A Funny thing happened on Our Way to Via Napoli NEW4/21...July Plans&arrive in Rome

[MEK]

Welcome to "A funny thing happened on the way to Via Napoli..." (We wound up in Rome!) ...


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I thought I subbed, but apparently I never did from my phone and here I am looking for your TR. Doh!

But I'm here now!

 

[Charleston Princess]

I am here, Patricia!!! Love, love, love the pictures!!! I even love everyone's coats! And I love your title -- makes me want to watch A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum!

Your road trip is going to be so much fun -- Charleston, Savannah, and Disney World -- three of my favorite places! Swoon!

 

[PracPerfPatricia]

I shall live vicariously through you until Harold and I finally make our way to Venice! Love the photos so far, so amazing!

Hey Alysa ...glad you're here... Oh... have you ever seen Only You? It's a cute, light RomCom... with Marisa Tomei and Robert Downey Jr. - takes place mostly in Venice, Rome & the Almalfi Coast... cute film... gorgeous settings...

Lovely start to your TR!! You all look like you had a wonderful time in Rome! Am looking forward to reading more about all your WDW travel plans!

Thanks Magdalene... Rome was really wonderful- I'm looking forward to writing about my WDW travel plans...

I'm in!! Excellent start!

Thanks Wendy! Glad you're here...

So in

Hey Cynthia, I hope it's good... lol....

I'm here; I need a day or two to catch up having just got back from Florida today but I will be back.

Oh Kathy...I'm happy to "see you"... I hope all of that rain/water has stopped...

Here, I'm here! Me, Pick me, I'm here!

Yeah... lol... I pick you... btw... If I haven't mentioned it... your avatar picture is super cute...

Hello Patricia! Let's just see if I can keep up! I hope so. Lot's happening around your house very soon!!!
I'm talking about Prom!!!!

Hey Anita... yes lot's happening around here... Em's last high school play last night...(they're all ---the drams kids) on a crying jag... and prom is in two weeks... very exciting...)

 

[PracPerfPatricia]

I'm in...love the intro...you're such a good writer! I'll be living vicariously through your Roman holiday since I haven't made it there yet!

Glad you dropped in... Thanks about the writing... Oh I live vicariously through lots of writing... That's one of the most awesome things about books actually... you can escape to anywhere you want...

I'm coming along for this one too.

Glad you're here...

I'm here, too!!! Let's get this party started!!

Hey Ann... I'm up for a party....... I'll get us some adult beverages...

I'm here!! Sounds like an exciting report

Glad you're here Krysten...

I'm in! On my lunch break from my phone, so I will read it all tonight. Looking good so far!


Great intro...can't wait to read all about it!

Hey Suzi... ... we'll have some fun...

I'm here!

Debra- welcome and wow-it that a 10 mile Dis run banner I see in your signature??? YOU Go girl! You can be my inspiration...

 

[PracPerfPatricia]

I'm here! I can't wait to hear all about Italy. We went to Europe a couple of years ago and it killed me to leave Italy of the list of destinations. But I knew it deserved its own trip, so we went to Prague, London, Paris and Amsterdam on that trip and we're saving Italy for a future trip.

Hey Missy... glad you dropped by... I have to pop by and catch up on both of your TRs and Franklin's fabulous photos... Rome was really amazing and years ago... Eric and I went to Venice and Florence by ourselves before David was born... they were magical... You definitely should do an Italy trip... you'd love it...

I'm here!

Hey Jen... happy to "see you" and I love your trip place holder...

I’m here, too! I love the photos you have shared so far!

Glad you're here Erin ... Thanks about the photos...

Okay...I'm back as promised. I LOVE your intros. I can't wait to hear all about Italy.

Kathy- I really hope all is well there... I don't like the way all of that rain and flooding sounds... I'm hoping you all have dry, sunny days ahead...

 

[PracPerfPatricia]

Hi

I am here and I am looking forward to seeing Italy. I would love to travel outside of the states, someday!

I agree, loved your intro

Thanks ... ... Glad you came over and your trip will be here before you know it... under two months...

I thought I subbed, but apparently I never did from my phone and here I am looking for your TR. Doh!

But I'm here now!

Mary Ellen... you're home... and apparently safe.. I need to come read about HH & your hospital stop... I'm glad you're ok and here...

