I’m sure you’re wondering just what I mean by that title, Family Travel with the In-Laws (Cue laughter!).

Do I mean laughter, as in “Who would ever consider such a thing as traveling with their in-laws”?

No – what I mean is that when we travel with the in-laws, we always have fun and lots and lots of laughter.

Of course, you need to remember that in-laws are comprised of more than just a mother or father in-law. There are brother and sister in-laws as well.

We often travel with family members. My mother and brother used to go on cruises with Art and I in the past.

Now, my husband’s brothers and their wives often travel with us. In fact, we now take a Brother’s trip every three years, where all four brothers and their wives go on a vacation together. Unfortunately, 2020 was our year for a Brothers Trip, but we ended up not doing anything because of COVID.

One Step at a Time

A lot of people tell me that they can’t travel with their family members. I applaud that they realize that before they make the attempt. We sort of came upon it gradually and found that it worked for us.

The first time that some of us traveled together was for a nephew’s wedding in Tampa. Two of the brothers, Art and his youngest brother, Ken, booked a condo for our families to share. There was lots of laughter and a few misadventures, but we had a great time. A lot of catch phrases came out of this trip. Things like “pirate salute”, which unfortunately doesn’t make any sense if you weren’t there; yet, it brings a smile to the face of those of us who were.

Planning a Trip to Italy

A few years later, while planning our own trip to visit Art’s son, his wife and their little boy in Italy, we asked if two of Art’s other brothers would like to join us. Both brothers, Bill and Ken, and their wives, Cyndi and Patrice, said, “Yes.”

Art’s son lived near Venice, but we thought since this was the first trip to Italy for the others, they might like to visit some of the highlights of the country as well. We began our trip in Venice, had a few nights in Florence, and ended in Rome.

In an effort to keep the cost of the trip down,  we traveled in March, when the weather was still pretty chilly. We stayed in Mestre, outside of Venice, rather than Venice itself, which saved a lot of money. By staying in three-star hotels, in both Mestre and Florence, we saved a little more. We found a two-bedroom apartment to rent in Rome, which was a huge savings!

The Adventure Begins!

What an adventure this trip turned out to be! A lot of unexpected twists and turns sprang up along the way, and they started right from the get-go.

Our flight to Venice went fine. But one of Patrice’s suitcases didn’t arrive with us. There is always that sinking feeling when watching an empty luggage carousel going around and you don’t have your suitcase yet. But at least this carousel was cleverly decorated!

Patrice did have some clothes with her in another bag, so it wasn’t as bad as it could have been. We did have travel insurance, which would have covered the cost of clothing,  but she couldn’t find the type of clothes she wanted and ended up buying nothing. The good news is that bag arrived two days later, so at least she didn’t lose anything! 

Our first night in Mestre, we went looking for someplace fairly quick and easy to eat. We walked quite a ways before we finally found a place.

Remember, March, is not quite the tourist season in Italy. It’s safe to say this restaurant would have been happier if we had just walked by. But in we walked. The waiter didn’t speak any English, we didn’t speak any Italian. We were in luck as the menu had pictures, so we just pointed to what we wanted. It was an okay meal, but definitely not what you expect in Italy. I think the waiter could not wait for us to leave!

Into Venice!

The next morning, Cyndi’s hair dryer blew up. Seriously, the way things were going, why on earth would these folks ever want to go anywhere with us again!

We boarded the train in Mestre for the short ride into Venice where we were to meet up with Art’s son and grandson. Our plan was to tour Venice on our own and take a gondola ride. The train was almost to Venice when I realized, I didn’t bring the vouchers for the gondola. This was prior to electronic vouchers, so I had no choice but go back and get them. Once we got to the train station in Venice, I told the rest of the group to go on, I’d go back to the hotel, get the vouchers and meet them in St. Mark’s Square.

Retrieving the Vouchers

So, back on the train I went. I got to the hotel, retrieved the vouchers, and returned to the train station in Mestre. As I was sitting in the train, the departure time came and went. We were finally told, that due to demonstrators on the tracks the train was being cancelled. We could go over to the bus and use our ticket there. As I had my cell phone, I was able to let the others know what was going on, and I’d be there as soon as I could.

It turned out this was not the worst part of my adventure. Next, I had to figure out how to get from the Venice train station to St. Mark’s Square. I knew where I was starting from and my destination but trying to figure out how to get there was next to impossible! There is no direct way anywhere in Venice! The streets were not well marked, and the map I had was not the best either.

