Heading to Sicily!

Heading to Sicily.  The map shows you were we're going, where we're visiting, as well as where we're spending the night.  We fly into Palermo and out of Catania.

We took this 14 day tour through Collette using our Marriott Vacation Club Points (18,000 points).  I've always wanted to go to Sicily.  Can't really even point to a reason why, just because.  lol

Step 1 an overnight stay in the Marriott Cincinnati Airport, where we used some Bonvoy Points for the night and got an upgrade to a suite with 2 bathrooms and living room.  That was very helpful as we could get ready easily for our departure the following day.  We flew out of Cincinnati, instead of home airport, Columbus because the ticket price was better.  This hotel was much nicer than many close to the airports we've stayed in in the past.

Here I am just about to have desert after lunch in the Polaris Lounge in Chicago (Cincinnati to Chicago was our first leg of the trip).  Oh, and some bubbly with desert.  Doesn't the desert look pretty and yummy?

Hubby took my picture just after I settled in my business class seat

And I took his picture as he was getting ready to climb into his cubby.  Every plane we've been on has a slightly different arrangement for business class seats.  Our working parts were in the middle so we were both on the isle, making conversation a bit of a challenge.  We've managed to have seats in the middle with working parts closer to the isle before, which is preferrable, but ....you never know how it's going to work out.  We flew from Chicago to Rome, and even with getting some sleep after dinner on board, we're pretty tired when we arrived 9 hours later in Rome.  Hustled a bit in Rome to make our connections from there to Palermo.

The Collette driver picked us up at the airport (nice small airport in Palermo), and drove us to our hotel about 45 ish minutes away.  The airport is not actually in the city of Palermo.

All totaled, 21 hours of travel.  It was too early to check into our room at the hotel, so they kept our luggage and we ventured out for a walk and lunch.

Lots of choices in small cafe's there in Palermo.  The cutting board is shaped like Sicily!  Lunch was excellent, but we couldn't finish it all.

Yes, hubby looks a bit tired.  My first Aperol Spritz of the trip.

Fresh Mozzarella and a basket of bread in addition to our wonderful charcuterie board.

The name of our cafe'.

Please check back in as we settle into our hotel for 3 nights.  The tour was there for 2 nights, but we arrived a day early so spent 3 nights there.

PLEASE leave me a comment when you come visit, so I know you were here. Your visits and comments are very special to me. AND remember, leave your name and url and not your profile link. Name and url takes me right to your blog post so I can reciprocate the visit and comments.

Day 3 Continued, The Colosseum, Rome

Ernie did a decent selfie!  He walked up to the 2nd level of the Colosseum.  You need special tickets to go beyond that...it's almost a separate tour to go to the top.  It's my understanding you have to reserve well in advance and the tickets are hard to come by.  Our guide, Ziggy told us that. 

Day 3, Rome Continued, The Forum

 WOW!!  This was so much more than I anticipated.  Our "regular" tour day had ended.  But, optional #2 (Guided visit to Colosseum & Roman Forum) was still on for the day.  Cost 54.00 Euros (per person remember things on tours are per person costs).  Well, yeah, we were in Rome naturally we wanted to see The Colosseum and Forum.  We started first thing in the morning remember with walking tour, Vatican, Sistine Chapel, Bramante Stairs, Trevi Fountain and The Pantheon....but we signed up for this optional.  

 I would have enjoyed it more had it not all been the same day.  Really...lots of walking (more than I had been able to do since breaking my foot), and it was HOT!  But, we'd travel just under 6,000 miles I think the flight monitor said to get to Rome...........so.  Here were are.

Day 3, Rome Continue, The Pantheon

Still in Rome and still day 3...yes it was a very full and busy day!  This is Ernie either checking his phone to see if he got the picture or getting ready to take a picture as we approach The Pantheon.  This was one of my Rome highlights.  The building is a true marvel.  It's gorgeous, it's massive, it's impressive inside and out.