I am here, Patricia!!! Love, love, love the pictures!!! I even love everyone's coats! And I love your title -- makes me want to watch A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum!

Your road trip is going to be so much fun -- Charleston, Savannah, and Disney World -- three of my favorite places! Swoon!

Jackie... I'm always glad to "see you"... but even more so right now... because I was going to message you to see if you have any good reads for Charleston & / or Savannah... fiction or non-fiction? I'd love to have some good reads to set the stage... and I know where to go to get some good book enabling...

 

[PracPerfPatricia]

July Road Trip Plans and First Day in Rome...

That's my Roman Legion... getting me through the crowds and Southern July weather

So We've made a few changes to our Summer Road Trip... which we have yet to share with the kids... but we're the adults and so that's our prerogative....:



We are still Driving... (which should be all kinds of interesting...) we've never driven to Florida...and our stops on the way... (Charleston) and on the way back (Savannah) aren't exactly half way... (that would be more like Charlotte NC) but that's the plan... and that part we're sticking with...

We are still staying in Charleston for 3 nights...

However after going over it & talking to Eric (who feels strongly about this next change) ... we are going to SKIP Universal... and add an extra day onto Disney... So we'll be staying 5 nights instead of 4 at Disney and an extra night in Savannah so we'll be staying there for 3 nights instead of two. There literally was no more room at the Inn... (the Boardwalk-since we're DVCing it) so we added a night on front at the AoA... Family Suite in the Cars Area)...



So this trip now looks like...

July 12-14th. Leave super early like between night and morning early ...driving down stopping in Charleston for three nights, probably getting there by dinner the first day, so actually two full days to explore...
July 15th... Leave Charleston...driving down to WDW...probably getting there mid afternoon... staying one night in AoA... Family Suite in Cars area...
July 16th-19th staying at the Boardwalk Inn DVC 4 nights... so 4 full park days...
July 20th-probably doing one of the Disney Water Parks... leaving by early afternoon and gettting to Savannah by night...
July 21st-22nd... two full days in Savannah... maybe drive over to Tybee Island...
July 23rd... Drive Home



3 nights in Charleston, 5 nights in Disney, 3 nights in Savannah...




The decision to skip Univeral (at least for this trip) was based on several criteria... 1. We had wanted to stay on site at Univeral -to take advantage of the Universal "fast pass" and the hotels were pretty expensive for that time period... we haven't been there and Eric and I felt that we didn't want to rush both parks into a day and a half (by the time we drove from Charleston-maybe even later...more like mid afternoon) 2. It's going to be the prime of summer, hot and the thought of running like crazy to get value out of the Universal tickets didn't appeal this time... we know we'll be back to Florida...Is anyone really shocked? so we'll save it for a time we can have a bit more leisurely Universal Experience...3. Having a little extra padding on our Disney time to get settled and extra time in Savannah... & Finally, it will actually be cool and novel to stay in the Family Suite in AoA... Eric has an AP and was able to get a pretty good discount on it... & I think it-especially the Cars section ties in nicely to our "Roadtrip". So all in all I feel pretty good about this whole decision and plan...

Also, considering the fact that it's the summer... I made a few less ADRs than normal... during the summer... I like a little more flexibility ...since everyone isn't as hungry all the time...

This is what I currently have...

M 7/15... (Just added this night) Arrival staying one night at AoA... not sure what I want for dinner... Should we just do AoA food court? DTD... WPE? Raglan Road? Not sure... thinking, thinking, ouch...it's starting to hurt...
T 7/16... Sanaa Lunch at 1pm
W7/17...Crystal Palace Breakfast 8:10... HAVE NEVER DONE this...
Th 7/18... Yachtsman 7pm... HAVE NEVER DONE either
F 7/19 Lunch with an Imagineer at the HBD (again ) and Sci Fi for kids...
S 7/20 Boma Breakfast at 8







-Going to go to Kimos in the Swan... David loves the Sushi there...
-Deciding whether to try to get Via Napoli... maybe for Lunch or try Tutto Italia ...
-possibly grabbing a lunch or dinner at Kona...
-Em wants a lunch at BoG






So while I'm thinking about that (think, think, think...)




A little bit about our journey to Rome...

We were flying Alitalia out of JFK... at 10:15 pm... scheduled to land in Rome at about 11:30 am. It takes about 2 hours ... maybe a little more to get to JFK from our house... plus factor in the cushion time to get through security, etc. and sometime to grab a little dinner... we left our house at about 4:00.

