Italy is Booked!
Posted on July 19, 2012 11 Comments
The Colosseum, Rome
My brother and I have been saving for a few years to send my parents on a trip to Italy, a lifelong dream of my mother’s. Her father was born in Italy, and she’s always talked about going. So, more than two years ago, he and I opened a savings account and started putting money in it. We made deposits for birthdays, Christmases, mother’s day, and father’s day. And we encouraged our parents to start saving, too, in case our deposits didn’t cover their trip.
During this two-year savings period, the trip has evolved into a substantially bigger extravaganza. My parents, it turned out, didn’t want to travel to Europe for their first time alone. We’re now up to eight travelers, which includes my parents, me, my brother, his wife, and their child, another of my brothers, and an aunt. We’re planning to visit Venice, Rome, Florence, and Trieste on this trip. And though we’re trying to do it frugally, with travelers ranging from a baby that can barely walk to my father, whose arthritis also renders him in the “barely walking” category every once in a while, we have to make more expensive choices than I typically make while traveling.
The finances for such a large trip are more than I care to think about, especially since I’m hoping to buy a home in the next six months and am also taking a trip to Yellowstone in coming weeks. This is not the behavior of someone trying to save every last penny for a downpayment. It just means I need to be really smart about how I spend the rest of my disposable income during the next several months; I’ll need to really dial back the restaurants, races, shopping, and entertainment. Nothing I haven’t done before.
One bright spot: we booked our flight for about $850 this week when prices came down. So that’s one BIG expense out of the way, for about $200 less than I thought it would be. Now it’s on to finding hotel rooms and finalizing our itinerary….
Category: Life
Tags: Italy , Travel
Comments
11 Responses to “Italy is Booked!”
Leave a Reply
July 19th, 2012 @ 3:42 pm
Have you considered Air BNB instead of a hotel? You can potentially rent a house or large apartment for a lot cheaper than staying in hotels. I did it when I went to Croatia last year and will be doing it for my Amsterdam trip this December!
July 19th, 2012 @ 3:46 pm
My brother is handling the bookings, I will pass it on to him. Thanks!
July 20th, 2012 @ 6:40 am
You will love Italy – I was lucky to get direct round trip from ATL for $420. Delta has sales like that all the time you just have to log in every day to check. In Rome stay at Cuscino e Cappuccino in Vatican (Prati) area. You will not regret it. Price is right and place is great. Week at that B&B was about $480 for my husband and I. If you need any tips feel free to ask.
July 20th, 2012 @ 8:49 am
Awesome!t
The trip is going tobeablast. And thatissosweet of you and your bro!
July 27th, 2012 @ 12:50 am
Such a nice thing to do for your parents. I have six children, all struggling in this economy while they go to school.
I hope you all have a great time on your trip. I have enjoyed reading your blog
July 30th, 2012 @ 11:49 pm
That’s a very good and generous thing to do for you family. I need to do something like that and send my Mother to Germany were she has a lot of family. Maybe, I could do the same, and the whole family could make it.
July 31st, 2012 @ 9:36 am
Went to Rome for a week on vacation when I was a junior in college. Not my favorite European destination (anywhere in Spain) but still beautiful, lots of things to see.
August 5th, 2012 @ 10:47 am
I know this is a late comment, but this sounds awesome. You and your brother totally win children of the year.
August 29th, 2012 @ 5:08 pm
LOL, thanks Mary!
October 17th, 2012 @ 6:35 am
That’s a lovely idea, Italy is truly outstanding! Venice is a walking city (no cars) so bare that in mind.
November 23rd, 2012 @ 10:43 am
In Rome, book a shore excursion with your crsiue company as your time is limited and it is an hour away from the port. Plain on this being an active crsiue as you have much to see. It will most likely be HOT in the med, so pack accordingly, but do bring long light weight pants. You will need them in Rome. In France, I loved going to Normandy and it was very meaningful. Be sure to try a crepe from the street vendor there. Oh, and a gillato in Rome.This is a great crsiue and you will see so much history it is unbelievable. Enjoy and take lots of pics.