A story about Italy travel"ITALY TRAVEL"
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11/1/2004
Eight members of our family, including three grandchildren (ages 23, 17 and 14), took a 15-day trip to Italy, May 28-June 12, '04. We had an absolutely spectacular time. In 1960 when I was in the Navy and we lived in London, my wife and I took a trip with our small children to Italy. We wanted to repeat this trip with our, now, grown children and their children. Our daughter-in-law found a travel agent on the Internet that specializes in Italy travel: Mrs. Flavia Jaber of Road to Italy (140 Dupont St., Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5R 1V2; phone 800/848-8163 or 416/964-7600 or visit www. roadtoitaly.com). This agency was wonderful and we recommend them very highly. Although we made our own air arrangements in order to use frequent-flyer miles, they would have done that for us if we wanted them to. We also were on our own for lunch and dinner as we preferred for our Italy travel. The cost was fixed at 2,699 [euro] (about $3,300) per person. This included everything except airfare, tips (for porters, guides, drivers, waiters, etc.), an excursion to Capri and lunches and dinners. Breakfast was included with each hotel for Italy travel. We flew Delta from Gainesville, Florida, to Atlanta to New York (JFK) to Venice, where we stayed three nights at a nice hotel on a canal near a gondola pickup place just off of St. Mark's Square. A 40-minute gondola ride, not included in our tour, cost 100 [euro] (near $122)! Gondolas hold six people, so my wife and I, who have taken gondola rides before, watched from our hotel balcony overlooking the canal while our family of six went for the ride in Italy travel. One day we were taken up to the beautiful Dolomiti (Dolomite Mountains) and had a picnic lunch (included in our tour). It became cold and rainy while we were in Cortina. When we returned to Venice, St. Mark's Square was flooded. We walked around in our bare feet with all the other tourists on Italy travel! After Venice, we were driven to Florence for three nights, making a stop in Padua on the way. We took a day trip to Lucca and Pisa. Leaving Florence, we passed through more of Tuscany, stopping at San Gimignano, Monteriggioni (a small, walled mountain village) and Siena. We stayed at a beautiful country castle, Castello di Spaltenna, in Gaiole, Chianti, for one night and the next day stopped in Assisi to see the Cathedral of St. Francis. Then we went south to Sorrento for three nights, making drives to Capri and all the towns on the breathtaking Amalfi Drive on Italy travel.
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Finally, we headed to Rome on our Italy travel for four nights, via Pompeii. Near Naples, the local highway workers, protesting low pay, had blocked the highway entrances, causing the worst traffic jam I have ever seen. On this trip we bad English-speaking guides in each city, English-speaking drivers, vans large enough for all eight of us (with lots of luggage), water taxis in Venice, transportation to and from airports, etc. Our hotels were great. For things like lunches and dinners we used mostly Visa. We had no trouble finding great places to eat, either with the help of our guides, hotel concierges or exploration. We had a lot of excellent meals with plenty of pasta and pizza. Never gained an ounce, since you have to walk a lot in Italy travel. On our last night in Rome, at a beautiful sidewalk cafe, our grandson, James, said, "Grandpa, I'm tired of pasta!" So he ordered a wonderful Italian steak. We easily used our ATM cards to get cash (euros). We never carry travelers' checks because we've found from past experience that a lot of places won't cash them. Everyone was wonderful and friendly. Aside from some anti-Bush graffiti in Rome, we saw no anti-Americanism at all. We walked miles at each stop, mingling with the locals and other tourists on Italy travel. It was cool in the north and hot in the south. The only problem we had was I had my wallet swiped in Rome. After we left Vatican City, we went across the street for lunch in a restaurant recommended by our local guide. I stopped to ask her a question and unzipped my belly pack to get something to write on. We were immediately surrounded by three Gypsy women carrying babies and with their hands out begging, pushing and shoving our whole group. Our guide got furious and tried to send them away, then started whacking away at them with her handbag. In the melee, I didn't get my belly pack zipped back up and that's when they must have taken my wallet. I didn't realize it was gone until I went to pay for our lunch on one of our Italy travel outings. They got my Visa and AmEx cards, my Florida driver's license, my Navy I.D. card, my ATM cards, some cash, etc. We went back to the hotel to get the phone numbers for our bank, my credit card numbers, etc. I always have this information locked away in the hotel safe in case it is needed. This is the first time I have needed it! I called AT&T direct dial to the USA and canceled everything. AmEx has different numbers for spouses' credit cards, so my wife's AmEx card was still good. My credit cards were not used. I imagine they just wanted the cash. Fortunately, my passport was in our room safe; we had only three days left. My son used his ATM card for cash for us and I paid him back when we got home. The whole thing was very frustrating. Our guide said the pickpockets were centrally organized, trained and controlled and the babies probably weren't even theirs. Our USAA homeowners' insurance reimbursed us for everything (minus a deductible of $100): the cash, my "Tumi" wallet at original cost, the cost of replacing of my driver's license, etc.
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We have no bad feelings for Rome because of this incident on our Italy travel. It could happen anywhere. I should have been prepared. One last note--my wife had her 76th birthday at a fun restaurant in Rome, da Meo Patacca, where we dined in 1960 with her two diplomat aunts who were stationed there. Dishes cost perhaps $10-$15 each. It was fun to go back there with the whole family plus a distant Italian cousin and his wife who live in Rome. D. MASON WELLS Gainesville, FL Compare airline tickets for Italy travel here /cheap airfares home |