I walked into a Hilton hotel to see if I could get someone there to help me, and they were very unhospitable. Eventually I went into a camera shop and the guy was at least able to show me where I was on the map. It seemed like it took forever, but I finally found my way to the rest of the group.

Fortunately, our gondola ride went off without a hitch. We had a great time with our little grandson too! We spent the day touring Venice and were tired tourists when we went back to our hotel.

A Day with the Entire Family

The next day we went up to the little town where Art’s son lived and spent the day with him, his wife and our little grandson. Pordenone is a lovely town. We had such a nice visit. Including lunch with pizza all around! We sadly said our good-byes at the train station as we headed back to Mestre for our final night.

An Expensive Lesson

For our last dinner in Mestre, we decided to go to the seafood restaurant next to the hotel. Our waiter told us the specials for the day, and the guys all decided to get the red fish, which was apparently a specialty and only available at certain times of the year. I have no idea what we ladies had. All I remember was the shock when we got the bill, it was well over $300 US dollars. What on earth did we get that cost so much? It turned out it was the red fish. Lesson learned, always ask the price of the special before you order it!

Florence Awaits!

We awoke the next morning ready to head off to our next stop, Florence. The train was clean and comfortable and our trip uneventful. We arrived at our hotel (where Art and I had stayed on a previous visit). We had asked for our rooms to be near one another, but only two of us were together. Unfortunately, Bill and Cyndi were a separate floor. Ken and Patrice’s room was right next to ours. After we entered our rooms, we realized that we shared a balcony.

We had all decided to take a little time to unpack and rest a bit before dinner.

Laughter Ensues

A short while later uncontrolled laughter arose from Ken and Patrice’s room. The balcony doors were open, so we just called over for them to hold it down. But the laughter continued. It turned out their room had twin beds which they pushed together. When they went to lie down for a bit, the beds came apart and one of them ended up on the floor. Hence the uncontrollable laughter.

That night we went to the restaurant across the street from our hotel. Oh my, did we make the right choice! For whatever reason, we all ended up ordering pizza. They were so good! At the end of the meal they gave us little frozen limoncello shots, a perfect pallet cleanser. We liked this restaurant so much we went back again the next night!

A Day Trip to Pisa

On Sunday, we made a day trip to Pisa. Bill and Cyndi had made arrangements with some acquaintances, who lived in Pisa, to meet up and go to church with them. They arrived in their car and took Bill and Cyndi with them.

Patrice, Ken, Art and I walked to the Pisa Cathedral, you know, the one that is known for its famous leaning bell tower? It is a huge church, and it was sad to see so few people attending mass. Of course, the mass was in Italian, but we were fine with it. After all, we had grown up going to mass in Latin so, it was more like going back in time for us. The only difference was that we didn’t understand the Homily. But that was fine, we enjoyed it just the same.

We took our obligatory pictures of the bell tower and spent a good part of the day walking around Pisa. It is a lovely town.

Football, Italian Style

Bill and Cyndi love soccer. Bill has been a referee for many years. One of their dreams was to attend a real ‘football’ game in Italy. Their friends in Pisa helped them get tickets to the game on Sunday afternoon. After they finished church their friends kindly took them to the soccer stadium for the game. Their friends said it was probably just as well that they didn’t speak Italian, as the language at the games can be a little off color, at best. They really did enjoy the game.

We knew about what time the game was over and about what time Cyndi and Bill would return to Florence. But the time came and went and no Bill and Cyndi. We started getting a little nervous that something might have happened to them.

It turned out that since their friends drove them to the game, Bill and Cyndi didn’t think to get directions to the train station from the stadium. So, they wandered around quite a while before they finally found their way. But they did make it back to Florence, and all was well.

Exploring Florence

We spent a lot of time walking around Florence. The city is beautiful.

We did manage to make it to the Accademia Museum and see Michelangelo’s famous statue of David. 

Of course, you can see the replica of the David statue in the Piazza della Signoria.

Later that day, Art and I walked up the hill on the other side of the river to Fort Belvedere. Unfortunately, it was closed, but it was a nice walk up and back.

One thing we found entertaining in Florence was to watch the ‘unofficial’ vendors. They set their wares out on big sheets on the square. Then when the police come, they just grab the corners of the sheets, yank up all their goods and run.  It was pretty easy to figure out who not to purchase souvenirs from!

