PRE-TRIP

This year we chose to use Passports Educational Travel Company to travel to Europe rather than EF tours as we did in 2022. This turned out to be a great move overall, as they were excellent at communication prior to the trip, gave us the opportunity to meet our guide on a FaceTime call, and worked with us to make sure everything was done correctly. While w were on this trip, we had a lot of positive responses from any guides or groups that had used this group.

ROME

This trip started in the Asheville airport. 27 people; 4 group leaders, 2 parents, 10 18+ year olds not falling in the 1st 2 categories, 11 15-17 year olds. As a group we successfully made the flight to Charlotte. Due to the lack of storage in the plane where seating was, they requested that we gate check our carry on bags. Upon arriving in Charlotte, all bags were retrieved, except one. 1 green bag was left to retrieve however it was not ours and we were waiting on one more bag. After realizing that someone else accidentally took her bag and left theirs,the gate workers called the number on the bag and had them return to the gate to trade. The funny part was that this person was headed to Alaska. They were not going to want her warm weather attire there. After a few hours of a layover, enough time to grab lunch, we flew to Rome. We were given the opportunity to check our bags at that point. So I chose to. They wanted us to roll our luggage to the bottom of the gate before getting on the plane. However upon arriving in Rome, as we reached Customs, I realized I didn’t have my passport… I had apparently inadvertently, all while juggling all my stuff, stuck it into the back of my bag that I checked at the bottom of the gate. Therefore I had to hang out in the police/security station in the Italian airport until my passport was brought to customs from another adult in our group. The incident was a little embarrassing however I wasn’t worried. I knew where my passport was and that I would be liberated. I just laughed through the process.

The 9 hour flight was uneventful; however sleep was hard on the plane.

After we all were able to leave baggage claim and the police/security station, we found our tour guide Alex.

‘Come Come’ he would say, ‘Join Me’ in his Italian accent. This was the most common phrase he would say the entire trip. As he would say that he liked to simple phrases for repetitive situations.

Alex was likely 5’8” , glasses, shaved hair and with a paper-made weaved hat. Wearing common Italian attire to be comfy in. He has college degrees and certifcationsd in tour guide/management and archaeology. He has been doing this very job for 12 years now. He would be our tour manager and guide; therefore not needing others to help except where our numbers were too much for 1 guide in certain locations.

Very knowledgeable of the region. Amazing to hear how you could find a answer to almost anything asked about the area. Excellent teaching voice with an accent, but not one that you couldn’t understand. His way of speaking reminded me of my own father’s English language speech, being that. His primary language until somewhere between 18 and 21 was Farsi.

We immediately felt at home with Alex. He was able to navigate and set up everything we needed with such ease. He creates relationships with others in the industry, giving him a strong leg up.

Metro; While in Rome we walked a lot, and occasionally used the Metro. We were warned that pic-pockets were very common here, especially on the Metro. Adding to th excitement of that warning, one of our trip leaders had her wallet stolen on the metro. In a busy metro with her crossbody on, she felt something weird on her hip and looked down and noticed that her crossbody had been opened. She thinks she knew which one did it but they jumped off the metro so fast that there was no way to grab him.

The following day on a very busy train, our group was spread out and at the doors that half of us were at, there was a gentleman who started yelling and pushing for no reason at 2 other men on the train, leading us to believe and fear a fight could break out. He got off the train when we did. However at the same time there was a ruckus where the other half of our group was and someone attempted to pic-pocket Alex. Once it was realized this was happening and the train let them out, Alex went to find the guy, and one of our adult leaders immediately grabbed the guy by his shirt so that Alex to take him around the corner to protect us. We felt more threatened with this here than in Paris that we were told about last trip.

Rome Day 1; (21k steps)

Driving in from the airport we had an educational riding tour to our hotel. Once we got to our hotel, The Building, we were unable to check in so we changed clothes in the hotel and left our bags, heading on foot to the market. We started using our ‘whispers’ which essentially were small audio devices we attached a headphone to to listen to Alex talk to us as we walked. This way if you were at the back of the line you heard as much as the person at the front. We learned more about. Rome as we walked to the Market around 12 noon in town- about 20 minutes away. We learned how water was brought into the city through aquaphors and that there would be multiple fountains in the city with very clean drinking water. Cool to touch however not cold. Even in the 100 degree heat. We had all brought collapsible water bottles to make them easy to carry and refill without being burdensome. We were warned that in Rome if you ate at an establishment to maintain your receipt to avoid having to pay for le banyo. In the market by the train station there were many places to choose to eat from and come together upstairs to eat. Restrooms required scanning the receipt to go in. I ate a pasta meal with a glass of wine. Many of us in our group came together to eat upstairs. I went with several students to visit some souvenir stores. Workers in those stores are very watchful of customers and do not like it when we touch items we discovered. This is a lot different than how we function or take liberties in the USA. After coming back together as a group, we then returned to the hotel.

Le Banyo… Let’s discuss these for a moment.   We had confusion with the toilette, and still do.  Once you have paid your euro or scanned your receipt to use the toilette,  you now enter le banyo.  What was odd for us was the lack of a ‘seat’ as we know them.  The base was present, however there was no open close lid.  The first time I tried the squat method,  but that led to a tiny disaster of things not going where they should.  At my next attempt I chose to start lying toilet tissue down on the porcelain and sat down on the tissue.  This made things much easier.  Thankfully as we moved north in Italy,  the bathrooms started adding those lids we know and love. 

