Italy

After a 10.5 hour flight from LAX to CDG and a connecting flight to Rome, we made it! Baby girl did great and slept for pretty much both flights.

  • The pacifier and pop tubes (toys) were our best friend!

  • We got a bassinet free of charge on the plane and sat in the first row of economy (very spacious).

Rome

  • Day 1

    Go to Trevi Fountain as early as you can! We went at 8 am on Wednesday and there was no one! After taking some pictures and walking around we made it to the colosseum. There weren’t many people there around 10 am. The line was very short and did not need to purchase skip the line passes! We finished the day with dinner at Angie’s Restaurant in Piazzia Mignanelli. The food was pricey but because it was in a touristy location. The food was great and the bread was delicious! We got lemoncello shots that I could probably have had five of since they tasted like lemondade.

    We walked around the Spanish Steps and shopped for a bit. There are a ton of stores near by!

    *All of these locations were stroller friendly!

  • Day 2

    We ate breakfast at the hotel and then hopped on the metro to the Vatican! The metro was very easy to use and understand as someone who doesn’t speak Italian! As for the stroller, we carried it up and down the stairs to avoid waiting in line for the elevator (there wasn’t always an elevator). Buy skip the line passes for the Vatican. The line was already long at 9 am on Thursday! The Vatican is stroller friendly in terms of they will let you in with it. However, there are a lot of stairs inside!

    After, we headed to the Pantheon which was free and had no line. The Pantheon was also stroller friendly. We had dinner at Royal Art Cafe which was super yummy and had a great view of the Colosseum. Food was reasonably priced.

    We were also able to take photos with a local street photographer! The pictures came out great and only cost us 10 euros.

  • Day 3

    We took train for the day to Florence. This was about $120 roundtrip! We booked our tickets online through italiarail.

    Our first stop was the Officina Profumo. This is known as the oldest pharmacy in the world. However, now they are a perfumery and herbalist shop. We went right when they opened at 10 and there were only a few people.

    Next, we headed to Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore. There was hardly anyone around 11. The line had maybe 20 people and moved fast! We were also able to take pictures in front without anyone else in them.

    After, we walked to the Accademia Gallery. This is where the famous Statue of David is homed. We did not purchase tickets prior and the line moved very fast. We were lucky that at 12 pm there weren’t many visitors.

    We were also able to visit Ponte Vecchio, Palazzo Vecchio, and Basilica of Santa Croce in Florence. These were not crowded and all stroller friendly.

A few things to beware of and note:

  • There aren’t many bathrooms and changing a baby’s diaper can be difficult.

  • We changed the baby in the stroller with a blanket on top.

  • People will come up to you and ask why the baby is crying. Not in a rude way at all but genuinely curious.

  • You can get hot water from most local gelato, coffee, restaurants, etc.

  • There aren’t many elevators for the stroller. Be prepared to carry the stroller.