Italy Part 1: When in Rome....And Vatican City

​I have been to a great many places in my life. Traveling is a dream come true to me. My fire for wanderlust started in 2012 when I traveled to Dubai to see my husband at a port call. I LOVED seeing how people on the other side of the world live.....SO completely different from the way I was raised. The buildings were different, the food, the smells, the people...it took my breath away and automatically had me begging to see more!  In all of the cities and countries that I have traveled to, Italy is my second favorite country after my own.   Rome and Florence are the most beautiful cities I have had the honor of seeing. That my eyes could have the treat of this incredible beauty still fills me with a gratefulness that cannot be described in mere words.
 
These next two blog posts are going to be about our journey to Rome, Vatican City, Tuscany (the region), Florence, and Pisa.  I will begin with Rome, or Roma in Italiano...

​Roma
My mom came to visit from the states in August, so we picked her up from the airport in Rome. In August, Italians go on vacation to the mountains and the sea, so many restaurants and stores were closed.  However, there were still a lot of tourists in Rome.  It was very hot and very crowded. Being from Pennsylvania, my mother was not used to the heat and humidity of southern Italy, so it took her some time to get used to the weather, the area, and the country. 
 
My youngest son’s name is Roman and it was a top bucket list item for him to have a picture taken in Rome with the caption:  We found Roman in Rome.  It’s only a 1 hour train ride from Napoli to Roma or a 2.5 hour drive. We drove because it was more cost effective than buying 6 train tickets. 
 
We purchased a small map book of Rome that opens and closes and has pictures of how historical landmarks like the colosseum and the structures in the Palatine hill & Roman Forum used to look and how they look now, along with descriptions. My son, Roman, took on the endeavor of finding every landmark in the book and reading about it to us.  It was very interactive and fun for him. I highly recommend using this type of book in Rome.  Otherwise, you’ll find yourself looking at a lot of ruins and guessing what they were. Just thinking about the history.....the rise and fall of the Roman empire.... is something that has always fascinated me.  Seeing it in person, I really wanted to take in the experience and understand what I was seeing.

We found Roman in Rome!

La famiglia at the Colosseum

Roman using the Roman landmark book

Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore & Trevi Fountain
We toured the beautiful Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore.  It was our first taste of a Roman Basilica. There were several tombs of various popes under the basilica and breathtaking gold trim, painted angels and biblical scenes, and intricate marble tile from floor to ceiling.  The standard of architecture for churches in Rome is extremely high.  This being the first church we viewed, truly set the tone for the beauty that awaited us.
 
 We walked to the Trevi fountain, where we all threw coins in to guarantee a trip back to Rome. The Trevi Fountain is full of impressive sculptures. In the center is Oceanus being pulled by two seahorses.  One of the seahorses is wild and one tame.  It’s supposed to represent the different moods of the sea. The sculptures in Roma do not disappoint. They are full of detail and drama.  I find that I could truly stare at their detail for hours if given the time.
​

The Trevi Fountain

Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore

****Insider tip: If you plan to visit Rome, do yourself a favor........PLAN your trip. I mean it! Rome is extremely crowded and having tickets in advance can cause you to miss lines that could last for hours on end in the December cold or the August heat or any time of year. I promise you it’s worth paying the extra money to book in advance.
 
****Insider tip 2: I must be honest; any main tourist attraction in Rome is full of gypsies that pull elaborate schemes in order to make money.  People will walk up to you and give you a gift and tell you it’s a gift, then turn around and ask for money.  If you don’t have any coins on you and attempt to give it back, sometimes they begin to yell at you and make a scene. Many times, while this is going on, someone is being secretly robbed of his or her purse or wallet. This is only one example of a scenario that could happen. Be extremely cautious in ALL areas of Rome, but specifically tourist attractions. 
 