Now I was supposed to have come up with someplace to eat on the way... and I had a spark of inspiration. TMS... The Meatball Shop. The two owners do a Visa commercial that you might have seen (or not) and they were also on Unique Eats. (I have a thing for Diners, Drive Ins and Dives, Unique Eats and Unique Sweets all shown on the Cooking Channel.) The Concept of TMS is basically simple... meatballs... beef, pork, chicken, vegetable (I believe) with your choice of choice ...marinara, spicy,mushroom, parmesan cream, pesto, etc. on or next to a side... pasta, polenta, beans, risotto or mashed potatoes and a variety of green choices. There are also meatball sliders. They have a bar & wine. A couple of choices for dessert including gelato. There are a few specials... but it's the meatballs they're famous for ... and although it may sound a bit bizarre... the concept works really well and the food was excellent. We went to the location in Brooklyn but they have three in Manhattan. Great choice for a relatively quick fun dinner with or without kids... but get there early ... it gets crowded- they don't take reservations.









& an affogato ... gelato with a shoot of espresso over it... grown up sundae... heaven...





Everyone fed... we made our way to JFK... We were leaving our car with a park & take the van kind of service... and everything went fairly smoothly.We arrived at JFK with plenty of time to spare. It was late so there wasn't any curb side check in. So off we toddled to the Alitalia counter. Incredibly excited, very full, (a little tomato sauce here and there). Alitalia attendants look like what you imagine Airline Attendants look like or at least what Mad Men flight attendants would look like. Everyone who works for Alitalia (at least that I saw) were attractive and incredibly pulled together and spoke perfect English with sophisticated Italian accented voices. Seriously -when I was a little girl and I had a Barbie airplane... my Ken and Barbie aspired to be as pulled together as the Alitalia staff. This was even more true when we boarded the plane. I wish I had taken photos of them but their outfits were green and black and down to each man and woman, they were all perfectly coiffed, pressed and chicly attractive.

We did our traditional plane family seating arrangement... boys behind, girls in front... Even though they were offering dinner and entertainment... I knew from past experience that it would be way better to just try to sleep to get adjusted to the time changes. (The boys stayed awake for a while while we fitfully trying to sleep in front... We were on a 777 and it felt really cramped... I just couldn't get really comfortable and I think next time I fly transatlantic or to the west coast (any flight 6 + hours...) I'm going to take a sleeping pill...Fitfull sleep aside...

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Continued in Next Post...

 

[PracPerfPatricia]

Continued from Above Post...

To me, there is something just completely magical about arriving in another country. Even though flight has become completely standard, I just think that it's pretty amazing that we live in a time that we can fly overseas... to a foreign country in 8 hours. It's pretty amazing I think. The other thing that was kind of cool... and I've noticed this on other transatlantic flights is that the passengers clap upon landing. (I've noticed that happens less and less on domestic flights.) I know I'm also pretty pleased that the captain's managed to pilot the plane safely over the Atlantic.

We did get through customs and luggage pretty quickly and had arranged to have a driver meet us to take us to the apartment we had rented for the week. Completely exhausted, deliriously happy and excited, we piled ourselves and our luggage into his car and made our way into the center of Rome. At first, other than the signs all being in Italian and lots of Fiats on the road, we could have almost been anywhere in the Western World outside a large city. But as we drew closer towards the city... things really did begin to look different than home. (I had been a bit nervous for the month before we left... having heard a story of someone who went to Rome and hated it; thinking it to be just like New York but with an Italian overlay. Now I happen to like New York but I really had different expectations of Rome and I really was hoping that we weren't headed for "Italian New York". But not to worry...as soon as we got to the city limits... everything just looked different. The green of the trees and grass was different... more olive; the buildings were made out of very different material than the large amounts of brick that I'm used to... & then I saw the dome of St. Peter's Basilica in the distance and my heart just soared... I thought...just behind that lied the Vatican Museum and the Sistine Chapel and then in a bit we went around the side of the Pantheon... and I was just blown away... and then we arrived at the apartment we had rented for the following week.

