6 Months to Go, Some Moments of Anxiety, and an Unexpected Message

If you are reading this tonight (Wednesday, October 6th), then exactly 6 months from today you will be on your overnight flight to Rome, Italy. But if you don't see this until tomorrow (Thursday, October 7th), then exactly 6 months from now you will be arriving in Rome!

That's very exciting, but it also is making me very anxious since we don't have any plane or hotel reservations yet, and none of our plans are confirmed. We still have time, but prices keep going up, the U.S. dollar keeps going down, and the good hotel rooms are filling up fast.

But now for the good news - I have been trying to figure out how best to get around Italy. Italy's public transportation is great, but it is very time-consuming and tiring to travel by bus, train or taxi from place to place. Also, there are several of us and we will have loads of luggage to drag around with us everywhere we go. To make matters more difficult, we are traveling to Abruzzo which is in a remote part of Italy and which doesn't have a good rail or bus system - in fact, it's almost non-existent and very undependable. So, I have been emailing some of the "private drivers" and "transfer services" that I have found online, and most have been quick to respond but have been very vague, which is something that you will notice in Italians when you get there - they don't exactly pay attention to detail. But then I received a 2nd email response from one of the services that previously responded to me. This new response said: "I just noticed that your email was signed, Gale from Buffalo, NY. My entire family is from Kenmore, NY!" (For those of you not from Buffalo, Kenmore is a suburb of Buffalo - less than 10 miles away from us!). So that started an email correspondence back and forth, and without going into all the details of what we have arranged, we are now in good hands with an American girl named Melissa living in Rome, Italy! Che buona fortuna!

So now I can breathe a sigh of relief knowing that we are on our way to confirming all our plans, and soon we can make our flight arrangements and hotel reservations. I am in the process of preparing a packet that I will send or give to everyone by the end of the month, and it will have all the details of our trip along with estimated costs.

Tanti Baci,
Gale

Finally, This Is It!

We finally have an itinerary for our trip to Italy! We will spend 12 days visiting Rome, the Abruzzo region, Naples, Sorrento, the Amalfi Coast and the beautiful island of Capri as we travel from the Mediterranean coast to the Adriatic coast, and then south to the Campania area, and finally to the "Castelli Romani" area - the hills south of Rome where the Pope has his summer home and where our cousin Gabriella runs a bed and breakfast. You will have an option to arrive in Rome on Thursday, April 7^th or on Saturday, April 9^th. Gary, Gale and Dawn plan to arrive on Thursday. Danny and Margarita plan to arrive on Saturday. There is also an option to skip the family visit to Teramo and meet us in Rome on Monday, April 11^th. This option is for anyone who does not want to go to Teramo with us when we visit our family. You are all welcome to do that with us, but it is important to know that we will be in Teramo for the first 4 days of our trip and you might want to spend your time in Italy visiting one of the more touristy places or spending more time in Rome. We will not be renting a car while we are there so it will be a quiet, slow-paced visit. I don't want to discourage anyone, but I want you to know what that part of the trip would entail before you make your decision. If you have never been to Italy, Florence or Venice might be a good option instead.

The Itinerary below is what Gary and I will be doing. We have carefully planned what we think is a great itinerary but it also is flexible for anyone who might want to do things slightly differently. The itinerary lists some items that say "Optional" – these are things that Gary and I will NOT be doing mostly because we have already done it, but they are things we would highly recommend for others. If you choose to do one of the optional items, I would still be able to make all the arrangements for you. You will also notice in the itinerary that there are "private drivers" and "private tour guides" – these are services we will be using to make the trip much easier and comfortable by avoiding having to drag our luggage around - through the streets, on the trains and buses, etc. All our tours will be private, meaning we will be the only ones in the group. Once everyone has committed to what their intentions are, then I will be able to provide an estimated cost for the trip, including hotels.

