Quite a Year

'Twas a fantastic year, to say the least. We as family had a great time this 2011, upping levels of expectations in various activities, especially in education, social and spiritual aspects.

In  homeschool, the kids had a very productive year: revalidas for all of them were essentially better than last year's (that's according to their teacher-coordinators themselves), and their activities (and outputs) were way better this year. This may have something to do with the fact that the previous school year was the second in our homeschooling activities, and that kinks in the initial year of homeschooling were ironed out (and perfected?) in the 2011 edition of our homeschool. Aside from the kids having more outputs in their portfolio, we were also able to connect more family activities in homeschool. The kids also showed improved skills in studying, as well as preparing for their periodical interviews.

Still in homeschool, more 'social' activities were incorporated for kids' studies: they attended several art classes (basic drawing, ceramic painting, etc) and also attended cooking, baking and other food lessons. These enable them to mingle with children of different nationalities and allowed them to get more socialization time which was lacking in the previous year's study.

It was an amazingly fantastic year for the family's travel activities as well.

Our first venture to Europe (as a family) happened in the summer of 2011, and even though we have to endure high temperatures in some areas, we still were able to achieve that family bonding that can only be attained by being together and doing family activities day in and day out. And we've successfully done it for more than two weeks!

The family enjoyed the sights and attractions (and sometimes even the nice summer weather) of Paris and Versailles in France, the Vatican City, and the cities of Rome, Florence and Pisa in Italy. We visited and climbed the Tour Eiffel, the Notre Dame Cathedral, the Saint Chapelle, and cruised along the River Seine; we explored the Colosseum and the Romano Foro, visited Castel Sant Angelo, the Pantheon and Fontana de Trevi; we sat along the Spanish Steps (as most tourists do); and most importantly, we marveled at the grandness of Basilica San Pietro and the square in front of it, and had a serene experience, while gawking at the marvelous works of art inside the Sistine Chapel. The experience we had, and the spiritual renewal that went with it, while visiting basilicas, cathedrals and churches - Saint Germain de Prez, Santa Maria Maggiore, Santa Croce, Florence's Duomo, the Pisa Cathedral to name a few, was a memory the family will keep for a long time. Our visits to numerous parks provided welcome relief to our aching feet (from walking here and there), as well as time for light banter when the family starts getting grumpy for hours of walking. Exploring new places, understanding new culture, and learning new things become more meaningful when you do it with your loved ones.

And our adventures in traveling continued in 2011.

On the local front, we visited, and took a more in-depth look, at previously visited places: forts and castles, mosques and water fronts, ridges and mountain tops. We also had a short off-road activity (after two years of not doing it) and climbed the highest peak in the Arab region, the Grand Canyon of Arabia. Of course, we did not forget to visit our favorite park and spend some lazy afternoons there.

Towards the end of the year, we decided to head back to Europe to experience 'real' autumn. Munich and the Bavarian countryside were sights to behold. We had a grand time roaming around the Marienplatz area, as well as other notable areas such as the Stachus, Karlsplatz, the Nymphenburg, the Olympic Area and the English Garden. Ludwig II's castles in Neuschwanstein and Linderhof are grand and of course, fairytale-like, and the German countryside (through the town of Oberammergau) on the foot of the Alps gave us a feel of rural Europe which we loved.

Our short visit to Austria (Salzburg) and its thousands-year old structures was also both educational and entertaining to the family.

And of course, there is again, the visit to several churches, most notable of which was in St. Peter's (and the climb to the top, which will show you arguably the best view of 'real' Europe, in my opinion).

We also made strides in deepening our faith.

Aside from our 'panata' of attending the Filipino mass every 1st and 3rd Sundays, we also did a month-long Advent preparation activity in December. This enabled us to renew our faith more, and for the kids to re-visit theirs, by reading more scriptures. I hope this will continue to a deeper understanding of our religion and our faith, and more family activities towards this end.

'Twas a great year. We're looking forward to another great year ahead.

Christmas Dinner

After taking rest the whole of Christmas Day, the family decided to go out for dinner, and the usual family time that Christmas night. We initially went to Spicy Village, our favorite restaurant, only to find out the place is closed as it has been reserved previously for a party. We then decided to take our dinner in a poolside restaurant of one of the hotels in the area, which happened to provide a buffet dinner that night especially for Christmas.

