Roman Holiday™

“In the childhood memories of every good cook, there’s a large kitchen,
a warm stove, a simmering pot and a mom.”
-Barbara Costikyan

Come have a ball in the Eternal City with this KIDS COOKING itinerary, sure to interest children and parents alike! Chef Eugenio takes the food loving family on a journey through Rome’s Outdoor Marketplace, gets everyone involved making pizza & pasta while learning fun facts about the Eternal City!

Your three cooking classes provide a great opportunity for families to learn about Rome and Italy through its cuisine and the marketplace tour. In addition to your Cooking program, we will give you our personal addresses for the best things to do with children, while keeping parents and children interested as well, creating unforgettable memories for all.

As featured in December 2011 – Click here to read more!

Cooking Classes

Your hands-on cooking classes take you into the heart of Rome, with Chef Eugenio’s authentic Roman-style cooking, where the past comes alive through pasta making, pizza making and more. Highly celebrated, Chef Eugenio has both talent and passion, and leads his classes with a fervent love for cooking while creating a fun atmosphere for both parents and children. Taking you up on a journey through the classical cuisine of the Eternal City, where history and traditions come alive around each dish prepared in class.

While in your pizza making class, you will learn the tricks of the trade when it comes to mixing, kneading, rolling, and baking the dough into a crisp golden creation; and which can be topped with whatever your hearts desire; fish, vegetables, or even the famous Bismark, with an egg in the middle, to name a few. During your pasta making class, Chef Eugenio shows you the art of mixing, blending, kneading, twisting, and rolling a variety of pasta shapes, and sauces to go with them.

Head into the marketplace with Chef, as he teaches how to choose only the best fresh seasonal ingredients for cooking, as well as food notes about the products you’ll use in your cooking classes. From San Marzano tomatoes, to the smallest little cherry ones, pomodorini, kids will learn “green light food notes,” as well. All classes are hands-on, and lunch or dinner follows with the foods prepared in class.

Join Chef Eugenio for an in-depth and fun, family cooking adventure, as he hails Italy as, “the great kitchen!”

Rome’s Playground

Journey into a Rome where history comes alive for your children, leaving you wide-eyed in this breathtaking city, where the past and present live side by side. Rome offers a broad spectrum of sites and activities for families to take pleasure in. Stick your hand in the Bocca Della Verita, and wait to see if it closes its mouth if you are lying! Visit the Church of Santa Maria Sopra Minerva, a gothic church built on top of the ruins of the Roman temple of the goddess Minerva, where history and present day ties unravel themselves. Kids will love the eerie Cappucini Crypt, decorated all in bones, or experience the optical illusion as you look upward in the dome of San Ignazio. Need to expel some energy? The Villa Borghese offers bike rentals, pony rides, and a good amount of shade on a hot Roman summer day. Want to visit the Vatican but keep the kids amused too? Don’t worry as the Vatican has mummies and statues throughout to keep kids giggling along the way! Stop to eat in a restaurant built with stones stolen from the Colosseum hundreds of years ago. Stop for traditional pizza, kids will love when an entire pizza arrives just for them! Clear your schedule for the most scrumptious gelato with an endless list of flavors from dark chocolate, nero, and hazelnut, nocciola, to strawberry, fragola, pineapple, ananas, chocolate chip, stracciatella, and hazelnut-chocolate Nutella name a few-our black book on Rome is yours to share.

Giolitti ~ Making Gelato for over 100 years!

The Giolitti family welcomes you to their family owned and operated gelateria. This family business started out selling just milk, until Nonna Giolitti decided to expand and make home-made gelato, which they have since been doing for over 100 years! Nonna’s ad-campaign starting out was her 8 children whom she sat outside the gelateria. Upon being complimented on her beautiful little family, she always graciously replied that their rosy cheeks and happy faces were thanks to the many flavors of gelato they ate! Today the family business continues their tradition of making delicious gelato in hundreds of flavors including watermelon, baci, nutella.

