Traveling with Mom: The Beautiful Chaos of Getting to Italy
When you travel with family, especially a parent, you quickly learn that no amount of planning guarantees a smooth start.
I thought I had thought of everything.
Every museum ticket was booked.
Tours were scheduled.
Transportation plans were planned.
Our itinerary for Rome and Florence was carefully mapped out months in advance.
Naturally, I assumed the trip would begin smoothly.
Instead… it began as a small nightmare.
The Packing Situation
Before we even left the house, the first challenge appeared: packing.
And when I say overpacked, I do not mean a few extra outfits.
My mom arrived at my house with bags and boxes of things she wanted to bring that clearly had no chance of fitting into a 22-inch suitcase and a backpack.
But the real problem?
She forgot every single undergarment.
Not one bra.
Not one pair of panties.
A quick emergency shopping trip became mandatory, because two weeks in Italy without those essentials was simply not happening.
While she was gone, I started organizing her things.
That was when I discovered the full extent of the packing situation.
She had packed enough hand warmers and foot warmers to supply an entire ski resort. She had packed so much over-the-counter medication that she could have opened a pharmacy in Rome, and most of it was expired.
She also packed six pairs of pajamas.
Six.
After removing expired medication, excess warmers, duplicate toiletries, and a surprising amount of “just in case” items, everything finally fit.
Well… mostly.
Some of her belongings had to be redistributed into my suitcase and my niece’s luggage.
And my niece, at nineteen years old, had never flown before in her life.
It was already shaping up to be a memorable trip.
The Flight Drama Begins
The next morning we left with two 22-inch suitcases, one for my mom and one for my niece, my 20-inch suitcase, and each of us carrying a backpack.
My niece and I had small crossbody purses.
Mom, of course, had a very large one.
Check-in went smoothly.
Boarding went smoothly.
Then we realized the airline had seated all three of us in completely different parts of the plane for the first leg of the flight.
It was only an hour and fifteen minutes.
But it was also one of the most turbulent flights imaginable.
The turbulence was so strong that people were reaching for the barf bags and beverage service was canceled.
My poor niece, who had never flown before, was terrified and none of us were sitting near her.
Thankfully, a very kind gentleman seated nearby helped keep her calm.
Moments like that restore your faith in humanity.
Strategic Seat Selection (Also Known as Self-Care)
For the long flight to Rome, I made a strategic decision.
My mom and niece sat together.
I booked a seat on the opposite side of the plane.
Sometimes separation is a form of self-care.
The Mystery of the Airport Secret Doors
We had requested wheelchair assistance for my mom.
What I did not realize is that airports have an entire hidden network of “secret doors” used to move passengers needing wheelchair assistance.
When we landed in Rome, those secret doors found us.
My niece and I walked down the jet bridge and waited for my mom to come through the gate.
She never appeared.
Eventually we learned she had been taken through one of those mysterious doors directly toward baggage claim.
So my niece and I continued through passport control alone.
Passport Control Confusion
By late 2025, the European Union had started transitioning away from traditional passport stamps toward a digital entry system using facial recognition and fingerprints.
My niece sailed through.
I did not.
Two machines and one confused airport assistant later, I was directed to the traditional passport control line.
My niece followed me.
She ended up with both a biometric sticker and a passport stamp.
Since this was her first flight ever, the stamp was infinitely cooler.
Where Is Mom?
Our luggage was the first on the baggage carousel.
But there was still no sign of mom.
After about fifteen minutes, my phone rang.
She and several other wheelchair passengers had been taken to a waiting area outside passport control.
Apparently most families follow through those secret doors.
We had no idea they existed.
Eventually she managed to walk through passport control with help from an airport staff member.
Meanwhile my niece and I stood guard over three suitcases, including my mom’s extremely heavy one.
Finally she appeared.
Exhausted.
Confused.
But smiling.
Rome at Last
We made our way to the taxi stand and confirmed the flat €55 taxi rate into central Rome.
As the driver lifted my mom’s suitcase into the trunk, he paused.
Then he looked at us and simply said, “It is heavy.”
My niece and I burst out laughing.
We could not have agreed more.
Our Hotel Near the Pantheon
I had booked Albergo del Senato, a beautiful hotel located right beside the Pantheon.
I had stayed in this area before and loved the location.
The hotel staff were wonderful, and the breakfasts each morning were a highlight of the trip.
Once we checked in, my mom immediately wanted to take a nap.
I strongly recommended she stay awake to fight jet lag.
She ignored me.