Interesting thing about Europe. It's old... I mean in comparison to the United States, it's really pretty old. Which means steps..., lots of them. Carting luggage down a cobblestone street and then into a four hundred year old building that's been converted into apartments and then up stairs... well it's an interesting experience. The adventurer in me thought well this is pretty cool. My efficient American side thought this would so not go down at home... plus there's probably several safety regs that would have already been broken....

The Apartment we rented was quite nice... not luxurious by any means... probably at the level of a Moderate in Disney parlance, clean, attractive, petite kitchenette with a fridge, stove and most importantly coffeemaker. The man we rented it from was lovely... he actually had the apartment below us and owned a wine store two buildings down. (Emily and I kept playing a how/what would we do/decorate this if it belonged to us game... fun fantasy) An apartment really works out well for a family in Europe both because there aren't nearly as many rooms that have two doubles or/queens in one room...so you often would need two rooms plus the fact that it gives you the flexibility to make some small meals in the apartment. ) We were literally two blocks from a hotel that we were paying a quarter for the apartment of what we would have paid for the hotel. (I have a couple of photos... I'll try to post more later when I find them... I don't know what photobucket did to them...)








After we got settled in, I'm not exactly sure what happened to me... I remember talking to Eric one minute and then the next I literally must have passed out...fallen asleep... all I remember is waking up four hours later. (Everything I've ever read says not to sleep during the day your arrival day... that it will ruin your schedule... but honestly... it wasn't even a conscious choice. When I woke up it turns out that Eric had unpacked, David was watching TV and playing computer games. Eric and David had gone for a quick walk around the 'hood and taken a few photos in front of the Pantheon and found a little grocery store.





(the first of so many fountains in Rome... when I think of Rome now... it's always the fountains I think about & the Bernini sculpture...)


Emily had also fallen asleep for a bit. I knew the next day I had scheduled a Roman Food Tour that I was looking forward to... but I didn't want nothing to show for our first day... so I freshened up and we went out for about a half mile walk to the Trevi Fountain and a restaurant that I had found in an online article written by a mom with four kids... so I figured as tired and bedraggled as we might be... it would be ok.

It was dark out and therefore harder to see down certain streets... I was aware of cobblestones... very uneven cobblestones... it took me a day or two to adjust, fiats, fiats parked everywhere and beautiful Vespas. As we got closer to the Trevi Fountain... the crowds began to increase and finally... there it was in front of me... The Trevi Fountain. It was ENORMOUS. You see pictures of these things and it's really hard to get the perspective of just how large they are. ENORMOUS... since it was close to 7:30 and everyone was starving... we decided we'd save a closer examinination of it for our way back.

Now, 7:30 in Rome turns out to be a late lunch or maybe aperitivo hour... for many Italians going out to dinner... 10 seems to be the time they start. In fact when we were leaving our 2 hour dinner... there were several Italian families with little children just coming in... We went to a restaurant called Il Chianti... It was a little touristy but in a nice way...it that makes any sense...there were definitely tourists but Italians too and the food was really very good... we had some pasta, lamb, salad, bread, wine, gelato... lots of good things... that I actually forgot to write this night due to my jet lag... but I have some photos...















Afterwards, again really full... sensing a theme here?... we toddled over to the Trevi fountain after this...



the Trevi... stunning... it's just unreal in person... & yes we all threw in coins...









A night time photo in front of the Pantheon...



It was time to go back to sleep to wake up in Rome for our first full day...
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[teekathepony]

Cool, an AoA day! I have a soft spot for that resort of course. I really enjoyed it. And Cars was the most awesome section too! Love your ADR choices, I would recommend AoA food court for the first day, it's pretty neat, lots of different choices.

LOVE your Rome pics!! My parents just got back from Rome, their pictures had me drooling. I really need to get me there some day!

 

[Victoriasmom98]

What a wonderful start to your journey!! It looks so sureal to me as I never even though of travelling to another country (ok, Canada doesn't count). Your pictures are beautiful! Is it hard to navigate around the city? Did you walk most everywhere you went?

As for your Disney plans, I'm all for spending more time in Disney! Universal can wait! Now, can you use DVC points at AoA? I don't know how those work.

Anyways, can't wait to read more!

 

[Charleston Princess]

Patricia, I will be back to comment on your Rome beginnings, but I wanted to inundate you with book suggestions for your trip. LOL!