Accommodations

While in Rome, you will be welcomed to our charming jewel-box 3-Star Superior hotel located between the 18th century Spanish Steps and the famed Via Veneto. The conveniently located hotel has been newly renovated, while preserving its old world charm. Privately owned, clean, bright, the Hotel has a professional staff to help you with all your questions while staying in the Eternal City.

The family-owned hotel has welcomed travelers since the days of the Grand Tour. Gracious owners, writer Marco, and his musician wife Giulia, cater to their guests’ every need with a winning combination of welcoming warmth and high professional standards. Elegantly furnished rooms, a quiet inner garden, and a rooftop offering a spectacular view of the historical city, make this home-away-from-home a haven of relaxation in bustling Rome. Each spacious room offers a private bathroom, air conditioning/heat, in-room safe, minibar, Satellite TV and hair dryer. The Hotel lobby offers free Wi-Fi internet, and an internet point is located just steps from the hotel as well.

Family-style suites and apartments are also available upon request.

Photo GalleryClick Here For Property Photos

Itinerary: 6 days, 5 nights

This program is available 12 months per year. You can check in and start your program on any day of the week.

Day 1: Arrival and Check in

• Arrival transfer from Rome Airport or Train station to your hotel in central Rome.
• Check in and relax
• Dinner is on your own. Suggestions provided at the hotel.

Day 2: Cooking Class 1 & Ancient Rome

• Breakfast is served
• Cooking Class 1 features Chef Eugenio’s hands-on pizza-making workshop. From start to finish, mix, knead, toss (if you dare) and bake your dough to form the perfect Italian pizza! Learn the history, myths, and modern marvels of the multi-faceted Italian pizza.
• Lunch follows on your foods prepared in class. Wine and soft drinks not included.
• Take the afternoon to explore ancient Rome on your own. Visit the Colosseum and Roman Forum.
• Kid’s Tip: Pick up a simple guidebook from any of the roadside vendors with transparent pages of how these ancient monuments looked in their prime, and how they look today. Kids will love to flip the pages back and forth, helping to inspire their imagination as they see the ruins before them, with pictures in the books of the Eternal City of Rome and how it looked in its prime; a bustling ancient city of great importance and opulence.
• Dinner free and on your own. Suggestions provided at the hotel, and once you reserve, we provide Rome Hot Restaurant Picks.

Day 3: Market Tour & Cooking Class 2

• Breakfast is served.
• Market Tour: Early morning pick-up from your hotel for a one-hour tour of Rome’s history and colorful Testaccio Market. Rome’s fresh-produce markets are treasured reminders of a more traditional way of life. A dazzling array of fresh fruit and vegetables greet you, often marked by meat and fish stalls. The Testaccio market on Piazza Testaccio, is the most traditionally Roman of all the city’s markets and is noted for its excellent quality and good prices. It’s a great place to find such delicious dinner table delights as the baby chicory shoots, broad beans, and Roman artichokes, and also a fun place to socialize in the morning. Be sure to visit the late actor Marcello Mastoianni’s cousin’s stand, with Marcello’s face on the sign, where fresh fish is sold.
• Chef Eugenio knows everyone by their first name, he leads the way as his eyes & nose seek out the best produce of the day! After, return to the restaurant to get cooking!
• Cooking Class 2: Join Chef Eugenio for your hands-on preparation of a full Roman menu including two primi piatti, first courses, and two secondi piatti, second courses, all kid-friendly of course!
• Lunch follows on the foods prepared in class. Wine and soft drinks not included.
• Suggestion: Head to the Termini and hop on “the Red Bus” for a complete tour of Rome. Your excursion ticket allows you to get off all day long, and re-enter at your leisure. Tickets can be purchased at the Termini Station, with discounted tickets for kids.
• Kid’s Tip: Let the kids tell you when they want to hop on and off the bus. Hop off at the Circus Maximus and run a lap around this ancient ring. Take the Barberini stop to visit the Cappuccin Crypt, decorated all in bones. Or, let kids signal to hop off at the most tempting gelato shop for a quick treat!
• Dinner free and on your own. Suggestions provided at the hotel.

