The Sunday before our trip to Italy was a good time to pray for a safe adventure in Rome and Florence, Italy. It also happened to be the Feast of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary at our Sacred Heart Church in Bolivar, Missouri. Everything was coming together to celebrate our 50th Wedding Anniversary on May 11th in a special way.
Preparation for this once-in-a-lifetime trip for us began in earnest 9 months earlier in August of 2023. After the passing of several close family members in recent years that included Keith's 95-year old mother in March of 2023, we both were at the realization that if we don't travel now, when would we? I have been retired since 2011 and Keith retired in 2019 and at ages 70 and 75, the time is now. The inheritance was enough for plane fare anywhere. He chose Italy. I chose Rome and Florence.
The decision to go to the world center of the Catholic Church may have been influenced by Keith's recent interest in the Catholic faith. He had just started RCIA classes to become a Catholic in August 2023 and I was more than thrilled that on his own he finally came into the faith I was born into and always kept close to my heart and practice. He stayed with it and officially became a Catholic with his Confirmation and First Holy Communion on Easter Sunday 2024. God only knows if that was the driving force to make the decision to travel to Italy or our lifelong love of Renaissance art and Italian food! I'm certainly not going to over think it!
Keith got his Global Pass through TSA very quickly with no problems. It costs $100 and about 6 weeks of background checks before an in-person interview at the airport. I understand it could take up to 7 months so it was good to start the process early. I made the mistake of waiting a month after Keith got his to start my process. We both had gotten passports back in 2021 with no problems. I am still having problems with my Global Pass and did not have it available for this trip even though they cashed my $100 in September of 2023. So I had to go through the regular TSA check. I still don't know what's going on but every month when I check the website it says I am still in process. I am very disappointed but hopeful I'll get my Global Pass before the next international trip.
One of the first things we did was to buy new luggage. Got a great deal at Macy's for a couple hard side rollers that were the right size for carry-on. I went with a rose gold hard sided Samsonite. I had a 40-year old black fabric Samsonite set that was still good with a lifetime warrantee but the roller was not modern enough and likely a little too big. I used the top bag which goes under the plane seat just fine. Keith got a soft bag that he may rethink for the next trip as it didn't stay as well as it should on top of his new hard side roller. We began packing in the summer for the next spring so we could buy any new clothes we needed at season end prices. I already had most of what I needed but bought a new rain jacket that packs small. Besides the new black Sketcher orthopedic slip-on shoes I wore, I packed a pair of new orthopedic sandals and a new pair of white leather Keds which I found out are perfectly acceptable as comfortable dress shoes.
To keep packing minimal, we realized that we would need to do laundry often. Keith and I both had our preferred way of washing our clothes after each day. I chose a bungee clothes line with hooks and clips. He chose collapsable hangers. We bought a laundry soap bar. Both our apartments had balconies so everything dried overnight. Here's my final packing plan for 15 days for early spring in Italy:
Top layer of one side of roller hard side luggage: Cut-proof sling bag, dress jacket, crushable sunhat, medium hoody, black medium long-sleeve coverup, white lightweight short-sleeve cover up.
Bottom layer of one side of roller hard side luggage: Bag of non-liquid personal items, 3 dressy blouses, 2 day dresses, 1 long skirt, 2 capris, 2 long pants. Keith had room for that small personal items bag on the trip home so I used that space for gifts purchased.
Top layer of other side of roller luggage: Robe, slippers, black/grey sweater.
Bottom layer of other side of roller luggage: 2 PJs, 5 tops, laundry clothes line bag, 2 bras, 6 panties, 6 socks, 1 thigh-high stockings.
On the plane I wore a pair of Sketcher leggings, compression knee high stockings, Sketcher orthopedic slip-on shoes, a loose athletic top , and a lightweight Eddie Bauer jacket with zippered pockets.
My 40-year old Samsonite bag slides over the roller's handle and stays in place very well. It also fits perfectly under any plane seat and is easy to get to things. It has 2 side pockets for a water bottle and an umbrella/rain jacket. I hooked on my U-shaped neck pillow on one side and my noise-cancelling headphone pack on the other side. The front pocket fits snacks, eyeglass case, wallet and a money/passport belt, phone, e-reader. The main part fits an expandable folder for all paperwork. I also had a quart baggie of liquid items, quart baggie of electronic cords/charger, sandals, extra underclothes with wipes for freshening up on the plane, slippers, shawl, and medicine in the zippered plastic pocket. All this packed rather loosely so I could get more things in it which helped on the way home.
Keith and I took plenty of time to plan which made the experience very enjoyable.While the planning went along at a comfortable pace, we both spent time learning about Rome and Florence. We both took Italian language courses online. I went through Babbel,com for a 6-month course. Keith had a different source for a shorter time. We practiced on each other everyday. Still, speaking English in Italy is no problem as most everyone does and most signs and menus have English. We booked tour guides that spoke English. We even found an English speaking Mass down the street a short way from our apartment in Rome. In Florence, we went to Mass at the Duomo where it was in Latin but had some written English for the Gospel readings as well as about a dozen other languages. They are very accommodating to English but it was good to partly understand people by being somewhat familiar with their language. The translator on our iPhones worked about half the time.
