The Disney movie When in Rome starring Kristen Bell and Josh Duhamel becomes available on DVD on June 15, 2010. Even if you’ve not too big on romantic comedies about a workaholic in New York, its still worth a look-see for the nice tour of Rome’s attractions (not to mention some excellent footage of the Guggenheim in New York).

When in Rome

Listed below are some of the attractions in Rome that you’ll see in the movie.

The Spanish Steps

Maddalena Church

Piazza della Maddalena

Forum

Colosseum

Pantheon

Fountain of Trevi

One more thing about When in Rome (the movie) - The Fontana d’Amore, an integral part of the movie’s plot, is a fictional Fountain of Love.

But the fountain was sculptured painstakingly over 40 days by 83-year old artist Gianni Gianese and took six days to install in the Piazza Borghese. It was such a fine piece of work that passing tourists mistook it for one of Rome’s real fountains, and started throwing coins into it.

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Traveling with our kids means I seek to find ways to engage them in our travel plans, on their level. One way that has been particularly effective is through books about the area we are visiting. A few years ago, in preparation for a trip to Paris, I found several books about the City of Lights, including This is Paris by Miroslav Sasek. Jessica Spiegel at Bootsnall does a great wrap-up of Paris books on her recommended Paris reading list.

This is Venice

For our upcoming trip to Italy, selecting books for the kids was fun and easy. Our trip starts in Venice, and I found another Sasek book, This is Venice, highlighting many significant attractions in the charming city.

I also found a fun treasure hunt book, Kids Go Europe: Treasure Hunt Venice, which makes a game of sightseeing in Venice. Say “Boun Giorno” to a shop owner, five points for you. How many winged lion statues can you count on your travels? Give yourself 2 points for each. Take a photo with a gondoliere, 10 points. My naturally competitive children will find this book fascinating! This book is also available for Florence and Rome.

Gabriella’s Song is a beautifully illustrated book of the musical power of the waterways and gondolas of Venice. A great read-aloud for kids of all ages.

And for my almost-tween, The Diary of Melanie Martin: or How I Survived Matt the Brat, Michelangelo, and the Leaning Tower of Pizza. Melanie adventures through Italy, catching the major sites, all the while dealing with her annoying brother and tasting as much Italian gelato as she can!

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Hiking the Cinque Terre Trail in Italy

Photo courtesy of Amazon.com.

Monterosso al Mare

Cinque Terre, also known as “The Five Lands”, is one of the most stunning vacation spots nestled on the northern coast of Italy. Having a more rugged appearance than other areas, Cinque Terre draws its tourists in by its unforgettable views of the Mediterranean and the scenic hiking trails between the five villages.

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Located in the northwest of Italy, the small villages of Italy’s Cinque Terre are perched at the edge of the sea, in harbors and on cliffs. It’s one of the most beautiful spots in Italy and there’s no better way to see it than by hiking the trail that connects the five towns.

There are two paths in the Cinque Terre park – one is much higher up and more strenuous, while the other (more popular) one is lower and easier, but still requires a fair bit of physical fitness. Start in the north and work you way south (the 11km trail gets easier this way), and plan on breaking it up over two days so that you can take your time. To get back to your town each day, you can take a boat (from all towns except Cornigilia) or the train.

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