Riley's Thrifty Adventures

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Riley's Thrifty Adventures A place to share travels deals usually from the Rocky Mountain area. Travel tips to help you "stay thrifty" I'd be happy to help!

As a family of 6 I'm always looking for ways to decrease our vacation expenses! I also love to research travel, so if you are looking to plan a trip let me know.

Homeward bound...Stayed the night in Paris on our way home. (Used points for hotel. It was either spend the night in De...
12/11/2024

Homeward bound...

Stayed the night in Paris on our way home. (Used points for hotel. It was either spend the night in Denver or Paris...of course I went with Paris!)

Arrived to our hotel around midnight only to be greeted by Police. Some "special people" were staying there. We were searched before we even got to the parking lot. It was quite an experience.

This morning electronic passport control went down in the airport and we were running to our gate. Very very long lines.

We are onboard now, and waiting to take off. Phew!

Today we went to Vatican City. Climbed to the top of St. Peter's basilica, checked out the inside. Then hung around to...
10/11/2024

Today we went to Vatican City. Climbed to the top of St. Peter's basilica, checked out the inside. Then hung around to see Pope Francis for the Sunday Angelus (a greeting and prayer).

Really amazing experience. Then off to Castel Sant'Angelo

Of course daily gelato.

Today we hopped down to Ercolano for a visit to some ruins. (Think Pompeii but smaller and better preserved). We also ...
09/11/2024

Today we hopped down to Ercolano for a visit to some ruins. (Think Pompeii but smaller and better preserved). We also hiked up Mt Vesuvius.

Herculeum ruins are closer to Vesuvius and were actually covered in deeper ash which caused them to be preserved a lot better than Pompeii. It's a smaller site, but I really enjoyed it more than my trip to Pompeii a few years ago. (And that was a bucket list item for me).

We ate pizza for lunch and then took a bus from Ercolano most of the way up Mt. Vesuvius. Than had 2 hours to hike and explore.

Still haven't had the promised gelato yet, so we will grab some when we get back to Rome in a little bit. We are currently on the high speed train from Naples. :) Current speed is 186miles/hr

Transportation strike in Roma made for a lot of walking today!!!! Today I handed google maps to a kid and had them lead...
08/11/2024

Transportation strike in Roma made for a lot of walking today!!!! Today I handed google maps to a kid and had them lead us to our destination. Great way to teach them map skills and confidence. Too often I just take care of it, but I want them to be confident travelers!!

Started the morning on a walk by the colosseum and the Roman forum. Then past the Victor Emmanuel II monument. Lots of walls up due to construction of a new metro line.

Then over to the Pantheon. It was originally a Roman Temple that was converted to a Catholic Church. Currently still the largest unsupported dome in the world.

We then stopped by the Trevi Fountain which is under restoration, but there is still a water spot to throw your coins in. Which we did because legend has it if you throw in a coin you'll return to Rome. (I'm always up for that!!)

Did a little shopping and then off to the Hard Rock Cafe for lunch. (I created that tradition when we visited the very first Hard Rock in London).

After lunch we rented bikes and rode around Villa Borghese. That's was full of laughs!!! A great family experience.

Our legs were tired at this point so grabbed an Uber back to our rental since public transit was still on strike.

Definitely also had pizza and gelato today. :)

Today we took a train to visit Assisi. It's one of my favorite places. We saw the Basilicas of St Francis, and St Clar...
07/11/2024

Today we took a train to visit Assisi. It's one of my favorite places. We saw the Basilicas of St Francis, and St Clare. Ate gelato of course. And tried truffles....ew was the general consensus. Damian also had wild boar. 😝

It was quite special to visit where St Clare lived and was buried. Our daughter's middle name is after her. She lived a life full of prayer serving God which is our hope for our girl. :)

We also wandered down to San Damiano church. And took in a few more parts of St Clare's life.