The Cathedral

Art and I recently watched the series Medici on Netflix. I have no idea how factual it was, but it was interesting to say the least. Especially when they were working on finishing the cathedral.

The Florence Cathedral, or Duomo as it is often called, is absolutely stunning from the gilt gold doors of the baptistry to the green, pink and white marble on the exterior. It’s amazing to think that this building took 140 years to be completed. But I guess they did it right because here it is 584 years since it was completed and it’s still standing! I have not taken a formal tour of the church, the next time I’m in Florence, I’ll be sure to put that on my itinerary!

Our Final Stop, Rome

After a few days, many pizzas and even more gelato, we were on our way to Rome for the last leg of our trip. We were really excited to get to Rome, as we had a Segway tour booked there. However, our stay in Rome did not go as expected.

It all started with our arrival which was too early for check in at the apartment we rented. We did find a restaurant around the corner, much to the chagrin of the proprietress, who we later dubbed “Momma.”

“Momma” was in charge!

First of all, we tried to sit inside, with our luggage, and “Momma” was having none of that. “Momma” spoke next to no English, but she could say “NO!” quite well and used a lot of sign language. The clear message we received was that our luggage would have to stay outside. So, we, along with our luggage, moved to a table outside.

There was a lot happening during lunch. Art and I had walked over to the apartment about two blocks away, to wait for the leasing agent and get the key.

Patrice asked Cyndi to order some wine for her while she, Ken and Bill were moving the luggage around. Well, Cyndi, who doesn’t drink, ordered a carafe of wine rather than a glass. As a result, Patrice and Ken had a little more wine than they were anticipating with lunch.

In the meantime, while Art and I were waiting for the agent, he began feeling unwell. We finally had the key to the apartment, went back to the restaurant, and ate lunch. Then all of us along with our luggage, went to the apartment. Naturally, we were on the third floor of the building with no elevator, so it was a challenge getting the luggage up the stairs. But we managed.

Our Apartment

The apartment was a two-bedroom unit. Art and I were going to sleep on the sofa bed in the living room. In one of the bedrooms there was a double bed along with a single bed. Since Art was feeling worse, he went and laid down on the single bed.

In general the apartment met our needs quite well. The floor didn’t look as though it had been cleaned very well so Ken took charge and swept that up. Otherwise, we were fine with it.

A few of us went out and walked around a bit. The apartment was in a great location, literally three blocks from the Vatican.

Later, when Art woke up, he was not feeling any better. In fact, by the time we were getting ready to go out for dinner, he was feeling so bad, he decided he needed to go to the emergency room. The notebook in our apartment showed where the nearest emergency room was located, which appeared to be just about five blocks away. So, he and I headed out in search of it, and the others went on to dinner.

It did take us a while to find the hospital, even though it wasn’t that far away, it wasn’t a straight shot. Finding the entrance wasn’t easy either. Eventually we found our way.

The Emergency Room

Now Art was really feeling bad. He was running a fever and had a sore throat. We sat in the waiting room for a while before we were finally called into the intake area. The person asked Art what his temperature was, and what was his blood pressure. Mind you, he didn’t take them, just asked what they were. He spoke very little English, but enough. He made a copy of Art’s passport.

Then we were back to the waiting room. All of a sudden, Art asked me to feel his pulse, his heart was beating very erratically. It wasn’t much longer before they came out to get Art and took him into the treatment area. The doctor asked Art what was wrong, and he said he had a really bad sore throat and fever, and by the way, his pulse didn’t feel right. The doctor, who spoke English pretty well, listened to his chest and said, “Well you may have a sore throat, but that’s the least of your problems.” Art’s heart was in atrial fibrillation. Long story short, Art was placed in the cardiac care unit of the hospital, for the next two nights. The hospital stay is a whole story in itself, and I plan on talking more about this experience in another podcast, so I won’t go into too many details here.

I got back to the apartment about 11 that night. We all went to bed knowing Art was in good care.

Our Segway Tour

The next morning was our Segway tour. The five of us (minus Art) made our way to the subway, and arrived at the meeting point near the Colosseum, where our guide, Marcello greeted us.

If you haven’t done a Segway tour, I think they are great fun. Not everyone agrees with me, especially Cyndi. But I have to give her credit; although she wasn’t thrilled with it, she did it.

