Andiamo Adventurer's: A 2014 Viva Italia Trip Report - Complete!

I love your trip report! Thanks so much for posting it. Will you please post what you packed for this trip, how many bags did you use and what you could've left at home?
 
WOW! What an amazing and fun way to end your trip. I've had some really fun farewell dinners, but that one does look like a topper!

Sayhello
 
I've enjoyed reading your trip report. It gets me even more excited to do this trip in the future. Thanks for bringing us along on your adventure
 
Please be sure and put a link to your wonderful Trip Report in the Trip Report Sticky at the top of this Forum!

Sayhello
 


What a fantastic way to end this trip! Our farewell dinner was in a ballroom at the Luna Baglioni, with the same Baroque musicians you had at the beginning. It was very nice, but nothing like cruising around Venice.


The thing I liked about our farewell dinner was that it ended early enough for us to go back to St. Mark's Square and sit out at Café Florian listening to the orchestra play. Such a different atmosphere at night without all the crowds.


Thanks so much for taking us along on your journey!
 
What a magical way to end the trip! I have to wonder if the December departure will include this. I imagine it will be chilly on the water that time of year!
 
That farewell dinner looks like lots of fun!!!! Thanks so much for your report! It was very helpful for our on our own time!

Laurie
 


That farewell dinner looks like lots of fun!!!! Thanks so much for your report! It was very helpful for our on our own time!

Laurie

Thanks for reading along, I'm glad you found it helpful! You'll have a great time!

What a magical way to end the trip! I have to wonder if the December departure will include this. I imagine it will be chilly on the water that time of year!

Yeah, the Jolly Roger was great! I do wonder what they'll end up with in December, you will have to let us know!

What a fantastic way to end this trip! Our farewell dinner was in a ballroom at the Luna Baglioni, with the same Baroque musicians you had at the beginning. It was very nice, but nothing like cruising around Venice.


The thing I liked about our farewell dinner was that it ended early enough for us to go back to St. Mark's Square and sit out at Café Florian listening to the orchestra play. Such a different atmosphere at night without all the crowds.


Thanks so much for taking us along on your journey!

The Cafe Florian to take in an evening sounds incredible! I do wish we had one more night in Venice because without the crowds I loved Venice even more. Venice at night is such a special place.

I've enjoyed reading your trip report. It gets me even more excited to do this trip in the future. Thanks for bringing us along on your adventure

Thanks so much; you will love it when you go!

WOW! What an amazing and fun way to end your trip. I've had some really fun farewell dinners, but that one does look like a topper!

Sayhello

It will definitely be hard to top! It didn't hurt that it was a beautiful evening, either. The islands around Venice are all nice to see.

I love your trip report! Thanks so much for posting it. Will you please post what you packed for this trip, how many bags did you use and what you could've left at home?

Thanks a lot! I can definitely make a post about that topic. There's a lot of information out there it can be confusing to parse it all out.

BRAVO! BRAVO! BRAVO!!!!....Thanks for letting us live an adventure through your family. Thanks again.:)

Thank you so much for reading along!

Thoroughly enjoyed your trip report and all the wonderful pictures! We are leaving in 14 days! Can't wait to share our pictures as well. How do you upload them?

Thank you for reading along! I use Photobucket to upload my pictures. It's pretty easy, but I did end up downloading the app and paying for extra cloud storage because I had so many pictures. I think you get 1GB for signing up and then another for downloading the app.

Looks like a great way to end the trip! I've really enjoyed following along. Thanks for sharing.

Thanks for reading; It was a perfect ending!
 
Hi All! I'm back for a final post about our adventure. Things have been super busy for me lately; I haven't even been on the boards! But, now I'm back and have some time to tie up some loose ends. Andiamo!

The next morning we got our bags together and headed down for breakfast. The night before each adventure group was given departure information if the occasion called for it. Many people were heading other places and thus had other plans. We, however, were taking advantage of Disney transport and were sadly heading home. Luckily, our departure was not at an inhumane time like 4:00 a.m. and we had time for breakfast. We then went to the lobby to meet our taxi to the airport.


Troy and Marco met us to give us a copy of the contact list and to say final goodbyes. They were such great guides :cool1:


They also introduced us to our escort. You can see her to the left here. She escorted us all the way to the airport and was very nice.