Also bought a couple soccer/futbol jerseys ⚽️⚽️. Finished the evening at McDonalds to try it out in Italy. Good balance after the truffles.

First day in Roma. We slept in and laid around after arriving at our rental at 1am and settling in, we needed to relax ...
06/11/2024

First day in Roma. We slept in and laid around after arriving at our rental at 1am and settling in, we needed to relax this morning. We also had a kid wake up puking throughout the night. It was a sign we needed to have a slow day. So we did laundry, grocery shopping and stayed at sights within a few minutes of us. Of course pizza and gelato for those of us not feeling sick.

Phew....still in Florence might make it to Rome today. Lol. A last minute train strike has really made today interestin...
05/11/2024

Phew....still in Florence might make it to Rome today. Lol. A last minute train strike has really made today interesting. We arrived to Florence about an hour later than expected which wasn't too bad. But our train to Rome was canceled in the afternoon and we are currently on a 3hr + delay. 🤞🏼Hopefully make it to our rental before midnight.

Florence was great though!! Might of planned our day differently had I known we would be here so long. But a worker was attacked yesterday afternoon so train workers went on strike.

Visited the cathedral, ate the gelato, had lunch at Bistrot Damiano 🥰, saw the "David", took in Florence at sunset, and then spent hours in the train station. 🤣🤣

Another sunny day in Italy! Rode the vaporetto today! Visited San Giorgio Church on a nearby island for a bell tower vi...
04/11/2024

Another sunny day in Italy! Rode the vaporetto today! Visited San Giorgio Church on a nearby island for a bell tower view of Venice.

Picked up a tourist sim card for me. My Google fi sim card crapped out on me, so I bought a tourist card for 35euros.

Then we enjoyed some Gelato before taking another vaporetto (water bus) to Murano to checkout all the glass. We tried our hand and making some trinkets and have a new level of respect for the artists. It was tough!!!!!! And we made small items.

Headed back to our hotel in Mestre and are packing up to leave tomorrow.

Ciao Venezia!

Only downside today was when I bought train tickets for the wrong time. 🤣🤣🤣

First day in Venice. We arrived by train (We are staying in Mestre 10mins off the island and riding in each day) Wander...
03/11/2024

First day in Venice. We arrived by train (We are staying in Mestre 10mins off the island and riding in each day)

Wandered all over, ate all the pasta, pizza, and Gelato we could handle. Tried some very bleh cannoli- and plan to try some hopefully better ones later in the trip.

Went to mass at San Marcos Basilica which was fun in Italian. Wandered some more. Paid a total of 15 euros for bathrooms today. 😝😝

Learned how to row like a venetian with a company called "Row Venice" and it was worth every penny! Sunset row down the Grand Canal. Venice charm really shines in the water. Also there was an emergency and we had to "pull" the batela (boat) over so the fire boat and 2 boat ambulances could rush by!!!

I can't even imagine this city in the summer, it's very crowded. But after our rowing lesson ended it was a much quieter place. Off to bed!

Bonjour!!! Quick stop in Paris today. It took way longer than expected to get out of the airport. But definitely worth...
02/11/2024

Bonjour!!! Quick stop in Paris today. It took way longer than expected to get out of the airport. But definitely worth our walk around Paris. Delicious lunch near eiffel tower and a dozen macrons later. 🥰 Back in the airport and had McDonald's for dinner. We like to try it when we travel to see differences.

Hoping that McCafe espresso shot keeps us awake till Venice.

We did luggage storage in the airport so we could freely move about Paris. It took us almost 2 hours to get out of the airport, but return time was super fast and now we are chilling by our gate for 2 hours. 🤣

The passports are packed!!! Guess we better get our bags packed too! Heading to Italy Friday, and the family can't wait....
31/10/2024

The passports are packed!!! Guess we better get our bags packed too! Heading to Italy Friday, and the family can't wait. 🇮🇹

Happy 13th Birthday kiddos!!!! They loved it!!!!!! I can't believe I now have 3 teenagers. Ultimate Skydiving Adventure...
17/08/2024

Happy 13th Birthday kiddos!!!! They loved it!!!!!! I can't believe I now have 3 teenagers.

