Bookings · Famiglia in Italia

Lodging

All four stays booked ✓ — just the check-in logistics left to confirm.

Sorrento apartment — Casa Leo ✓ BOOKEDAug 1–3 · 2 nights

3BR/2BA, sea-view terrace with loungers and outdoor shower, 5th floor with lift, AC throughout, ~300m from the station. Confirm check-in time with host Luigi for the ~3pm arrival.

View booking →

Rome apartment — Cozy Family Stay ✓ BOOKEDAug 3–6 · 3 nights

Via Merulana, ~10 min walk to the Colosseum. 2BR (twin room for the boys), 2 baths, 1st floor with elevator, AC, PlayStation. Use self check-in (avoids late fees) and arrange the early Aug 6 key-drop with host Maurizio.

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Tours & Experiences

The reserved-slot stuff. August sells out — the top three matter most.

Colosseum ✓ BOOKED — Full Experience Arena Floor, 5:45 PMAug 4 · 5:45 PM

Official Full Experience Arena Floor tickets, caught on a cancellation drop — Tue Aug 4, 5:45 PM entry. Tickets are named: everyone's passports in the day bag. Evening slot = coolest hours and golden light on the arena sand. Bonus: Full Experience also covers Forum + Palatine as a separate entry while the ticket is valid.

Official site / tickets →

Bio Reggiani cheese tour ✓ BOOKED — 8:00 AM English tourJul 30 · 8:00 AM

Booking #401787186084 at the organic Parmigiano farm — cheese-making, calves, aging warehouse, tasting. Caseificio BIO Reggiani, Via Francesco Baracca, Castelfranco Emilia. Contact: tour@bioreggiani.com · +39 393 912 9636.

Bio Reggiani →

Cheese-day private driverJul 30 · 7:10 AM pickup

Tour is booked — the ride isn't. Bologna pickup ~7:10 AM → Bio Reggiani (8:00 tour) → drop at Modena station ~9:45 for the train on to Parma. Ask the Bologna Airbnb host for a driver rec, or book an NCC private hire.

Bologna pasta-making classJul 31

Private, in a local's home kitchen — the boys hand-roll tortellini, then everyone eats what they made.

Top pick — Alessandra (Cesarine): "Let's Learn How to Make Tortellini" — 2 hrs, private, max 6, sfoglina-taught. €115/adult, €57/child. Right length for kids.

Roberta (Cesarine): ~3 hrs, tagliatelle + tortelloni + tiramisu; famously warm host. If stamina allows.

Marta & Andrea (Cesarine): pasta + proper tiramisu, young fun hosts, family-table meal.

Alessandra's class →Browse Cesarine →

Gladiator school ✓ BOOKED — Gruppo Storico RomanoAug 4 · 11:00 AM

Booked via GetYourGuide — 2-hour session, Aug 4 at 11:00 AM. Real technique instruction (stances, strikes, shield work) then a paired foam-sword tournament in the arena — the learn-drill-spar format the boys already know. On the Appia Antica: ~€20 taxi or the 118 bus. Bring mosquito repellent — seriously.

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Sorrento lemon grove ✓ BOOKED — 4:30 PM tourAug 1 · 4:30 PM

Guided tour with tastings booked for 4:30 PM on arrival day — off the 15:35 Campania Express, drop bags at Casa Leo, ~10-min walk to Via Correale 27. Ends in lemon sorbet; fresh lemonade + granita for the boys, limoncello for the grown-ups.

Giardini di Cataldo →

Florence birthday activity — the boys are choosingJul 29 · Florence

Rafting was rejected; a 10-option list went to the boys. Window is ~11:30–4:50 with bags at SMN left-luggage (€6/5 hrs). Book as soon as the birthday boy picks.

Top pick — pizza + gelato making class: hands-on, food-motivated, birthday-shaped.

Also in the running: golf-cart tour · Leonardo Interactive Museum (Via dei Servi 66r) · fresco workshop · e-bike · Museo Galileo · treasure hunt · La Specola · sweet stroll (Bartolucci → carousel → Venchi).

Tight on logistics: il Gigante ropes course — only if the day runs perfectly.

GetYourGuide Florence →

Giotto's Bell Tower (optional Florence add-on)Jul 29 · if time allows

The walk-up-friendly climb if anyone wants a view after the birthday activity — better spontaneity than the reservation-only dome. Ticket link saved:

Bell Tower tickets →

Orvieto Underground ✓ BOOKED — 12:30pm English tourAug 5 · arrive 12:15

Reservation under EVAN, 4 people — moved from 11:15 to 12:30 for a slower morning. Be at the ticket office (Piazza Duomo 23) by 12:15 sharp — the reservation expires otherwise. Pay on-site: €10/adult, €8/kid. A ~9:50 regional from Termini arrives ~11:05 — time for the funicular, a stroll, and gelato before check-in.

Orvieto Underground →

Private boat to Capri — deposit paid ✓Aug 2 · locked

Still to confirm with the operator: date stays Aug 2 (the Aug 3 move doesn't work — it collides with checkout + the Rome travel evening), which marina he departs from (decides Sant'Agnello vs Piano lodging), and what's included (lunch, drinks, towels, Capri docking fee).

Trains & Entry Tickets

High-speed trains are dynamically priced — early booking = cheaper + reserved seats. Regionals are fixed-price; buy those day-of in the app.

Bologna → Naples ✓ BOOKED — FR 9607, 08:07, PNR ZW6EZNAug 1 · ~3.5 hrs

The biggest fare of the trip — book earliest for the best price. Frecciarossa via Trenitalia (or compare Italo).

Trenitalia →Italo →

Florence → Bologna ✓ BOOKED — FR 9426, 17:20, PNR ZW7MDNJul 29 · evening · ~37 min

Book an evening departure that gives the birthday stopover room — around 6–7 PM is comfortable.

Trenitalia →

Naples → Rome ✓ BOOKED — FR 9428, 15:10, PNR ZW73DNAug 3 · afternoon · ~70 min

Book a mid-afternoon departure — leaves the Pompeii morning unhurried (ruins → Circumvesuviana back to Naples → Frecciarossa).

Trenitalia →

Campania Express ✓ BOOKED — round trip, ref 518460Aug 1 + Aug 3

Aug 1: Naples → Sant'Agnello (luggage day — reserved seats, A/C, bag space). Aug 3: Sant'Agnello → Pompei Scavi. Separate operator (EAV) — Trenitalia won't show these trains. Only a handful of departures daily, so match times to your Naples arrival.

EAV / Campania Express →

Pompeii Express entry ✓ BOOKED — 9:00 AMAug 3 · morning

Official site only (pompeiisites.org). Book the earliest slot you can — the ruins are shadeless and the morning is everything in August. Luggage storage is free at the entrance.

Pompeii official →

Install the apps + AirFly for the flightBefore departure

Trenitalia app (all national trains, in-app tickets self-validate) + GoEAV app (Campania line). And for the boys' headphones: seatback systems use a 3.5mm jack — either pack wired headphones or an AirFly transmitter (Duo/Pro pairs two Bluetooth headphones to one screen). Order and test before the flight; toss a cheap wired pair in the bag as backup.

Regionals — don't pre-book: Florence airport → Lucca (Jul 27), Lucca → Florence (Jul 29), Modena → Parma and Parma → Bologna (Jul 30), Rome → Orvieto (Aug 5), and the Leonardo Express to the airport (Aug 6). Fixed prices, frequent trains — buy in the app day-of.