Planning a Trip To Italy

Planning a trip to Italy or anywhere far from the U.S. is a lot! This trip was no different except it was my second time there. Many people probably don’t know that I speak Italian, or that I studied there. When I was in grade school through high school they gave me the option to learn a language and at my mother’s nudge I took Italian, she was not letting me take the easy way out in taking Spanish. Now I always loved the sound of Italian, even more so than French ( the other language I know a bit of, sorry French). I was blessed with a great teacher for most of my school years, who realized Italian came naturally to me (thanks to the fact that I understood Spanish already. This isn’t a given, but it helps). During that time they offered an exchange program, and my Italian teacher put my name in as a suggested student. Lo and behold I studied there and remember falling in love with it—the language, country, history, art, and people. While I don’t remember much of the exchange program, I know that I loved what I saw, ate, and learned. As I got older I studied it on my own via watching Italian movies and shows (Baby on Netflix anyone?) hearing music and podcasts, and using Duolingo to keep the basics fresh and advancing. You can also chat with people on apps like Tandem, which is free. And finally, social media, my TikTok, and Instagram are full of Spanish and Italian content creators which allows me to hear the language every day. Studying a language can be hard, especially if it’s not coming naturally or you have no one to study with. But try these tips and incorporate them into your everyday social consumption, and then repeat the words out loud.

My mom doesn’t know Italian, but because she knows Spanish she understands a lot (thank you Latin based languages). While she tried doing the tips I mentioned above to improve, she felt it was easier for her to make a list in her notes of all the basic phrases that she could look at when she wanted to try speaking Italian, or if for some reason I was not around to translate. This is genius! We brainstormed common sayings for shopping and restaurant phrases and made a list with the translations, that way she could look them up in the moment. We could also use a translator app, but the point for us was for her to learn it, which I encourage anyone to do. Having basic phrases and words, and learning how they are pronounced, should better prepare you for your trip and should give you a boost of confidence. Plus usually, it’s appreciated! Don’t just assume everyone in that country will cater to you everywhere in English! Learning the language enriches your trip overall.

For many years I have been wanting to take my mom to Italy and thanks to a Perrillo Tours package I booked last year we were able to! The package included visiting Rome, Florence, and Venice, with transportation (except airfare), great hotels with daily breakfast, and guided tours in each city. I can do a separate post and will give more details on how vacationing through Perrillo was. Everything else I planned, yes I planned it. Mom was along for the ride and wanted to pay for meals, but most if not everything we saw, ate, or did came out of my research and planning.

 Flights

I booked my flight to Italy using my Chase Sapphire Preferred Credit card points. I didn’t have enough to cover the full flight, but I knew I wanted to book premium economy seats, so I wanted to use my points toward that “upgrade”. We flew with American Airlines, and the experience did not disappoint. American premium economy offers bigger seats, more legroom, an amenity kit that includes a lumbar pillow by Casper, a blanket, toothbrush and toothpaste, hand cream, lip balm, socks, earplugs, and noise-canceling headphones. They also had free up-to-date entertainment, through which I watched the movies Blue Beetle and Challengers. There was also wifi and power outlets in the reclining seats and a footrest. Chef-inspired meals and drinks were included in the ticket as well. I picked out our meals ahead of time, but was glad my mom was with me as I preferred her meal better, mine was spicy when there was no spicy description. They also gave a small breakfast of a pasty, fruit, and yogurt which were the same for everyone, as we got closer to Italy. Unfortunately, I couldn’t sleep because of a coughing passenger so I was glad for the inflight entertainment. Overall the flight was enjoyable and I would choose American again if I were to fly premium economy. Although I will be investing in noise-canceling headphones for the future.

Our flight back home with KLM was surprisingly enjoyable. They had a meal, and plenty of snacks and drinks were given throughout the flight. The stewardess even encouraged people to go to the back and ask for extra snacks if they wanted. Their in-flight headphones, pillow, and blanket were of a lower quality, but the entertainment was current, as I was able to watch season one of House of Dragons. My only disappointment with KLM was they never put our luggage on the plane (we had to check it) and so we had to wait a few days to get our luggage delivered to us.

Restaurants and Tour Reservations

There were four restaurants I made reservations for during the planning phase. By my research, there were a lot of restaurants that require reservations and this was especially true for the restaurants I mention below. All these restaurants are in the mid to high price range and were worth it for the food, ambiance, and memories. If you are interested in any of these put an alarm so you know when you can make a reservation as they open up dates. If you prefer to go with the flow, that’s perfectly fine and is what we did for every other dining experience, although fine dining like the ones I list usually requires a reservation.

Rome: Fieramosca and Oro Bistrot. I made reservations for Fieramosca and Oro Bistrot in July for October. Unfortunately due to a few things going wrong the day of my Oro Bistrot reservation, we missed it. I will have to book it again whenever I return.

Florence: L’Osteria di Giovanni, in early September for October

Venice: Restaurant Terrazza Danieli, in July for October

I also booked separate tours from the ones included in the Perrillo Tour package to do on our own. My mom and I are lovers of the arts, so I knew from my memories of my time in Italy that there were museums that I wanted her to see and things I wanted her to experience.

