Viva Italia

[nicolepdonnelly]

Hi Marc,
We're so excited too! I'm 37 as well, My husband Mike is 38 and my mom will be going along too. She's 65! My kids (9 & 12) are practicing some Italian for the trip. THey want to be able to order in restaurants in Italian! We have wanted to go to Italy since my husband was there in the Navy. My mom's parents had gone many times, and my mom's 2 brothers have been there as well. She was the only one in her family that hadn't, so we saved and saved and included her in our trip. She is worried that she won't be able to keep up with the tour. I think she'll do fine.
Looking forward to hearing from everyone as we continue to get ready to go!
~nicole

 

[Cinci]

Hey Nicole,

My husband and I will be on the same tour as you and your family. We are Seniors too and look forward to meeting your mom. I don't think she will have a problem keeping up unless she has some health issues. You know 65 is the new 55!!!!!

I feel like we already know Marc!!!!

Where are you flying from? We are flying out of Orlando. I'm sure as we get closer to our departure date more people will be checking in here and you can see how many kids will be going with us. YOu can probably check in with ABD too in the future........... Patty

 

[nicolepdonnelly]

Hi Patty,
We are flying out of Rochester then Philadelphia. Thanks for all the info, I will probably be checking this thread regularly, I am one of those detail oriented people. I love all the extra info you can get here. I have questions pop in my mind all the time and it's nice to find the answers~or at least know I'm not the only one out there thinking of stuff!

~Nicole

 

[Cinci]

Nicole,
We will be flying to Rome from Philadelphia also. US Air flt. 718.... 6PM.

Looking forward to our trip and meeting new friends.

 

[KyleRayner]

I'm flying out of JFK on the evening of 9/20, arriving in Rome the morning of 9/21. We're staying an extra night in Venice, so we're flying home on 9/30.

 

[nicolepdonnelly]

Wow Patty! We're flying out on US AIR 718 too!

 

[Cinci]

Cooooooollllllllllll!!!!!!!!!! I wonder how many others from ABD will be joining us on that flight.

What time do you get into Philadelphia? Our flight from Orlando is "scheduled" to arrive at 4pm, but know that US Air flights are sometimes delayed 60 - 70% of the time, depending on the flight and where it originates from...... ........ My husband is retired from the airlines(Lufthansa) so we are just keeping our fingers crossed. I check the flights every day and so far that flight has only been late twice and cancelled once. I'm too Obsessive Compulsive not to take a peek every day. ABD had already changed the flight once since we booked and may change again, who knows? We should have flown in a day earlier, I know, but woulda, coulda, shoulda, too late now. ha.

I know in my heart all will work in our favor and each one of us will have the time of our lives. So many memories will be made and shared on this trip.

Patty

 

[alebisi]

hey guys! I am Italian, I know you will enjoy your trip, I just reccomend you to bring all kinds of clothes... because in September can be very hot but also some times cold, and beware of AlItalia... is not the best airline... just get there with extra time! Enjoy your trip!

 

[Cinci]

Hey Alebisi,,,,,,, thanks for the tip on clothing. Probably cooler in the evenings, huh?

We are flying US Airways all the way to Rome from Philadelphia.....

My husband and I are both Italian too but have not been to Italy, only my parents have been there many times.

Patty

 

[Kris10luvsDisney]

Hi Nicole!

My DH & I are also on the 9/21 Viva Italia tour. We are leaving our 2 kiddos at home and we will be celebrating our 10th anniversary! I'm 36, DH is 35 so we are around the same age too! Looking forward to meeting you in Italy

Alebisi- Thanks for the heads up on the clothing and also Alitalia. We are flying them from JFK to Rome, hopefully we won't have any issues, we are supposed to arrive at 6:00 am, so even with some delays, we should still be in Rome with plenty of time before the tour starts!

