Trip Report Viva Italia!! My Adventure by Disney!

So yours truly just arrived home from a wonderful trip to Italy courtesy of Adventures by Disney and let me tell you, it was AWESOME!! The tour that I went on was called Viva Italia which took us from Rome to Tuscany to Florence and then our final stop in Venice, which was truly a dream come true for me! Venice has been on my bucket list for some time now and it did not disappoint. So, let me tell you about my Adventures!

Day1: My daughter and I took a late afternoon flight out of Newark that got us into sunny Rome the next morning. The flight was a little over 8 ½ hours, but who’s counting, we’re going to ITALY!!

When we arrived we were met by our Adventures by Disney greeter who helped us to grab our luggage and after a quick potty break we headed towards the exit where we met one of our Adventure Guides Marco. He was staying at the airport to help co-ordinate the other Adventurers that would be arriving that day and said he would see us at the hotel later for the reception. Our bags were loaded into the waiting van and we were off on our Adventure in Rome! I do have to say that the drivers in Rome definitely give the NYC drives some heavy competition. And those people on the scooters!!! Wow, they do take their lives into their own hands over there. They make their own lanes… LOL

It took us approx 30 mins to arrive at the beautiful Gran Melia Rome hotel.

 

[Kingdom Konsultant]

 

[Kingdom Konsultant]

After our waling tour ended we took the bus back to our hotel to freshen up. We went down the hill to a nice little Italian restaurant and had a great dinner. Tomorrow's adventure takes us to Vatican City!

Pam

 

[sissa216]

Beautiful!!!

 

[sissa216]

Compared to the other European packages that are out there that we book, Disney's is so much better and definitely worth the money. No, I wouldn't plan my own especially being that this was my first time in Italy. I have lived in Germany and visited other European countries but this was off the charts. We were able to see and do so much more than if we were to plan it out on our own. And I cannot say enough about the Adventure Guides. They are spot on and take care of every single thing. The Disney magic definitely carries through to these tours. I cannot recommend them enough to anyone that wants to have a little Adventure in their lives. It's wonderful AND they offer the tours for adults only for those without children.

Pam

It's our dream to get back to Europe- and I think we definitely want to go through ABD when we do. It really makes the most sense to us- maximize our time and put all the worrying in the hands of Disney, whose quality we already appreciate and trust.

 

[Disnee4Me]

Wow ... loving this ... bringing back memories of two years ago with my DH and 2 DSs ... unfortunately only got to Rome in 2012. Last trip to Venice & Florence was 1974 .... and I remember clearly get off the train in Venice to the newspaper headlines "Nixon Resigns" ... well it was in Italy and my uncle translated it for us

 

[Kingdom Konsultant]

It's our dream to get back to Europe- and I think we definitely want to go through ABD when we do. It really makes the most sense to us- maximize our time and put all the worrying in the hands of Disney, whose quality we already appreciate and trust.

It's been 25 years since I've traveled to Europe so this was the perfect way for me to get back there! Definitely! Disney really goes the extra mile with these tours. I swear every time we got on the motor coach they gave us bottled water and handed out snacks LOL. I think I had 3 bottles of water at one point. They really made sure we were comfortable and had everything that we would need to make this trip enjoyable.

 

[Kingdom Konsultant]

Wow ... loving this ... bringing back memories of two years ago with my DH and 2 DSs ... unfortunately only got to Rome in 2012. Last trip to Venice & Florence was 1974 .... and I remember clearly get off the train in Venice to the newspaper headlines "Nixon Resigns" ... well it was in Italy and my uncle translated it for us

Florence and Venice are coming still!! Venice was on my bucket list and I really would love to go back.

Pam

 

[DisneyDebNJ]

They brought us 4 different pizzas to each table. OMG it was soooooooo good! We had varieties that were the typical margerita pizza to one with proscuito and one that had gorganzola. I was not a big fan of the one with gorganzola and I like gorganzola.

Mozzarella BAR?!?!?!?!?!?!?!! OMG I bet the pizza was amazing!

 

[mammaminnie]

LOVE the photos of the Coliseum!!!!

 

[Kingdom Konsultant]

Day 2

After our breakfast buffet we were off to walk to the Vatican City! Stephano met us at the hotel early (8:30) and we took the short walk over. Once we were inside it was quite a site! St. Peter’s Basilica was first on our list so we headed right there and with our passes in hand were inside in a matter of minutes! Yes Adventures by Disney tours has their own type of fast passes!! LOL

 

[Kingdom Konsultant]

Here are a few pictures for you.

 

[Kingdom Konsultant]

Vatican City.

 

[Kingdom Konsultant]

 

[Kingdom Konsultant]

 

[FlaggNL]

The Vatican looks marvelous! Is there more to come?

 

[Kingdom Konsultant]

Yes there is! I do apologize. I have been so busy with the agency that I have neglected my report. I will get more up tonight

Pam

 

[Kingdom Konsultant]

When our tour of St. Peters Basilica ended,

we walked over to the Castel Sant’ Angelo where the views were breathtaking from the roof!

 

[Kingdom Konsultant]

 

[Kingdom Konsultant]

When we left here we boarded the bus for the trip back to the hotel where we grabbed lunch in town at in my opinion is the BEST place to eat while in Rome, Memmo’s!

 

[Kingdom Konsultant]

There is no menu at Memmo’s, they simply ask if you want the appetizer and if you want pasta, fish or meat. A word to the wise, ask for half the appetizer or you will not eat your dinner! I had the spaghetti carbonara while my daughter had the pasta with porcini mushrooms. Both dishes were delicious! After our meal we headed back to the hotel for our after hours tours of the Vatican Museum and the Sistine Chapel!! The hotel does have a shuttle that picks you up or drops you off in town at specific times during the day.