Itinerary with Internet Links

As sent from my e-mail today . . .

I thought it might be fun to give you an outline of our itinerary, with internet links, for your fun!

*N.B. Guided tours all include Whisper-Voxtours headsets

Saturday, March 10 – Depart from home.  Fly to Rome.

Sunday, March 11 (Rome) –

Arrive into Fiumicino Airport.  Get through Customs.  Catch our Shuttle bus (or take the Termini Express Train to get to the hotel).

Guided tour of Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls

Guided Colosseum and Roman Forum tour

Time on your own – Mass at Santa Maria Maggiore (5:30 PM)

8 PM  Dinner at our Hotel (Hotel Diana)

Brief Stroll in our hotel’s neighborhood

Monday, March 12 (Rome) –

Guided Tour of Vatican Museums and Sistine Chapel

Guided Tour of Basilica of St. Peter (Vatican)

Guided Tour of Basilica di San Giovannni in Laterano

Guided Tour of Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore

8 PM  Dinner at our Hotel (Hotel Diana)

Anyone up for hanging out at the Piazza Navona?  Tartuffo at Tre Scalini?

Tuesday, March 13 (Free Day in Rome)

AM with Hudec – Ostia Antica

PM with Hudec – A Roman Walk:

                Piazza del Popolo

                Piazza di Spagna

                Fontana di Trevi

                3-4 PM Visit to the Pontifical North American College (“the NAC”)

                Pantheon

                Church of Santa Maria sopra Minerva

                Piazza Navona, Bernini’s Four Rivers Fountain

8:30 PM  Dinner at our Hotel (Hotel Diana)

Stroll by the ancient sites at night (GREAT PICTURES)

Wednesday, March 14 (Travel to Siena)

Group Splits:

Papal Audience Group:

9 AM  Load bags onto Bus, and take Metro/Bus to Piazza di San Pietro

10:30 Attend Papal Audience

12 Noon  Take Metro to Tiburtina; catch 2 PM Sena bus at Bus Station

5 PM  Disembark bus in Siena at Piazza Gramsci (we’ll be there, waiting for you)

The rest of us:

9 AM  Load bus and bags; travel to Siena, stopping in Orvieto for lunch

4 PM  Check in to hotel (Max Executive); take bus to Center of Siena

5 PM  Meet Papal Audience group at Piazza Gramsci

TOGETHER:

Tour city of Siena, including a visit to the Duomo.

8:30  Dinner together at restaurant in center of town

10:30  Return to hotel (Max Executive) by private bus

Thursday, March 15 (Florence)

Private Bus to Florence

½ day walking tour of Florence:

Uffizi Entrance and tour

3 course lunch at a typical trattoria

Free time in Florence

Private Bus return to Siena

Dinner on your own in Siena; Pizza-making cooking class for those who have pre-booked

Return to hotel (Max Executive) after dinner by private bus

Friday, March 16 (Assisi)

Private Bus to Assisi

Guided City Tour of Assisi on foot, including entrance to Basilica of San Francesco

Lunch on your own in Assisi

Private Bus to Rome

Final dinner at hotel in Rome (Hotel Diana)

Saturday, March 17 (Depart)

Return home!  Fly Smart!

Hugs to you all,

Laura

There's an app for that

Looking for some good, cheap apps which might help build your knowledge of Italy or Italian?  iTunes is full of free (and expensive) apps!  Consider searching by some of the following searches:

Italian language
Italy travel
Italian recipes/food/cooking
Italy art
Italy museums

HUGS,
Laura

Eating on our Trip

This week, I've had the privilege of talking about meals with Hotel Diana (Rome), and thought this would be a great time to give you an idea of what to expect for meals on this trip.

N.B.  This is exactly the same as what I've told you in the past, but more specific!

Colazione:  ("faccio colazione" - I'm eating breakfast)  For breakfasts, we'll have buffets at both hotels.  These will consist of the standard breads and spreads, but often also include fruit, sweet breads (coffee cake, etc.), and slices of cheese and meat.  Then, there will be warm (coffee, hot chocolate, warm milk) and cold (water, juices, whole milk) beverages available for your drinking.  Here are the hotels' descriptions of their breakfast spreads:

Hotel Diana's Restaurant - the first picture is part of the breakfast spread!

SanGallo Hotel's Breakfast Buffet

Pranzo:  You'll have time to grab lunch on your own.  In Florence, we'll have a three-course lunch together at a typical eatery (trattoria), and dinner will be on our own that day (or you'll be doing the pizza-making party with me!).  Don't forget:  If you get food at a place where you have the options to grab-and-go or to sit, you could be charged more for sitting!!!  And, when you eat at a sit-down place, expect to have "Service" added to your bill.

Cena:  ("Mangiamo" - let's eat!)  Dinners will be standard three-course dinners.  This includes a primo (usually pasta), a secondo (usually a meat, with a veggie side), and a dolce (dessert).  Sometimes you'll get an antipasto (bruschetta, insalata, or sliced meats/veggies) for your primo.

An example of una cena at Hotel Diana (this may just be our first night's menu):

Primo:  Rigatoni pomodoro e basilico (Tube pasta with a tomato-basil sauce)

Secondo:  Aristi di maiale al forno (Oven roasted pork tenderloin)

                con patate (with potato)

Dolce

per bevere (drinking):  On top of this, there's the topic of drink.  It's normal that drinks "aren't included", which means you need to expect to buy your drink, whatever you have.  It is standard in Italy that people who are out for dinner will split the cost of a large bottle of water to share at the table.  Cokes are SUPER expensive - if you HAVE to have caffeine, why not try a caffe latte after dinner, instead?  And it's not at the dinner table where you should be chugging water.  Plan to carry a water bottle around with you all day, which you can refill, as your source of hydration, and which you can leave in the room when we head to dinner.  

When you completed your applications with SPI, you included information about any special dietary needs.  But don't hesitate to e-mail me personally if you want to share or have concerns about eating on the trip!  We'll accommodate as much as possible!

HUGS,

Laura  :)

February Newsletter

Can you believe this is our last one before we depart?  WOW . . .
See you on the 23rd!!!