Rome Shuttle Limousine

When going from the airport to your hotel in Rome (and back), you really have three options. The first and cheapest is the train. For some, this may be best, but it can be a pain if you have a lot of luggage. The second is a taxi, which surprisingly is probably the most expensive. The third is to hire a private shuttle service. We did this through Rome Shuttle Limousine, which was actually cheaper than a taxi.

When arriving at the airport in Rome and passing through customs, our driver was waiting there with a sign with our name on it. Our flight was late arriving by two hours and I sent an e-mail to the company before we arrived to let them know this. Even with this, the driver was waiting for us with no issues. In addition, when we had to go back to the airport, the driver was at our hotel at the exact scheduled time.

Both drivers we had were courteous and the cars were clean and comfortable. Credit cards were accepted for payment after the journeys were completed.

When visiting Rome, this is the only way we'd travel to and from the airport.

Roger Williams Park Zoo

The Roger Williams Park Zoo is a medium sized zoo in Providence, RI. The zoo is set up well, so that strolling through it at a leisurely pace will allow you to see all the animals and exhibits in about three hours. Some of the highlights were the elephants, giraffes and snow leopards. We were also there during Halloween time and there were plenty of jack o' lanterns to see during this time.

Hotel Duca D'Alba

There are a ton of hotel choices in Rome. We found Hotel Duca D'Alba to be an excellent choice for our needs. The room we received was very spacious for European standards and came with a King sized bed. It also had a nice balcony to relax with some wine. The room was very clean when we arrived and housekeeping did a good job daily of keeping it clean.

The breakfast served each morning was very good and included coffees, pastries, roasted tomatoes, scrambled eggs, yogurts and other traditional European breakfast options. The servers we interacted with were very friendly and quick to provide cappuccinos and coffees when requested. The front desk staff was also very friendly. One thing that we found a bit odd was we needed to turn in our key card to our room each time we left and pick it up upon our return. We've never had to do this anywhere else in Italy.

The wi-fi in the room was a bit slow, but it was manageable to use. There was a separate wi-fi connection for the hotel's third and fourth floors versus the ground floor and first and second floor.

The hotel's location is excellent for walking to the Colosseum and Forum Ruins, as well as most places in Rome. There is also a metro stop (Cavour) that is less than a 2 minute walk from the hotel. There are also a number of restaurants and bars in the near vicinity that were good choices for a drink or dinner.

We'd definitely choose to stay at this hotel again if staying in Rome.

Best Western Plus Atlantic City West

The Best Western Plus Atlantic City West was a convenient hotel for us to stay in as the halfway point during the New Jersey Lighthouse Challenge. The hotel has plenty of parking. The wi-fi had good speeds. The breakfast was a standard continental breakfast that is served at all Best Westerns. We found the hotel to be clean and the staff to be friendly. For a one night stay, this was a very good hotel and we'd use it again as a halfway point when driving through New Jersey again.

Address: 701 Black Horse Pike, Pleasantville, NJ 08232
Wifi: Free
Parking: Free
Restaurant: No
Bar/Lounge: No
Smoking: Non-smoking
Hidden Fees: None
Free Breakfast: Yes

Moone High Cross

The Moone High Cross can be a bit difficult to find. The GPS coordinates of N52.97879, W6.82468 should get you there. The opening into this space is just a crack in a wall, and there's room for only 2-3 cars to park. Having said that, it was well worth making the trek out to. The cross itself is a fantastic sight, as are the monastical ruins that surround it.

New Jersey Lighthouse Challenge

One weekend every year in October, many of the lighthouses of New Jersey host the New Jersey Lighthouse Challenge. The challenge is for you to visit all of the lighthouses on the list within a two-day period (and to climb them as well). It really does take all two days to do this. It was a great experience for us and something we'd recommend for anyone who enjoys lighthouses. Keep in mind, with all of the climbing you'll be doing, you'll need to make sure you are in decent shape before embarking on this. For 2014, the list included:

• Absecon




• Barnegat




• Barnegat Museum

• Cape May




• East Point

• Finn's Point







• Hereford Inlet







• Navesink Twins







• Sandy Hook




• Sea Girt







• Tinicum







• Tucker's Island










• Tatham Life Saving Station

• U.S. Station 30

The Old Jameson Distillery

Jameson is a name synonomous with Ireland. Their Irish Whiskey is world famous, and for good reason...it's an excellent whiskey. When in Dublin, you can take a guided tour of the Old Jameson Distillery. The tour starts with a video on the history of Jameson done in a humorous fashion. From there your guide will take you through the process of how the whiskey gets made from start to finish.

At the beginning of the tour, your guide will ask for volunteers for something later in the tour...you should definitely volunteer for this! You'll find out at the end of the tour that you get to participate in a tasting of Jameson versus other whiskeys. It's definitely fun, and the whole tour is worth the time, even for people who aren't whiskey fans.