Where's the toilet paper? We're jetlagged from the flight across the Atlantic and can't find a roll anywhere. And we can't call housekeeping either because instead of a hotel, we're ensconced in a charming fourth-floor flat in Rome on Via Del Gambero, a short walk from the Spanish Steppes. Unfortunately, we didn't realize that such necessities would be our responsibility.

Luckily for us, Jill Kammer, who, together with her husband Leon, runs www.italy-accom.com, from whom we rented the apartment, lives in the same neighborhood and brought us some from her house so I didn't have to rush out to look for a store.

But searching out those markets and meeting the locals who shop there is all part of the charm of renting a flat in a strange city or a villa in the countryside. We sleep with cherubs over our bed and hear the noises of a city neighborhood — a baby crying, a couple jabbering in Italian and music playing.

Tourists don't surround us. In fact, it seems as if we're the only Americans at the neighborhood trattoria. By the second day, the owner of the corner cafe and the woman selling fresh fruit across the street recognize us and nod.

"It's less expensive and more room," says Kammer. Certainly with the Euro so weak against the U.S. dollar, it's appealing to get a flat that will sleep the gang for less than the cost of two hotel rooms. It's a plus to eat in as well. Last year, when we rented a villa in a small village outside of Florence (we booked Casa Limone

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through Hideaways.com), we loved hanging out on the patio overlooking the vineyards. There are tradeoffs, of course. In Rome there was no one to make our beds, no room service and no one to get a taxi. Kammer said her office helps fill the void and, in fact, she hooked us up with guide extraordinaire, Rita Clemens, of Customized Italy (www.customizeditaly.com).

If you want to be pampered, opt instead for a hotel. That's what we did on our next stop in Sorrento, the postcard-pretty Italian town along the Amalfi Coast, where my daughter Reggie and I stayed at the 377-room Hilton Sorrento Palace (www.hiltonworldresorts.com). Just 15 miles from Pompeii, the Sorrento Palace has six outdoor pools, an indoor pool, tennis courts, lush gardens, and a view of the Bay of Naples.

On the next leg of our trip, Reggie and I switched gears again, staying at small, locally run, three-star hotels along the Amalfi Coast. I'd checked out the hotels on Tripadvisor (www.tripadvisor.com) — a great way to see what others have to say about a place — but Backroads (www.backroads.com), the American company that had arranged our group hiking tour, had already vetted the place for us. Each property had something we especially liked. Our last night in Naples, we chose a stately historic hotel — the Hotel Excelsior (www.excelsior.it), a Starwood hotel, for its location. We walked along a waterfront lined with cruise ships, beautifully crafted wooden boats and every kind of seafood restaurant. We ate the city's famous pizza for lunch and strolled over to tiny Del Borgo Ristorante for dinner.

We went to bed happy and ready to come home.

Eileen Ogintz, a resident of Fairfield County, invites questions, comments and stories about your family travels. Write to Taking the Kids, 578 Post Road East, #566, Westport CT 06880, or visit www.takingthekids.com.