkled.  It's also free to enter.

That's all I'll say for now!  I know several folks are going to Rome later this year, so let me know if you have any questions.

brij2006

So awesome! Such a great way to break the ice for your mom and get her more comfortable with the traveling.

Pictures? :-)

hoffse

I will try to get some pictures this evening!  It's been a crazy morning trying to get to work on time because we woke up in Atlanta...

formerlyjessica490

Sounds like fun! Glad you had a good time and it was nice that your parents got to go too!

short+sassy

Thanks for the report and tips!  Sounds utterly amazing!  I'm glad you're mom enjoyed herself and didn't find the flying too bad.

hoffse

short+sassy said:

Thanks for the report and tips!  Sounds utterly amazing!  I'm glad you're mom enjoyed herself and didn't find the flying too bad.

****SIB***********

I've told her for years the worst flights are the 4-5 hour transcontintentals with no food and no in-flight entertainment.  Transatlantics are much easier because the movies pass the time, and they feed you multiple meals and give you free booze.  She finally believes me!

Xstatic3333

Sounds like a wonderful trip, and I'm so glad your mom enjoyed it!  I'd love to try something similar with my parents, who are both afraid to fly and have never been to Europe.  I'm thinking either Iceland or Ireland might work well since they are our shortest flights, easiest flights from Boston.

It's also nice to hear a great report about Venice.  I know so many people who have visited who have a hard time looking past the tourist crowds and enjoying it, but it's very high on my list of places I'd like to see.  

short+sassy

hoffse said:

short+sassy said:

Thanks for the report and tips!  Sounds utterly amazing!  I'm glad you're mom enjoyed herself and didn't find the flying too bad.

****SIB***********

I've told her for years the worst flights are the 4-5 hour transcontintentals with no food and no in-flight entertainment.  Transatlantics are much easier because the movies pass the time, and they feed you multiple meals and give you free booze.  She finally believes me!

That IS good to know!  I'm definitely in that category.  Although I'm not afraid of flying, the majority of flights I have done are from NOLA to So CA and back.  And it is misery.

csuave

Sounds like a great trip!  I'm glad your parents enjoyed it.  I might have to look into Venice for one of my future vacations.

hoffse

Yeah I heard really mixed reviews of Venice before we went.  Actually, a partner I work with hates it more than any other city because he felt ripped off while he was there.  After hearing that I just sort of plotted out the itinerary and checked prices on everything.  I definitely got some sticker shock, but knowing what stuff cost in advance allowed us to plan for it so that it didn't ruin our trip once we were there.  We were there only 3 days, so we weren't there long enough to feel financially tapped.

I think some people lose track that it's an island.  I didn't see a single car, scooter, etc. Pretty much everything arrives or leaves the island by boat.  They had delivery boats, trash boats, ambulance boats, police boats... so yeah, it's an expensive place, but it's not just because tourists visit there.  

The lack of cars also makes it feel a bit like walking around Disney world or some other amusement park.  Again, that's how people really live though.  It's not built like that to benefit tourists.

The crowds really weren't as bad as we had heard.  We were there on a day when there were 4 cruise ships in port, and we just made sure to avoid St. Mark's square and the Rialto bridge area while the day-trippers were there.  Around late afternoon those places emptied out.  

We actually got to have the Doge's palace - which is one of the top tourist attractions in the city - almost entirely to ourselves.  It's open late on the weekends during the summer.  The guy selling us the tickets told us to go in the evening because everybody goes during the day.  That was the best tip we got during the entire trip.  There was almost nobody else there.  My mom and I literally sat on the floor in front of Tintoretto's Il Paradiso and got to look at it and talk about it with no other people in the room with us.  It's one of the largest paintings in the world, and we had it all to ourselves!

jtmh2012

hoffse said:

That's all I'll say for now!  I know several folks are going to Rome later this year, so let me know if you have any questions.

No mention of the Colosseum?

Did you guys get european/italian SIM cards while you were there?

hoffse

jtmh2012 said:

hoffse said:

That's all I'll say for now!  I know several folks are going to Rome later this year, so let me know if you have any questions.

No mention of the Colosseum?

Did you guys get european/italian SIM cards while you were there?

Colosseum was good - I'll be honest, it's not my favorite thing in Rome (or my favorite ruin), but I know I am in the extreme minority on that.  Most people absolutely love it.  Don't get me wrong, it's really cool - I think I just studied it too much in school.  My husband loves it, and my parents loved it.  