The family got to partake of a sumptuous dinner - beef, chicken, seafood, pasta... and lots of appetizers and desserts. It was a fun Christmas dinner, and an equally fun night out for the whole family.

 Have a blessed Christmas... hope you enjoyed it like us.

waking up on Christmas morning

Santa's loot bag near the tree

 Cold, relaxed, ... no work!

Well, technically there's work, I'm just lucky that after five years of 'business as usual' on Christmas Day, today I was able to get two days off from that familiar 'cubicle' of mine for Christmas and Boxing Days. After a long time, it's good to savor the season's holiday feeling once again.

The sala is a mess: wraps and presents still litter everywhere. Santa's loot bag sits near the tree, and the kids and us take our sweet time whiling away time eating leftover spaghetti and 'maja' from last night's family pre-Noche Buena feast while watching Top Gear UK's Norway episode. This is the true holiday feeling. 

Merry Christmas!

another day at the office...

While most of the world is now in 'holiday' mode, and my friends and former classmates already in their vacations, trips and parties, I am still stuck here in my 'cubicle' trying to do some decent work and be productive (even if my mind continues to wander about what will happen in our small get-together later tonight). This, I think, is the single biggest disadvantage if you are a Roman Catholic living and working in this region. Well, the pay and work environment is good, which do not happen everywhere, and the work hours superb (total of 6 hours a day), but you don't get to observe your own holidays. I know that's being too shallow (and I don't mind observing Islamic holidays, as well). However, when you experience it firsthand, and then for it to be further intensified by what you learn from your social network (well, something's happening out there and we oughtta know), then it somehow becomes an issue (well, at least for me, it's happening).

Anyways, I am stuck on this chair for another few hours at least, and it's best, in the current scheme of things, to turn in some work. I just console myself about the fact that I am already used to this, and have been doing this for six years now. (wow!)

Will they allow me to take an internal leave tomorrow? 

Google Dinner

As I take a peek inside the fridge, I got a glimpse of what's inside: half chicken breast, two thick pieces of turkey breast ham, a piece of potato, a packet of mushrooms and two eggplants. I said to myself, what will be for dinner?

 Here comes Google.

It's a bit tricky, but it's also very easy. As I began typing the ingredients I have in the fridge, a list of possible recipes are already being shown by Google. I finally settled for something that sounds like "chicken with eggplant and mushroom".

The directions were fairly straightforward: stir fry the chicken and turkey ham and when brown, add the vegetables. Then season with the usual salt, pepper and a dash of soy sauce. For added taste, I added two chicken bouillon. Voila! the family's dinner is ready.

Judging from the result, I think Google's recipe went well. The kids loved it, wifey said she's too full as she ate lots of it... and of course, I forgot to take a photo as everybody scrambled to get a piece of it after savoring the delicious smell.

Looks like a repeat of Google Dinner is in the making. 

Simbang Gabi

It is that same indescribable feeling.

Source: rhoelilagan (Flicker)

I remember attending the ‘Simbang Gabi’, or ‘Misa de Gallo’ when I was still a kid in our small town. We usually wake up early, around 3:00 or 3:30 in the morning, and brave the cold weather outside to walk the kilometer or so to the church. (This is the time when global warming hasn’t started to be a major world issue yet.) We normally reach the church with a little time to spare, and, being a kid, I remember spending that ‘precious’ time loitering near the small shanties dotting the fence in front of the church patio for an initial taste of that delicious ‘bibingka’ and very hot ‘salabat’. (Well, it sure is welcome to have something to help you ease that cold somehow.) I don’t know the real reason now, but I have no recollection of somebody selling ‘puto bumbong’ during Misa de Gallo when I was still a kid.

‘Simbang Gabi’ in our small town starts at 4:00 in the morning. I think it’s how the Philippines, as a predominantly Catholic country, customarily celebrate the nine-day mass in preparation for the nativity of Christ on Christmas Day. That is also probably why it is called ‘Misa de Gallo’. This practice remains the same until now.

This tradition has been part of my growing up. The only thing changed was that, instead of my parents, it was my friends who were with me in attending the masses during my teenage years, and that the frequency of attending it dwindled as I reached adulthood.

Then, all of a sudden it was gone when I decided to relocate to a Muslim country. 

Until last night.

