Europe Dream Getaway 2017

September 12-26

Tue, 12-

2:30 Drive to SLC

4:00 Eat dinner at airport

Depart at 5:00pm on Delta #106

10 h 15 m (sleep, music)                

Wed, 13-

Arrive at 11:15 Paris

Depart at 12:45pm on Air France 1210

Arrive at NEU at 2:10pm

Nuremberg to Rothenburg via VGN local public transport network

Check in (2-6pm) Hotel Spitzweg; nap/ rest

Dinner, 1 hr audio Rothenburg Town Walk

Thu, 14-

Check out & Drive to Triberg

Check in (2-10) Hotel Adlerschanze; rest

Dinner & hike to Triberger Wasserfall

Fri, 15-

Check out & Drive down through Switzerland to Fussen

Check in (2-5) Hotel Schlossrestaurant Neuschwanstein

Dinner & Neuschwanstein at night

Sat, 16-

Breakfast, check out, & Neuschwanstein tour

Drive to Salzburg

Check in (230-8) Am Essigmanngut

Dinner

Bike tour, Hohensalzburg Fortress, Salzburg Town Walk (river cruise, etc)

Sun, 17-

Breakfast, check out, drive to church

Church: Salzburg ward at 9:30 Andreas-Rohracher-Straße 20, 5020 Salzburg, Austria

Drive through Berchtesgaden; take bus from Obersalzberg to Eagle’s Nest; buy return ticket pass upon arrival

Bunkers at Dokumentation Obersalzberg

Need a “Vignette Sticker” for crossing borders (buy at gas stations at borders)

Zel am See to Villach

Check in (2-)

Dinner, bike, hike, swim

Mon, 18-

Breakfast, check out & 9:30 drop off car

10:50am-2:05pm train Villach to Venice

Check in (2-7) at Da Nina

Doge’s; Piazza San Marco, La Basilica di San Marco (ticket pre-purchase)

Palazzo Ducale; Cross the canal over the bridge from St. Mark’s Square to the Basilica di Santa Maria della Salute

Piazza San Marco and take the elevator up the Campanile (bell tower) of San Marco late in the afternoon for view of the lagoon & island – Open until 9:00.

Dinner, stroll around the island; take a Grand Canal vaporetto boat ride; Gondola ride/ Sunset at 7:26pm

Tue, 19-

9-11am train to Florence; Exit train station on left side, cross the street and purchase Firenze Cards

Lunch & Check into Hotel Lorenzo De' Medici (after 1pm)

Tour the center of Florence – Visit the Duomo (closes at 5:00) and the Baptistery (closes at 6:30), walk to Piazza degli Signoria, Palazzo Vecchio and Ponte Vecchio. Pick-up the #12 Bus across the Ponte Vecchio and to the right about 2 blocks at bus stop -Pescaia Di Santa Rosa on Via Lungarno Soderini and travel to Piazza Michelangelo – panoramic view of the city.

Visit the Abbey of San Miniato al Monte – just a little farther up the hill from Piazza Michelangelo. The Abbey is open until 8:00 PM

Dinner; Bus Tour, walking back to hotel; gelato, Florence at night

Wed, 20-

La Galleria dell’Accademia (David) (opens at 8:15), Uffizzi (birth of venus, primavera), Palazzo Riccardi Medicci, & Palazzo Vecchio. 

Have lunch in the Centro Citta. 

Cross the Arno and visit the Pitti Palace and Boboli Gardens in the afternoon.

Other sites – Giotto’s Bell Tower – 414 steps (close at 7:30); open market

Thu, 21-

Breakfast, check out, & 10am pick up rental car

Drive Tuscany

Lunch

3pm check in

Rest

Dinner; evening walk/bike

Fri, 22-

10am drop off rental car

11 am train from Florence to Rome (buy Roma pass)

Lunch

2pm check in to Colosseo Panorama

Dinner

Coliseum, Bus Tour at night

Sat, 23-

Roman Forum, Colosseum, San Clemente church, Capital Hill, Palentine

1:00 - Travel to Coliseum– Admission is free with Roma Pass - tour the Colosseo for about 1:15.