We took a luxury water taxi from the hotel to the airport. Being the fan of prep fashion I am, I enjoyed this experience in a wood and leather bound boat. We felt so fancy! Our escort said Marco Polo airport wasn’t very big and thus shouldn’t be a problem to get through quickly.


Upon arriving at the airport we said goodbye to Italy and goodbye to our first (but probably not last!) Adventure by Disney.
 
Overall, I thought Adventures by Disney was a great way to see a new country. I love to travel, but have explored more of the U.S. than I have of the world. The best thing about going on a group tour like this is that you know you will have others to interact with along the way. Plus, if you are unsure about communicating in another country due to a language barrier I think this style of travel eases some of those concerns. Going through Disney meant we also never had to worry about transferring luggage or transportation to and from the airport. All of that was taken care of through Disney Magic (and the hard work of our guides). We also never had to worry about booking tickets 3 months out or waiting in line for 2 hours to see the Vatican. Had we gone on our own we would have definitely been in lines and the whole thing just wouldn't have been as smooth.

This trip is heavy on history, food, and art. There is not a lot of physical activity beyond walking. While they kept us moving from morning until night, I never felt as though we were rushed and they did have plenty of time for relaxation or family time outside of the group activities. I also thought they had a good number of group meals and meals on your own. We met some wonderful people who made the trip a memorable one, and Disney does an amazing job of hiring capable guides to show you the area.

I would be remiss to not include any negatives to the trip, because there were a few, though minor. One was that we had read and were told our guides could give us good restaurant recommendations. Perhaps we didn't ask correctly, but whenever we inquired about finding a restaurant we were just given some basic information, rather than any actual recommendations. When we went to the restaurant in Venice, another couple had asked and gotten the recommendation of the our eventual dinner. It didn't really matter because there is very little bad food in Italy, but it did make dinner on Saturday night in Rome more difficult due to crowds and lack of reservation. Clearly, however, we did not starve! Probably the biggest negative is squeezing 3 people into the hotel. If we were a couple and a kid it wouldn't be such a big deal, but 3 adults in European hotels isn't always the best set-up. I also don't know what the answer is, but paying full-price to add a rollaway bed doesn't sit wonderfully with me.

The other thing is not really a negative, per se, but that I consider this a trip that shows you the highlights and moves on. I found it to be almost akin to a tasting. It's a wonderful way to introduce you to a new country (or for a family that went to Europe once and found it to be too confusing...Disney streamlines everything nicely), but it does not in any way allow you to really explore or experience it in any depth. Of course, visiting 3 areas of Italy in 9 days can't do that and I don't think you can expect it to. Italy is a country I think many people would find rather easy to navigate on their own. Just something to be aware of.

I can’t choose one favorite from the entire trip because there are so many! The Coliseum? The private tour of the Vatican? Our dinner on the patio in Tuscany? An evening with friends in Venice? The Jolly Roger Cruise? So many experiences stand out. What I do know is that we would not hesitate to go with Adventures by Disney for another trip. In fact, we are in the process of deciding on our next one as I type! We have narrowed it down to the Alaska Adventure or the Alpine Magic Adventure in Italy & Switzerland (I think Alpine Magic is going to win...!)

And many thanks to everyone who has read along and commented; it’s been fun to engage and re-experience the whole thing!
 
MermaidsMom asked me to post a little on what we packed and some other tips for people who have booked or are thinking about booking. I know it can be overwhelming to think about everything you need to take with you. Plus, when you search “Dress in Rome” or similar on the internet you leave even more confused than when you first seeked it out!

One of the pieces of “advice” I heard and read over and over is that Italians dress way better than Americans (of course they do, they don’t have to figure out how to fit it all in their suitcase!). Popular sentiments included the idea that women and men don’t wear shorts, you should think about looking sophisticated or even overdressed, and not to wear t-shirts unless they’re plain. After spending a week in Italy I can tell you that you shouldn’t feel as though you need to conform to any of these “rules” at all! You’re on a group tour and you’re going to be doing a lot of walking, so you might as well come comfortable! Unless someone was wearing a baseball hat and college t-shirt or something similarly obvious I couldn’t really tell if they were tourists or not.