This close up shows you holes in the cement.  Our guide Ziggy told us those are holes that have been drilled to add steel (in my mind I though rebar when she talked) for strength.

The Pantheon was a Roman Temple and is now a Church, an active church.  The earlier temple was commissioned by Marcaus Agrippa during the rein of Augustus, and completed by Hadrian about 126 A.D.  There are several important burials there: Raphael The Painter, Annibale Carracci also a painter, Arcangelo Caorelli a composer, and Baldassare Peruzzi an architect.  Raphael perhaps the best known is there on the left where you see the statue.

Day 3, Vatican and Rome with Ziggy, Bramante Staircase

This photo is from Wiki, so you can see what the modern  (built in 1932) Bramante Staircase looks like.  It's a double helix design, modeled after the original built in 1505.  It's purpose is to move traffic in two directions without interruption.  

The original was built to accommodate animals and people, and to connect the Belvedere Palace of Pope Innocent VIII to the outside.  Built in a herringbone paving pattern with granite doric columns.

Day 3 Vatican and Rome with Ziggy, Part I

Ziggy was out local guide, lady in the black coat.  She was a hoot.  Great since of humor.  Quite knowledgeable.  She was German, married to an Italian and told us her Mother was French.......so to say she had background would be quite an understatement.  Francis the guy to her right with the notebook was our tour Director.  He is actually Austrian, but has lived in Italy for years and his wife in English.  He speaks several languages as does Ziggy.  Between them English, Italian, German, French, Austrian...and perhaps more; but those are the languages we know about.  We boarded our coach for a quick ride to a meeting place to collect Ziggy where we can began our very LONG day 3, she accompanied us the whole long day.  Many thought she was too knowledgeable and offered to much detail in her commentary.


The description for that day says a local guide will lead you through the priceless art collections of the Vatican Museums, ending in the Sistine Chapel to spend time with Michelangelo's famous ceiling.  A special VIP behind the scenes look at the Bramante Staircase.  Later to St. Peter's Basilica, followed by a walking tour of Trevi Fountain and Pantheon.  Then have time to relax and absorb the atmosphere of Piazza Navona. 

Day 2 Continued, Meeting up with the Tour Group

 Day 2 Continued.......we met up with our tour director Francis Touschek and the other 38 members of our group.  (we had a full coach). We boarded the coach and went for a group dinner at Amedeo where Francis gave us some history, and a few organization items needed for the tour.  Dinner was ok, not as good as what we had the night before; but it was fun getting to know a few people.  Names are hard to remember (I thought that last year in Ireland), so decided this year I would make notes. These are pictures from their website, as we forgot to get a picture while there.

We dinnered with Jeanie and Earl and their friends Sharon and Bill.  Others were at our table but at the other end of the table so hard to chat much.  The 4 of them traveled together.......knew each other from high school days; but no longer live in the same town.  I believe I had eggplant something from memory and red wine.  We board the coach to return to the hotel. 

Half the group returned to hotel, meanwhile the rest of us opted for our first optional experience (add on) for a night tour of Rome.  Yes, my eyes are closed...and I was sleepy...though that's not why my eyes were closed.  I do that often in pictures unknowingly.  Mostly we were on the coach, but for about 10 minutes here for photo's at St. Peter's Basilica at night without the hoards of people.  Tour was about 1.5 hours long and cost 19 Euro's per person.  In retrospect, going back and going to bed might have been a better option.  We really didn't see much at night, and most of what he said then he repeated later on our tour.

So, if you're looking to take Insights Italian Escape Tour, I would not recommend the first optional called Rome by Night.  Two fold, most of the group arrived that day and still hadn't had a decent nights sleep.  While we had arrived the day before, we were still very tired. And secondly, the info he gave us that night was repeated, as I mentioned above.  So, really nothing missed if you opted not to do the first optional.