Ultimate Skydiving Adventures in Delta, CO (by Grand Junction) is always a good time!!!

On our way to our next adventure! Hint these guys turn 13 tomorrow and it's time for something risky and fun!!!! 🪂
16/08/2024

On our way to our next adventure! Hint these guys turn 13 tomorrow and it's time for something risky and fun!!!! 🪂

Also it's time for a trip report from my oldest. He volunteered in Spain with a company called Pueblo Ingles for two we...
05/08/2024

Also it's time for a trip report from my oldest. He volunteered in Spain with a company called Pueblo Ingles for two weeks in July. He really enjoyed the experience.

I had a very hard time finding first hand accounts about volunteering as a teen so thought he could answer some questions for anyone who might be interested in the program and how it all worked. (This company offers opportunities for both adults and teens to volunteer)

So- hit us with your questions in the comments!! I'll answer as Mom and he can answer as teen volunteer. :)

Working on my midlife crisis...lol. I set a goal to run a long distance race before I turn 40 next year. Found out the...
05/08/2024

Working on my midlife crisis...lol. I set a goal to run a long distance race before I turn 40 next year. Found out there is a 15k in Rome when we are visiting in November. I've been considering it for a couple weeks, and finally decided to commit today!

So if you see me out running give me a good job because it's going to take some serious mental grit to get myself to 15k. 🤣🤣

I saw the course through the city and decided it was about as good as it gets!! I need proper motivation to run that far.

Well photos have been sparce from my oldest in Spain...he's a teenager 🤣 He's heading into his last couple of days. Fir...
26/07/2024

Well photos have been sparce from my oldest in Spain...he's a teenager 🤣 He's heading into his last couple of days. First two photos are from him. But he sounded good when we talked on the phone. Last week he had 2 Spanish roommates, this week just 1. Saturday night he heads back to Madrid from the mountains and catches a flight home Sunday morning.

Last week we went to Colorado Springs to visit family and play tourist. It was nice a cool down there and we had great weather. Here are a couple pics from that!

One minute your taking your 6month old on his first flight and the next he's driving you to the airport for his first so...
12/07/2024

One minute your taking your 6month old on his first flight and the next he's driving you to the airport for his first solo trip! (Flights bought with United Airline miles from a credit card sign up bonus- cost to me was only $55) **Side note it was really easy to get a pass back to the gates with him from a United ticketing agent.

He's on his way to Spain to volunteer with a group called Pueblo Ingles. He'll be helping other teenagers improve their English skills in southern Spain for the next 2 weeks.

Enjoyed the Capital One Lounge at DIA this morning. I quote "I now understand the importance of a good credit card" 😂

Now in Newark, NJ (view from the wing) on a layover before his flight over to Madrid. After a flight delay out of Denver I was worried he might miss his flight, but his connection was delayed and should be ok!

I've requested photos to share during his trip, but I'm not sure what I'll get. 🫠

Been a little quiet on the travel front with my kids. They've been traveling more than me! But just booked an awesome ...
07/07/2024

Been a little quiet on the travel front with my kids. They've been traveling more than me! But just booked an awesome deal to take the family to Italy in November! AirFrance has a killer deal right now with points. 30k points roundtrip from Denver to Europe plus taxes and fees. I was able to transfer some Capital One credit card points (180K) to Flying Blue (Air France loyalty program) and pick up our flights for $264/person! Cash price for the EXACT flights is $2319/person!!!!!

We are flying into Venice with a strategic 13hr layover in Paris, so we can sightsee Paris for the day. Spending some time around Italy and then flying home from Rome.

Pictures from my last trip to Rome. Always throw that coin in the Trevi Fountain & guarantee a trip back to the eternal city!

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