The tour was really good, but we gave ourselves too much time there beforehand.  The tour takes you to most of the places you would want to see anyway.  I would probably aim to do the tour first and then visit anything you feel like was missed afterwards.  That's what we should have done.

We did have a pretty good score by visiting the Forum first.  We were able to pick up our tickets to the Colosseum and the tour at the same time, and that enabled us to skip the line at the Colosseum.  We literally had fewer than 5 people in front of us for security, and it saved a HUGE amount of time.  We probably jumped a couple hundred people.  

Even if you do the Forum second, I suggest picking up your Colosseum tour tickets at the Forum's side entrance instead of going to the entrances on either end or the Colosseum.  There was no line for us there, even in the middle of the day.  You can visit the Colosseum and Forum on consecutive days, and it doesn't have to be the day you pick up your tickets.

We didn't get Italian SIM cards, we just put global plans on our cell phones.  If you do the SIM card thing, I saw a bunch of TIM stores around Rome.  I definitely recall seeing one at Termini station.

hoffse

EDIT: We have Verizon and both have iPhone 6's for our jobs.  We get our plans reimbursed, so we just have a traditional plan.  The global add-on costs an extra $40 per line, but there's an option to have it roll off once you don't need it.  It's a little pricey, but extremely easy.

We have never taken 2 cell phones with us before this trip.  On our last trip we got briefly separated on public transport in Amsterdam with only 1 working cell phone.  It ended up being fine, but it was pretty nerve-wracking until we found each other.  We decided that kind of anxiety wasn't worth saving the $40 for our second phone on future trips.

If we didn't have a plan for our phones, I would probably do the SIM card thing.  I'm pretty sure you can get them on ebay so that they will arrive before your trip.  Again, a little more expensive than buying on the ground, but it saves you having to (1) find a store and (2) communicate what you need with a salesperson who might not speak fluent English.

My H told me that Italy is on a different kind of network than the rest of the continent.  I have no idea at all if that's true, but you might want to look into it.

Xstatic3333

hoffse said:

EDIT: We have Verizon and both have iPhone 6's for our jobs.  We get our plans reimbursed, so we just have a traditional plan.  The global add-on costs an extra $40 per line, but there's an option to have it roll off once you don't need it.  It's a little pricey, but extremely easy.

We have never taken 2 cell phones with us before this trip.  On our last trip we got briefly separated on public transport in Amsterdam with only 1 working cell phone.  It ended up being fine, but it was pretty nerve-wracking until we found each other.  We decided that kind of anxiety wasn't worth saving the $40 for our second phone on future trips.

If we didn't have a plan for our phones, I would probably do the SIM card thing.  I'm pretty sure you can get them on ebay so that they will arrive before your trip.  Again, a little more expensive than buying on the ground, but it saves you having to (1) find a store and (2) communicate what you need with a salesperson who might not speak fluent English.

My H told me that Italy is on a different kind of network than the rest of the continent.  I have no idea at all if that's true, but you might want to look into it.

As heads up for anyone who may have T Mobile, we were very pleasantly surprised to learn that you get unlimited (slowish) data and texting and $.20/minute voice throughout most of Europe (Italy is on the list).  This was an amazing bonus on our recent trip, as it allowed us to check Google maps to find our way around in places where whipping out a paper map was inconvenient.  We could also research restaurants before committing and stuff like that.  I liked the comfort of the voice option, even though we didn't really use it, since my mom was going through some medical stuff while we were gone.  It was great peace of mind to know that my parents could call me if need be.  Other American travellers we ran into were pretty jealous of the mobile access we had with just our regular plans.  

hoffse

Oh yeah I've looked into T Mobile for that very reason.  Unfortunately the coverage is spotty for us when we are driving to visit my parents and in some more rural parts of the state, but otherwise we would switch to get the global stuff included.  I haven't looked at it super recently though, maybe the coverage would work for us now...

Xstatic3333

hoffse said:

Oh yeah I've looked into T Mobile for that very reason.  Unfortunately the coverage is spotty for us when we are driving to visit my parents and in some more rural parts of the state, but otherwise we would switch to get the global stuff included.  I haven't looked at it super recently though, maybe the coverage would work for us now...

