I know I'll regret it if I don't write down our experience in Rome and I'm so tempted to just dump all of my pictures and leave it at that, but I will also regret that. So, even though I know this will take some time, I'm still going to attempt it.
Monday:
We cleaned the house, bought some groceries for Adam and packed. We knew the airbnb we were renting had a washing machine, so we packed light and just took backpacks so we wouldn't have to pay the baggage fees they have on these cheap airlines. We were going to be on Wizz Air. We each threw on our backpacks and headed out to eat a late lunch at a new Mexican place down the street called No Forks. It was Cafe Rio style in that you could choose burrito, quesadilla, salad, etc and then go down a line to choose your meat and toppings. It wasn't as good as Cafe Rio, but it was good. And educational. Here is the sign that is on the bathroom door.
We called a taxi from the restaurant and made our flight to Rome, arriving about 8 pm. I had communicated with our host at the airbnb and he offered to arrange for a car to pick us up. It was the same cost as a taxi, less confusing than a bus and infinitely less overwhelming to just have someone standing there with your name on a card ready to take you to exactly where you need to go. Our driver even called our host when we arrived, who then came out to meet us and help us get oriented. It was perfect!
I don't know when this apartment was built, but it had to be early 1900s and gave us a real feel for what it might be like to live in Rome the past 100 years.
This elevator was so cool. It had the doors you had to open manually and only 2-3 people could ride in it at the same time, so we always had to go in shifts.
This is the inside of the front door. You enter and face a long hallway with many doors. Behind each door is a different room. These pictures are in order going down the hall.
Sarah's room
The boys room with 2 twin beds
The kitchen. Is this original tile? Love it! But how does an Italian woman who's baking and making pasta spend so much time in such a tiny galley kitchen? The washing machine was also in here. That's a lot of time being spent in this tiny room.
Master bedroom - I'm pretty sure most of this apartment was furnished by Ikea.
Somehow I missed shots of the bathroom and family room. But our host, Andrea, showed us around and how to use things. He then showed us where he had maps that we could use - and he had the Rick Steve's book on Rome, which I was so grateful to carry around with us all week! Andrea also had a box of crackers and juice for us, which was our dinner before heading off to bed, being too tired to go out.
Tuesday:
We purchased advanced tickets for both the Colosseum and the Sistine Chapel. The forecast showed it was going to be cold today, so we were grateful we were going to be inside touring the Sistine Chapel. Thanks to Rick Steves, we knew exactly how to get there. One of the draws to the airbnb I chose was that it was close to the metro - really close. It was so convenient, except that Rome's metro system really isn't that expansive. You can get to the general area of where you need to be, but there is lots of walking to get to all of the places you want to see.
We walked out of the metro just outside of the Vatican to find that there are people everywhere helping the tourists get around. A man saw us look at our map as we were getting oriented and he immediately pointed us in the right direction. Thankfully we had tickets because there was a line to get in. However, our tickets wouldn't scan to get us in - since our tickets were for Wednesday, not Tuesday. I had mixed them up! And I didn't have the Colosseum tickets with me. But since I had purchased the tickets online and had the email on my phone with the pdf of the ticket, we decided to just head over there. Our tickets were for 9 am. I figured it was a lenient start time, but it was about 8:50, so we chose to take a taxi instead of having to figure out the metro, knowing there was a train change involved. The taxi was going to be about 15 euros, but we didn't want to chance not getting in when we'd already paid so much for the tickets.
Taking a taxi was actually really nice because we could see the city that you miss when you're underground. It is such a big city and there are random old things in the middle of newer buildings. There is just so much history and layers upon layers of past generations.
Pictures I took from the taxi:
We arrived at the Colosseum about 9:10 am and found a man managing the ticket line. I explained about mixing up our tickets and showed him my email. Luckily, he was the ticket manager. He was able to forward my email with the ticket pdf to the ticket office. We then went to the counter, where they printed our ticket and we were able to get in. It felt like such a huge blessing to find the right person to help us! It's because we prayed before we left our apartment that morning!
