When in Rome

A whirlwind 3 days spent in Rome, after the better part of two days spent in airports and overnight on a plane.  The kids continue to be great little travelers, rallying when the going gets tough.  Our suitcases are stuffed with newfound treasures, we've packed and repacked what feels like 100 times.  We have no truly clean clothes left, we've lost two hats, one iPad charger, and I'm sure several other things we haven't missed yet.  We've left clothing, toys, food, beer, wine behind at various stops because we just didn't want to carry it.  We've completely lost track of time, no idea what day it is on any given day- just where we are in our itinerary.  We are down to 4 nights, 3 flights, and one train left.  We are all going through the emotions experienced at the end of a journey- can't believe it's gone so fast, not ready for it to be over, but ready to be home. We miss friends and family, we miss our beds, our routines,  toys, and clothes.  There is so much we did, and so much we didn't get to do but put on our list for next time.  We learned so much, developed new perspectives, new tastes, new flexibility, new stamina.  We got out of our comfort zone long enough to feel comfortable with it, and that is what it was all about. 

Our 3 days in Rome are best described in pictures... So, when in Rome:

We stop to gawk and pose at all the major landmarks- this is the Fontana di Trevi

We stop for pizza.  A lot.  And real coke- no hfcs here!  Just good old fashioned
sugar to power us through the heat and miles. 

We shop.  Hats, purses, shoes, trinkets... but we don't buy that much, our suitcases are full!

We ride on Daddy's shoulders... so much walking, which is great for
adults but when little legs quit that's it!

We eat gelato...

We take illicit photos of the Sistine Chapel (I didn't know it was illegal, I swear!)

We join in Papa Mania. It's hard not to!

We eat more gelato... Sometimes as bribery to get to the next bus/train/hotel/pizzeria, as
was clearly the case in this picture- poor baby looks exhausted!
Saint Peter's Basilica and the Vatican behind Maggie. 

We take the red double decker tour bus!  Half this city is tourists this time of year,
and our pathetic attempt at speaking Italian gives us away anyway, so why not?
It's impossible to know what you're looking at unless on a tour... even still it's like
drinking from a fire hose to absorb all this history! 

We walk... and walk... and walk...
This is the Colosseum... mind boggling how intact it is,
and what went on here.  You can picture the lions and gladiators. 

We try to picture Rome at the height of the Empire...   And the
people who built this most impressive place by hand.  I've looked
at pictures of all of this before, but none of it makes a real impression until you
see it in person.  I just could not stop saying "it's so OLD!" "It's GORGEOUS!",
"It's AMAZING!".

We rest on some steps, sketching and daydreaming.  We later took
a tour of this building, which, it turns out, is a chapel from the 14th century, under a cathedral
from the 15th century, all built upon an underground prison from about 400 BC.  It is claimed that
this is THE prison that held St. Peter, disciple of Christ, before his execution.  We stood in the small damp
dungeon that has been recently re-discovered.  Crazy. 

This is the church that is built on the chapel that is built on the prison! This entire city
is built in layers, one era upon another, which is why it is so hard to know what you are looking
at in any one given place.  You are looking at well over 2000 years of civilization on one piece of earth. 

It must be said that I had no expectation for Rome.  I wasn't even thinking about our trip to Rome.  We booked it months ago, made a loose plan for things we wanted to see, and that was it.  It was such a "P.S." to our 5 weeks in Africa.  But it really did blow me away.  The beauty, the history, the complexity of this place.  The food, oh my, the food.  And the wine, and the gelato.  And the flowers on every balcony and every street corner.  People everywhere, tiny streets, more tiny trattorias than you can count- sometimes you can't tell where one ends and the other begins.  So quaint and massive at the same time.  I can honestly say I enjoyed our time in Rome so much more than I thought I would!  And then there's Amalfi... but that's another post!