2 days to fill in Rome - with DD

[BiddyPop]

Hi,

I am looking for the collected wisdom of MNters on this one. We have a family event coming up in Rome, which means that DH and DD will have 2 days to kill (I will be able to join them for 1 of those) and possibly some time on another afternoon, and we will also need to know about places to eat etc for various times of the day.

DD is 9 and has aspergers/ADHD, so while she copes well with travel and new places, too much of anything, including noise and crowds, is a problem. And she's also reasonably fussy about food - not dreadful, and there are medical aspects, but we need to make sure she will eat ok in the times we control. By fussy, I mean she'll happily have lots of Italian foods including pizza and relatively uncomplicated pasta dishes, and loves cheese, tomatoes and olives. But more about unfussy places, where kids are welcome, would be great to have in our back pocket. And also places to stop for a nice gelato, or coffee/cold drink and cake, for breaks, and grab drinks, fruit, chocolate etc as we need them (or to fill backpack at the start of the day).

We're staying off the Piazza San Giovanni in Laterano, only a few minutes walk from the main train station from the airport. We are all well used to using public transport at home and abroad.

I've only been in Rome for 24 hours before (and not alone to explore), DH and DD have never been. So I am assuming some of the usual places like the Collesseum etc will be on their list.

I also know that early September is usually still pretty hot - high twenties.

Basically, any general advice, guidance, wisdom or recommendations that you have would be great. I am already stressing about the family aspect, and having DD on "good" behavior for that, and her being out of school too for a few days (don't judge, there is no one we could leave her with) so want to get something at least some bit educational out of it. And that Dh and DD (and me) will all have some fun as well.

Thanks in advance!!

There is (or was) an amazing cat sanctuary that you can go in. They let us into their hospital ward and we got to stroke loads of rehabilitating cats. It was dds favourite place.

Toilets are the biggest issue in Rome, few and far between so plan for that.

If you want to do St Peters or the Colosseum then book tickets in advance. It saves massive queues.

honestly, there are so many eating and ice cream places, you'll be spoilt for choice. Quieter places are off the main roads of course.

Go to the Colliseum very early if you can - there are queues - being herded up the steps might not be your DD's favourite. I had 4 days in Rome wiht my DD 15 and DM, and to make the most of the time we booked some tours. Being rather a travel snob, this was the first time - but it was FAB and now I do them for all our short trips.

You see heaps and get fast tracked into the sites. I think we used Dark Rome? cos we wanted to see the catacombs (fab - def recommend if your dd is okay in dark small places).

Somewhere less busy is Hadrian's castle in the middle of Rome - there's a nice walk along the river with tripper crap to buy too, en route.

The Pantheon is fab and not too busy (remember to Look Up!)

Trastevere is gorgeous, quieter, several old churches, but the main thing to do here is just wander the cobblestone streets. The restaurants and bars are great here and are filled with many more locals than tourists.

www.tripadvisor.co.uk/GoListDetail-i13905-Top_10_Things_To_Do_in_Rome_with_Kids.html might be helpful -

Thank you MrsJack and OYBBK!!

Finding things that are interesting but not completely "tourist" are great!

Will check out that Tripadvisor list as well.

(Should I be really really cheeky OYBBK, and ask what your idea of forecast in Rome is for the second weekend in Sept?!) Only kidding....

lol!! Its a nice time of year. We went in Oct and it was still warm enough to eat outside.

There is a lovely big park called the Villa Borghese which is quiet and beautiful. Perfect for a picnic. Also you can rent little carts for two people to cycle around together (if that's your daughter's cup of tea). You can get there by bus but if you don't want to do public transport it would only be a short taxi ride from the centre and your hotel can presumably arrange that for you.

Pantheon is nice too, and free to visit, so if your daughter only wants to spend 2 minutes there you don't have to fret about entry fees wasted. Usually no queues there either and a McD opposite which is kind of horrible but useful when travelling with kids and need loos.

Thanks Happy - the McDs may not be desirable, but location info is always useful intelligence on our travels as better than nothing!

I like the idea of little cycling carts - DH and DD love cycling anyway so would enjoy that in peace.

This link might be helpful. The little cycle cart things (like a tuk tuk) are called risciò . www.spottedbylocals.com/rome/villa-borghese/

Also, perhaps a little random, but while looking for the link above, I found this list someone had posted of supermarkets near the Villa Borghese so I've pasted it for you below just in case it's useful.

Enjoy your trip.

"There is an enormous supermarket under the gardens which can be accessed from the Spagna Metro or the Porto Pincia underpass.

There is also a Carrefour Express on Via Vittoria 32

Castroni gourmet grocery store is on Via Frattina 79.

There is another Supermercato on Cnr of Via Isonzo and Via Tevere."

OOoh, thanks Happy!! Supermarkets are always handy for soooo many reasons (including tonic for airport Gin to put either my DM or me into a stupor to get through it all!!!)