The Colosseum
The next day, we walked to the colosseum.  We purchased our tickets in advance on this website here. 
General admission was €14 per adult and free for any children under 18.  The website states that only 3000 people are allowed at the colosseum at once, so planning is key.  When we arrived to the colosseum, there were ticket scalpers selling tickets, as well as a very long legitimate ticket line.
 
The colosseum is partially rebuilt to keep the structure standing. I could literally feel the history seep into my soul as I looked upon this structure that housed SO much history. The gladiators, the beasts, the emperors, the spectators.....all spent time inside of this ancient structure for the pleasure of the public.  We did a self-guided tour inside, aka we walked around on our own.  The floor has been removed to reveal a maze of brick, wood, and mortar that used to be under the floor of the actual stadium.  We tried to envision where the Roman aristocrats sat, where the lions were kept, we tried to think of how many lives were lost within the walls of this magnificent structure. Next time we go to Rome, I want to do a ‘Colosseum Underground Tour’ where we go through the dungeons and the area near the top that is only available for that particular tour.  We weren’t up for a tour that day because we had a lot of other places to see, but I think to truly capture the history of the colosseum, a tour is essential. 

Inside the Colosseum

​The Roman Forum & Palatine Hill
From here, we walked to the Roman Forum & Palatine Hill.  Entry tickets for the Coliseum include entrance to these two other areas. This is where that tourist book really came in handy.  We could see the ruins of a structure and then the recreated version of what that structure used to be and really understand and envision what we were looking at. We saw the Imperial Forum of Julius Caesar, where the Temple of Venus used to sit at its center, Trajan’s Forum and markets (which is still pretty well intact), the Forum of Augustus, the Palatine (where many emperors are known to have resided....Romulus & Remis, Caesar, Septimus Severus, Augustus).  The Palatine is now mostly ruin from earthquakes, time, and traffic going around it, as well subway lines underneath.  
 
If you visit Rome in August, bring plenty of water and take frequent breaks (especially if your mother is visiting and working on a 6 hour time difference)....it is humid and hot as hades. We finished our day with a walk to the Spanish steps, at which point we wore my mama out! Haha She was very happy to sit down and enjoy an Italian aperitivo (cocktail that includes free snacks), as were we all! 

Roman Forum & Palatine Hill

Roman Forum & Palatine Hill

​Vatican City: St. Peter’s Square, St. Peter’s Basilica, The Sistine Chapel
For those that are not aware, Vatican City is its own country, the smallest country in the world at just over 100 acres. We decided to see Vatican City on our last day in Rome. This particular area was the furthest from our Airbnb, so after some debate, we packed up all of our stuff and drove to the area. We parked just a few blocks from the Vatican, about 100 yards from a Carabinieri (police) checkpoint on a very busy road, so we felt safe leaving our car there. On this trip, we had our 2001 BMW station wagon and it has a cover that covers the whole trunk, as do most cars here in Europe. So, usually, people walking by have no idea if your trunk is empty or full.  However, parking in a big city is always a risk.
 
Seeing St. Peter’s Square in person was a moment for me. I’ve seen St. Peter’s Square on TV, with the pope waving from his balcony, but on this day we did not have the good fortune to catch a glimpse of the pope.   We started out with walking through St. Peter’s Basilica. The basilica is full of incredible marble, gold, dramatic religious art, souring archways, and art as a feast for the eyes that could take days to take in.  Something that always resounds with me when I see a beautiful church is the amount of faith and love that has gone into every sculpture, painting, and tapestry. St. Peter’s Basilica is known as a church of the Italian Renaissance, with construction that started in the early 1500s. One of my favorite things to visit in Europe are historic churches. You would think that this church, being the epicenter of Christendom, would be quiet and peaceful.  In truth, it’s FULL of tourists and immigrants trying to swindle tourists..... it’s extremely crowded. Taking it all in will mean taking your time and tuning out everything around you.  St. Peter’s Basilica is free to visit, but there is an extra charge to tour the dome.  If you did not plan ahead and do decide to see the dome, you could end up in a very long line.

