“Outsiders” Tour of Rome and Venice

In late 2017, Doug’s parents started to discuss the idea of taking the family on a cruise to Europe before our niece (11) and nephew (13) became too involved with their extra-curricular activities to join us. At the time Greg was barely three — nine months shy of our “no trips until four rule”.  But, we agreed to consider it.

SIx months later we were on our way to Europe. In June of 2018, we boarded a Norwegian Air 787 (Dreamliner), bound for Rome. Per the usual, Doug pulled an all-nighter the night prior, so promptly fell asleep, leaving me to manage our two overly excited travel companions.  As we waited for take-off, Roy entertained himself by repeatedly mastering the dimmer switch on the Dreamliner’s dimmable windows, while Greg pushed any and all buttons within his reach. They were busy. As for flight, it could have been the unlimited episodes of Looney Tunes available via the inflight entertainment system, but whatever it was, both kids were perfect angels during the 12-hour journey across the pond.

The carbon-fiber structure of the Dreamliner allowing it to be pressurized to a much higher level than other aircraft, and its ability to take fresh air from outside the airplane (vs. from the engines) to circulate inside the cabin, made jet-lag virtually non-existent when we landed in Italy.  We had two nights booked at the QuodLibet Guesthouse Roma; because we are always up for an adventure (read cheapskates), we opted to arrive at our guesthouse via public transportation. The fact that children are both free with a paying adult totally sealed the deal.  While the trek from baggage claim to the train station may not have been pretty, we were finally seated on the “Leonardo Express” on our way to the Termini Central Station. We then took the metro line “A” towards “Battistini”, got off at “Ottaviano San Pietro”, and had a short walk to our hotel. I think, in total, it took about 1.5 hours, but only cost us about $30.

We were tired but decided that the best thing to do (to adjust to the new time zone) was to press onward until bedtime. Therefore we dropped our stuff in our room and headed out to take a walking tour of Rome.  Our first stop was St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City.  We had no plans to take “the tour” because, well, our kids were three and six.  On our stroll from the Vatican to City Center, the overwhelming favorites for Greg and Roy were the “mango drink” and playing in the “nasoni” –Roman drinking fountains. Fountains are a “thing” here, with historical significance, as Rome was the first city in the world to introduce the idea of free and clean water fountains. Unlike traditional drinking fountains, there are no taps, instead they provide a perpetually flowing source of uncontaminated, cold water drawn directly from the aqueducts. Greg was the first to spot these hidden gems, and in return was impossible to pull away from them.

We sauntered over to the Pantheon next, but at this point, we were already carrying one child, and queuing up the second.

Trevi Fountain was way more crowded than I expected it to be as I had visited once before (in Las Vegas) and it was pretty empty there. 🙂 According to the legend coins are meant to be tossed into this famous fountain, as it guarantees a return to Rome. Because Doug and I did hope to visit this city at some point and tour all of the famous landmarks, we methodically tossed our coins into the fountain using our right hand over our left shoulder. Greg on the other hand, well, he just “chucked” his.  Clearly, he had no desire to return to Rome. 

It was fascinating to learn that Trevi Fountain collects about $3600 a day and this money goes to help feed the poorest populations of Rome.

There are 135 steps and three different terraces that make up the Spanish Steps. Greg passed out on step number two. At this point we were clearly done for the day, so decided to purchase the 48-hour “Roma Pass” and take the train back to the Quodlibet — but not before someone tried the get us with the whole “flower scam”. Luckily, I was well versed on this little trick and promptly returned the rose back to said “Italian Con Man”. Be aware of this if you visit, as Rome has its fair share of people looking to take advantage of unsuspecting tourists.

We had spaghetti for dinner that night, and pretty much every night thereafter.

Our second day in Rome saw us once again playing in the drinking fountains and gulping down a real fruit smoothie.  We visited the Roman Forum and then headed to the Colosseum where, once again, we did NOT venture in. Essentially, one could say that we did the “outsiders” tour of Rome. To the kids the Colosseum just looked like a run-down building so they were content to just enjoy another “mango drink” in the adjacent café.  At this point Roy and Greg were advocating that we return to the underground – as riding on the public transportation was a highlight of their time in this ancient city.

On Friday morning, we woke up early to take the ItaliaRail from Rome to Venice. The entire journey took about 4-hours. We booked the Venice Times Hotel for that night, which was walking distance from the Venezia S. Lucia station. The one thing we didn’t take into account when we read “walking distance” though was the cobblestone streets. Rolling multiple suitcases (two of which were designed for someone under 48″) over cobblestones is no joke.

Arriving in Venice around lunchtime, we grabbed a bite to eat and were off to the Rialto Bridge. The Rialto Bridge is one of the most highly visited tourist attractions in all of Venice. The structure spans the Grand Canal and is made completely of marble with no central support structure. Many have felt that it is destined to collapse but seeing it was built in the year 1591, I am going to call their bluff.

While the city of Venice may be made up of 118 islands, 400 bridges and 150 canals, it is quite walkable – even for an almost four-year old. I was smart, when we arrived in Venice, outfitting Greg and Roy in their bright yellow “Stay Sharp” hoodies (they matched Greg’s Crocs) so that I could also locate them in a crowd.

We had no real plan for our walking tour other than our desire to make it out to Burano Island to see the colorful houses. We purchased a day-pass on the Vaporetto (water taxi) for Doug and I (at $25 each), and the kids were free as they were under six. We took the number 12 Vaporetto line left from San Zaccaria (near San Marco) to Burano. The journey lasted about 45 minutes. Naturally the Vaporetto was the highlight of the kids time in Venice.

Burano is the prettiest stretch of colored homes in Venice. The colors of the homes span the entire rainbow. Burano was originally home to fishermen and legend says that the houses were painted in bright hues so they could find their way home when fog blanketed the lagoon.  The colored houses are protected by law, so if you are a homeowner and want to change your sage green walls to a brighter shade of yellow like Greg’s Crocs, you must apply to the government for approval. We took plenty of marvelous photos here, before Greg passed out in his spaghetti and we caught the final boat back home. On our way to the harbor a woman gifted Roy and Greg a glass ball that she had made in a glass-making class that day. Clearly, she must not have had kids herself because no one in their right mind gives a three and six-year old a glass ball.

The next morning, we spent some more time cruising around on the Vaporetto, getting our money worth, and listening to our kids make fun of all the people around them speaking in a foreign language. Our final stop in Venice was at Piazza San Marco. I would like to say that we took in the historical significance of the Square, but our kids were immediately distracted by the pigeons and so instead we stood there watching them chase these dumpster divers for a good 45-minutes.  

By lunchtime on Saturday, it was time for us to head to the pier to set sail on our 7-night Greece & Croatia Cruise on the Rhapsody Of The Seas. It was a bit of a hike to the pier, but we felt we could manage, so we loaded up ALL our suitcases, and started the trek over the 150 canals and 400 bridges to our destination. When we arrived at the terminal, we were sweating buckets, but we had saved ourselves the $50 cab fare so, so it was well worth it.