Roma with Lena, Day 3

     Our day began with another long walk, We had tickets for the Vatican Museums at 10:30, and it was a good hours walk. So we set out 2 hours before, just to give ourselves time to explore on the way. We arrived at Saint Peters Square around 9:45am. There were plenty of people milling around, getting pictures of the Nativity (Jesus isn't in the Manger, because it wasn't Christmas yet.) and the massive Christmas tree in the middle of the square.

     One thing I didn't realize was just how far the entrance to the museum was. After about 15 minutes I figured we would head on over in case there was a line. I swear, it felt like the longest walk. You follow the massive Vatican Walls all the way around to the other side. You pass by tour hawkers at every step of the 20-25 minute walk. Once again, glad we pre-purchased our tickets as we passed the massive line waiting to buy tickets, we were let right in. It was so crowded, but I held out hope that it would be spacious enough, like the British Museum, to not matter. I was wrong. So wrong. I think this was my only mistake on the entire trip, besides getting us lost the night before.
     Somehow we were not handed a map for the museum, but I had my handy dandy travel book with a map inside. Little good did that do. This place was like a labyrinth. No clear markings as to which way to go beyond the huge ENTRANCE sign. We just followed the mass and hoped they knew where they were going. This was Lena's first real museum. We have been to the ROM in Canada, and the Science Museum as well. But she was so young and it didn't have a big impact on her like this.

So excited!

View of St. Peter's Basilica. 

This seems to be a reproduction of Michelangelo's Pieta. Still beautiful.

Washing of Jesus.

The colors were so vivid!

Enormous tapestry of The Last Supper

The Transfiguration.

Dragon Slayer

One of the original Pope Mobiles. 

Mummy. Lena loved the Egyptian exhibits.

The original Tuna (tunameltsmyheart)

The ceilings were amazing.

This sculpture reminded us of Zane.

This was at the exit. There was a matching one at the entrance.

     As you can see, after the HOURS inside, with thousands of other people, we were done. The museum was confusing and after finally finding someone to help us, it was explained that the museum is ONE WAY only. No back tracking. Missed something, too bad. There were several of us that were wandering around helplessly trying to figure out how to get to the rest of the exhibits. When you enter, you can go to the right or straight ahead. The left entrance is NOT clear at all. So we were wandering around the right, and straight to the outside... still no clue there was a way to get to the left from the same entrance. The map was of no use as it didn't explain what we were going to see, just names of the rooms in Italian. People stood in front of displays for minutes, not allowing anyone else to get in a view it. We did a lot of pass-by viewing. Many rooms had a single or a very narrow double door to exit. It would take several minutes just to get out. And people, leave the strollers at home! If you have an infant, invest in a carrier. A huge stroller that takes up the space of 4 people is really inappropriate inside a super crowded museum. By the time we got to the Sistine Chapel, we had been there for about 3 hours.

     You enter the Sistine Chapel rather unceremoniously. I was rather shocked to find myself in it. Oh, we are here!? There are guards constantly shouting, "ATTENTION! ATTENTION! QUIET PLEASE! NO PICTURES! NO PHOTOS!" The noise level of the crowd would rise, pictures were taken, and this warning would have to be repeated over and over again. Reminded me of lunch time in elementary school. =) We were ushered in quickly and found a place in the crowd to stand, and just stared. Heads up, necks cricked. It's really a lot to take in. We moved through a false wall and found a place to sit and were able to take it all in a little better. I think we could have spent longer in it, studying every nook and cranny, but the crowds were getting to us, and exhaustion was setting in. So we made a run for it. Overall, I think I would have chosen to skip this museum all together. Kids under a certain age would hate this part of the trip. 

     We needed food. A common theme. I figured there should be some decent place to eat just outside the Vatican. Once again there are hawkers on the streets trying to entice you into eating. We got stopped by one and went into the restaurant. After a few minutes of viewing the menu, and the surroundings, we decided to high tail it out of there! I am glad we did. We stopped at the bridge, and took some amazing pictures.

     We were ready to chew each others arms off at this point, our bodies hurt and we were so tired. We stumbled onto a nice looking restaurant called Ponte Vittorio. We sat at this little table and was served by this nice Italian man who didn't seem to speak a word of English. We handed him Lena's allergy card and he gave us the thumbs up, no problem! We ordered and waited anxiously for our food. When it came, we were not disappointed. It was delicious! We got ourselves some macchiatos at the end, and hit the road back to our hotel. 

We made one last stop at the Cat Sanctuary again, bought a few gifts and got back to the hotel to pack and relax. We needed to get up very early in the morning.

     We knew we had better eat one last meal so after packing and resting we set out to find something very close to our hotel. The first place we stopped at told us they could not provide us with a safe meal. They were very kind about it, so we left and looked for another place. Lena really wanted pasta with veggies, so we were stopping and reading every menu. (Restaurants are required to post their menu outside with prices.) We found one that seemed to fit the bill, and sat down. 30 minutes later I was so mad, they seemed to have forgotten us. We had ordered a very simple meal, and others around us were getting served first. I was able to flag down the waiter and asked him very sharply what the deal was. He looked at us like Oh, crap, and ran in to see what was going on. He came out and said 5 minutes. I told Lena if it's not in front of us in those 5 minutes we were leaving. 4 minutes later, our food was there. It was meh. My spaghetti was so so, the sauce was too acidic, lacked flavor, and didn't sit well. Lena's mushroom fettuccine was also so so. She couldn't finish it. We quickly asked for the check and left. I left a whole euro on the table as a tip, out of pity. I am not sure if I should post the name out of the restaurant, but it was called Ristorante Esperia. I wont link to it, so you can do your own research on it. (Via Firenze 16-17)

     We got up at 5:45, got ready and ate a quick breakfast. (Thanks for having an early breakfast hotel!) As we checked out I threw out an Arrivaderci! to the hotel staff, to which I got a uproarious laughter. They loved it and replied in kind.