Speaking of hotels, we plan on making our hotel reservations after we have purchased our airline tickets EXCEPT FOR our hotel in Sorrento. There are many choices of hotels in Sorrento, but most of them are either very expensive (think Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous!) or small, cheap and somewhat questionable. There are limited reasonably priced hotels with good ratings, and these are already filling up fast for next April. So we plan on making our reservations soon – possibly within a week or two. I will send everyone the information when we are ready, and then you can decide if you want to reserve a room in the same hotel or if you would prefer to splurge for one of the higher priced (but worth it!) hotels with beautiful rooms with balconies and spectacular views overlooking the Mediterranean.

Here is our day-by-day itinerary of our trip to Italy:

Day 1: Wednesday: Overnight flight to Rome.

Day 2: Thursday: Arrive in Rome in the morning. Travel by private driver to Teramo.

Days 3, 4 & 5 – Friday, Saturday and Sunday: Teramo

Day 6: Monday: Travel from Teramo to Rome by private driver. Arrive in Rome late morning. Check into hotel and meet our private tour guide to get an orientation tour of Classics Rome which will include many of the major sights. We will have lunch in an outdoor piazza. The evening will be on your own. (NOTE: Meet us in Rome in the morning if you did not travel to Teramo with us)

Day 7: Tuesday: Rome on your own or OPTIONAL day trip to one of the surrounding areas of Rome and/or Tuscany or an OPTIONAL tour of more of the sights of Rome.

Day 8: Wednesday: OPTIONAL Vatican and Sistine Chapel tour. Evening on your own.

Day 9: Thursday: Pack your bags and say Arrivedirci to Rome because we are going to southern Italy to visit Naples, Sorrento and the Amalfi Coast. We will travel by private driver for approximately three hours to get to the Bay of Naples area. Our driver will take us on a tour along the scenic Amalfi coastline to the cliff-hugging coastal towns of Amalfi and Positano, then a ride up to the town of Ravello with breathtaking panoramic views. We will have lunch along the way in one of the small villages, and return to our hotel in Sorrento in time to enjoy the evening on our own in this lovely, lemon-filled Mediterranean town.

Day 10: Friday: A short walk from our hotel to Marina Piccolo will bring us to the Sorrento harbor where we will travel by ferry or private tour boat to the Isle of Capri. After a half-day of sightseeing, we will return to Sorrento to enjoy the rest of the day and evening on your own.


Day 11: Saturday: Time to say goodbye to Sorrento. Our private driver will pick us up at our hotel in the morning and drive us to Naples. If time allows, we will drive through the area where the Boleeno and Aurrichio families came from. After a short tour of Naples and lunch in one of their famous pizzerias, we will travel by train to Velletri, a small village in the hills south of Rome. For our last night in Italy, we will be spending a relaxing evening at our cousin Gabriella's bed and breakfast.

Day 12: Sunday: A private driver will pick us up in the morning to take us to the airport for our return flights to the USA.

8 Months to Go, a Sudden Change of Plans, and How Well Do I Know My Brother?

After painstakingly working out an itinerary to try to make the most out of our trip to Italy, leave it to my brother Gary to suddenly declare: "I don't want to go to Venice!" I reminded him that he was the one that originally insisted that we HAD to include Venice in our itinerary, but he has suddenly decided he wants everything changed. I was instantly reminded of our last trip to Italy when he told me not to include him in our plans – he would make his own flight plans and all his own hotel reservations and he'd meet us in Rome. "Don't worry about me", he said. Well, I should have seen it coming when about two weeks before we were ready to leave he asked me "Where are we staying in Rome?"

I, of course, already had the rest of the group's hotel reservations, train tickets and tours booked in Rome, Teramo, Orvieto, Florence, Cinque Terre and Velletri – NONE of which included Gary. This was all done months in advance, so now I and my cousin Joyce had to scramble to try to find him hotels in each of these places, and change all our reservations, tours and train tickets to include an extra person. The only thing he had done on his own was reserve his airplane ticket – and most of you know what a disaster that turned out to be! Good thing he sent me his plane itinerary in time for me to catch that he wouldn't be returning to the states until another whole month after the rest of us got back! Ask him how much that little mistake cost!!!

