Rome, Italy - Travel Scrapbook
Danny and Simone's Travel Scrapbook of Rick Steves' 7-Day Best of Rome (and a little Paris too)
Trip Preparation
I’ve been a big fan of Rick Steves for a couple years. My first introduction was in 2003 when a girlfriend asked if I would like to go to Paris with her. 
She called me in June 2003 for a trip in July 2003. She knew I’d been talking about going to Europe for several years, specifically Paris, but had not yet made a trip. Boy, did she ask the right girl!!!!! My husband nor sons had been interested in the least and perhaps they didn’t believe I would go without them. I did and was hooked.
Rick Steves' website is http://www.ricksteves.com
I had a very short preparation window to go to Paris back in 2003, so I went to the library and checked out several travel books on Europe and Paris including a circa-1998 edition of
Europe Through the Back Door. Obviously, the book was dated, but even pre-Euro, I could tell it was a very informative and helpful book for someone like me who would be crossing the pond for the very first time.
In 2004, with a current edition of Europe Through the Back Door in our possession, my husband, youngest son (then 12) and I used Rick’s London guide for a great week in London.
We packed light, stayed at a recommended B&B near Victoria Station, participated in the Ceremony of the Keys at the Tower of London, side-tripped to Stonehenge and Bath and even took in Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet at the Globe for our son’s sake (still not sure if he yet appreciates the experience).
Those are just some of the jammed packed activities we coordinated during our London week using Rick’s guidebook.
Rome It Is
So how did we get to Rome, Italy next?
Another girlfriend and I would meet for lunch whenever she was in town. One visit over lunch I told her the saga of my wanting to go to Rome, but had no takers in my household. She said she actually had been to Rome between her freshman and sophomore years, but being a stupid college kid, did not appreciated the experience.
The more we talked about spending a week in Rome, the more the trip grew. “Why not also visit Florence?” Ok, fine by me. “Well Venice is not far away.” So, before you knew it, I suggested Rick’s 10-day tour of Venice-Florence-Rome plus a couple extra days to visit Pompeii. So there you have it….but not quite.
My college girlfriend and I now have to juggle school schedules for five children, work, two husbands, etc. Finally, we settled on a fall trip. Over the course of nearly eighteen months we went back and forth on going, not going, when best to go…….finally we decided to just do it fall of 2006!
I put my deposit down and emailed my girlfriend, but when no respond came I began to worry. Finally, I picked up the phone and asked if the trip was still on, but unfortunately for her 2007 would be the better year. Well, I had already sent in my deposit and could move it to another tour within the calendar year 2006.
Planning
I then drafted my husband and told him we were going to Europe. We had to pick a date and destination — we toyed around with a number of tours. But it was my overwhelming desire to visit Rome, the original destination, that won out.
Using Rick’s Europe Through the Back Door and the Rome 2006 travel books as our travel “bibles” in addition to a number of other supplemental travel books, I started planning a trip of a lifetime. Danny pretty much left all the planning and details to me — he was, however, bless his heart, available to actually catch the flight on October 28! Gotta love husbands….
This spreadsheet takes one of Rick's itinerary forms and customizes it to help plan our vacation. It's color coordinated and distinguishes the trip tour events versus our self-touring activities.....I obviously have a lot of time on my hands.....
http://www.freewebs.com/travelscrapbook/Preparation/Itinerary-Rome-Paris.xls
Our Luggage - One Bag Each
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Here’s how we packed — One Rick Steves' convertible carry-on bag apiece — that’s all. My bag weighed 15 pounds (girl stuff) that includes the 3 pound weight of the bag itself. We wore our heaviest clothes on the flight and wore our only pair of shoes. |
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Simone's bag |
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Danny’s bag weighed 14 pounds. |
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Danny's bag |
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My shoes were Keen (Bronx) with Walk Fit inserts for my high arches. |
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Contents of Simone's bag |
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Danny had a vest with a zillion pockets. |
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Danny's vest |
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Danny also had a SCOTTEVEST® jacket with 39-pockets (overkill, but neat) from TravelSmith® that he received from me for his September birthday. |
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39 pockets - count'em |
Follow Rick's advice: PACK LIGHT — PACK LIGHT — PACK LIGHT. This can not be over emphasized.
We Have Places To Go!
The week before, our bags packed, mail stopped, bills pre-paid, minds in Rome, we eagerly awaited our departure date. Perhaps we were too prepared and became unfocused and careless because the Tuesday before departure, I lost our house keys and we had to get a locksmith to re-key all the house doors. Then the morning of departure, Danny was emptying out his wallet and couldn’t find his ATM card and had to go to the bank to cancel the old card and get a temporary replacement card to use in Europe.
Come along with us on our first Rick Steve's tour and see how his Best of Rome in 7 Days
At the beginning of each day of the tour, the day's tour description is in orange. Follow our travel journey as we see the best of Rome in seven days, then hang around as we spend two extra days in Rome to explore on our own Pompeii and Naples with an added treat of three days in Paris. We also kept track of our walking. At the end of each day we record our daily steps with the grand total under the Reflections page.
Let's get started 
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