All hotel rooms had bidets as well beside the toilette. 

We had 24 hour metro cards and used them to return to our hotel to ‘refresh’. this was another common word Alex used to indicate a break, rest, short free time to shower again, change clothes. Half of our group left to visit the Villa Borghese Park, which meant using the metro. The other half of our group chose to stay at the hotel and enjoy the small pool. At the park I had my first gelato and some kids rode canoes on the small lake for 20 minute time frames. While it was the biggest park, it did not impress me in comparison to parks we’re accustomed to in the states with green grass. But if you needed a place to run or bike, it would have been safe. Enroute to the restaurant for dinner, we stopped at the Spanish Stairs and were taught about how this area was part of Spain at one time. After this we met the ‘pool’ group at the dinner location which was actually fairly close to our hotel. So much food. Dinner was at Massimo’s Al 39

If there’s anything consistent here- lots and lots of food and for most of the group, appetizing food. Mushroom and cheese Pizzas, Penne al Pesto, dessert. Wine was there to buy at almost every meal for those 18 and up.

That evening we stopped at the Conad Grocery store to grab snacks. And back to the hotel to unwind, shower, and get ready for the next day.

We were warned that there would be a lot of walking. 2 years prior due to Covid the bus was used more often. But this time, it was different. After minimal sleep the night before, sleep was welcome.

Rome Day 2. Busiest day of the trip. (28k steps)

Early rise to leave to metro to the Coliseum. A must as a big sight seeing opportunity. We split into 2 groups and the additional guide Fausta guided my half of the group. The tour of the coliseum included a walk to the additional grounds of the Roman Forum as well. We learned that much of the city of Rome sat lower at one point and there were underground areas. After many many years of being uninhabited, the coliseum grew up with sand, dirt, etc over hundreds of years before someone came to start to rescue it. So much of Rome has yet to be discovered still. They are currently adding a metro line under the city and as they dig, more artifacts are being found; so this is a very slow dig. It’s amazing to see how ancient history is still so present here. They describe it as such a transitional city between ancient, old, and modern and there’s so much to take from it. Wow. The history books are right and its still here to be discovered for the taking. The Coliseum has collapsed in some areas however parts have been reinforced to add some modernness that allows it to continue standing and be viewed. It’s amazing to visualize how the ‘monsters’ they brought to fight the gladiators were so magical to them. Due to not knowing things of other continents, they were unaware of the lions, and tigers, and other animals from even Africa to their South.

After about a 10 minute walk, we passed the Victory Emmanuel II National Monument, viewing the area of the the grave and building associated with the unknown soldier from afar on the road, memorializing the fallen Italian soldiers in World War 1. We then moved forward to lunch (Pasta with Caico and Pepe- OMG so good) by the Pantheon and then a tour inside the Pantheon. Such beauty inside. This was the first area we attended with a strict policy of covering the shoulders and knees. In Italy it is expected that in holy areas the knees and shoulders are covered. There was also a rule of no photography. So long dresses and scarves were common for us. While it was hard to imagine 100 degree temps and coverage, it wasn’t as bad as it sounded. It wasn’t a humid heat. Therefore much more tolerable. And outside of our hotel it was rare to find air conditioning. While there were signs, the Pantheon was not strict with this as many people were taking photos and not covered in those areas.

After the Pantheon, we went to get our first ‘group’ gelato at Giolitti- Alex said this was one of the oldest gelato shops in town. Oh so good and melts so fast in that heat. We walked to the Spanish Stairs again with the whole group this time and took a 15 minute break there. Daniel had not seen it the first time so he and I sprinted to the top and back down. The stairs were marble and slanted downward, making it important to keep balance while on them. Water bottles were filled in the boat fountain at the bottom of the stairs. We had fun sending Daniel in over to fill everyone’s water bottles so that others would not get wet.

We then moved quickly to Vatican City. This is actually another country within Rome. So passports were required to have on you in case they were requested. It felt like entering a different world. Our group was split into 2. 20 in one group and 7 adults in the next. Alex guided group 1 in at 3pm to tour them through the Vatican and Sistine Chapel and Basilica of St. Peter. No photos were allowed inside these buildings.   The adults then had a break for a ‘beverage’ and had a guide Franko to take us through at 4pm.

Franko, like Alex, knows people in these areas as he is an experienced guide in the area. He had a way of getting us through/past lines. That helped us make this happen in 1.5 hours. In both the Vatican and Sistine chapel coverage was strict and there was absolutely no photography. It was beautiful to see what Michaelangelo has done in the ceiling and walls. Frescos were the thing to observe on our travels. We didn’t get to see the Pope, however he was out that morning in Vatican City.

In the evening after dinner, we walked towards the Trevi fountain and threw pennies in backwards over our heads. There was a candy store nearby in our free time several of us purchased 20-25 Euros of candy. I still have that candy as I’m riding home on the airplane. We then continued to the Colisuem to see it lit up at night. Very pretty. We couldn’t go in however there was areas to just relax around the area. The tourist crowds are gone at this point. The kids rode scooters and played around until the metro was about to close and we rode it back.

Thursday morning we checked out of the hotel and headed North.