So, getting back to the change in plans for Venice… in the original itinerary I had Venice as a side trip from Rome for a few reasons. First and foremost, Venice is far from anywhere else where we will be and is not easy to get to – and I wanted to minimize any travel with luggage and long train rides. Venice is on a direct line from Rome, but even the express train would take approximatley 12 hours roundtrip. Also, there may be some people in our group that aren't interested in going to Venice or have already been there, so I set it up as an optional tour. Now Gary has decided he doesn't like this idea. But… how well do I know my brother? Enough to know that if I cancel the Venice part of our trip, I will probably get an email from Gary a week before we leave saying – "What time do we get to Venice?"

But seriously, for those of you who may never again get to Italy, how can you not visit Venice? Some experts say that Venice is slowly sinking, so even if you do get back who knows what to expect for the future? New Orleans is a perfect example. The plan I am now working on is to fly into Rome as originally planned, but end the trip in Venice and return to the US from there. That way, it would still be optional for everyone and would minimize the travel time to and from Venice as it would only be one way. Gary's main reason for not wanting to go to Venice was because he didn't like the idea of leaving Rome for a day, so hopefully this plan will make him happy (and save a lot of last minute rearranging and headaches for me!). At least he gave me eight months notice this time instead of two weeks.

Now the only question is – does anybody want to buy a brother? Will trade 1 brother for 2 pizzas and a cannoli!

Bacioni a tutti!

P.S. - If you have any comments or suggestions on this post or any others, please post them in the comments section below. Would love to hear some feedback! After you post comment, click on select profile and choose "Anonymous", then click "Post comment".

An Italian Festival, a Taste of Things to Come, and Our Italian Mamas!

I just spent the last four days at Buffalo's Italian Festival – the 2^nd largest outdoor Italian festival in the world! My 80-year old mother went with me every day and stayed each night until they closed! We met up with family and friends there, we ate, we attended some great outdoor entertainment and concerts, we made new friends, we participated in the cooking demonstrations (and ate some more!), and we even won an Italian trivia contest!

While we were there on Friday with my Aunt Marie and my cousins Dawn, Susan and Dave, we saw a great performance by Franco Corso who is originally from Italy and charmed us all with his singing and his warm personality. The divas in the audience (Aunt Marie & Mom) even got a kiss! When we walked around the festival we ate some good Italian food and had some gelato. We also saw a very good replica of the Trevi Fountain and a Venice gondola complete with a gondolier. It reminded Dawn and I that in less than nine months we will be seeing and eating the real things in Rome and Venice!

The following night my mother and I watched a performance by Tony Galla, an Italian American originally from Buffalo who now resides in LA and has had several recording contracts as well as doing soundtracks for films and national commercials. We weren't as impressed with him as we were with the Italian singer from the night before until he called his sister up on stage and they performed a duet that we really enjoyed. Then he said, "You heard my sister sing, now do you want to hear my mother sing?" The crowd went wild as someone helped his Italian mama onto the stage. She took the mike and said - I just turned 90 years old June 21^st, and then she belted out a tune that brought down the house! She was as cute as can be and sang two more songs with her son and daughter before she said – That's enough! – and she got off the stage. But not before she danced a lively dance with the young man that came up to escort her off the stage!

But… the best thing that came out of going to the Italian Festival with my mother for 4 days was that she is now much more interested in our trip to Italy. Don't get too excited, she still doesn't want to go… but… she said if we do buy a piece of property there like we are planning, she will come and stay for a month! She said she'd even be our "Italian Mama cooking in la cucina".

So, this post is dedicated to all the Italian Mama's – especially the 90 year old Italian singer at the Italian festival, my "Zia" Maria, who is always ready to go anywhere and is such a pleasure to be with, and my own Italian Mama, Lori, who continuously amazes me and my brothers. Viva la Mama!