Day 4: Cooking Class 3 & Piazzas of Rome

• Breakfast is served.
• Cooking Class 3: Pasta making with Chef Eugenio. Roll up your sleeves and work along side your Chef to turn out different pasta shapes and delicious fresh sauces to go with them.
• Lunch follows on the foods prepared in class. Wine and soft drinks not included.
• Spend the afternoon exploring the Piazzas of downtown Rome. Visit the Pantheon, Piazza Navona, and the Campo De’ Fiori. The Fontana Dei Quattro Fiumi, the Fountain of Four Rivers, found in Piazza Navona, is one of Bernini’s most celebrated masterpieces. The fountain symbolizes the four great rivers known in ancient times; the Nile, Ganges, Danube and Rio de la Plata. Stroll into Piazza Barberini, where kids are certain to enjoy Bernini’s Fountain of the Bees.
• Kid’s Tip: Don’t miss the San’Ignazio church, near the Pantheon, famous for it’s false dome. From the entrance the ceiling appears to be a painted dome, however as you walk in through the church, you will discover it is an illusion.
• Tired from a long day? Stop by the famous Tazza D’Oro, just by the Pantheon, and reward yourselves with a work-of-art cappuccino for Mom and Dad, and a hot chocolate for the kids, so thick and scrumptious as if it were melted chocolate!
• One of the most famous Cafes in all of Rome.
• Dinner free and on your own. Suggestions provided at the hotel.

Day 5: The Vatican & Saint Peter’s

• Breakfast is served.
• Spend the day visiting Saint Peter’s Basilica and the Vatican on your own.
• ***You can also book a half or full day tour with Stephano. Stephano, Giorgiana and staff offer tailor made Rome Tours to the Vatican, Sistine Chapel or even a Food Lover’s Walk. Ask us for availability and pricing.
• In Rome on a Wednesday? If the Pope is in town, he holds the General Audience in Saint Peter’s Square, so arrive early to get seats. People travel from all over the world to be apart of this event, and the Pope even moves through the crowd on his ‘Popemobile’, a sure pleaser for the kids as well as kids-at-heart.
• Otherwise, start in the elliptical piazza of Saint Peter’s Basilica and challenge the kids to find the two spots where the columns surrounding the piazza align. Then head into Saint Peter’s to admire this incredible cathedral. Inside you will find Michelangelo’s Pieta’ (1499), Bernini’s ornate Baldacchino (1633), carved all in bronze, and his celestial Throne of Saint Peter (1666), among the many marvels.
• Kid’s Tip 1: Challenge the kids to count the stairs as you climb the Cupola of Saint Peter’s. A challenging, though fun climb which opens up to an incredible sweeping view of Rome.
• Next head to the Vatican Museums, just a short walk from Saint Peter’s to visit the awe-inspiring Sistine Chapel. Kids, did you know artists often painted themselves into their paintings? See if you can find Michelangelo’s face in The Last Judgment, on the wall behind the altar.
• Kid’s Tip 2: Have the kid’s write a postcard from the Vatican Museums and mail from there; they will have the post mark not from Italy, but from the Vatican City!
• Dinner is free and on your own. Suggestions provided at the hotel.
• Kid’s Tip 3: Your last night is the perfect night to visit the Trevi Fountain, extraordinary by day, but truly magical when lit up at night. Toss your coins in the fountain for luck and to ensure that you will return to the Eternal City. Just near the Trevi Fountain is what many hail as the ‘best gelato in Rome.’ Taste a dish and decide for yourself whether you think Il Gelato di San Crispino merits this great praise.

Day 6: Check Out & Departure

• Breakfast is served.
• Check out and departure.
• Transfer to Rome Airport or Train Station.