I had to go to Italy for a conference, so we added a few days on the front end to tour a bit.
Friday we left in the afternoon after work and drove through the Tirolean Alps to Venice. Stopped at a McDonalds in the Alps with the most beautiful view. The tour book said "By no means should you stay in xxx" Of course, xxx was where we had a room booked. No troubles actually.
Saturday was Venice. It was great, but no place for a stroller. Small streets, lots of canal crossings. We rode the water taxi around all of Venice. Amazing place. We also found a grocery store. Prices on the island were much better than in Germany! And I found a box of Merlot. Not your normal box of wine, this was a nice 1 L box. It is maybe 3x3x9 inches, so you can drink it. "Pass me the box of Merlot" Classy.
Sunday we drove to Rome. The highways were fine, but they are all toll. You would think 10 bucks a gallon would pay for roads? We stopped along the eastern shore of Italy to check the beaches a bit. Nice, but looked like Myrtle Beach in the 60s, low hotels along the way. Again, the tour book said to avoid xxx in rome, as it is "totally unwholesome". Fine area, just near the train station. I saw my first Budweiser in Europe, so I bought it ($4.50!) but the lady explained the complex parking system to me and save me about $50 in parking.
Monday we did really old Rome. Colosseum. Roman Forum ruins. Parthenon. Fountain Trete. Spanish Steps. Nap. Then do it reverse order in the dark. Of course, you can't get in at night, but it was easy to walk it around. We carried Ellie in the backpack most of the time and she was fine.
Tuesday we did the Catholic stuff. We did the Vatican Museum and St. Peter's. The Vatican museum was full of amazing old stuff and art, and St. Peter's is just impressive, full of big old stuff (giant statuary).
I would definitely suggest Rome as a must-see, but maybe without two little kids. They are troopers and have been terrific, but they slow us down a little.
Update: Birra Moretti and Peroni are both Italian and both are good. Normal Pilsner type beers, nothing bad about them.