From the Forum, it's not too long of a walk up to the monument for the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier:
We wanted dinner, but never found a place to eat - there's not much around the Colosseum. By the time we got home, we were completely exhausted and starving. But we knew we needed some groceries for breakfast. Our flat is on a round about and on the opposite side of the circle is a market, so we headed there to grab a few things. Along the way, we found a shop with sandwiches and pastries, where we each picked out something for dinner. Sarah and I felt we could handle the market, seeing how we have done European markets for over a month now. But each country has it's quirks. I knew we were expected to wear a plastic glove provided to pick out our produce. No problem. But what I didn't know was that you are supposed to weigh your produce at a weighing station and put a sticker on each item with the price. It probably didn't matter we didn't know because I don't think we would have been able to figure it out in Italian anyways. But our clerk was ticked when we checked out. She had to have someone come over and take all our produce and weigh it. By the time the guy came back, there was a bit of a line behind us. Oops! All we could do was apologize. In English.
To make ourselves feel better over the blunder, we stopped at a cannoli shop and we each picked one out. Cold and exhausted, we got home, put on our jammies and snuggled into blankets while we watched a movie on Netflix and ate one of the most delicious cannoli's known to mankind!
Wednesday:
So today we really did have our tour of the Sistine Chapel, and due yesterday's dress rehearsal, we knew exactly how to get there. I really make it a point to have the boys lead in the metro so I know they know what to do and they don't have to be scared of it.
We were already pretty tired, but when in Rome, you have to see Rome. So we paid the dues and climbed to the interior dome.
We then continued our climb - 552 steps in all - to the top of dome on the outside.
I did, however, love coming back up the stairs from the river to have a beautiful building like this sitting there for me to enjoy!
The weather was so much warmer this afternoon. We found this lovely Piazza and just had to stop and rest in it and enjoy the palm trees. Jacob said it felt like San Diego. Could the sky by any bluer?!
We arrived back by our apartment before sunset and just weren't ready to be inside when the weather was so lovely. So what do you do? Go back to the cannoli shop! Then we crossed to the park in the middle of our round about and did more people watching while eating delicious cannoli's. All of the benches around us were filled with groups of friends, mostly 50-70 year olds, all chatting away. It was like we were witnessing a regular nightly gathering that happens when all of the gossip of the day is exchanged. It was fun to watch and guess what was happening. Then, as the groups broke up, we imagined them going back to housing similar to what we were staying in. It was a peaceful way to end a long day.
Our check out was easy. Just leave the keys on the table and walk out the door. However, our flight wasn't until after 8pm and we still wanted to explore - but not with our backpacks all day. I had asked Andrea if there was somewhere for us to leave our bags for the day and he arranged for us to leave them at his parent's apartment just a few metro stops away - which was very nice of them! Andrea gave us the address. I had found an app that worked as an offline map, so I could use it to get around without having to use my cellular data. It has been awesome! I just put the address into the app and it lead us right to their building. We had to ring up to their apartment and communicate with his mother as best we could. At least she knew we were coming, so when the American started talking, she buzzed us right in. Their apartment seemed to have a very similar layout to the one we had just checked out of. We were able to leave our bags in their front entry.
Tuesday:
We purchased advanced tickets for both the Colosseum and the Sistine Chapel. The forecast showed it was going to be cold today, so we were grateful we were going to be inside touring the Sistine Chapel. Thanks to Rick Steves, we knew exactly how to get there. One of the draws to the airbnb I chose was that it was close to the metro - really close. It was so convenient, except that Rome's metro system really isn't that expansive. You can get to the general area of where you need to be, but there is lots of walking to get to all of the places you want to see.
We walked out of the metro just outside of the Vatican to find that there are people everywhere helping the tourists get around. A man saw us look at our map as we were getting oriented and he immediately pointed us in the right direction. Thankfully we had tickets because there was a line to get in. However, our tickets wouldn't scan to get us in - since our tickets were for Wednesday, not Tuesday. I had mixed them up! And I didn't have the Colosseum tickets with me. But since I had purchased the tickets online and had the email on my phone with the pdf of the ticket, we decided to just head over there. Our tickets were for 9 am. I figured it was a lenient start time, but it was about 8:50, so we chose to take a taxi instead of having to figure out the metro, knowing there was a train change involved. The taxi was going to be about 15 euros, but we didn't want to chance not getting in when we'd already paid so much for the tickets.