Our First Tour of Rome
While she rested, my niece and I took a short walk before our 3:30 PM golf cart tour.
If you are traveling with an older parent who has mobility issues, I cannot recommend these tours enough.
They allow you to see incredible parts of the city without exhausting physical walking.
Our three-hour tour covered several historic areas and was the perfect introduction to Rome.
Dinner in Rome
After the tour we ate dinner at a restaurant near the hotel that I had visited before.
My favorite server happened to be on vacation, but the new one was just as charming.
We enjoyed classic Roman dishes and aperitivo drinks served with olives, nuts, and small snacks.
After the chaos of travel, it was the perfect way to end the day.
And just like that, after chaos, confusion, secret doors, and missing undergarments…
We were finally in Rome.
Markets, Museums, and Metro Drama
Months earlier, during the planning stage of this trip, my mom discovered Pinterest.
More specifically, she discovered posts titled “Must Buy in Rome” and “Must Do in Florence.”
This resulted in a mysterious list of souvenirs that some stranger on the internet insisted were essential.
Many of our adventures would become treasure hunts for items that none of us truly understood, but she was absolutely convinced she needed.
Porta Portese Market
Our first stop came from one of those Pinterest recommendations.
Porta Portese Market, the largest and most famous flea market in Rome.
Located in the Trastevere neighborhood, this enormous open-air market runs every Sunday from about 7:00 AM to 2:00 PM.
You can find everything from vintage clothing and antiques to books, music, and household items.
We arrived around 8:00 AM and wandered through the chaos.
A few small treasures were found, spirits were high, and we decided to Uber back to the hotel to drop off our purchases before our first museum visit of the trip.
The Borghese Gallery
Next we headed to one of Rome’s most beautiful museums, the Borghese Gallery.
This museum contains breathtaking sculptures and paintings by artists such as Bernini and Caravaggio.
After our indoor visit, we followed it with a golf cart ride through the enormous Borghese Gardens.
Because of my mom’s mobility issues, we asked the driver to drop us near Piazza del Popolo so we could continue exploring from there.
Santa Maria del Popolo
The main reason I wanted to visit this piazza was the Basilica of Santa Maria del Popolo. This historic church contains incredible works by Bernini and Caravaggio.
Unfortunately, by this point my mom had decided she was finished walking and chose to sit on the steps outside.
My niece and I went inside for a very brief but meaningful visit while she waited.
The Metro Disaster
This is where things became complicated.
For nearly two hours we tried to find a taxi to take my mom back to the hotel so my niece and I could continue exploring Rome.
Rome was extremely crowded that evening because it was the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, a major holiday.
Eventually we gave up and took the metro.
The metro was crowded, loud, and fast moving. Getting my mom onto the train required teamwork. I pushed from behind. My niece pulled from the front.
We made it on.
But getting off was even worse. When the doors opened, my mom hesitated. Instead of stepping out quickly, she tried to stop the doors from closing with her cane.
The doors closed anyway.
My niece was left standing alone on the platform while we were carried away inside the train… with a cane sticking out of the closed doors like something from a cartoon. We rode to the next stop, exited, and circled back. My niece had started walking toward the hotel. Eventually we reunited and spotted a taxi stand nearby.
That taxi felt like a miracle.
A Perfect Roman Evening
After settling my mom safely back at the hotel, my niece and I headed back out.
We walked through the Christmas market in Piazza Navona and crossed Ponte Sant’Angelo, the beautiful Bridge of Angels.
To our surprise, we stumbled into a charming Christmas festival that felt like a German Christmas market, complete with food stalls, lights, and mulled wine. We explored, ate, and soaked in the atmosphere. By the time we returned to the hotel around 10:00 PM, we were exhausted but happy.
Despite markets, museums, metro drama, and family chaos…it was a magical night.
The Real Gift of Traveling Together
Traveling with Mom has reminded me that the best parts of a trip are rarely the perfectly planned moments.
They are the small conversations on airplanes, the laughter over unexpected delays, and the shared excitement of arriving somewhere beautiful together.
If you are planning your own trip, you may also enjoy my post on Planning Rome and Florence with Mom, where I explain how I structure an Italy itinerary to keep the pace comfortable.
And if your travels include winter markets, my guide to European Christmas Markets with an Older Parent shares the lessons I learned about cobblestones, crowds, and slowing down the schedule.
Tip from Mom’s Purse
Always pack snacks and a refillable water bottle for long travel days.
Airports are unpredictable, and having a few familiar comforts nearby can make a very long journey feel a little easier.