Rome, Venice & Abruzzo - Our Dream Vacation to Italy!

Our Dream Vacation to Italy will be a whirlwind of activity as we visit Italy from coast to coast, from the mountains to the sea, from the Mediterranean to the Adriatic and beyond to the lagoons and canals of Venice! Our trip will be filled with historical, architectural and culinary delights as we tour the ancient ruins of Rome, take a heritage trip to the Abruzzo region, and go on an adventure to one of the vibrant, exciting destinations that Italy has to offer – Venice, Naples, Florence, Tuscany – the choice is yours to make it your own dream vacation!

Rome!

The ancient city will be our playground as we discover and explore all the wonderful sights this city has to offer - the Colosseum, the Pantheon, the Vatican and the Spanish Steps are just a few of the amazing sights we will see. Rome will be our base for the majority of our trip, with an optional "day trip" to your choice of other exciting destinations.

Abruzzo/Teramo!

The land of old world charm with stunning scenery, rich history, amazing food and endless vineyards and olive groves. Most importantly, it is the land of our grandfather, Mario De Federicis, and his family.



Venice!

The timeless city of grand canals, famous piazzas, and romantic gondola rides! A whirlwind overnight tour will give you a chance to see the major highlights of this romantic city, or choose another exciting destination of your choice as an excursion from Rome.

This Dream Vacation is designed to give you the flexibility to plan your vacation to meet your own personal interests while enjoying traveling with family and friends!

Italy Itinerary – April 2011

Our trip has two arrival options. Gary and Gale will be arriving in Rome on Thursday (April 7^th) and driving straight to Teramo to spend some time with the family until everyone else gets there. Danny and Margarita will be departing on Friday and arriving in Italy on Saturday morning (April 9^th) and joining us in Teramo. So you can either choose to arrive on Thursday and travel to Teramo with us, or arrive on Saturday and travel to Teramo with Danny. Everyone is responsible for their own air travel arrangements, but travel arrangements throughout Italy will be arranged.

Here is the Itinerary with the two options:

Option #1: Wednesday (4/6): Overnight flight to Italy; Thursday: Arrive in Rome, travel by private driver to ABRUZZO/TERAMO

Option #2: Friday (4/8): Overnight flight to Italy; Saturday: Arrive in Rome, travel by private driver to ABRUZZO/TERAMO

Here is a summary of our trip:

• Visit the Abruzzo region until Monday
  
• Travel from Abruzzo to Rome and spend the next 5 days in Rome, including a side trip to a destination of our choice on Thursday. Some of the options include Venice, Naples, Florence and Tuscany.
  
• Saturday – Optional: Depart Rome for Velletri, or stay in Rome for an extra day.
  
• Sunday – Depart Velletri (or Rome) for airport for flight to USA
• Monday - Optional extension of your trip to Italy and the surrounding area
  

This itinerary is a 12-day trip or a 10-day trip depending on which itinerary you choose, but you may also want to maximize your time in Italy and extend your trip by remaining for a few extra days.

Abruzzo – The Land of our Grandfather

Depending on your travel plans, after an overnight flight to Italy you will arrive in Rome on Thursday or Saturday morning where we will meet our private driver for the two hour drive to the Abruzzo region on the opposite coast. We will travel through the scenic Appennine mountains and past hilltop villages before coming to the 10km tunnel through the Gran Sasso mountain and arriving in Teramo by early afternoon.

Our hotel in Teramo will either be the Hotel Abruzzi or the Gran Sasso Hotel, both of which are located in the heart of Teramo and are the only two choices in town. We will spend the next few days in this remote but beautiful part of Italy, visiting with family and touring the Abruzzo region.

Our heritage travels in Abruzzo will take us to Vallevaccaro, Roseto degli Abruzzi, and Cesacastina.

