Jan 31, 2010

3 Days in Rome

Three generations travel together

By Lisa T. Bergren 2007, updated 1/30/10

Our March 2007 trip included grandparents (in their 60s), parents (in their 40s) and three kids (ages 11, 8 and 4). We traveled to Rome-Tuscany-Venice over 12 days. The other portions of our trip are filed under TUSCANY for Families and VENICE (up this week) for Families.

We left Denver at 6:00pm and arrived in Rome (Leonardo da Vinci/Fiumicino) at around 3pm the next day. By the time we got our luggage, we were in traffic, heading into Rome, so it took a good hour to get into town, which was frustrating (so close—and yet, so far!). However, we’d probably do it again in the same way. In our experience, it’s best to leave in the evening from the U.S., since everyone can try and get some sleep on the plane (helps pass some time too), and when you arrive, adrenaline keeps you rolling until you go to sleep—which helps to immediately pop you into the proper time zone.

We got to our hotel, the lovely Bellasuite Rome on the third floor of an old building within walking distance of the Termini station (bus and underground). The hotel also owns the Adler, on the 2nd and 3rd floors below, but the Bellasuite rooms are a bit nicer. The Bellasuites (and Adler) offer a continental breakfast (pastry, cereal and yogurt), so that’s a definite plus for a family. The kids loved the old lift (old-fashioned elevator).

The hotel is nice and a good value—and it’s in a good location. The front desk people, especially Alessandro, speak “hotel English” pretty well. I had asked for two rooms, side by side, but somehow, that request was lost. This was frustrating, since we had two young girls in a room by themselves. Fortunately, it’s a very small, boutique hotel, and with my parents on the floor too, and the kids just fifteen feet away, we decided to risk it. Next time, I’d press the issue, however. I was just too tired to battle it. Having heard some horror stories since then, I would push it next time.

My parents, who had arrived a few days before, were waiting in the hotel for us. Our intent was just to give the kids a brief  “visual” of the city; you could spend weeks here in Roma, but I wanted to return when they were older and could absorb more. Our goal was to get their eyeballs on the icons of the city and some semblance of the deep history they were seeing. We had dinner at Target, a restaurant around the corner, which was so convenient that we went back again the next night. (Good food, but not spectacular. Sometimes, especially when you’re traveling with kids, that’s enough.)

Wiped out, we tried to get the kids to eat something—anything at all—and then hustled them back to the hotel and into bed. The adults went to the nearest room, leaving our door open in case the kids needed us, and opened some more chianti.

DAY 2:

My parents had scoped out the city and discovered the open-air-top double decker tourist buses. Just head toward the Termini station and purchase tickets at the tobacco stand on the edge. I had to designate children by gesturing height with my hand to get a discount on their tickets. These buses were great—they offered hop-on/hop-off options in many key areas of the city, and I’d recommend just riding the loop to get a handle on the city. We got off on the other side of the river and wound our way up the hill to St. Peter’s Square and entered the insane lines to get in.

Engage the Kids at St. Peter’s

Engage their attention in St. Peter’s and create a scavenger hunt (with some sort of prize). Have them look for:

• Michelanagelo’s Pieta
• The embalmed (and visible) body of a pope
• Bernini’s massive baldicchino (altar covering)
• Bees carved into sculpture in at least three places (the family crest emblem of a powerful family, who placed three family members as pope and funded much of the artwork)
• Saint Peter’s golden chair
• A skeleton, carved beneath Pope Alexander VII’s monument, symbolizing our own mortality
• Outside, have them count the number of figures they see atop the portico (all saints and apostles). All of this will help them remember what they’re seeing!

We grabbed a pizza lunch outside the Square and then I took the girls and headed back in to get a quick view of the Sistine Chapel (my parents had seen it already and Tim took our 4-year-old back to the hotel for a rest). By getting in line so late, the line was MUCH shorter, but we were in serious danger of running out of time. Be aware that it takes a LOT of winding around to finally land in the famed chapel—warn your kids that it’s a maze and make them think it’s kind of fun!—and that once inside, they’ll demand silence (it’s a chapel, after all), so be prepared to whisper. It is a good way to catch hidden glimpses of  the vast museum—again, you could spend a couple of days here. I just wanted the girls to see the Sistine Chapel. Before you get too far, be sure to have them look down the serpentine snail stairway, just after you buy your tickets. If it’s open, it makes for a very cool picture, shooting down at them. Once in the chapel, have the kids find a figure they especially like and sketch it (there are benches on the side that you may have to help them find a seat on). It’s another way to help them remember.

It was late afternoon by the time we got back to the hotel. We grabbed a drink, went to the bathroom, and set off to see Piazza Navarro (an oval piazza where they had horse races and occasionally flooded to make mock sea battles); the Pantheon, and the elephant obelisk outside Santa Maria (right behind the Pantheon—at least walk by!). By the time we got there, the kids were EXHAUSTED. Way too much in one day. We grabbed dinner at the easy/convenient restaurant (Target) and got the kids to bed. If I had to do it over again, I’d spend one more day in Rome so we could just see the Vatican/St. Peter’s in one day and do the other major sites the next.

DAY 3:

Up early, we met our guide from Context Rome and she took us on a great, kid-friendly tour of Palatine Hill, Forum and the Coliseum, engaging the kids as much as possible in the deep history. It was cold and rainy, so that was hard, but we very much enjoyed the tour—excellent to have a small group and a guide dedicated to answering all your questions, etc. vs. the mass group tour. Expensive splurge, but totally worth it; we adults all love history and understanding where we are standing. If you do the same thing, be sure to take snacks. It gets long and can be draining for all—and you’ll remember more if you’re not worried about your stomach! The guide had a “scavenger hunt” pamphlet where the kids had to find all the things mentioned in there and did a good job helping them get a glimpse of history.

HONK!!!

When we were in Italy and on the highway, we were puzzled by several other cars honking at us, even when we were in the slow lane and people could easily pass us. I read in Conde Nast’s Traveler (June 2008), that road etiquette dictates that you not drive too slowly, nor leave too much space between your car and the one in front, or you’ll get honked at or passed. Apparently, the farther south you go, the more this happens.

Now in that same issue, a reader warns of speeding fines that show up on credit cards associated with rental cars (some as high as $200). The Italian government has installed sensors and cameras on highways, particularly A-1; if you trip the sensor, you get a fine.

Italy has 6 sensors; the UK has many more! It is our view that it’s better to go more slowly and endure a few honks, especially if you’re unsure of where you’re going! Farther south, where drivers can be downright aggressive, it might be prudent to hire a driver.

If We Went Back:

• We’d spend a full week in Rome and go to the catacombs (we’ve been before, and the kids would love it), do a full-day trip to Pompeii, and see many more of the sites around this fascinating city
• We’d go through The Time Elevator, off of Via del Corso, a 45 minute interactive ride that gives you a comprehensive understanding of the city’s history (ck to see if they’ve added English before you go — right now, it’s just in Italian, but it sounds so cool, we’d probably still go!)
• We’d plan to tour 2/3 of the day and play/rest 1/3 of each day
• We’d stay at the Bee Hive in their bunk room to save money!
• On transfer days we wouldn’t do anything but spend time traveling to a new region and relaxing/following our nose so it would be less stressful

Be sure to read about the rest of our trip in TUSCANY and VENICE!

Been to Rome with kids? What were YOUR favorite stops? Please comment below!