My 40-year old Samsonite bag slides over the roller's handle and stays in place very well. It also fits perfectly under any plane seat and is easy to get to things. It has 2 side pockets for a water bottle and an umbrella/rain jacket. I hooked on my U-shaped neck pillow on one side and my noise-cancelling headphone pack on the other side. The front pocket fits snacks, eyeglass case, wallet and a money/passport belt, phone, e-reader. The main part fits an expandable folder for all paperwork. I also had a quart baggie of liquid items, quart baggie of electronic cords/charger, sandals, extra underclothes with wipes for freshening up on the plane, slippers, shawl, and medicine in the zippered plastic pocket. All this packed rather loosely so I could get more things in it which helped on the way home.
Of course, I didn't keep everything packed up for the 8-9 months until our trip! This was practice packing so I would know what I needed and how much I could take to make me happy with my choices. Keith had his own plan and got by with much less variety as he bought mostly new clothes that packed well and were just the right stuff. We both had a lot of Eddie Bauer brand of clothing which packs without wrinkling and wash & dries well.
I have to give most of the credit to Keith for the actual online planning. We both made lists of what we wanted to do and see in Rome and Florence. As he mad reservations and/or secured passes, we put it on a calendar. I picked the accommodations for Rome and he picked them for Florence. The place I picked was right in the middle of everything we wanted to see. It was a couple blocks from the Pantheon (between the red & blue areas on the map below). Walking was the most favored way to get around but he also figured out the taxis, buses, and train situations. He also found the best restaurant for our special anniversary dinner in the Trastevere Area which he made reservations months ahead...yes, it was that popular and good! By January 2024, Keith had everything for Rome secured. He would have done the same for Florence but no one took information for 2024 in 2023. He got busy in January and February and everything was secured. It is a good thing to get the passes as early as possible because many places are sold out months ahead. We could see many long lines at every venue we had prepared to visit where people would stand for hours to get in! I am so happy we spent our time doing things instead of standing in long lines. He saved everything on his iPhone and we both paid our way over all these months, as needed.
We ordered our euros from the local bank which took a week for them to get before we picked them up. We could have gotten the exchange done at the airport or any number of ATM-like machines that were readily available most places but we wanted to avoid standing in line and be most secure. We also had no idea what was a fair rate but trusted our local bank more. I wanted to take $500 and it cost me $576.60 with exchange rates and bank fees. Keith got by with less. We were gifted over a couple hundred euros from his cousin Chuck as an anniversary present that we used towards our special anniversary dinner. Thank you, Chuck! Keith and I both used Apple Pay on our iPhones most of the time as even the smallest merchant, the buses, and taxi had it available. I kept all my euros, cash, credit cards, and passport in my money belt except what I would expect to use that day. I had a very secure cross-body bag with locking zippers that was made for travelers. That Apple Pay is the most secure method of payment as I got an immediate text when the transaction was complete. Keith and I both are relatively new at using an iPhone as we held out with our flip phones until just 2-3 years ago. We really got the hang of it in a short time! I did not even miss my laptop on this trip.
We used many sources for information and many different maps. The map app that came with the iPhone was better for walking around the city than the Google Maps app as it provided an easier directional guide dot to follow especially if you stood in the middle of the street because of the tall buildings at times. People are always walking in the narrow streets and the much smaller cars and vehicles are fast but cautious of pedestrians. Most vehicles are electronic and lots of bicycles everywhere. Google Maps was great for finding restaurants, services, and landmarks in the area.
Keith and I took plenty of time to plan which made the experience very enjoyable.While the planning went along at a comfortable pace, we both spent time learning about Rome and Florence. We both took Italian language courses online. I went through Babbel,com for a 6-month course. Keith had a different source for a shorter time. We practiced on each other everyday. Still, speaking English in Italy is no problem as most everyone does and most signs and menus have English. We booked tour guides that spoke English. We even found an English speaking Mass down the street a short way from our apartment in Rome. In Florence, we went to Mass at the Duomo where it was in Latin but had some written English for the Gospel readings as well as about a dozen other languages. They are very accommodating to English but it was good to partly understand people by being somewhat familiar with their language. The translator on our iPhones worked about half the time.
In preparation for our trip o Italy, we enjoyed the Netflix 3-part series "Medici the Magnificent." We watched it through a couple times. I highly recommend it if you can find it as it went off Netflix May 1, 2024. Anything about the Medici Family and the Renaissance was found to be interesting and was absorbed. Here's a list of e-books I've purchased and have read at least once this past year:
The Medicis and Borgias - Captivating History (Youtube)
The Agony and the Ecstasy by Irving Stone (There's also a movie on Amazon from 1965). I like the audio book and own both!
Brunelleschi's Dome by Ross King
Michelangelo and the Pope's Ceiling by Ross King
The Source by James Michener
As we prepared for our trip and our 50th Wedding Anniversary, we also took much time to reflect on our relationship and how blessed we are to have made it this long together. Our Golden Years are still shining! We were able to do this at our ages of 70 and 75 having never been out of the country together before. We never felt the need to go with a "tour service" as we made our own schedules. We knew we could do this and we did! I hope we can have many more years of joy together and even add some more travel. Right now, I will write several more posts about the accommodations, food, art, and events we experienced in Italy and enjoy it all again and again. I hope you will come back to this blog over the summer as I complete each post and allow me to share our joy with you! You can come back anytime as this blog will always be here and it can be available to you whenever you want! Maybe you will find some useful information to plan your own trip.
Our son and daughter with their families sent us this wonderful food tray to enjoy the few days before our trip to help us get started celebrating our 50th Wedding Anniversary and Mother's Day which was back to back this year! The blessing keep coming!
