Somewhere we've wanted to go for some time now is Rome. It's been on our European "bucket list" and so we finally made plans to make a trip there in February. We really should take advantage of where we live and visit more places, but honestly it's such a hassle that it's easier for me to stay home. I know some day I'll regret being that way. BUT...we did make it to Rome!
We took a flight out of Baden-Baden, which is about 1 1/2 hours away. It's kind of a hassle to get there and have the drive home when we return, but it's a great little airport to leave from. It reminds me a lot of our airport back home. Very laid back and small. It wasn't too long of a flight, which was so nice since most often when we get on airplanes anymore we're in for a 9-11 hour flight. I guess it's a price we pay for living overseas. You can't see it very well in the picture below, but Elly had to wear her kitty ears the entire way :)
We rented a small villa from Home Away. My preference would have been to stay in a more tourist friendly area where we could actually catch the Hop on/Hop off bus or ask the hotel staff the best way to get somewhere, but instead we were down a quaint little alley. We had to walk a little ways to catch a bus. It was a nice area, but kind of difficult to navigate from there on our own...although we made it.
The day we arrived we did nothing, but get settled in. The heat wasn't working for a couple of hours and it was quite chilly. By the time it got fixed it was getting late, so we walked to find a store and some food. By the time we got back we just went to bed so we could get an early start the next day.
The next morning we headed out to find the Colosseum. It's always funny to me how normal it feels to be in places that we've heard so much about and has so much history. We were driving along in the bus and looked out the window and there was the Roman Colosseum. So much history and it's just right there. We were fortunate to have bought the Roma Pass which helped us to bypass a long line at the Colosseum. It was fantastic to see, but of course pictures could never really do it justice. Just to give you an idea of how old the Colosseum is, construction was started in 70 AD and finished in 80 AD. It could hold between 50,000 and 80,000 spectators. Wow!
Arco di Constantino
Elly's gotten really good at taking pictures :)
There's not much left of the original arena floor, but the hypogeum (or underground) is still clearly visible. It consisted of a two-level subterranean network of tunnels and cages beneath the arena where gladiators and animals were held before contests began
Looking over at Palatine Hill from the Colosseum.
Elly got bored so she and Sam played some hide and seek among the ruins.
"If I close my eyes no one can see me"
Ready to go into the Roman Forum
Watching one of the cats of Rome
We stayed in an area called Trastevere, where they have one of the oldest churches in Rome, Santa Maria. It was built around 221. One evening we checked it out.
The Pantheon was built as a temple to all the ancient gods of Rome. It was built around 126AD and to this day the Pantheon's dome is still the world's largest unreinforced concrete dome (according to Wikipedia) :).
Taking a break for some gelato
We couldn't have Elly visit the Trevi Fountain without throwing a coin in.
Supposedly that ensures she will return to Rome someday.
The Spanish Steps were not as impressive without all the flowers lining the steps that you usually see in pictures. We still walked all the way to the top though...just to say we did it :)
Elly needed a time out for some play one day. We found a nice little playground that she had fun at.
Starting the tour at the Vatican. This probably wasn't one of our better ideas with a 3 year old. I'm sure the tour guide was giving lots of great information, but we didn't hear much of it. Elly was over it before it began. It was probably interesting, but we didn't get a lot out of it.
Meanwhile.....
We endured the entire tour to finish off with the grand finale of the Sistine Chapel. It was a bit anti-climatic though, in my opinion. All through the Vatican you see beautifully painted ceilings and walls, so by the time you get to the Sistine Chapel it's just another room and not really as awesome as it would be if you saw it first. It was neat to see the paintings of Creation by Michelangelo, but otherwise it's a very small room and I wasn't as blown away as I thought I would be.
After our tour of the Vatican ended we went to get in line for St. Peter's Basilica. I actually enjoyed this more than anything. It was just such a massive old church and beautiful. Par for the course, Elly had to go potty as soon as we got inside so it was a very hurried visit. I could have spent a lot more time in there. Elly and Daddy got ice cream cones that they ate in the line leading into the Basilica :)
One of the massive columns at the front of St. Peter's.
Since Vatican City is considered it's own country, they have their own post office too. Kind of neat.
One of the things I loved about Rome is the history on just about every corner. These ruins were right at our bus stop. They were unearthed during a demolishion project in 1926.
What history this place has!
Sometime during our last night in Rome I pulled my back somehow. I could not move without excruciating pain. To this day I don't know how I managed to do all the walking to get to the airport and actually sit all the way home. It was miserable and I was in tears. God really helped me get through it though. The day after we got home I went to the doctor. As with just about every other doctor's visit here in Germany I never really knew what was wrong (language barrier and all), but he gave me some meds to help the pain and after a week or so I was feeling much better. Thank God!