Taking a taxi was actually really nice because we could see the city that you miss when you're underground. It is such a big city and there are random old things in the middle of newer buildings. There is just so much history and layers upon layers of past generations.
Pictures I took from the taxi:
We arrived at the Colosseum about 9:10 am and found a man managing the ticket line. I explained about mixing up our tickets and showed him my email. Luckily, he was the ticket manager. He was able to forward my email with the ticket pdf to the ticket office. We then went to the counter, where they printed our ticket and we were able to get in. It felt like such a huge blessing to find the right person to help us! It's because we prayed before we left our apartment that morning!
Inside having just learned we got our ticket reprinted
We only had our raincoats and we are wearing almost everything we brought to stay warm and we were still freezing cold.
The boys get annoyed with me always trying to get them to savor the moment. But we were in the freaking Colosseum in Rome, so I made them stop and touch and document that they got to feel and experience it.
This shows where the outer wall that still remains ends. The materials of the Colosseum were taken and used to build other things in the city, like St Peters, until it was finally made illegal in the 1700s.
We needed some serious rest and refueling after our tour, and we definitely needed to find a place to warm up. Tyson had remembered a restaurant he and Adam went to 2 years ago when they were here, so he took us to go find it. It was good, but unfortunately not amazing. However, the view was spectacular.
Fettuccini with clams. Not bad, but Tyson didn't like his mushroom risotto, so I made the sacrifice and traded him for the risotto.
Arch of Constantine - taken from the Colosseum
Our tickets included access to the Forum and Palatine Hill, so that's where we headed after eating lunch. Thankfully, even though I'd had the wrong tickets, I did have the Rick Steve's book with me. As we walked through the ruins, Tyson read us the descriptions of each building so we knew what we were looking at and could understand some of the history that took place here. And having his book vs being on a tour gave us the freedom to wander as we wanted while not missing learning about the sites. Thanks Rick!
From the Forum, it's not too long of a walk up to the monument for the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier:
Guards
View from the top of the monument
The monument's impressive columns
And since there is no metro near the Mouth of Truth, we continued walking the loop around the Forum and Palatine hill to Bocca della Verita:
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The Santa Maria Church. The Mouth of Truth is under the first arch, but you have to wait in line for a turn.
We finished the circle around back to the Colosseum where we were able to get a few more shots of the Colosseum and then get back on the metro and head home.
We wanted dinner, but never found a place to eat - there's not much around the Colosseum. By the time we got home, we were completely exhausted and starving. But we knew we needed some groceries for breakfast. Our flat is on a round about and on the opposite side of the circle is a market, so we headed there to grab a few things. Along the way, we found a shop with sandwiches and pastries, where we each picked out something for dinner. Sarah and I felt we could handle the market, seeing how we have done European markets for over a month now. But each country has it's quirks. I knew we were expected to wear a plastic glove provided to pick out our produce. No problem. But what I didn't know was that you are supposed to weigh your produce at a weighing station and put a sticker on each item with the price. It probably didn't matter we didn't know because I don't think we would have been able to figure it out in Italian anyways. But our clerk was ticked when we checked out. She had to have someone come over and take all our produce and weigh it. By the time the guy came back, there was a bit of a line behind us. Oops! All we could do was apologize. In English.
To make ourselves feel better over the blunder, we stopped at a cannoli shop and we each picked one out. Cold and exhausted, we got home, put on our jammies and snuggled into blankets while we watched a movie on Netflix and ate one of the most delicious cannoli's known to mankind!
Wednesday:
So today we really did have our tour of the Sistine Chapel, and due yesterday's dress rehearsal, we knew exactly how to get there. I really make it a point to have the boys lead in the metro so I know they know what to do and they don't have to be scared of it.
Our metro stop - Re Di Roma and yet one more smoulder by Jacob.
Our first glimpse of St Peter's from the start of our Vatican Museum tour.