2:30 - Walk west past the Arch of Constantine to the entrance of the Palatine Hill. Admission is free with Roma Pass.  Explore the Palatino walking east through the gardens to the beginning of the Sacred Way.  Proceed north towards the Forum and the Vittorio Emanuele II Monument (Altare della Patria) (elevator to the roof ).

3 check in at Hotel Smeraldo

5:00 – go next door to view the Basilica di Santa Maria in Ara Coeli - Landmark 1200s church atop a long flight of steps, known for its vibrant frescoes by Pinturicchio

5:30 – walk ½ mile to Santa Maria Sopra Minerva Basilica (open until 7:00) and then the Pantheon (open until 7:30)

Piazza Navona – View Bernini fountains - S. Agnese in Agone (open until 7:00)

For dinner go to Cantina e Cucina Via del Governo Vecchio 87 (exit the Piazza to the south and turn right on Via di Pasquino, right onto Viadel Governo for 1 block)

Go back to Piazza Navona for Gelatto; walk through the Forum to Via Cavour

Villa Borghese, Spanish Steps, Trevi Fountain; Rome After Dark

Sun, 24-

9:30 Church P zza Carnaro 20

Bus tour, Tivoli Gardens, temple, Rome Temple

Mon, 25-

9 am Vatican (School of Athens/ Raphael rooms, Sistine, Last Judgment)

St. Peter’s (Pieta, dome, grottos)

Lunch (Ponte Vittorio across the river; Trattoria Vaticano Giggi in center of Rome near San Pietro Square in 10, Catone Street, one of the streets on the corner of Risorgimento Square)

1:00 to 2:15 - The tomb of the Apostle Peter (Uffizi Scavi) - on left near Swiss Guards

5:30 - Go to Castel Sant’Angelo - admission is free with Roma Pass (open until 7:30)

Walk to Piazza Napoleone I – view overlooking Rome to the south and west.  Descend into Piazza del Popolo and see fountains, monuments and Santa Maria del Popolo

Take subway one stop from Flaminio to Espangna

7:00 – Walk towards the Fontana di Trevi – view the newly restored fountain

7:30 – walk around the corner to Via Panetteria #34 – La Prosciutteria for dinner, walk back through the forum after dinner and the Colosseo lit up

Tue, 26-

7 “Leonardo express” to airport

Depart Rome at 10:10am Alitalia #620

Arrive LAX at 2:15; LAX to SLC 4:40-7:31 #2273                       

Date	Day	Day Activities	Transportation	Meals	Sleep	Cost
12	Tue	Depart at 5 pm			Flight	$470
13	Wed	Arrive at Nuremberg at 2:10	Arrive at 2:10 Nuremberg VGN local public transport		Rothenberg	$106
14	Thu	½ day Rothenberg	Drive to Triberg (Black Forest)		Triberg	$94
15	Fri	Black Forest	Triberg to Winterthur to Fussen		Fussen	$93
16	Sat	9 am Neuschwanstein	Neusch. to Salzburg		Salzburg	$103
17	Sun	Church in Salzburg	Salzburg to Villach		Villach	$105
18	Mon	1050am Villach to 205 Venice	Villach to Venice		Venice	$121
19	Tue	Venice	Venice to Florence		Florence	$98
20	Wed	Florence	Florence		Florence	$98
21	Thu	Florence	Florence to Tuscany		Tuscany	$95
22	Fri	Bus Tour	Tuscany to Florence to Rome		Rome	$115
23	Sat	Paletine Hill & Colosseum	Rome		Rome	$163
24	Sun	Church/ Temple/Tivoli	Rome		Rome	$163
25	Mon	Vatican	Rome		Rome	$163
26	Tue	Depart Rome at 10 am	Arrive 7:30 pm		Home
Total						$2000