There may be no bibingka, salabat or puto bumbong dotting the church patio… the mass may be celebrated late at night (10:00pm) instead of the customary 4:00am… instead of walking a kilometer, there may be that long 200-km drive from our place to the church (and another exhilarating 200 kms back!), but these differences aren’t really important. What’s important is that, after a long while, I got to experience ‘Simbang Gabi’ all over again. (...and as a bonus, share this moment with my family!)

Once in a while, it’s nice being a kid again.

My Favorite Travel Apps

It's that time of year again.

Well, I mean this is the time of year when most of us start preparing for that holiday trip the family waited for during the year. Whether near or far doesn't matter, as long as the family gets to do that getaway to spend the holidays together.

Through the years, I was able to build an arsenal of apps that help me plan that perfect holiday trip for the family. These apps do not only make my preparation quick and easy, they also make the planning process more accessible and comfortable no matter where I am, whether at home or mobile. Further, they make tracking the trip itinerary easier, as I can have immediate access to them through my phone or my iPad. Here are some of them:

While I normally scour different airline websites to get that best deal when it comes to purchasing air tickets, I normally use booking.com to have my hotel reservation. Sometimes, I try to compare the rates I get from the ones in hotels.com, but I almost always eventually get the deals I find in booking.com (both have iPhone and iPad apps). Of course, before I finally make the reservations, I check TripAdvisor first to get real traveler information on the hotel I prefer.

After getting the air tickets, travel insurance (usually from the same airlines), and the hotel reservations, I let my TripIt app do my trip itinerary for me. TripIt is a nice little app that I have for my iPhone and iPad, and it checks my mails for all reservations and bookings I make and organize them for me so that I have a ready access of my flight and hotel bookings (and schedule). TripIt also manages all other holiday activities that I plan (and book) for my trip (such as tours and the like); the ones I normally book using my Viator app. I also connected my TripIt app with another iPhone travel app I prefer - TripDeck - which is further connected to another app, FlightTrack (both are available from the Apps Store). The combination of all these make my holiday easier as I get notifications for flight schedules, alarms for my itinerary, and ready access to my sked during the whole vacation. 

In preparing for the trip, I use Packing Pro. It has ready checklist templates for different kinds of trips, and allows you to customize your checklist depending on your preference. Packing Pro has different templates to choose from and has checklists starting from pre-trip, to essentials, to medicines and everything. It's really a handy app that's very useful in preparing what you need for your holidays, especially if you have kids to tag along with you, just like us.

During the holiday, AroundMe, CityMaps ToGo and Wiki Offline become essential apps. During our recent trip to Europe, I also had an extensive use of the Metro app (all available in the Apps Store). These apps become handy when you need a map to know where you want to go, obviously to check metro stations, and to just plain know what essential establishments are near you at any point in time. Of course, I make sure I have at least one travel app of the city I prefer to visit (the likes of GuidePal, Triposo and City Walk variety). Believe me, they come in handy when you're resting your weary feet at the hotel at night and prepare for the next walking tour you'll do on the next day.

Although I don't always use them, I also have the Trip Journal and Trip Viewer apps to document my trips from time to time.

Well then, happy trip everyone... enjoy the holidays!

'cleaning' my mac

Spent most of the afternoon and evening 'weeding' out unnecessary files in my MacBook. Just found out I only have about 10GB of storage left due to more than 15,000 pics in my Aperture library, and a few .dmgs I left in the harddrive after installing new applications. I recovered about 90GB of space afterwards, then uploaded a few CFs of pics from our last two travels, which again occupied 10GB of precious storage space... if this goes on, I really need to put serious thought in buying another terabyte of external harddrive. (Or better yet, get me an iMac, of course, with a bigger storage.)

Dance Number

Had a blast practicing with colleagues. There will be an acquaintance cum get-together party in the office tomorrow, and the Pinoy group is requested to present a number. Having several great talents in dancing within the group, notwithstanding the fact that we have an excellent choreographer, it's a no-brainer for us to choose a dance number to  be presented. The only catch: we have barely 24 hours to work out a complete dance routine...

We decided to meet and right there decided to have sort of a cha-cha/line dance combination as we cannot afford having more complex routines, the kind not unlike the ones we've done previously in other events.

After about an hour and a half of practice, the number was completed. Not yet perfect, but we're going there...

Let's see what will happen tomorrow :)

Climbing the 'Cupola'

Basilica Papale di San Pietro

Cupola from the Vatican Museum

I thought being at the top of the Eiffel Tower gives you the highest 'high'. I was wrong.

