Hi Christina!
1. Our stop in Bologna was fascinating. The tour guide you arranged really made the stop wonderful. He was so enthusiastic and showed the kids things they would enjoy seeing. He had lunch with us at a typical cafeteria style restaurant. He explained all the dishes and made that part of the experience much more meaningful.
2. Our guide in Venice was also exceptional. She made sure we saw all the important sights and again helped make it interesting for the kids. Traveling before Christmas was perfect. No tourists in Venice or Florence!! No lines anywhere. It was cold but the bonus of not dealing with long lines or lots of people was worth it.
3. If we could somehow manage to change the direction of the Vatican tour, that would have helped. By the time we reached St. Peter's we were exhausted and couldn't really absorb much more. It would have been a better tour if we had started in St. Peter's, then the Sistine Chapel and then the museum. We started early that day - 8:15am - and by 12:00 (when we reached St. Peter's), everyone was tired.
4. We did walk to the Vatican Christmas morning and we watched the Pope give his blessing. The kids thought that was pretty neat - being a part of history - watching it on CNN that night.
5. It rained every afternoon in Rome and some mornings. Rome was crowded after Christmas.
6. The location of all the hotels were wonderful. I wouldn't recommend the Triple room arrangement at the Grand Plaza in Rome. They used the sofa bed in both rooms as the 3rd bed and it had a thin uncomfortable mattress which might have been OK for a night or two but 5 nights was a long time on it for our 13 year old. Both the Pierre and the Saturnia had actual rollaway beds which was much better.
I have lots of other comments, but those are the highlights. Is that helpful?
I'll still try to call you tomorrow. We can't wait to plan a trip to Egypt with you too. Talk to you later.
Roni
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