Rome, Italy 2019

June 2, 2019
Today we left our friends house and picked up a rental car and drove to Rome and checked into the Waldorf Astoria. Once we checked in we decided to take a stroll around Rome. We took a taxi to the city center walked around a bit and then went back to the hotel and got ready to meet up with our relatives for dinner. We always have a great time with them so we were looking forward to a fun night.
June 3, 2019
Today we walked around Rome again which we love to do and decided to have our relatives met us at our favorite lunch spot which is facing the pantheon. We love to imagine life as it was back then. Afterwards, we went back to the hotel to relax and get ready to have dinner once again with our relatives. Our aunt is 90 years old so we try and see her as much as we can. Family is really important to us.
June 4, 2019
Today w drove to Civitavecchia, Rome to board our ship for the 37-day cruise. We love to cruise because you unpack once and you get to see different parts of the world and it isn’t a hassle.
Follow us on our journey the next destination is Lucca, Italy.
Alessandra, Gloria, Laura, Giovanina, John & Maria

Maria & John

Ritz Carlton Lobby

Hotels We’ve Stayed In :-)

These are some of the fabulous Hotels we were lucky enough spend time in.

**If you would like to skip to any particular area please click on the links below.

Amsterdam, NetherlandsAmstel Hotel – April 8-12, 2013

Andasibe, MadagascarVakona Forest Lodge – June 15th – 16th, 2016

Anguilla, CaribbeanBelmond Cap JulucaApril 23, 2017

Asheville, North CarolinaOmni Grove Park Inn – October 23, 2020 

Athens, GreeceHotel Grand Bretagne – August 10th – 13th, 2005,
                                                                                      November 3, 2011,
                                                                                      July 12, 2018

Atlanta, GAWaldorf Astoria – November 2, 2019 – November 5, 2019 

Austin, TexasFour Seasons – May 17, 2021 – May 18, 2021

Baltimore, MarylandFour Seasons – October 14, 2020 – October 15, 2020

Bangkok, ThailandMandarin Oriental – March 30th & 31st, 2014

Bora Bora, French PolynesiaFour Seasons – January 21, 2015

Boston, MAXV Beacon – October 11, 2019 

Big Island, HawaiiHilton Hotel – February 28 – March 2, 2017

Charleston, South CarolinaBelmond Charleston PlaceOctober 26, 2020

Charlottesville, VirginiaAlbermarle Estate at Trump Winery – October 15, 2020 

Chicago, ILPeninsula Hotel – August 30, 2017 – September 1, 2017
                            Trump Hotel – March 21, 2019 – March 23, 2019

Cape Neddick, MaineCliff House – August 2, 2020 – August 5, 2020

Cincinnati, OhioNetherland Plaza Hotel – April 28, 2019 

Dallas, TexasThe Joule – May 15, 2021 – May 17, 2021

D.C. – District of ColumbiaTrump International Hotel– June 8, 2021

Des Moines, IowaEmbassy Suites – August 23rd – 24th, 2017

Dubai, UAERaffles – November 22, 2011
                            Medinat Jumeirah – September 2, 2019 – September 4, 2019
                            Burj Khalifa-Armani-September 4, 2019-September 6, 2019  
                            Burj Al Arab – September 7, 2019

Eze, FranceLa Chevre D’Or – May 27, 2019 – May 29, 2019

Florence, ItalyFour Seasons – February 2011

Grand Anse Mahe, SeychellesHilton Northolme – June 18th – 22nd, 2016

Grand Rapids, MichiganAmway Grand Rapids Hotel – April 26, 2019

Honolulu, HawaiiRitz Carlton Residences June 14, 2022 – June 18, 2022

Hot Springs, VirginiaOmni Homestead October 17, 2020 – Oct 19, 2020 

Huntington, NYOheka Castle – September 2018 

Jerusalem, IsraelWaldorf Astoria – July 15, 2018

Johannesburg, South AfricaIntercontinental – September 20, 2019 

Kahuku, HawaiiTurtle Bay ResortJune 18, 2022 – June 20, 2022

Ko ‘Olina – HawaiiDisney Aulani – September 13, 2018 – Sept. 20, 2018
September  14th – 21st, 2013
September 7th – 14th, 2014                                                                                                    September 23rd – October 1st, 2016                                                                                    February 23rd – February 28th, 2017

Kruger National Park/South Africa – April 2009

Livingstone, ZambiaRoyal Chundu – June 7th – 13th, 2016

Maui, HawaiiWestin Hotel – March 3rd – 7th, 2017

Milwaukee, WisconsinHilton Hotel – August 28, 2017

Montauk, New YorkGurney’s Star Island – October 9, 2020 – Oct 10, 2020

Monte Carlo, Monaco Hotel De Paris May 23, 2019 – May 27, 2019

Nairobi, KenyaGiraffe Manor – September 8, 2019 
                                    Angama Mara – September 9, 2019 – September 13, 2019  
                                    Salas Camp – September 13, 2019 – September 16, 2019   