I realized that I don’t even own a suitcase that has to be checked, so I ended up borrowing one from a friend. The one I borrowed was 24-26 inches (not the big, big kind) and fit everything I needed nicely. My dad and sister both also brought medium-sized checked bags. In addition Kathy and I both brought a small duffle bag (the kind from LL Bean) and my dad a backpack.

As for clothes, I actually think I packed pretty well. The only thing I wish I would have done is bring a few more casual t-shirts because I feel most comfortable in them. If I did it again, I’d bring more comfortable clothes and try less to seem put together. One thing I did do was try to stick with 2 to 3 colors that could be interchangeable. This was pretty easy and I thought it very helpful. None of us had any trouble closing our suitcases or being overweight or anything like that, but we also did not pack “as lightly as possible”, as you will see.

Here is the breakdown for me:
3 pairs pants/capris
1 pair of jeans
4 cotton dresses (I did not wear 1, 3 would have been enough). The cotton dresses were my favorite items because they were comfortable and light and didn’t take up much room!
0 pairs of shorts (I wish I would have brought 1 or 2 in lieu of a pair or 2 pants...it was warm and I like to wear shorts)
4 tank tops
5 blouses/shirts
3 t-shirts
1 cardigan
3 pairs of running shorts/3 running shirts (I used one set as pajamas)
1 light rain jacket
Health and beauty: I did bring a quart-sized bag with the usual toiletries of shampoo, conditioner, toothpaste, etc. in it. A small bag of make-up (I didn’t wear it every day, but I did wear it).

Kathy brought a similar number of garments:
2 pairs of shorts
1 pair of jeans
2 pairs of capris
3 dresses
1 skirt
2 cardigans
4-5 blouses/shirts
2-3 casual t-shirts
3 tanks
1 sweatshirt for the plane
1 light jacket

My dad brought:
2 pairs of jeans
4 pairs of shorts
4 pairs of khakis
5 polo shirts
3 button-ups
4 t-shirts
running shorts and shirts (probably 3 of each)
1 light jacket
Funny enough, he is the worst over-packer of the 3 of us, haha!

Let’s talk shoes:
7 pairs of shoes - I regret nothing! (I wore all but one and most were sandals and didn’t take up much space)
Kathy brought 5 pairs of shoes
My dad brought 4 pairs of shoes, but it may have been 5 including his slider sandals

I think a woman could get away with 3 pairs total...I recommend 1 pair of strappy walking sandals, 1 pair of walking shoes like Sperry’s or Van’s or similar, and 1 extra pair of your choosing. You will not need heels, though my sister did bring a pair of wedges she wore on the farewell cruise.

Men can probably get away with 2 pairs of shoes minimum, 1 walking shoe and 1 casual dressy pair, those lucky ducks!

Also, if you are a runner (male or female), I always advocate bringing a pair of running shoes if you wear them, as you never know when you might run...we ran 3 times during our trip and walked once. I generally wear them on the plane b/c they take up quite a bit of space.

I would definitely recommend at least 2 pairs for everyone. There were 2 boys on our trip who only brought one pair of shoes and they had a dry them with a hair dryer after the rainy day.

What else? In my bag I also brought a small crossbody purse and 3 wine skins. I think we ended up using one or two of them, but they lay flat and I was glad to have them. My dad brought a laptop and an ereader, and my sister an iPad. I brought my E-reader and a journal to keep some notes. Oh, I also brought a corkscrew. We probably could have gotten one easily, but it was nice to have and we did use it. Otherwise we didn’t really bring much. Nor did we need much. There wasn’t anything I didn’t bring that I said, man, I wish I had that. I also had enough room to bring a few souvenirs back, but nothing big. We are not big shoppers, though, so that might be something to consider if you do think you’ll shop. There are lots of great options, that’s for sure!!!
 
This was a fantastic trip report, especially your thoughts (and your packing list)after you got home. I am going solo on an adult only at the beginning of September this year and have not been to Europe in more than 30 years so I am a little anxious (and a lot older!). This trip report (and others like it) are a great help, especially the down time excursions and the restaurant recommendations.
I am certainly looking forward to this trip, especially Venice!
 
This was a fantastic trip report, especially your thoughts (and your packing list)after you got home. I am going solo on an adult only at the beginning of September this year and have not been to Europe in more than 30 years so I am a little anxious (and a lot older!). This trip report (and others like it) are a great help, especially the down time excursions and the restaurant recommendations.
I am certainly looking forward to this trip, especially Venice!

