We are getting very good at the trains! I think we have it down now, in fact we are starting to help others find their train and cart! With that said Rome started off with a rough start. We did not exit at the main train station; our accommodations were a bit outside the city center. We decided to stay outside to save on cost. When we got off the train the station was in one of the roughest areas we have encountered thus far. Plus, our directions were guiding us to walk down a highway through some dark underpasses. We walked a little closer to each other and made sure the girls stayed between us. Before we headed next to highway we stepped back in looked at alternative paths, we found one that was a bit longer, but felt more comfortable.
After reaching our apartment, we looked back and realized it probably was not as bad as we first reacted, just a bit dirtier and isolated than anywhere else we had walked. The AirBnB was pretty nice, it was right in a residential complex. It was neat in the fact that it had a court yard in the middle, where all the doors opened to, of the building and each floor had cloth lines across the court yard. Just one of those small things we have only seen in pictures. It really brings home the old saying “hanging out your laundry for everyone to see”.
The next day, our first day in Rome, it rained all day. It was hard rain all day, so we stayed in instead of touring the first day in Rome. The girls did some much-needed school work and we lounged around. It was actually a nice break, since we have been touring and walking nearly every day. Inside the AirBnB was a small two room apartment with a little loft over the main bed. Chris and I took the main bed and the girls slept in the loft, we could not have stood up in the loft!
We made it to the city the next day. We figured out the bus/tram system to the city, since it was too far to walk. As stated above this was planned, because the cost was so much cheaper to stay just outside. The first time heading to the tourist district, we did get on the right bus, but in the wrong directions, which we realized 20 minutes later. It was easy enough to jump off and catch the bus going the other way.
Ever since we arrived in Italy Chris and I had been hyping Brooklyn up that in Rome we would see all kinds of cats. When we were there 17 years ago there were cats everywhere, in fact they had post card booklets and photo booklets of “The Cats of Rome”. She was excited and ready for all the cats, which never came! Rome has cleared the cats. I did a little research and found there was a sanctuary where the cats are now living. Instead of roaming the streets the cats have been spade and neutered and are up for adoption now, so we headed that way to view the cats from afar, but even there was only seen a handful. She was a bit disappointed.
We had three main goals in Rome, the Coliseum, Vatican, and Roman Forum. We decided to head to the Coliseum first. The Coliseum was just as I remembered it 17 years ago when Chris and I visited, although the half-rebuilt floor that exist now, had just begun to be built. The girls were really not that impressed. Chris kept trying to get them to image the Coliseum in all its glory when it was used, but they just wouldn’t go for it. They just say another old building. Chris things there would have had an actual fight to get them interested.
After the Coliseum, we headed to the Roman Forum to walk around for a bit before heading over to the Fountain of Trevi. We strolled through the ruins and the girls interest peaked a little bit more, but not nearly as much as ours. After walking down the main walkway they were finished and ready to move on. We still made them explore a little more before heading to the fountain. They seemed to like the fountain a lot more, though Chris thinks it was because they got to sit down. They might have been tired of walking. We all through a coin in for good luck. We also got a kick out of the guards blowing their whistles at people who were sitting on the fountain where they shouldn’t be, even a father was asked to move his baby!
The next day, we spent the entire day at the Vatican Museum and went on a treasure hunt! One of the options for touring the Vatican was a kid guided treasure hunt. We thought if we did it the girls would be a bit more engaged and last longer, so we did the kids version of the audio guided tour. Additionally, the kid’s version provided audio that was on a kids level and presented some of the interesting articles in a manner to keep their attention. We spent several hours going through the museum, the kid’s version was a good decision. We all had a good time, we got to cover the majority of the museum and nobody really fussed. It ended with the Sistine Chapel, which I could stare at for hours.
We made it just in time to the get into line to go into Saint Peter’s Basilica after the museum. The girls were a bit more excited about this church because Chris had been telling the girl wait to you see the jewels hallway. It never came up in Museum which left us confused, until we did a little research to find out the jewels are in the Saint Peter’s Treasury inside the Basilica. After wading through the line and getting into the church we head directly to the Treasury to find out is closed 5 minutes before we arrived. Chris was quite disappointed. We spent a bit more time in the church, before heading the courtyard and post office. We picked up a couple of postcards and sent them through the Vatican City mail to some friends and family and finally called it a day. It was our last day in Rome and we had a pretty early train to Venice.