Nashville, TennesseeHermitage Hotel – May 24, 2017 – May 25, 2017

New Orleans, LARitz Carlton – October 28, 2019 – October 31, 2019 

Newport, RICastle Hill – October 9, 2019 
                              The Chanler @ Cliff Walk – October 10, 2019

Orlando, FloridaRitz Carlton – August 25, 2022 – August 27, 2022

Oceania Cruises Suites

Palm Beach, FloridaThe BreakersSeptember 22, 2013, October 25, 2015
                                               Mar-A-Lago – Members since 2021 

Papeete, French Polynesia – January 24, 2015

Park City, UtahSt. Regis – September 27, 2016 – September 28, 2016

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania –  Ritz CarltonAugust 8, 2019 – Aug. 10, 2019

Rome, ItalyWestin Excelsior Hotel – February 7th – 20th, 2011
                             Ritz Carlton -August 18th – 21st, 2012
                             Waldorf Astoria Rome Cavalieri – August 23, 2018
                             Waldorf Astoria Rome Cavalieri – June 2, 2019 – June 4, 2019

San Diego, CalifoniaThe US Grant – September 20, 2022 – September 23, 2022

Sedona, AZEnchantment Hotel – September 27- 29, 2010

St. George, UtahThe Inn at Entrada – August 27, 2013 – August 29, 2013

Venice, ItalyLuna BaglioniFebruary 3rd – 5th, 2011

Waikiki, HawaiiTrump International Hotel – June 20, 2022

Walland, Tennessee Blackberry Mountain – Oct. 21, 2020 – Oct. 23, 2020

White Sulphur Springs, VirginiaThe Greenbrier – Oct. 18, 2020 

Zakynthos, GreeceLe Sante Blu – July 7, 2018 – July 11, 2018

Zambia, AfricaRoyal Chundu – September 17, 2019 – September 20, 2019 

 

Rome, Italy 2018

August 6, 2018

Today we took the shuttle bus to Rome from the port which is about 90 minutes away.  We met up with our relatives for lunch with an amazing view of the Pantheon. After lunch we walked around a bit we visited the Trevi Fountain and a few other fountains. Afterward, we took the shuttle bus back to the ship.

August 23, 2018 – Second time

Today we disembarked from the ship and checked into The Waldorf Astoria Hotel. After we settled in we decided to take a walk around Rome and took a taxi to John’s Aunt Giovanina’s house to have lunch with her and her daughter Gloria and granddaughters Laura and Alessandra. We then we to the hotel to relax before we were going back to her house for dinner. We left their house shortly after dinner we had a big day the next day we were flying home which will take about 14 hours.

Follow us on our journey the next destination is Capri, Italy.

If you would like to see what we ate while in Rome, Italy.

John and Aunt Giovanina
Maria & Aunt Giovanina
Gloria, Giovanina, Laura, John, Maria & Alessandra

Fontana de Trevi – Tevi Fountain
Pantheon

Maria & Aunt Giovanina
John & Aunt Giovanina

The Waldorf Astoria Rome Cavalieri Hotel

Nutella Heaven

Rome, Italy 2012

August 18th – 21st, 2012

Rome is so unique I feel like it’s one big archaeological site. The amazing thing is that they find new sites all the time just by doing new construction or renovations.

It’s so great to walk around you will always run into some cool fountain or new piazza you’ve seen for the first time.

We also have family there so anytime we are in Rome we meet for lunch or dinner or both. It’s always nice to see our relatives. Another favorite thing we love to do is eating lunch across from the Pantheon it has become a tradition for us. The more we come to Rome the more comfortable we become walking around and exploring this fabulous city.

This visit they were clearing the Trevi fountain, and it was blocked by scaffolding so we can’t wait to come back and see it nice and clean.

If you would like to read more about our last trip to Rome and see more pictures click this link to our 2011 trip.

John
Maria
John with our aunt Giovanina who lives in Rome
John with our cousins Laura & Alessandra who live in Rome

John outside of the Colosseum

Spanish Steps

Beautiful gold dome in one of the many churches in Rome

Basilica of Sts. Vitalis
Inside Basilica of Sts. Vitalis

The Pantheon
The Pantheon

Fontana di Trevi – Trevi Fountain
Fontana di Trevi – Trevi Fountain

St. Peter’s Basilica
St. Peter’s Basilica