We all thought the tour was very good. We actually rode our Segways on the Circus Maximus where the chariot races were held! Our tour included the Roman Forum and Capitoline Hill. We stopped at the Mouth of Truth in Cosmedin. We went down a super steep hill, into the traffic filled streets of Rome. (Okay, even I admit that was unnerving!)  Then, down some steps and over to the Colosseum, and finally back to our starting point. We only had one minor incident, Ken cut a corner too close, hit the base of a lamppost and went down, but he wasn’t hurt. Marcello was a wonderful guide. We really had a fun time.

Back to the Hospital

Cardiac Care had limited visiting hours twice a day. That afternoon, Patrice went with me to the hospital.  They ended up doing a cardioversion on Art. That’s where they shock the heart in an attempt to get it back into rhythm. Fortunately, it did work. They wanted to keep Art for one more night, just to make sure his heart stayed in the correct rhythm.

I’d like to interject here that during this episode, I was ever so thankful that we had made this a ‘family travel with the in-laws’ trip. It was reassuring to know that they were there and provided me with the support that Art and I needed during his hospitalization. 

I would also be remiss if I didn’t mention my daughter in-law as well. She was an emergency room physician at the time, and provided me with reassurance that Art was being treated in the same manner as he would have here in the US.

That night all of us went to visit and were nearly thrown out of the hospital for being so loud!

The Vatican

The next day, we did our tour of the Vatican Museums, Sistine Chapel and St. Peter’s Cathedral. I highly recommend you book a tour in order to properly see these three incredible sights. Now, I will say, if you don’t like art work, you may not enjoy the tour of the Museums and Sistine Chapel as much as I did. But if you don’t do a tour of St. Peter’s Cathedral, you will miss so much of the history. In my estimation, the tour is well worth the time and the money.

After that, I went over to the hospital, got Art and we went back to the apartment.

A Day Trip from Rome

Not too long before we left for Rome, Art and I had stumbled upon a show on PBS about Tivoli and Villa d’Este, a World Heritage Site. We decided that might make a nice day trip while we were in Rome.  Our last day in Italy, we got train tickets, and headed up to Tivoli. I want to say it took about 45 minutes to an hour to get from the train station in Rome to Tivoli.

It was beautiful. The story is there was a Cardinal who wanted to be Pope but wasn’t elected, so he went to Tivoli and built this beautiful place. (I did look it up and there is a lot more to the story than just that. Apparently, the property was already owned by the family of the Cardinal.) The fountains and gardens were stunning. The weather was absolutely perfect. We just had such a lovely day there.

Proposals

We headed back to Rome and made the obligatory stop at Trevi Fountain. I have to tell you; Art has a romantic side to him. He thought since we had all been married quite a while at this point, it would be fun for each of the guys to propose to their respective wives again at Trevi Fountain. He contacted each of his brothers and suggested they each get a ring to bring with them for this purpose. It turned out to be a great idea! All the ladies responded with an enthusiastic “Yes!” Of course, we also threw our coins in the fountain to ensure we would one day return to Rome.

Kitchen Closed!

Our last dinner was at “Momma’s” restaurant. “Momma” was in a bad mood. She was apparently ready to close for the night as when we came in as she immediately said “NO! Kitchen closed!” but her daughter insisted that we be served. “Momma” and her daughter fought the entire evening. “Momma” was cleaning the silverware and would slam the utensils down into the container as she finished. It was quite the evening! Needless to say, “NO! Kitchen closed!” became another of our catch phrases.

Tired Tourists Head Home

We had an early pick up at our apartment the next morning, and there was a beautiful sunrise as we drove to the airport. It was a fitting way to end our stay in Italy.

Our flight home was uneventful. Bill, Cyndi, Ken and Patrice were great sports. Art and I wondered if they would ever travel with us again after all the things that happened on this trip. But they handled all of the issues well.

Family Travel with the In-Laws is Worth the Effort

I wish everyone could travel with family as we do. We continue to have wonderful travel adventures to this day.

There are times when Art and I enjoy traveling together, just the two of us. But we appreciate being about to travel with others on occasion.

Take it One Step at a Time

If you’ve always wondered if traveling with your family members would work, just remember to start small. Try it with a few family members at first, for just a couple of days.

You may find that if you work up to it, your family members make great traveling companions.

How about you? Do you ever travel with the in-laws? How did it come about for you? Share your thoughts below in the comments section. And don’t forget to share this blog post with your friends!