The family was able to withstand the heat, the long queue, and a few mood swings to finally got the chance to ‘climb’ the cupola of the Basilica Papale di San Pietro in Vaticano. We sort of cheated, actually, as we paid 7 euros so that we could take the lift up to the roof level of the Basilica (which will give you great views of the Basilica looking downwards, as well as excellent views of frescoes of the dome as it is now very near). If I recall it right, we saved about 200 steps, and are now only 320 steps away from the top of the dome. At the roof level (after the lift ride), one could look at how small tourists are inside the Basilica, just to have an approximation of the height of the structure. The Basilica’s dome is the highest in the world, and is just a little smaller in diameter compared to the Roman Pantheon.

Rain going down

Climbing the cupola

Climbing the dome is, well… exhilarating. It is advisable to have a ready bottle of water. I had several pit stops during the climb to catch my breath (it felt like the air becomes thin as you climb higher… and the spiral staircase is really, really narrow, sloping as you go higher) and rest my thighs. After the 320 or so steps, however, you’ll find that the view of Rome outside of the cupola is unequalled…

You’ll see Castel Sant’ Angelo (remember Angels and Demons?) at a distance… the view of St. Peter’s square is breathtaking... and of course, the Vatican Gardens. You can also see part of the Tiber River and other Rome attractions, which make the experience all the more awesome.

Truly spectacular.

The Cupola viewed from the floor level

It's hot at the top

Ash viewing St. Peter's Square from the Cupola

View from the Cupola

The family at St. Peter's Square

Part of Vatican Gardens

St. Peter's Square

'Under the Tuscan Sun'

Days of summer in Florence, the Renaissance City.

Florence panorama atop Piazzale Michelangelo

We arrived after about two hours of travelling in one of Italy’s fastest, the AltaVelocita Freccioargento. The afternoon ride introduced us to Tuscany’s beautiful countryside with lots of gold and green farmlands, in particular the rolling hills where Florence is perched. We haven’t really started our ‘formal’ exploration of Florence yet, the scene however, is already worth the visit. I silently thanked God for giving us this journey.

Palazzo Vecchio, now a museum

Hotel Pendini and Piazza della Repubblica

After a quick drop off at the Sta. Maria Novella Station (the Tren Italia AV9418, afterall, continues its journey towards Venezia), we hailed a taxi just opposite the Basilica di Santa Maria Novella, which dropped us off at our hotel, Hotel Pendini, at the center of the small city, near the ever-crowded Piazza dela Repubblica. Aside from the vast piazza just beside the hotel, the view from the hotel room shows the top of Florence’s Duomo. Not bad.

Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore

Capella di Medici

 Florence is a small city. On our first night, we visited the Florence Cathedral, the Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore (locally known as the Duomo, the tallest structure in the city), and marvel at its gothic design (marbled panel in green and pink). We learned later that it was consecrated during the 1400s and it was built by three different designers/engineers starting in late 1200s. The Duomo complex is comprised of three magnificent structures: the Duomo, Giotto’s Bell Tower or the Campanile, and the Baptistery. Later in the night, we visited the Capella di Medici, particularly the Sagrestia Nuova, or the mortuary chapel for the Medici family. It’s interesting to see a blend of old and new in this area, as we see lots of pizzerias and small hotels dotting this area of the city.

Ponte Vecchio at the back

Santa Trinita

Like any other typical European city, Florence’s streets are narrow, and its lanes, cobbled. Walking early to cover more areas, we felt a slight chill, not unlike that when we were in Paris. Autumn is now slowly making its way towards the continent. Alice had a grand time exploring the city’s streets. With all the branded stores just a stone's throw away from the hotel, and Florence’s other small shops selling authentic Italian leather bags and shoes, what more can a wife wish? Anyways, on our second day, we set our path towards Ponte Vecchio ("The Old Bridge"), and after just about a 10-minute walk from the hotel, reached the Arno River, near the Ponte Santa Trinita. We first visited the Church of Santa Trinita and admired such works as Madonna and Saints and Annunciation, which are housed there. We then moved towards Ponte Vecchio.

Santa Croce

After taking several photos of the family at the Ponte Vecchio, we proceeded to the Basilica di Santa Croce. Although the church is being reconstructed inside, there’s no denying the beauty of its pure gothic structure, with its porticos and cloisters. Along with its campanile, the church of Santa Croce is a huge, imposing white structure. We bought tickets so that we could proceed inside, and there we saw the tombs of, among others, Galileo Galilei, Dante Alighieri, Michaelangelo, and Niccolo Machiavelli.

