We made it!! After years of wanting to go to Rome, I finally decided it was time!! This trip started the wheels in motion for non stop travel since for me.
In 2017, I came into a little bit of extra money and I decided it was time to use that for an experience of a lifetime for me and my children. Sure I could have saved that money and used it for a rainy day but I wanted to have my children experience a memory that they would always have with their mom. So after some thought, I decided I may not ever have this opportunity again. We are all healthy at this point of our lives (although my son was recuperating from a broken leg in two places and I am a type 1 diabetic and you don't always know what is around the corner) so I thought my son, Justin would be well enough in May 2017, let just do it! I called a dear friend that I had been in a show with at Disneyworld over 25 yrs ago and I saw on Facebook that he currently has his own travel company, Platinum Travel,which by the way I highly recommend. He set up the trip of a lifetime for us of the places and things we wanted to do on our own without traveling with a group of people. So we began our journey of a lifetime. My children still thank me for the trip and we still talk about all the fun and amazing things we did.
To prepare ourselves for the trip, my daughter took an Italian class in college, I studied Italian on duo lingo and my son basically hadn't prepared but when we got there. he used the google translate app from English to Italian and would walk up to a barista at a coffee shop and impress us with his conversational skills. We explored Rome to its fullest. We stayed at the quaint hotel on the northern side of Rome called the Romantico Palace which was the perfect location(quiet and lovely) and was in our price range and I thought absolutely dreamy.
We toured the Vatican and the Sistine Chapel, the Colosseum, the Forum, the Pantheon, the Trevi Fountain, and the Spanish Steps. But the coolest thing to do was to experience the culture, the people, and the food which my kids and I think is the freshest in the world!! I haven't been to too many places yet but hopefully this blog is around for a few more years and we can find out if this still holds true.
We then took a high speed train, the Italio, to Venice. Unfortunately, the train broke for about an hour in one of the tunnels which is kind of rare. But these tunnels aren't like the Lincoln Tunnel in NYC which is 3 miles long...they are 20 miles long or more! So when the train broke down; they powered down the train to save electricity or something, I don't think I clearly heard why as I started to panic a bit. There were no lights in the tunnel and now the train. It was pitch black. My kids had started falling asleep on the train so they were sleepy and didn't seem to be as worried as me. I was trying to communicate with the attendant on the train but she actually appeared to be very worried herself and then rattled off in several languages what was going on with our train. I managed to hear that there are two ways out of this situation. Another train would pull aside of us in the tunnel and somehow we would transfer trains or the second possibility is that they would be able to power up the train again and get it going. After an hour, they were able to power the train again. Venice, where we were headed, was going to be the second stop. I thought maybe we should get off at the first stop but we stayed on since the train appeared to be running fine now.
We finally arrived at Venice! It was everything we ever imagined and worth the train ride!!!
We took a taxi ride to our hotel that was located on the grand canal about a half block in called the Teson. It was an old fashioned hotel with a a hotel clerk that had a wall full of tassel keys that you would see from a 1940's Hollywood movie. He was quite a character and I think made our stay at that hotel a real treat! I must say Platinum Travel did a great job choosing our hotels. The next few days would be exploring all that Venice has to offer and exploring the many nooks and crannies, tiny canals and bridges that make up Venice. maps really don't help too much...we found when you ask for directions the locals would say go to the first bridge, cross it go about 50 ft, go underneath the tunnel then come out and cross the next bridge and so forth. My son, who was fixated on finding a gym, managed to find one and somehow found his way to the same gym everyday. My daughter and I were lucky if we hit the same spot twice. We also took a day to trip to three islands off of Venice. Murano, Burano and Torcelli. We really enjoyed Murano where they have glassblowing and a gift shop that has the most spectacular chandeliers I have ever seen in my life. Our trip was coming to a close and one of the coolest things to do was leave on a water taxi to the Venice airport which is surrounded by water. When we got in the water taxi for the airport, I figured it would travel about the same speed as the water taxi that took us to our hotel. Well it did for about five minutes then it took off too fast you had to hold onto the boat. The driver said they move fast in the open waters!! I guess they do. Next thing I know we pull up at a dock that says American Airlines. It was just kind of funny to see and we get off the taxi and climb a few stairs and now we are in the airport for our ride home.
It was a trip of a lifetime and I never regret spending the money. Some people wait until they are older and can't get around as well or other people say if only I did this when I was younger, or if only I had more money, if only....I say WHY NO!! MAGARI!
Next blogs: Antigua, Barcelona, Cuba, and taking improv classes in NYC
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