Gary, Danny and I have a special assignment while we are in Teramo – we will be looking at real estate with the possibility of purchasing property in the near future!

Rome and Beyond!

After our visit to the Abruzzo region and Teramo, we will travel to Rome for the remainder of our vacation. Rome will be our base as we spend the next few days in and around Rome, with a side trip to Venice or a destination of your choice on Thursday. The trip ends on Sunday, April 18^th, but for those of you who haven't seen enough of this enchanting country, you could extend your stay for a few days. Here is what we have planned for you for your Rome adventure:

Monday – April 12^th: We will arrive in Rome from Teramo in the early afternoon and check into our hotel(s). After lunch in one of the famous piazzas we can stop for a gelato to begin our quest to find the best gelato in Rome! The rest of the day and evening will be on your own.

Tuesday – April 13^th:
In the morning we will meet our personal tour guide, Roberto, for an orientation tour of Rome to include some of the major highlights and sights of this beautiful city. Roberto will then take us to a local trattoria for lunch where only the "locals" eat. After lunch, Roberto will take us to St. Peter's Basilica for an optional tour of the Vatican and Sistine Chapel. Gary, Danny and I have already done the Vatican tour so we won't be joining the group for this part of the tour. The evening will be on your own. I recommend stopping at "Giolitti", a century-old gelateria near the Pantheon to try the chestnut gelato, a favorite of Pope John Paul II.

Wednesday – April 14^th:
Rome on your own. Spend the day seeing some of the many other sights you haven't yet seen, or return to some of your favorites. Some suggestions would include a morning visit to the Campo di Fiori to experience the centuries old fruit and vegetable market, a trip to the Villa Borghese Gallery to view magnificent sculptures and artwork by such artists as Michelangelo and Bernini, a walk to the Trevi Fountain to throw a coin in the famous fountain and ensure your return to Rome (it works - see the photo below!), or a walk to test your luck by putting your hand in the "Mouth of Truth" as featured in the movies "Roman Holiday" and "Only You". There are so many ways you can spend this free day, and if you're feeling energetic you can even choose another of the "day trip" options listed below for Thursday. You could also use this time to browse in some shops or go shopping on the famous Via Condotti – wander through the roman streets and have fun getting lost and finding something new around every corner! This evening I suggest we do a "Rome by Night" tour on our own – Rome by day is fantastic, but at night it has a charm of its own with floodlit fountains and monuments, and lively illuminated piazzas. The Trevi Fountain is magical at night, and nearby is "San Crispino" where we can stop for their famous pistachio gelato!

Thursday, April 15^th:
This is the day that has been set aside for optional day trips. You could choose to stay in Rome, or travel to one of the many interesting places around Rome and beyond. I have listed some options below, and the first one would actually require an overnight stay, but the others would all be day trips and would get you back to Rome in time for dinner and a gelato! We do not all have to do the same day trips, and if you decide to do something other than what Gary and I are doing, we can easily help you arrange your trip.

Overnight trip to Venice:
Pack an overnight bag and leave in the morning from Rome either by private driver or express train and arrive in Venice by early afternoon. Spend the day sightseeing and visiting the famous landmarks. Depart the following morning or early afternoon and arrive back in Rome in time for dinner on Friday. NOTE: This trip would require another hotel expense in Venice, while still maintaining the hotel in Rome. That, of course, is optional but would be much easier than checking in and out of your Rome hotel and either storing your luggage somewhere or bringing it back and forth from Venice.