Since we aren't supposed to take pictures of the Sistine chapel ceiling, I took one of this ceiling instead. We bi-passed most of the museums, knowing we wouldn't really remember all of the artwork and wanting Michelangelo's work to be what really stuck out in the boys' minds when looking back on the experience.
We were again thankful to have Rick Steves with us. He outlines the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in his book and gives descriptions of each section. We beat the tour groups into the room, so we were able to find a seat on the bench along the wall and then find each section and read about it. Because of that, we were actually able to understand what we were seeing and it made it more meaningful.
They don't want you taking pictures of the ceiling, so I made a big deal out of showing things on the ceiling I was reading from Rick's book while Sarah quietly held her phone on her lap and caught this shot which she was kind enough to share with me. We're so sneaky...
From the Sistine Chapel, we could have paid 20 euros each to get a VIP pass to enter the basilica grounds, but figured we could use our legs and just walk around the wall to St Peter's Basilica. Often there are huge lines to get into the basilica, especially since they've had to add security scanners to the entrance. But the line wasn't bad - maybe 20 minutes.
Wall around Vatican City.
You can't see the dome this close to the church, but you can see the chairs set up for when the pope comes out. He usually does that on Wednesdays, but he was out of town today. Maybe that's why the line wasn't too bad - people were avoiding the square thinking it would be crowded from the pop being there. St Peters is closed on the Wednesdays the pope is there, but I'd read online he was going to be gone.
Inside St Peter's
Having learned about it in school, Tyson was so excited to see the Pieta statue by Michelangelo Buonarroti inside the church. I love it when my kids can see the value of education. Tyson taught me that the statue represents Mary holding her infant son, but we get to see what his future is going to be.
The dome. You can't see them in this shot, but there are people up there.
We were already pretty tired, but when in Rome, you have to see Rome. So we paid the dues and climbed to the interior dome.
This is Jacob's top to bottom panorama shot.
Looking down into the church from the dome.
X
Looking down on the Vatican Museums. We were told that the Sistine Chapel is right in the middle at the bottom - the building right above the X. Apparently, the stove that smoke comes out of when a new pope is chosen is just to the right of the chapel.
View of Vatican City
Looking down at the courtyard in front of St Peters from the dome.
Looking back at the dome from on top of the church.
Right in between these columns is where we stood.
Getting a backside view of the statues on top of the church entrance
Vatican guards outside the church
St Peter's courtyard and building
We knew that the best restaurants are away from the touristy areas, but by the time we left St Peter's we were starving and exhausted and didn't care. We just wanted to sit and eat. And you can't go wrong with pizza and pasta, right? Well... the food was ok. The menu at this place was in 6 languages, so they cater to tourists constantly. I wonder when the last time is that a native Italian ate here?
It did have a neat interior
We had planned to go tour St Angelo's Castle next, but it required more stairs and we just didn't have it in us to do it. We walked to it and found a Rome magnet at a little stand just in front of it. There was also a guy there singing Coldplay's Viva la Vida, which I have had stuck in my head for days! Instead of the tour, we decided to walk along the river for a bit. It sounds romantic, but the River Tiber is green and not so pretty looking.
St Angelo's Castle
I did, however, love coming back up the stairs from the river to have a beautiful building like this sitting there for me to enjoy!
The weather was so much warmer this afternoon. We found this lovely Piazza and just had to stop and rest in it and enjoy the palm trees. Jacob said it felt like San Diego. Could the sky by any bluer?!
I took this picture just because the lighting on the church was so spectacular.
I could live here.
It wouldn't be Italy without a scooter shot.
We found this lovely restaurant with yummy sandwiches and homemade chips for dinner. However, their cannoli wasn't as good as the ones by our house. Darn it!
We arrived home completely exhausted again and after running a load of laundry, no one complained about going to bed.
Thursday:
We finally had time to use some of that great produce we bought - besides the bananas and oranges we'd had for breakfast yesterday in our hurry to get out the door. Our host, Andrea, also bought us a lovely bottle of red wine. We felt bad just leaving it there and knew we couldn't take it on the airplane with us since we weren't checking any bags. So we bought onions and mushrooms and cooked them in some of the wine and made omelets. Um, yum! That fueled us to start yet another day filled with walking.
