At the risk of being shredded... here is our itinerary, please fill in with food recs. 1 week away!

This past October, we stayed in the Testaccio neighborhood at the south end of Rome, considered by many Romans to have the best food in the city. The Testaccio Market is a covered market that would fill a large piazza if it were out in the open, with lots of stalls and stands, a food destination where you can walk away with pizza, pasta, cooked artichokes, fresh produce, as well as seeing an overwhelming variety of food vendors. There’s a small seating area at the very center, in case you want to sit while you enjoy your treats. it closes at 2pm. You can reach Testaccio by a €7 taxi ride from the center of downtown Rome, or a quick Metro ride on line B to the Pyramide stop.

The market was a major stop on the excellent Eating Europe walking food tour we did one day. We passed down several aisles, and stopped at several locations inside. Out favorite restaurant in Trastevere, if you didn’t stock with takeaway and street food, was Felice.

In Trastevere, check on Da Enzo Al 29. No reservations, so arrive just before they open at 7 and put your name on the list, then wander around for 45 minutes and they'll probably have a table by the time you return.

In Paris, visit one of the classic cafes on the St. Germain des Pres like Les Deux Magots for such and people watching. It's an "only in Paris" experience.

A list of easy stops, not restaurants/trattorie/osterie

Rome - bakery / ice cream:
• Antico Forno Serpenti in Monti
• Antico Forno Roscioli near the ghetto
• Gelato di San Crispino near Trevi
• pasticceria Regoli - you need to try the maritozzo

Venice - cicchetti and bacari (drinks, usually a spritz, and snacks, tramezzini and small bruschette. Very cheap):
• bacareto da Lele
• osteria al squero
• bar all'arco
But you can find many more just walking around.

Cinque Terre:
• Nessun dorma in Monterosso - you need to go at sunset. If you can, make a reservation.
• panificio Rosi in Riomaggiore - try the focaccia with chocolate chips, divine!
• il pescato cucinato - "fish&chips" to go, try the fritto misto and eat it on the beach
• gelateria Il porticciolo in Vernazza

Florence:
• gelateria dei Neri
• Antico Vinaio (there's always a queue, don't worry because it goes fast)

I have forgotten something for sure, but there are so many amazing places you can discover yourself around (almost) every corner.
Enjoy!

That’s great if Da Enzo is now putting names on a list. We walked by one afternoon as they were ti is hung the lunch shift, and Enzo himself pointed to where the line for dinner started. The place is tiny, so it was really a first/come, first-served situation. We understood from him that you stand in line, and that’s who gets in - no list of names, no take-a-number and come back when your number gets called, no chance to return in 45 minutes. It’s so small, it looked like if you didn’t get in when they opened, you wouldn’t get in.

@Cyn, I can’t remember if there was a list, but the host/manager told us to come back in about 45 minutes. We did and He must have remembered us as we were seated shortly after. It as a fun meal and the prices meant we could taste a lot of things. This was in 2017.

Day 7 you have a three hour train trip, Montecatani to Venice, Day 8 you have a six hour train trip from Venezia to Cinque Terre.
In terms of food, it looks like railway station cafés will frequently be your best option, plus picnics on trains.

The app Rome2rio is handy for planning transport.

Good planning, however, while in Rome consider visiting Castel St Angelo, Capitoline Hill Museum and Trajan's Forum/Market.

My two cents:
Definitely do Castel St. Angelo in Rome.
Definitely do Ostia Antica.
Both are interesting and allow for free-flowing wandering, without having to jostle with crowds. (At least that's the way it was, last time I was there)

Re the North End in Boston. If you have 4 hours between flights, that should give you enough time to get over there, have your treats and catch your next flight. However, you should consider your check-in time when returning to Logan, and the fact that Boston traffic is a nightmare, anytime, IMHO. This would be a maybe yes, maybe no, decision, depending on time of day, etc.....

Both my grandmothers were married at St. Leonard's Church on Hanover St. (the main st), so I have a soft spot for the North End. I always pop in for a quick prayer when I'm there.

Unsure about the extent to which you've involved the daughters in the planning. But the more input they have, the less likely you'll be to have unhappy campers. Not that that teenage girls are ever a problem, but....

@Cyn
That sounds delicious! The market in Monti won't be open while we are there, but maybe if I can get the girls going early one morning, we can visit the Testaccio Market? We always go to one if we can when visiting another city. We've enjoyed the ones in Boston, Philadelphia, and in Nashville. The waiting for Da Enzo reminds me of waiting for a table in the North End of Boston.

@ksinclair and @gigua Thank you! See, this is why I ask. Brilliant! (Focaccia with chocolate chips?! I've never heard of this, and now it must be tried! and wow, the QR code/app/queue thing for Nessun Dorma is intense!)

@jadem. I have Castel St. Angelo on the list, hopefully day 2? I want to see Ostia Antica, but I'm not sure if the girls will be up for more ruins and another day trip. I thought about even trying to squeeze it in on our car trip, but I don't think that would give it its due.

Ah! How great is that about your grandparents?! We are planning to take the bus then the T. Worst case scenario, with a line at Modern (although, not their busiest time of day), it should be 90ish minutes if we don't stop and smell any roses. My hard boundary (like, drop it and leave if we won't make it) is 2 hours before flight. We could possibly get a delay, giving us more time or be delayed coming in and have to skip it completely.

One of my favorite memories is the first time we went to Boston, dragging our suitcases through the North End, and an old Italian guy stopped us and said "Whatchu need?" We said we were looking for Mike's and he slapped his forehead and leaned back and groaned and said, "DON'T go to Mike's! Mike's is gaaahhhhbage! Gotta go to Mah-dehn! Mah-dehn Pastry! And then you have dinner here. (pointing). Good food, won't break the bank. Tell them I sent you."

@TC
Haha, I like your sarcasm! Completely agree. They chose Rome, Cinque Terre and Venice over Florence (then promptly changed their minds once I bought train tickets.)

The deadline for packing is today and my lord, the drama, lol! Finally my oldest daughter made a flow chart to avoid conflicts (We are only bringing backpacks and sharing a lot of clothing.).

I set up a Pinterest and they pinned a few things, then I had them populate "mymaps" in google with the stuff they pinned and I populated train stations, and our housing.

I REALLY am not interested in feeling like I'm dragging them around, so I know that means I will miss things I want to see, but... priorities, right?

I think your daughters will also like San Clemente. If they're cat lovers, there is a cat sanctuary at the Largo Argentina ruins.

For Boston, Santarpio’s in East Boston, close to the airport. It’s not much to look at and has a limited menu, however, has a lot of character and is very popular with locals. One of the places I miss most since leaving Boston. They have a social media presence in case you want to check them out. There’s even a wiki page! https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santarpio's_Pizza

Edited to add: myself, I would not try to get to the North End and back in 4 hours. Too complicated to risk it and would feel rushed. Maybe with 6 hours …