
FIRST: Rome Tour and The Vatican. On our first full day in Rome we have a day-long tour planned which will cover the highlights of Rome and some of the surrounding areas. We will be traveling by car and on foot with a private driver and tour guide. As part of the tour, we have arranged a tour of the Vatican and Sistine Chapel, but since most of us have already done that tour it will be only Michael & Belinda and Dan & Pierina doing this part of the tour. While they are touring the Vatican we will tour the Trastevere area of Rome which is an old neighborhood on the "other side of the Tiber" which is what Trastevere means. We will walk through this old part of town to see another side to Italian life. The entire group will then meet for dinner at a local restaurant (chosen by Melissa from Best Rome Drivers).
The Vatican tour requires a special tour guide as only guides sanctioned by the Vatican are allowed to give tours, so for the four of you going on this tour it will be an additional 37.50 Euro per person for the tour guide.
So, to confrirm - Michael, Belinda, Dan, and Pierina will all be touring the Vatican. Gary, Gale, Dawn, Evelyn and Debbie will tour the Trastevere neighborhood, and we will all meet at a great place for dinner. If anyone wants to change their part of these plans, please let me know.
SECOND - Hotel in Sorrento:
I have booked our hotel in Sorrento. There are so many to choose from, many of them on the very high, exclusive end and many on the lower end, and a few in-between. I have chosen a very nice hotel in the in-between range. I know some of you were thinking of getting one of the exclusive hotels with panoramic views across the Mediterranean, and it's not too late to do that, but hotel rooms for April were filling up fast so I secured rooms for all of us at the Antiche Mura Hotel with the idea that for anyone who does not want to stay here I can cancel their reservation. But since the rooms have all been reserved on my credit card, I would appreciate confirmation from everyone whether or not you want your room. The hotel does have a cancellation policy so I would be able to cancel but need to do it soon so my card does not get charged for extra rooms. Sorrento is small, so we don't all have to be at the same hotel, but it's everyone's vacation so please feel free to keep this room or choose a hotel of your choice amongst the beautiful ones that Sorrento offers. Here's my sales pitch for the Antiche Mura: It's located in the center of town steps away from Piazza Tasso (main center of town with restaurants, shops, cafes, etc). It got great reviews on tripadvisor for cleanliness, location and service. The hotel does not have sea views because it is in town, but I have reserved us all Comfort Double Rooms which all have balconies overlooking the town or ancient walls (for which the hotel is named). The total for our rooms comes to 93 Euros a night per person, and we will be there for 2 nights (for a couple this would be 186 Euros per night). This includes a full buffet breakfast and the breakfast also got great reviews on TripAdvisor. Sorrento is expensive, so this is actually a great price and I dealt directly with Michele- he is the manager - and have a confirmation directly from him. I have included the link to the hotel, so please check it out and confirm to me whether or not you would like to stay at this hotel.
http://www.hotelantichemura.com/en/index.htm
THIRD - We found Pierina's Italian Family!
As you know, we recently met our long lost relatives from Philadelphia - Dan and Pierina! Pierina knew her grandfather came to America with his two brothers many years ago, but knew little else about his family. In early December I searched the Italian white pages for "De Federicis" in Montepagano and Roseto degli Abruzzi, which is where Pierina's grandfather Antonio emigrated from. I found six names (some at the same address) and wrote a letter to each of them in Italian and English, and just yesterday I received an email from the grandson of one of Antonio's brothers! He, his father and many others still live in the same town that Antonio came from, and as part of our trip to Teramo we will be making a side trip to this region so Dan and Pierina can see where her family is from. Roseto degli Abruzzi is a resort town on the Adriatic Sea Coast with beautiful beaches and the medieval town of Montepagano is a short drive away. I'll keep everyone updated as we receive more information.
So please review these recent updates and let me know if for any reason you would like your part of these planned activities changed.
Viva la famiglia!
Gale