Charleston:
Anything by Pat Conroy or Dorothea Benton Frank
Karen White has some set in Charleston -- notably On Folly Beach (loved) and The House on Tradd Street books.
Patti Callahan Henry has some set in Charleston
Lowcountry by Anne Rivers Siddons
Charleston by Alexandra Ripley (historical fiction)
North and South and its sequels by John Jakes

Savannah
Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil by John Berendt (must-read for a Savannah trip and then you HAVE to go to Bonaventure Cemetary)
Savannah Blues, Savannah Breeze, and Blue Christmas by Mary Kay Andrews
The Magnolia League and The White Glove War by Katie Crouch (YA but I love them)
Saving CeCe Honeycutt by Beth Hoffman

Those were the ones that popped into my mind -- I will let you know if I think of others.

 

[Deemarch]

 

[eandesmom]

I think your changes are good given all that you are packing in on both sides. A bit sad not to go to the dark side, it really is wonderful, but to have it on top of the rest does sound rushed and a wee bit stressful.

Love the TMS concept, Jeff would be all over that!

Sometimes you just have to crash, even if you r mind wants you up the body does what it will.

Fabulous start to your Roma adventure!

I was laughing about the cobblestones. Jeff and I brought the absolute wrong suitcase on our Italy trip we were trying to consolidate and instead had one giant heavy thing which was just nuts to haul up and down stairs, try to roll on cobblestones...DOH!

Pretty funny in retrospect.

 

[MEK]

Holy mega update.

Hmmm - let's see.

3 nights in Charleston - smart. Please stop in Kaminsky's and have a piece of red velvet cheesecake for me. It's heaven and I never got there. We did a quick pit stop in Charleston on the way home and Kaminsky's is only open form 12-2pm on Sundays.

2 nights in Savannah - also very cool. We had lunch at Vic's on the River. It was lovely and I highly recommend it. The shrimp and grits were amazing, as were the fried green tomatoes.

We also had ice cream at Leopold's. Yum.

The drive from Savannah to Tybee is like 12 miles. Very, very close and easy.

AOA for a night - nice.

Love your ADRs.

Love the start of your Rome trip. The apartment is lovely and your first meal looks amazing and that fountain......I could just go on gushing, but I'll stop.

 

[nodnol]

Hi PPP, I'm a little late but I'm here!
Your WDW road trip sounds wonderful, if I ever can convince my husband to come on a WDW trip with me, it surely will be some kind of road trip as well. So I'm looking forward to hear about your plans and then the actual trip.

As for Rome: I always wanted to go back there! I spent ten days there with school when I was 17, it was a great trip and we saw lots of things, but I would like to explore on my own...
I had to smile about your suitcases Berlin is in no way a medieval city, but still the walk from an underground station or bus stop to a hotel can get difficult with too many or too big suitcases, so I see desperate tourists nearly every day, not only from America

 

[Disney9.9.10]

Great update! I like your new Florida plans. They make complete sense, and you get another day in WDW!

I'm loving the Rome report too. I would love to go to Europe some day. The architecture is so beautiful. Your apartment is really cute too

 

[KatMark]

Patricia, I am FINALLY back and caught up.

I simply love your introductions and the before and after pictures.

Your July plans sound fabulous (just a little word...WE love the first morning ADR at Crystal Palace and we went to Yachtsman in December for Mark's 60th and loved it so much we were back there two weeks ago, and Boma is ALWAYS a winner in our book).

Your arrival day in Rome sounds lovely, and I will live through your pictures. I don't see me ever flying to Rome as I have a hard enough time with a 3 hour flight let alone an 8 hour flight.

You must have been awfully tired to just crash like that.

Your dinner looks so yummy.

Can't wait to read more.

 

[solana131]

Great start to your Rome adventure. I just love all the fountains...I think that's why I love Epcot so much too

A night at AoA will be fun! And you're right, the Cars section is the best for your "theme". I think we may end up there in August too (the Lion King section though), but that is still up in the air for now.

I think you made the right choice in regards to Universal. You would be way too rushed and it looks like so much fun, so you want to go when you can fully enjoy it.

 

[DisMomAmy]

Late... but I'm here!

 

[KathyRN137]

Buonasera Patricia!

My, how your kids have grown! Your plans sound wonderful.

Our family is road-tripping it to WDW in July as well! Not quite sure if I'm looking forward to that little part of the adventure!

Looking forward to more plans...

Kathy