We took some last minute pictures inside the train station.

Pictures on the train.

We are sad to be leaving Italy. Do we really have to go?

We have lost our minds.

Beautiful clouds.

 And the sun Shining on the Mediterranean Sea.

     And we were home again. One trip we have been planning for years is to take Lena to London. She is fascinated by it's history and has been reading historical novels that take place during the reign of King Henry the VIII. So, expect some more travel blogging in the future!

Roma, with Lena Day 2

     Ahhh, We crashed so early. After being up for 20 hours, Lena said I laid down at 9:05 and by 9:07 I was snoring. I am glad we got some good sleep, because it was Colosseum day!! Last year we covered Roman history, so this was the epitome of excitement for Lena. We got up and showered, headed down for breakfast and Lena got to try the Macchiato. We got lucky that there were boiled eggs, lettuce, cheese and tomato for her to eat. We came prepared with oatmeal just in case, but it was nice to be able to share breakfast together.

     The morning was a crisp 3*c (37*f). It was Saturday and the rest of the world was just waking up. It was lovely to walk down the roads with no one else on them. The fall leaves on the trees. We made sure to leave plenty of time on our walk so we could stop and take it all in.

     Lena and I chatted on our walk, about how I was so excited about how she was finally at the age to enjoy these kinds of trips, she told me how she just couldn't wait to be standing in history, to be in the presence of a place that has been around for thousands of years. When my husband and I came, we booked a tour with www.citywonders.com and I made sure to book it again for Lena and I. We had requested Patrizia, but alas, she was not available.
     When we rounded the corner, the sun was right in our faces, but you could see the Colosseum!

"Am I really here!?"

The meeting point for the tour was at the top of these steps.

Our tour guide this time was Alexandria.

     We were extremely fortunate that day. The entrance was backed up and Alexandria knew someone. Next thing we know, she is turning around explaining that we have been given a special treat today. Special entrance to the Arena floor! Normally this is an extra cost, and would shave 20-30 minutes off our time in the Forum, but it was worth it! We passed through security and entered what was called, the Gate of Death. This was where the Gladiators entered the Arena. As we entered I turned to Lena and said, now imagine you are a Gladiator entering the Arena, the cheers and the noise of the spectators in the stands. 70,000 people crowded in to witness the battles that were to take place that day. Everyone had their favorite Gladiator, and would be cheering or of course, booing. 

We learned that the Colosseum held something like 50 public toilets, the first in history! 

The dungeons.

Security is everywhere in Rome, all major sites and gathering areas had the Interpool or Polizia.

They attempted a restoration, and for support in the early 1900's.

Here you can see the missing outer rings.

One interesting fact we learned was the origin of the word vomit.

The vomitoria of the Colosseum in Rome were reportedly able to allow 50,000 people to enter and be seated within 15 minutes; presumably they would be able to exit in an equally rapid manner, thus earning the passageway its name. 

Lena couldn't stop admiring the horses.

     When I was planning this trip, I wanted to find something quirky and different for us to do. And we found it in the Torre Argentina Cat Sanctuary. Lena loves cats, but is allergic to them. We have one, but she is an outdoor cat. So to be able to visit all these cats was a dream come true. The day had warmed up to a balmy 15*c (60*f). Perfect for our adventurous day.

This cat just decided to make it's self at home on Lena's back.

This one literally jumped out and screamed PET ME!

     By now we were starving. The Colosseum tour had ended at 1pm, and with our walk and visit to the sanctuary, it was nearing 3pm. So we set out to find lunch. We found it at Origano. Lena was dying to try lasagna.  

Italy with out espresso is not worth visiting. 

     And we were off. We needed to return to the Pantheon before they closed. When we arrived, there was a HUGE line. We kind of panicked and Lena asked if we should just come back another time. I told her, lets try it, we could be surprised. And we were. The line lasted all of 2 minutes and then we were ushered into the Pantheon. Wow. It's still amazing. There was no smell of incense that day, but it did not detract from the amazing fact that it's over 2000 years old. There is a giant hole in the middle of the ceiling and you could tell the floor had a slight slope from the center to the walls for when it rained, or snowed. 

It always astounds me that we were standing in a place where for centuries pagan rituals took place. Millions of people, possibly billions, have been inside this place.

     The sun is starting to set. And we decided to head over to the main shopping district just for the fun of it. 

So many restaurants were decorated.

Many streets had lights strung like this.

Huge Stitch inside the Disney Store.

Chestnuts! They smelled wonderful and were on almost every street corner.

So many people! This street was active with cars, but the people, and cars didn't mind. They just drove slowly and people parted to let them pass. 

When we had visited as many shops as we could handle, we decided it was time to head home. Hunger was setting in again, but first we passed by the Spanish Steps.

Such a pretty building! Lights were twinkling. 

     Unfortunately after this we wandered a little off course and I got us so off track, we added an additional 45 minutes to our walk home!. I had to laugh about it, Lena was not as amused as I was. So we popped into a grocery store and bought some goodies and checked out the crazy fish selection of sea urchins, squid, huge eyed fish and whole shrimp.

And then stopped for Pizza at Est! Est! Est! (4/a Via Principe Amedeo off of Via Viminale.) It was close to our hotel and we were so tired from our long day. 12+ hours of walking that day. And tomorrow was another big day. So off to bed we went.