AAA Traveler - Fall 2014 - 13

YOUR STORY

a Family

Trip

for the

perfect

BY ALEXIS MOORE

Love, laughter and family are the main ingredients of any italian dish.
This AAA family pairs their zest for travel into a real classic tradition, with all the toppings.
Late nights, laughter and pizza. AAA Member
Regina Staeger knows the makings of life's best
moments aren't found in the pages of travel guides.
That's why she has two unwavering requirements when
her family-scattered across the country-gathers
every few years for reunion vacations: Spacious rooms
close together where everyone can gather, and dinner
reservations to ensure family meals.
This summer's Mediterranean cruise with her
family of six adults and six kids ﬁt the bill. "Every
night we had dinner together
as a family, and by 10
o'clock at night, all the kids
would be hungry again!"
remembers Staeger. So all
six would gather in one
stateroom and order a selection of the mouthwatering,
greasy-spoon junk food variety only teenagers can truly appreciate, she says. "Every
night, they would sit in there and talk and eat pizza or
hamburgers and fries and laugh until late. Those are
the shared moments with their cousins they'll never
forget."
According to AAA Travel Specialist Michelle Younis,
who helped Regina iron out the details of the cruise,
Regina and her husband knew this summer presented a
unique opportunity to gather the whole family together.
"Their grandkids, ages 11 through 19, will start heading off to college this year," she says. So the family,
including Texas-residing daughter and son-in-law-
and their three kids-and N.C.-based daughter and
son-in-law-and their three kids-set off for a three-

day stay in Rome followed by a nine-day jaunt through
the Mediterranean.
"It's not just the kids; we are all into food," Regina
says, explaining one of the main reasons why she and
her husband, travel veterans, chose to spend time in
Rome before embarking on the Crystal cruise ship
with stops in Florence, Monte Carlo, St. Tropez, Ibiza,
Palamos, and Barcelona. "We benchmark our vacations by what we eat in each destination. Around the
corner from our hotel in Rome, there was a family

It's not just the kids;

IMAGE: GERIN CHOINIERE PHOTOGRAPHER

we are all into food.
Italian restaurant with a sidewalk café. Plants lined
the edge and the lights were twinkling at night, and
we all enjoyed that so much. Just as a family, not
rushed, we could sit together-the adults at one table
and the kids at the other-and enjoy long meals. We'll
remember Rome for its lasagna!"
Traveling with three generations gave Regina the
opportunity to experience Rome through multiple
lenses. Vatican City's St. Peter's Basilica beckoned
Regina, her grandkids, and her children back for a
second visit, but for different reasons. "It touched each
of us in a special way. My youngest grandson would
look up at the ceiling and just couldn't believe it. How
could they build this so many years ago when they
TRAVELER FALL 2014

AAA Traveler - Fall 2014

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