Thanks a lot minnie4ever! I'm glad you found it useful! We had such a great time on the trip and found all our adventurers to be very friendly. You can't help but make friends when you're together for such a long time. The guides do a fantastic job of making sure everyone is integrated and feeling good, plus Italy is just beautiful. Aaah, I'm jealous FOR YOU, haha!
 
If you don't mind me asking, about how much cash do you recommend one should take per person?
I read somewhere that a lot of the smaller establishments do not take credit cards. Thanks
 
ATM's were not difficult to find in the areas we frequented, and we found that most places did take cards. There was only one shop that didn't take our cards, and that was in Florence (though, now Chase and Citi are shipping new cards with chips in them, so I'm not sure we would have had the problem if we'd had a chipped card, which is the norm in Europe). We stopped at an ATM when we got to Rome and took out some Euro there, but didn't get any to start in the states. I'll be honest in saying I didn't pay for much on the trip. I think we had one meal a day on our own, on average. We didn't go anywhere super fancy and lunches were pretty reasonable. Gelato is anywhere from 2-6 euro, lunches 5-25 euro, and dinners 20-60+ euro. The toughest spot would be the Tuscan area where ATM's might not be as plentiful, but in Rome, Florence, and Venice you'll have no problems. I would take out a bit in Rome (maybe $250?) to start and then see how it goes for food since that will be your biggest expense, outside of souvenirs. There is an ATM close to the hotel in Rome if you need to go back.
 
ATM's were not difficult to find in the areas we frequented, and we found that most places did take cards. There was only one shop that didn't take our cards, and that was in Florence (though, now Chase and Citi are shipping new cards with chips in them, so I'm not sure we would have had the problem if we'd had a chipped card, which is the norm in Europe). We stopped at an ATM when we got to Rome and took out some Euro there, but didn't get any to start in the states. I'll be honest in saying I didn't pay for much on the trip. I think we had one meal a day on our own, on average. We didn't go anywhere super fancy and lunches were pretty reasonable. Gelato is anywhere from 2-6 euro, lunches 5-25 euro, and dinners 20-60+ euro. The toughest spot would be the Tuscan area where ATM's might not be as plentiful, but in Rome, Florence, and Venice you'll have no problems. I would take out a bit in Rome (maybe $250?) to start and then see how it goes for food since that will be your biggest expense, outside of souvenirs. There is an ATM close to the hotel in Rome if you need to go back.
Thanks so much for that information. I already have some Euros so I will start off with those. I am not planning on any fancy places myself so I will just check with the guides when I get there.
 
Sorry to resurrect an old thread but I had been following another of your reports (Northern Italy & Switzerland) and decided to check out this one as well. We just got back from the Norther Italy & Switzerland trip a month ago and your TR was very helpful on that one. Apparently we did it only a few months after you had.

When I clicked on this report I was delighted to see that it was also a few months before we had done our Viva Italia trip (same one that @Sarabi's Cubs, Laurie was on) so we seem to be following in your footsteps. Where are you going next?

We waited for a bit as the guides discussed what to do next. It was decided that Marco would stay at the top of the hill while Troy would take the rest of us back down the hill to the funicular and bus and then they would connect to decide what the plan of attack would be. One of the other adventurers stayed back with Marco as well (they had met on a previous adventure, kept in touch, and ultimately decided to do the Italy trip together, so they were good friends). Thus, the rest of us began our trek down the hill. As we made it to the main street we were stopped...by the parade!


Had to comment on this picture in Orvieto. That shop in the background, Giacomini, was a great ceramic shop. Just about everybody on our tour bought something there. Some to the extent of Thousands of euros!!! We treasure our pieces.
 
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Your entire trip report is Fantastico!!!! If you ever get to Venice again...our Guides, Dusty and Marco B. sent us to the oldest restaurant in Venice... Poste Vecie. It is located in the old Post Office, the Building is from 1500. In fact, we went in May 2013 and I just sent a Honeymoon Couple there this week! It was THAT good! Google it!

In Rome, they sent us to Memmo's. It was a local place, down an Alley, but the Guides go there on their time off!

Giacomini in Orvieto was another Fabulous place Kevin from DreamsUnlimited sent me before we ever went!
 

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