Day 2 in Rome Italy, before the Tour

 Breakfast was to be included with our hotel but, we were so tired we slept too late to get our breakfast buffet at the hotel.  So, we rested and ventured out on our own with a plan to head to The Spanish Steps, and the Trevi Neighborhood.  It was our understanding those weren't on the list of things we'd see with our tour group.  As we wondered around we came upon what is called The Old Roman Wall (Auirelian Walls).  These walls were built for defenses of the Eternal City way back in the 4th century BC.  The 6th King of Rome Servius Tullius initiated the first defensive walls built from large blocks of volcanic tufa that were about 10 meters high.

There was about 500 years of peace in The Roman Empire, during the Golden Age and little need of defensive walls.  However, later as Rome grew and more lands and peoples were involved that changed.  The Barbaric Hoards were a problem so Aurelian, who was then the Emperor had the walls rebuilt and it included all of the 7 hills of Rome and Trastevere district south of the Tiber River.  It only took 5 years to build these walls that covered 3500 acres, as the Emperor used Rome Citizens, not just the military.  It was completed just after the death of Aurelian.  Later Maxentius doubled the height of the walls to increase protection.  There were 381 square watch towers built at 30 meter intervals with 18 gateways in and out of the city.

These walls, and gateways remained after the fall of The Roman Empire.  After 16 centuries the walls were breached at Porta Pia on Sept 20th 1870, which was the beginning of the unification of Italy under King Victor Emmanuel II.  Though Italy is old...very old, it has not been a unified country for very long.  A little confusion on the date, as I also read the date of 1861 as the date The King declared the country unified, so perhaps Porta Pia was a battle after the fact.

These walls are the largest monument in Rome as they extend into everyday life.  You see the walls, you still go through the gateways, some of the walls are included in peoples homes and other buildings throughout the city.

Hubby, as we were walking about.  I needed to prove he was there. LOL- This was a park near the above wall and gate.  

 We made our way to The Spanish Steps, but it was terribly crowded, and quite hot.  So we walked around a bit. 

Us half way on The Spanish Steps with Trinita dei Monti Church behind us.

Lots of shopping around The Spanish Steps

Trying to get a feel for the steepness of the steps down into the square.  The Spanish steps were built to link the Church at the top of Piazza di Spagna to the Spanish square below.  

Another view of the church

Was hot and we needed a break so found a little place for lunch, Trinita Snack Bar.  We shared a sandwich and had our first very cool Italian Gelato after lunch.  Sparkler included!  I did not find a webpage for this little restaurant, but did a favorable review on yelp, and here's the link to their facebook page.

Beautiful statues everywhere, as we continued on walking after lunch.

 Even at Government Buildings, which is where these very steep steps go.  We found shade though!

 Even the streets are pretty, notice the mix of color between the white government buildings.

Statues abound.  At this point, I was done.... (broke my foot in March and not totally healed, as it takes they say a year), so we called Uber and made it back to the hotel to rest a bit, and get showers in order to meet up with a tour guide and group members for a welcome dinner that evening.

A wonderful and full day before our tour.

Rome, Piccolo Abruzzo - First Meal!

I was pretty excited here......even though exhausted after our 21+ hours of getting to Rome.  We had to re-route our flight that would have gone from Columbus, Ohio to Charlotte, NC to Rome (about 12 hours total) to Columbus to Philly to London to Rome.  LONG and tiring flight, but we arrived at our hotel in Rome (Hotel Romanico Palace), see previous post about 7:30 Monday night vs arriving about 9:45 that morning.  The hotel referred us to Piccolo Abruzzo (they also have a facebook page) that was about 3.5 block walk from the hotel.  

It was fantastic!!  Like eating in someone's dining room.  The owner greeted us, and ran back and forth from the kitchen.  Have never been served my dinner in the pan it was cooked in before.....fun and different and oh was it yummy.  And yes it was bad hair after the 3 flights.

Close up my meal with a wonderful salad that Ernie and I shared.