After our time at the Santa Croce, we proceeded to the crowded Piazza della Signoria, where you can find both the famous Uffizi Gallery and Palazzo Vecchio. Outside, we took photos of famous statues (copies only, originals inside the museums) such as that of ‘David’ (Michaelangelo) and ‘Hercules and Cacus’ (Bandinelli).

having a taste of Florence's gelato

at Belvedere Fort

We took a rest in one of the pizzerias dotting the area, and of course, we did not pass the opportunity to have a taste of Firenze’s gelato, considered the best in the world. (In fact, during our stay in the city, we always grab a gelato everytime there’s a chance.)

Piazza della Independencia

sign at the Academia Museum

On our last day, we visited the Belvedere Fort, which we learned was built by the Medici family to protect them from rebels. We also passed by Piazza dela Independencia, which covers both sides of the road in a symmetrical fashion, and the Piazza San Marco one of the oldest and most popular squares in Florence among the locals. Of course, we have to go to the Academia where you can see Michaelangelo’s original of ‘David’. We even passed by the Philippine Consulate in Florence along the way. The square of the Basilica della Santissima Annunziata is huge and old, and Alice and the kids spent some time praying inside the church. We then spent the afternoon exploring many of the shops, as well as the local market, and spending a short time at the Basilica di Santa Maria del Santo Spirito and the PalazzoPitti.

 







The most memorable evening in Firenze (Florence) however, was spent by the family resting above a hill where Piazzale Michelangelo is perched, marveling at the romantic panoramic view of the Renaissance City. It was really a night to remember for all times: the family just whiling away time, savoring gelato and listening to classic Florentine music on guitar by a local artist, while looking at the Arno River and the medieval structures at a distance as the sun sets.

Priceless.  

A tour along the River Seine

We visited most of Paris' top attractions on foot. It's good to have companions who are willing to 'walk' that 'extra mile' from one tourist spot to another in exchange of the usual kebab sandwich and coca cola smoothy dotting the streets of the "City of Lights".

Nevertheless, having splendid experience viewing Paris' top attractions walking through the city's beautiful cobblestone streets did not deter the family from experiencing other means of exploring the city, especially those near the banks of that beautiful river, Seine. Thus, the family took it to task to also enjoy these attractions by coasting along the river through the BatoBus Tour (www.batobus.com). We purchased our BatoBus tickets online, and we bought one that will alow us a 48-hour ride on BatoBus boats. It allowed us to hop on and hop off on different BatoBus stations (scattered along the river) for two days, which gave us enough time to appreciate many of the top attractions, as well as those near them.

Having a tour along the River Seine allowed us to view the Eiffel Tower, the Pont Alexander, Notre Dame, Musee D' Orsay, and many other places in a different angle. Views of the Eiffel Tower and the Notre Dame Cathedral from the River Seine at night are magnificent, indeed!

one of the many kebab sandwiches we ate during our visit in Paris

It doesn't harm, really, to try other means of exploring top sites of new places when you visit them. It gives you that alternative 'high', so they say.

Here are some of our pics.

Sommet de Tour Eiffel

Unbelievable!

I heard this from a father describing the scene on top of the Eiffel Tower to his companions just before we took the lift to the summit. Judging from the faces of the two pretty little toddlers he held on each hand that time, I thought the view at the top will really be an experience for us...

Photo of Tour Eiffel taken from its base

Going to the top of the Eiffel Tower, the 'Sommet' as they call it there, was the event the whole family looked forward to during our recent trip to Paris. We bought our tickets online (www.eiffel-tower.com) prior to our trip, as we read that it normally takes hours to get your tickets if you follow the normally very long queue at the base of the tower. There are actually two types of tickets: one brings you up until the 2nd floor by lift, wherein you have the option to buy another ticket to the summit (using the stairs), and the other brings you to the top using the lift. We opted for the second one, planning to savor the 360 degree view of Paris on the summit first, before descending to the second floor (there are actually three floors, the summit is the third floor) for another 360 degree view on a different angle. Another advantage of buying your tickets online is that you don't need to wait on the very long queue anymore, as you will have direct access to the lift that will bring you up.

base of the tower's second floor

 As we climb from second floor to the top, the kids start to giggle, as the views keep getting better and better (you need to change lifts between the 2nd and 3rd floors, the lift to the 3rd floor (top) allows you to see the surroundings while going up)... after a few short minutes, we reached the summit.