 

[nicolepdonnelly]

I just got off the phone with ABD and it looks like the trip so far has very few children on it. I called to see if they could tell me how many kids, they said they could tell me if there are kids and the age range (but not exactly how many). I wanted to know because we are bringing our 9 & 12 yr olds. SHe told me there is at least a few more in the age range of 10-13, but you never know if they will cancel or change dates etc. I hope there will be some others for our kids to hang out with!
I was reading about passports on some other threads. They were talking about carrying a copy of it and leaving the original in the hotel room. Any thoughts on that?

 

[nicolepdonnelly]

Hi all! We are almost at 120 days until we fly to Italy!

Time's movin' fast and I love reading all the recent trip reports!

Hope all our trip buddies are well and hope to hear more on this post as time gets closer!

 

[cydlei]

Hi Nicole,
When we were in Italy last week (I can't believe I just said that! ), our guides advised us to leave our passports in the hotel room safe (s). We carried our Driver's Licenses just in case we were picked up for not smoking in public or some other such offense
You are going to have the time of your life!
Cindy

 

[nicolepdonnelly]

Thanks Cindy- there are so many little questions I have like that. It really helps to have these boards with advice and tips from others!
So glad you had a great trip!
~nicole

 

[jackienut]

Hi Cindy,
I have really enjoyed reading your trip reports. My Dh and I are just under four weeks out from our trip. Would you please report on the locations (if any) in which you were NOT allowed to take photos and thanks for all the tips.

 

[cydlei]

HI Jackienut,
The photography policies were weird and very confusing but your guides will tell you when and when not to take photos. As we remember, the Vatican museum was OK with non-flash photog. The Sistine was "non" to either. St. Peter's was OK with non-flash photog. St. Marks's in Venice was "non" to either. The Duomos in Orvietto and Florence were OK with non-flash, but we saw lots of flashes going off. But, you know what, it just didn't feel right to flash when folks were there to pray. You will see signs on the doors of the churches re: their policies. Err on the side of caution and decorum and you'll be o.k.
Cindy

 

[ashky71]

I was on the same trip as Cindy and I would like to add that there were no pics allowed in the Accadamia where the real David was. They do take you to a fake David for pics. As Cindy said the guides are good at telling you the info that you need to know about pics.

 

[KyleRayner]

Just checking in with my fellow Viva Italia travelers. Any of you guys already have or look into getting a International Converter for the outlets there?

I saw this on Sharper Image and wondered if it was a good buy:

www.sharperimage.com/us/en/catalog/product/sku__FZ508

 

[Kris10luvsDisney]

Hey Mark-

I also saw a converter on Brookstone's site for $20, but it's only a 50 watt plug, so not sure if that is enough for a hair dryer? (I'm sure not an issue for you ) but the one you found looks like a nice item with lots of options!
I'm getting so excited! There is so much to plan still. The main thing I am contemplating is what type of bag/wallet to bring. I'm leaning towards a backpack for myself and one of those wallet on a string things (the official term is not coming to me right now!). How about you?
I'm also thinking of looking into tix for the Uffizi (sp?) museum, but haven't decided if I just want to totally relax while in Orvieto, or if want to add another day trip into the mix!

 

[KyleRayner]

Hey Mark-

I also saw a converter on Brookstone's site for $20, but it's only a 50 watt plug, so not sure if that is enough for a hair dryer? (I'm sure not an issue for you ) but the one you found looks like a nice item with lots of options!
I'm getting so excited! There is so much to plan still. The main thing I am contemplating is what type of bag/wallet to bring. I'm leaning towards a backpack for myself and one of those wallet on a string things (the official term is not coming to me right now!). How about you?
I'm also thinking of looking into tix for the Uffizi (sp?) museum, but haven't decided if I just want to totally relax while in Orvieto, or if want to add another day trip into the mix!

I was looking into getting a money belt, but haven't bought one yet. I'm going to check with my travel agent to see what she thinks. She did the Viva Italia trip last year and books many ABD trips for people. If she gives me any helpful tips, I'll post them here.