We watched Roman Holiday the week before we left for Rome so everyone could get excited about what we were going to be seeing. When Gregory Peck calls for a taxi, he asks to be taken to Via Margutta. I googled it to see if it was really a place, and it is. They did a little of the filming at the actual address Gregory Peck gives, but the rest was done on a sound stage.
Street sign
Entrance to the courtyard
The courtyard. There is no circular staircase - that was on the set.
Close up of courtyard
Via Margutta - a really lovely street
Our metro stop was Spagna and comes out right at the Spanish Steps, so we headed back that way, passing this beautiful flower stand.
The one drawback of the beautiful sunshine is the harsh shadows in pictures. Here are the Spanish Steps - in the shade.
We really wanted to sit on the steps and eat gelato like Audrey Hepburn, but they actually don't allow eating on the steps and have police monitoring the steps and making people with food leave. Jacob has become our selfie stick expert. At first he was so embarrassed when I'd pull it out, but then he realized everyone has one and now he wants to be the picture taker. He does a good job! He also does all of my pano shots.
View from the steps
We did get our gelato, but it wasn't great and it was expensive. We had a hard time finding good food in Rome in general. It just capitalizes too much on tourists, and when those are the areas you are in, then there just isn't a way to get away from it. At least not on foot.
We followed Rick's guide through the heart of Rome. Our next stop was the incredible Trevi Fountain. It's unfathomable how the Roman's advanced civilization. Here marks the genius of building aqueducts to bring in fresh water from outside the city. Can you imagine this being where you get to go each day to draw fresh water?
I only had 2 smaller coins - I wasn't willing to give up a whole euro - so only Tyson and Jacob threw in coins over their shoulders. I guess Sarah and I are never coming back to Rome. Sad for us!
This column depicts the conquests of Marcus Aurelius from around 150 AD - it's so old!
While the building itself is not longer there, these columns from the Temple of Hadrian remain, also from around 150 AD. I just can't get over how old their history is!
The Pantheon - around 125 AD
Dome of the Pantheon
Obelisk in front of the Pantheon
There are so few metro stops, that we had to make our way back to the Spanish Steps and its metro station. However, we weren't ready to go back and just sit in our apartment. After all, we are in Rome and you should really see Rome when you are there. So we wandered around a bit more. This is a beautiful side street over from the top of the Spanish Steps. We also decided to actually go inside the church at the top of the steps.
We sat on the steps and people watched for a while, trying to guess where people were from based on how they were dressed and seeing if we could tell what language they were speaking. We stayed until the crowds got really large.
We arrived back by our apartment before sunset and just weren't ready to be inside when the weather was so lovely. So what do you do? Go back to the cannoli shop! Then we crossed to the park in the middle of our round about and did more people watching while eating delicious cannoli's. All of the benches around us were filled with groups of friends, mostly 50-70 year olds, all chatting away. It was like we were witnessing a regular nightly gathering that happens when all of the gossip of the day is exchanged. It was fun to watch and guess what was happening. Then, as the groups broke up, we imagined them going back to housing similar to what we were staying in. It was a peaceful way to end a long day.
Friday:
Before checking out, I wanted to grab a shot of the view from our airbnb apartment. This is the park in the middle of the round about in front of our building. The buildings in the background are on the opposite side of the circle where we found the market and the cannoli shop. Out the back windows, we overlook the courtyard. Most of the buildings seem to form a square around a courtyard and out the back windows is where you hang your laundry to dry.
Our check out was easy. Just leave the keys on the table and walk out the door. However, our flight wasn't until after 8pm and we still wanted to explore - but not with our backpacks all day. I had asked Andrea if there was somewhere for us to leave our bags for the day and he arranged for us to leave them at his parent's apartment just a few metro stops away - which was very nice of them! Andrea gave us the address. I had found an app that worked as an offline map, so I could use it to get around without having to use my cellular data. It has been awesome! I just put the address into the app and it lead us right to their building. We had to ring up to their apartment and communicate with his mother as best we could. At least she knew we were coming, so when the American started talking, she buzzed us right in. Their apartment seemed to have a very similar layout to the one we had just checked out of. We were able to leave our bags in their front entry.