 

It was awesome! Even surreal, one might say.

We had been on top of several towers already, the Petronas Twin Towers and the Burj Khalifa among others, but the feeling cannot be compared to this. Maybe it's the thought of viewing the panorama of one of the most romantic places on Earth, and the reality that one is finally in Europe and in Paris at that, finally sinks in... maybe it's the appreciation of the city's careful (and aesthetic) planning of its 'arrondisements' and the beautiful architecture of its perfectly preserved structures... maybe it's just one of those things that come and go on a spark. Whatever it is, the feeling is different... and wonderful.

I could see from my wife's and my children's eyes that they feel the same way.  I could only hope that someday, somehow the family gets the opportunity to capture that same feeling all over again.

Kids' Art Class

The kids had been busy in their art class. They had been into the ceramic painting class, and during the last Ramadan, they completed a series of classes in Basic Drawing. We're now communicating with their art teachers for them to continue their drawing classes, so that they could also attend classes in other drawing techniques, such as the use of pastel tools and other color drawing techniques.

The kids like attending these classes. We feel that through these, the kids feel that they achieve something every time they complete a certain work, and we feel that activities such as this complement their work in homeschool.

 We plan to continue giving them these classes, so that they could develop their talents in this area.

Riding Trains and Buses in Rome

Rome, they say, is best explored on foot. And they're right. We managed to visit Castel Sant' Angelo (of the Angels and Demons fame), Piazza Navona, the Pantheon, the Fontana de Trevi, Quirinale, and a few other popular sights and churches, and back to the Colosseo one evening, after spending almost the whole day at the Vatican. The only downside to this is after a few hours of walking, small voices (read: children) keep nagging at you every so often, asking you to rest, find a drinking fountain where you can refill your empty bottled water, and much more, take a short detour at that gelato counter or pizza shop for a quick fill-in.

At Rome Termini: Metro

For other times, however, it is best to use the train... or the metro, as it is fondly called in different places around the world.

As we're billeted just a block off the Colosseo, it was fairly easy for us to reach the Colosseo station, which is just two stops away from the Central Termini station using the "Blue" line. (Rome's Metro is fairly straightforward, as it only has two lines crisscrossed across the city: the Blue and Red lines. A third line is currently being built, causing chaos and "very" long queues in some stations when we were there.) We actually spent one of our days in Rome hopping from one Metro station to another to reach fairly "distant" popular attractions. We actually initially bought a 3-day tourist travel pass for the whole family (costing 11 Euro each, except for our youngest kid), however, we had seldom use for it as we normally did our exploration of Rome on foot. As the time to leave Rome nears, attractions tended to be farther from the center as well, and thus came our day of exploration through the Metro.

It was fairly easy.

Rome Termini: Rail

Having accustomed to riding MRTs and LRTs in Philippines and Singapore, the kids had actually been very comfortable using Rome's Metro. Our eldest guided us where the maps/stations are located so that we'll easily see which line we need to catch going from one station to another. And thus, we're able to see other attractions such as the "Twin Churches" of the Piazza del Popolo, the Basilica of Sta. Maria Maggiore, the Spanish Steps, Piazza dela Repubblica, and a few others.

By the way, the family found it odd that in Rome, you just need to hop on and hop off the bus, no need to validate your ticket every time. (Our friend's only advice: always make sure to keep your validated ticket with you.) Well, this I think is a more efficient way of doing it.

Italy's "Bullet Train"

The "Alta Velocita"

Riding the AV9418 to Florence

We also rode a train moving from Rome to Florence. This time, we used the Alta Velocita, Italy's version of the Bullet Train. It costed all of us about 80 Euros (second class coach), and the train ride lasted for about 1 hour and 45 minutes. The best thing: it was another first for the kids. They were excited to experience the long-haul train ride and had a grand time savoring Italy's countryside during the short trip. It was another memorable experience for them.

Waiting for AV9418, Rome Termini

Tip: If you have several hours to spare before your train ride, you can go to the Baggage Deposit section of the Rome Termini Station located near Bay 24 (signs abound, look for Deposito Baggali signs all around the station). They charge a minimal 5 Euro per luggage for the first five hours, which is a very cheap compromise than tugging your bags from one tourist site to another prior to checking in or after checking out of your hotel.