It remains spotty in rural areas around here too, but we're mostly in the city so for us the benefits outweigh the inconveniences. H was tempted to go back to Verizon to get coverage at work when he's out in the woods, but the European coverage wowed him so much that I no longer need to fight that battle.

jtmh2012

hoffse said:

We have never taken 2 cell phones with us before this trip.  On our last trip we got briefly separated on public transport in Amsterdam with only 1 working cell phone.  It ended up being fine, but it was pretty nerve-wracking until we found each other.  We decided that kind of anxiety wasn't worth saving the $40 for our second phone on future trips.

This was pretty much why I was wanting it.  Just in case we somehow got separated.  Not that it has happened yet.  We do have AT&T and I checked the other day that they do have an international option.  Might be easier/best to just suck it up and pay that, but figured a local SIM with a handful of minutes and some data might be cheaper.

jtmh2012

hoffse said:

The tour was really good, but we gave ourselves too much time there beforehand.  The tour takes you to most of the places you would want to see anyway.  I would probably aim to do the tour first and then visit anything you feel like was missed afterwards.  That's what we should have done.

We did have a pretty good score by visiting the Forum first.  We were able to pick up our tickets to the Colosseum and the tour at the same time, and that enabled us to skip the line at the Colosseum.  We literally had fewer than 5 people in front of us for security, and it saved a HUGE amount of time.  We probably jumped a couple hundred people.  

Even if you do the Forum second, I suggest picking up your Colosseum tour tickets at the Forum's side entrance instead of going to the entrances on either end or the Colosseum.  There was no line for us there, even in the middle of the day.  You can visit the Colosseum and Forum on consecutive days, and it doesn't have to be the day you pick up your tickets.

We didn't get Italian SIM cards, we just put global plans on our cell phones.  If you do the SIM card thing, I saw a bunch of TIM stores around Rome.  I definitely recall seeing one at Termini station.

Cool.  Thanks for the hint on cutting the ticket line.   We got the admission and tour tickets so good to know the tour covers most of it.

We're going to get a cruise line transfer from FCO to the ship.  Makes things easier considering we're arriving the day of the cruise (so not happy about that) and traveling with a toddler.  So whatever we do, I'd want to do somewhere between the airplane and the transfer pickup.  I know there are places to pick up in the airport.

LillibetteV

For our trip to Amsterdam and Paris in May we were also able to add a $10/day access to our Verizon plan. Basically it worked out that any day you used your phone (talk/text/data) we would have been charged $10 and if we didn't use the phone we didn't have to pay. We went that route and ended up not paying anything extra because we were able to snag free wifi pretty much anywhere we needed to use the phone! 

hoffse

LillibetteV said:

For our trip to Amsterdam and Paris in May we were also able to add a $10/day access to our Verizon plan. Basically it worked out that any day you used your phone (talk/text/data) we would have been charged $10 and if we didn't use the phone we didn't have to pay. We went that route and ended up not paying anything extra because we were able to snag free wifi pretty much anywhere we needed to use the phone! 

Do you have a regular plan?  This would have worked well for us.  We used our phone probably half of the days we were there because one of our cats got sick, and we were communicating frequently with the pet sitter.

smetter04

We have Samsung Galaxy phones thru Verizon, and on our trip to Germany & Poland last year, we had planned on buying sim cards once we landed, but it turned out that we didn't need to because free wifi is so prevalent. Anytime we wanted to look something up we had access to wifi, or we made sure to look it up at the hotel before heading out for the day. And we used an app with downloadable maps, so H downloaded the maps for each city before the trip and we used them as our navigation tool. If your GPS is turned on, the downloaded maps even show where you are/can give you directions from your current location. Let me know if anyone is interested in this and I can ask H what app he used.

This system obviously doesn't allow for making calls, but that wasn't important to us. We ended up paying $0 for phone usage. And it was kind of nice to tell our family that they couldn't call us for two weeks

LillibetteV

hoffse said:

LillibetteV said:

For our trip to Amsterdam and Paris in May we were also able to add a $10/day access to our Verizon plan. Basically it worked out that any day you used your phone (talk/text/data) we would have been charged $10 and if we didn't use the phone we didn't have to pay. We went that route and ended up not paying anything extra because we were able to snag free wifi pretty much anywhere we needed to use the phone! 

Do you have a regular plan?  This would have worked well for us.  We used our phone probably half of the days we were there because one of our cats got sick, and we were communicating frequently with the pet sitter.

I believe so.... my husband gets a discount through his employer so he deals with that particular bill. All I know it that it's a family plan (his parents and brother are on with us) with unlimited talk/text and shared data and that our portion is about $124 for both of us (plus my employer reimburses me $45/month which brings it down to $79/month I guess, but I just stick that cash in savings and forget about it) so I don't complain about it lol. DH and I both have the Samsung Galaxy S5. 

short+sassy

I hadn't even thought about cell phones for our upcoming trips!  Definitely something to look into.