Waiting for the metro with our backpacks - and feeling so grateful we don't have to lug them around all day!
There was one last area we wanted to explore just a little west of where we had been yesterday. And we're glad we did. We found so many beautiful little roads - exactly what you hope to see in Italy! After passing some of the government, presidential buildings, we wandered down beautiful streets until we reached the the Piazza Navona.
View from government area
Government buildings - can't tell you more about them cause I just don't know
In the Piazza Navona
The smoulder...
My last request on such a sunny day was to eat at an outdoor cafe where Tyson finally found the salmon pasta he wanted. Jacob was thrilled there was cheese pizza everywhere we went.
And then we just meandered down any street that looked interesting and took pictures of things that made us happy. We wandered into shops and ate gelato. It was the perfect way to spend a day that was 70 degrees. It was truly heaven!
Some of my favorite streets and doorways:
Mmm - gelato
We eventually circled back around to the Piazza Navona and exited the Piazza from a different corner to discover a McDonalds sitting right there. Now, it may seem silly to go there when you are in the heart of Italy, but a Coke Zero with ice just called to me. That, and an available bathroom and a chance to sit. When we walked in, there were about 6 kiosks in the lobby. You use them to order your food. The first thing you do is click on your flag so it's in a language you understand, then you can order your food, even customizing your order. When you are done, you can pay by card, or it prints out a receipt with your total and a number. You stand in line with that ticket and when your order is ready, your number is called and you pick up your order - and pay cash, if that was your method of payment. Ingenious for a place that must cater to so many languages!
Jacob and I saved some seats upstairs and we could see down to the lobby where Tyson and Sarah were waiting for our number to be called. We couldn't believe how crowded it was in there in the middle of the afternoon!
Cold drinks and happy faces. And Jacob's smoulder.
We ended our journey at the Piazza del Popolo. We could tell we could climb behind the structure in the middle of the picture below, so we headed there. At the top was a beautiful view of the city with what must be Rome's equivalent to Central Park. We walked through the park, which was just the perfect way to end our time in Rome and the sunshine.
Piazza del Popolo
Overlooking the Piazza del Popolo
St Peter's dome in the background view
Part of the old city wall in the park
Tyson found bamboo in the park
Temple of Asclepius - 1786
With not much time to spare, we stopped and grabbed some pizza before we had to leave.
By 5pm, we had to head back to Andrea's parent's apartment to grab our backpacks. His mom was there babysitting Andrea's little girl - she couldn't have been more than about 9 months and she was so cute and smiley! We thanked his mom as best we could with our limited Italian and were on our way. Or so we thought. One stand along the street caught our eye. They had had ties out earlier and we found the shop behind it open. Knowing his call was coming soon, Tyson wanted to buy a tie he could say he got in Italy. He also got one for his friend, Daniel Steed, who had just gotten his call to Iowa. Sarah and I eyed the purses. We each found one we like at a reasonable price. And who doesn't want a bag they can say they got in Rome! It took some rearranging to combine them so we'd be able to get them on the airplane, but we were happy with our last minute purchases.
We hurried onto the metro to go the the Termini stop. There, we would be able to find a train to the airport. But when we got there it was crowded and confusing, so we just hopped in a taxi and had him take us. Thankfully, there is a flat flee they are required to charge from Termini station to the airport (thanks to Rick for that tip!) because we got stuck in some traffic, but didn't have to pay the extra we would have been charged otherwise.
Overall, we loved Rome. It's beautiful and so full of history. There are so many layers to uncover and explore. At the same time, it is a HUGE city - and that makes it a little overwhelming, too. Sarah has an app on her phone that monitored our steps. It calculated that in 4 days we walked over 24 miles. That's more than 6 miles a day. It means that in 4 days we walked more than a marathon! We will miss the sunshine and the temperatures as we head back to grey and cold Lithuania. But at the same time, we still feel like we're going home.
Ciao Roma!
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