Bay of Naples and Amalfi Coast:
This would be a day-long trip out of Rome, and you cannot do ALL the things listed here in one day, but here are some of the choices to choose from: Tour of Naples including a stop in the world famous pizzeria where the Margherita pizza was invented. Tour of the ancient city of Pompeii destroyed in 79 AD by Mt. Vesuvius (Europe's only active volcano), burying the town and leaving it almost completely intact. A climb to the top of the active volcano can also be arranged. A visit to the Mediterranean town of Sorrento with its lemon groves and limoncello. A drive along the scenic cliff-hugging road to the Amalfi coast with a visit to the picturesque village of Positano. A boat ride to the famous isle of Capri with a visit to the famous Blue Grotto. Again, you cannot do all of these things in one day, but an option could be to choose one or two of these, or make this an overnight trip and return to Rome on Friday. Another important historical fact about this region – it is the original home of the Bolino (Boleeno) and Auricchio families (our grandparents' families)!

Florence:
One of my favorite cities! (Don't I sound very worldly – LOL). No trip to Italy is complete without a visit to Florence, the city that gave birth to the Renaissance. Florence is easily navigated by foot to see some of the famous sights including the Duomo, the Ponte Vecchio, the San Lorenzo market, and of course the famous piazzas with fountains and statues by famous Renaissance artists. The Uffizi Gallery (originally the home of the Medici's) and the Accademia are filled with priceless works of art, including Michelangelo's famous statue of "David".

Tuscany: A drive through the Chianti region through beautiful Tuscany will take you through scenic vineyards, olive groves, and hilltop medieval villages. A tour through one or two of these ancient villages or a wine tasting tour can be arranged. There are many options to choose from for this day-long tour including the walled city of Siena with its shell-shaped piazza and world-famous palio horseraces, San Gimignano – the city of beautiful towers, and Cortona, the setting for the movie "Under the Tuscan Sun". Tour Tuscany and sample their wines, cheeses, salami, olive oils and other local specialties. The Chianti area in Tuscany is one of the most beautiful in the whole region, as well as the most well-known and appreciated by visitors from across the world.

Other Options:
There are so many other options including a visit to the Umbrian town of Assisi (home of St. Francis of Assisi), or the famous walled city of Orvieto, or trips to nearby ancient villas such as Hadrian's Villa and Villa d'Este. Closer to Rome are the ancient catacombs, the ancient port of Ostia with historic ruins, or a walk along the Appian Way – the original cobblestoned road used by the romans and still bearing the tracks from chariot races.

For most of you this is your first visit to Italy, so take some time and do your own internet research to help decide which, if any, of these side trips you would like us to arrange for you.

Friday, April 16^th:
Since some of us may be returning from an overnight tour, this day is on your own. In the evening, I suggest we make reservations for a fabulous dinner for what will be for most of us our last evening in Rome, and then spend the remainder of the evening sipping wine or cocktails in an outdoor café as we watch the world go by. Later we can take a walk to the Spanish Steps and do as the Romans do and sit on the steps eating a gelato!

The next morning Gary and I will be leaving Rome, and it will be everyone's choice to either stay in Rome, or join us as we travel to Velletri.

Saturday, April 17^th:
We will board the commuter train (just follow me and Gary – we are now experts on commuter trains from Rome!) and head to the hills of Rome, where for centuries Popes and Romans have spent their summers to avoid the heat and crowds of Rome. We are heading for Velletri to spend the day and evening with Gabrielle, one of our Italian cousins, at her bed and breakfast. Her bed and breakfast is somewhat rustic and remote so we will be spending a quiet, relaxing evening here. We can visit the nearby town of Castel Gondolfo, the summer residence of the Pope which is considered part of the Vatican.

Sunday, April 18^th:
A transport service will pick us up in Velletri (or in Rome if anyone remained there) to drive us to the airport for our return trip to USA.

Optional - Monday, April 19^th:
This would be a good opportunity to extend your dream vacation by visiting other places in and around Italy – Pisa, Milan, the Italian Riviera, the French Riviera, Paris, Austria, Germany, Croatia, Tunisia – the choices are endless! Make it your own dream vacation!

Watch for These and Other Upcoming Posts:

• Hotels and Accommodations
  
• Estimated Expenses
  
• Travel Tips/Packing
  
• Destination Updates
  
• Italian Facts & Trivia
• Monday Morning Blogs