I have Metro PCS and my H recently switched to Boost (I think).

jtmh2012

short+sassy said:

I hadn't even thought about cell phones for our upcoming trips!  Definitely something to look into.

I have Metro PCS and my H recently switched to Boost (I think).

I've not worried about it for most of our trips.  We did get local Thai SIM cards when were were in Thailand since we were there for 2 weeks.  Most trips I don't worry about it.

I did get a painful lesson in data usage in the Bahamas though.  Was with Verizon at the time.  Had my phone set to prompt on roaming data.  So I turned the phone on one morning in port to see who the carrier was it linked to and it proceeded to sync all my emails and stuff.  Had assumed we were on Verizon and thought it was neat.  Got to the next port and did the same to find an extreme usage email in my inbox.  Shut the phone off and called when I got home.  They couldn't explain it as it should have prompted me in that situation before using data with the settings I had.  Got most of it refunded.

hoffse

short+sassy said:

I hadn't even thought about cell phones for our upcoming trips!  Definitely something to look into.

I have Metro PCS and my H recently switched to Boost (I think).

It really depends on how much you are able to disconnect.  PP's are right that there is plenty of wifi in Europe, but if you need calling capabilities then you will have to figure something out. 

Unfortunately H and I can't go totally dark for a week.  Inevitably at least one of us has to call into the office at some point.  That's why we always made sure to have at least one phone, but after getting separated in Amsterdam we decided to do two phones going forward.  It was actually super useful in Italy because H and I felt more comfortable leaving the group for short periods of time since we each had a phone.  We called each other 5 or 6 times while we were over there.  I also called our vet in the states twice, and we each called the office once.

If you end up doing an AirBnB or something, you might also need a cell phone to let your hosts know when you arrive.

I should probably investigate cheaper calling options for our next trip, but it's such a small portion of the trip cost that I've never been motivated to figure out something else.  It's just so incredibly easy.

This isn't MM of me at all, but I'm getting to the point where I would rather just pay what I need to pay to make travel an overall easier experience.  Cabs, cell phones, small upgrade fees for better seats on the airplane... 

short+sassy

hoffse said:

short+sassy said:

I hadn't even thought about cell phones for our upcoming trips!  Definitely something to look into.

I have Metro PCS and my H recently switched to Boost (I think).

It really depends on how much you are able to disconnect.  PP's are right that there is plenty of wifi in Europe, but if you need calling capabilities then you will have to figure something out. 

Unfortunately H and I can't go totally dark for a week.  Inevitably at least one of us has to call into the office at some point.  That's why we always made sure to have at least one phone, but after getting separated in Amsterdam we decided to do two phones going forward.  It was actually super useful in Italy because H and I felt more comfortable leaving the group for short periods of time since we each had a phone.  We called each other 5 or 6 times while we were over there.  I also called our vet in the states twice, and we each called the office once.

If you end up doing an AirBnB or something, you might also need a cell phone to let your hosts know when you arrive.

I should probably investigate cheaper calling options for our next trip, but it's such a small portion of the trip cost that I've never been motivated to figure out something else.  It's just so incredibly easy.

This isn't MM of me at all, but I'm getting to the point where I would rather just pay what I need to pay to make travel an overall easier experience.  Cabs, cell phones, small upgrade fees for better seats on the airplane... 

It is unlikely we would be calling back to the States at all.  I'd primarily want cell phones for both of us...just like you mentioned...in case we get separated.  Plus I could see possibly wanting to make local calls while we are there to check on opening times, directions, that kind of thing.

hoffse

Yeah if you aren't having to call internationally then a local SIM card might be your best bet.  I have never looked to see if you can call the US with euro SIM cards.  You might be able to, I have no idea.  With the Verizon plan we could call anybody and they could call us (regardless of country), and it's just seamless.

jtmh2012

hoffse said:

Yeah if you aren't having to call internationally then a local SIM card might be your best bet.  I have never looked to see if you can call the US with euro SIM cards.  You might be able to, I have no idea.  With the Verizon plan we could call anybody and they could call us (regardless of country), and it's just seamless.

From what I've seen so far of the SIMs, it'll be something like 0.29 euro for italy calls, 0.39 for the rest of europe, and 0.59 euro for the US.  But prices do vary depending on who and what.