In Rome, I booked a guided small group tour for the Borghese Gallery, which holds the masterful pieces by Bernini. I used Crown Tours to book the tour, which was guided by an art historian who was very knowledgeable about the art and museum and even Roman history in general and helpful with any questions.

In Florence, I booked a tour of the Uffizi Gallery, Bobili Gardens, Bardini Garden, Palazzo Pitti, and the Museum of the Opificio delle Pietre Dure, through a 5-day pass ticket directly on their site. I went to three out of the five options in one day, the Uffizi Gallery, Bobili Gardens and Palazzo Pitti. If we had more days in Florence I would have gone to the others, but I chose those three as I knew from experience and research that they hold important works of art, exhibitions I wanted to see, and great views of Florence. Florence is one of my favorite cities in the world for its history and the vast amount of museums and shopping. There is so much we couldn’t do that was still on my to-do list.

In Venice, I booked tickets to the Le Fenice Opera House. While we were there they happened to have a free concert in celebration of the anniversary of the Opera House. The show included a pianist and the opera house is absolutely gorgeous! It looked like it was straight out of a movie. It was my first time experiencing a show at an opera house and I will always remember it.

How to keep organized

• Spreadsheets- Yes I know a bit old school, but it helped me plan everything, and I enjoyed it. I printed out every confirmation and my spreadsheets and this helped greatly especially since phone and wifi service was spotty at the beginning of the trip.
• Folders on social media- I created folders for each city, specifically for food, places to see, good to know, and things to do. I kept places in mind or put them on my map which was helpful.
• Google Maps MyMaps- I made a Google Mymap for each city and added each day with their perspective activities. This also helps you get familiar with the city, how far your hotel is from the city center, and where important shops, hospitals, or embassies are. I used colors for different pinpoints like monuments, museums, restaurants, and even spots to get good pictures. Download the app and the maps to your phone so you don’t have to depend on wifi.

Apps

• XE conversion app, to know the conversion rate.
• Trenitalia to download my train tickets to each city, tickets were purchased by Perrillo and they sent us a hard copy, but I used the app as a backup.
• Mobile Passport Control (MPC) to get into the United States faster. This app asks you a few questions, takes a selfie, and then assigns you a security line that went faster than the the others. And it’s free!
• CrownTours for the tour in Rome. I downloaded tickets and received instructions through the app.
• Google Translate, for when my brain wasn’t translating and when I was simply lost!
• The Fork to download dinner reservation confirmations.
• 3B Meteo to look up the weather before leaving for Italy and throughout my trip there. It is pretty accurate, as I packed the perfect clothes.

Insurance

• I’ve used World Nomads to cover previous trips and I used them again. In general, during my research, I find that it has extensive coverage plans and include trip interruption and cancelation. They also cover adventure activities. So if you’re like me who may go bungee jumping or zip lining on a trip, they have coverage! And I haven’t seen many other insurance companies offer this. Shop for the coverage that works for you on agitator websites like Squaremouth. They will ask you for info on the travelers, your travel dates, and what you would like covered and up to what amount. This takes research and knowing what you may or may not need. And don’t forget if you’re using a credit card to book your travel plans a lot of them have great travel coverage, but read the fine print, because they will cover some things but not all. If you have a medical emergency, that’s what separate travel insurance is great for. If your trip is not too activity driven then it’s usually a few hundred dollars. What would you prefer a few hundred dollars to know you’re covered, or uncertainty. I did have to use that insurance on this trip and was glad I had it. My only regret was not using it sooner.

Alarms and calendar notifications

I put alarms and calendar notifications to remind me when I could: pick out my meals on the planes, tickets opened for a sight, and when I could book reservations. If your airline says you can pick out your meal for ex: 100 days out or 24 hrs before your flight, put a notification and/or alarm for that time. You know you will forget, given your everyday life as you plan a trip, doesn’t come to a halt.

STEP

Important! Don’t leave the U.S. without signing up for the STEP Program. This informs the government of your travel plans and whereabouts should something horrible happen while you’re in that country. They will inform you if there is a protest, strike, governmental changes or events so you’re prepared. This lets them know where you are should they need to help you get out of the country. We don’t like to think of these things but it is imperative that you sign up for the STEP program.

After doing that google where the U.S. Embassies and Consulates are in the cities you staying or the closest ones to you, if they have them, fill out their forms as well. Put all the contact info including the locations and times of operation and put that in your spreadsheet. Yes, Google is fast but God forbid you lose your phone or passport, you will want to know where you can get a new one quickly. You will thank yourself later if something like a terror attack, natural disaster, or political unrest happens and you want to get out of the country faster or have questions and want help. Will they be helpful? Who knows, but do your part and don’t be unprepared. Next, Google the emergency contact numbers (911) of the country. Be aware that other countries may have separate numbers for fire, medical, and police and they can also have a general line that will connect you to all three. Put that in your phone and the spreadsheet.

And finally please do your research. No one likes being disappointed on vacations, so prepare beforehand. Nothing is perfect and things can go wrong, but I find if I at least have some knowledge of the city, culture, language, and customs, it adds ease to the trip. Untimely it’s up to you how you’ll spend your time and how you can get the most out of it. Safe travels!-T.S.