ERnie's meal, he said it was wonderful!!  Then we had desert followed by Limoncello that was quite refreshing.  We were ready to head out to go to bed at the hotel when they began serving the large family group next to us (from the largest pan I've ever seen).  They scoped us out each a small plate of it, so we try it also.  We were stuffed, but managed to eat every bite.  Homemade pasta and fresh ingredients in their meals..........so so good.

We kept the business card our hotel front desk gave us.  Really didn't want to forget where we had this fabulous meal.

And with that we closed out our first night in Rome, tired, excited and very full.

The Beginning of Italy

This is my travel route on my recent trip to Italy.  You'll note we spent 2 nights in most locations.  We started our tour in Rome and ended our tour in Rome.  

We toured with Insight Vacations, The Art of Traveling in Style.  This is the 2nd time we've toured with this travel company.  This trip is billed as 12 nights and 13 days.  Traveling in Italy is more costly than when we traveled in Ireland and Scotland last year.  Italy is simply more popular, which I assume is the reason.  Tours are billed per person (PP).  $3,746.25 pp (that price included 3 discounts.  Once you travel with one tour company, it pays you to to continue with them, unless you're unhappy with your tour.  Repeat customers get a discount, ours per couple was $452.50.  Additionally, once you put down a deposit, you have  a window of time to pay for your trip early to receive the early pay discount which was 905.00 (per couple), and because we booked Italy within 60 days of returning from Ireland, we received a welcome home discount of 200.00.  7,492.50 divided by 12 nights is 624.37 per day per couple.  That price includes your travel, your hotel, and in most cases your buffet breakfast.........and some dinners.  All meals are typically not included.  Our tour included 7 dinners with wine.  That price also includes entrance fees to things like The Vatican.

We stayed in 7 different hotels, some better than others.  When traveling in Europe it's important you NOT expect things to be as there are here in the USA.  Two fold, it's rare that your room will be like others in the tour group.  Things vary a lot in Europe.  Bed sizes are typically smaller with King rarely being an option.  Often Queen is not an option.  More typically it's two twins vs a double.  We've found it a better option to do 2 twins, as did most on our tour.  You do not get washcloths in bathrooms.  We noted this in Ireland and Scotland last year and it was no different this year in Italy.  I don't remember if we had them in Spain 5 years ago, but think not.

Sheets!  A word about top sheets.  Again I don't remember about Spain, but we only had a top sheet one night during our Ireland and Scotland tour last year, and this year in Italy, we had a few.  The typical bed making in Europe does not include one.  A duvet is common places..........which is probably fine during cold weather, but a bit hot otherwise.

Our first hotel was in a good location in Rome, Hotel Romanico Palace, but our room looked nothing like what you see on their hotel webpage.

 The hotel was clean and comfortable, but not all that attractive.  I might call it delightfully tacky, lol

 Beware...bathrooms typically have a tub or shower, or combo, but ...you never have a full closure.  Typically you have half a door which makes showering without getting water on the floor a real challenge.  Most bathrooms have a bidet...which many Americans say work well for washing your feet, lol.  Seriously though if you look around the net the chances of spreading water everywhere in your bathroom and or burning yourself are substantial.  Bars of soap are also not readily available.  Only about half our hotels had them this trip.  They often have a bathwash-shampoo combo available and not one hotel had hair conditioner.........which I admit to forgetting.  I like not packing those items to save space, so had none this trip.

Also, carpet........isn't something you see much of.  None of hotel rooms had carpet.  Most were tile, or some other substance.  So, if you don't like your feet hitting cool floors, take slippers.  Personally, I thought the cold on the feet felt good after tromping around all day and putting miles on the dogs.

We, as a tour group spent 2 nights at this hotel, however hubby and I opted to go a day early and were there 3 nights.  Our above room was 180.00 Euro's, currently that would be around $208.00 US dollars.  Not a bad rate considering we were in an historic district walking distance to The Spanish Steps and The Trevi Fountain.

Hope to see you as I continue to blog about our wonderful Italian Adventure, Italian Escape.