St. Peter's Basilica

Inside St. Peter's Basilica

​After viewing the square and the basilica, we made our way to the Sistine Chapel. I had purchased tickets in advance, but we were late for our appointed time. When I arrived at the chapel, there was a line around the block.....it looked like it could easily take 2+ hours. This line is for people that did not plan ahead and buy tickets. We walked ALL the way past all of those people to the front, showed the ticket, and were admitted entrance (even though we were late for our time by an hour or so).
Let me prepare you, the Sistine chapel is NOT just Michelangelo’s work of art.  It’s room upon room upon room upon room (you get the point) of paintings, tapestries, sculptures, and more.  After going through, what feels like, a billion rooms, you’ll come to the actual Sistine Chapel. It will take you hours to get through it if you truly want to see the beauty and wonder that is the rooms of art and, finally, the Sistine Chapel. The museum & chapel are not air conditioned, but the windows are cracked. There are so many people walking through that guards try to keep a constant flow of traffic to get everyone through.  If you want to stop and admire an artwork, you will need to walk to one of the sides, and out of the way of the crowd.  You came all this way to see the chapel and paid entrance, don't’ let anyone rush you through!!  Just be courteous that the traffic has to keep flowing. 

The crowd in one of the many rooms leading to the Sistine Chapel

In one of the many rooms leading up to the Sistine Chapel

​In the rooms upon rooms of art leading up to Michelangelo’s masterpiece, you are allowed to take photos. However, once entering the actual chapel, no photos are allowed, and people are supposed to be silent. They try to enforce these rules, but with the thousands upon thousands of tourists pouring in....it’s nearly impossible. The guards will still try to rush you through; even once you make it to the Sistine Chapel with Michelangelo’s work... do not allow it.  Walk out of the traffic and to the area where everyone is viewing the ceiling. There are small benches along the wall to sit on, if you want to sit, you’ll have to keep an eye out for someone getting up. It’s first come, first serve, and it’s crowded. We stayed in the chapel for around 20 minutes. We tried to absorb every section of the masterpiece. I’m going to be honest; it was heart stoppingly beautiful. The detail and faith that went into each and every scene was awe-inspiring. I wish I could’ve taken pictures. Seeing this masterpiece was a moment in time that I will forever remember. Amidst the crowds and chaos that was the chapel, I was able to tune it all out and try to identify the biblical scenes on the ceiling. 
 
We had lunch a few blocks away after this.  It was a welcome break from the heat and the crowds.
 
****Insider tip: walk a few blocks away from major tourist attractions for better food and prices.

Buon Viaggio
When in Rome.... food that Rome is known for is crispy pizza and pasta Carbonara, among other things. I had an excellent Pasta Carbonara near our airbnb.  Carbonara is a pasta with cheese, egg, and pancetta. I know it may not sound good, but it’s incredible and FULL of flavor when cooked correctly!!  The pizza is thin crust and much crispier than the pizza in Napoli, but still good. Some people actually prefer it, but I’m a Napoletana when it comes to pizza, preferring the fresher and softer pizza of Napoli.  I wish I had taken some pictures of the food, but these incredible foods are pictured in my memory.....and my belly. =)

​After our long day, we were ready to head to the car and drive back to Napoli.  We were only parked a few blocks from the Vatican, so we didn’t have far to walk.  When we returned, low and behold, our car had been robbed.  Someone broke the back window with their hand apparently, due to the amount of blood spattered everywhere, opened up our back seat, and took as much as they possibly could out of the trunk.
 
****A message for the robber, although I highly doubt this person will ever read this.......My window was already broken....you could have just slid it down. 
 
Remember, we picked my mom up from the airport in Rome from the states?! My mama’s entire luggage was stolen, her passport, kindle, and ipad.  All of our backpacks were stolen, but not anything of real value for us, although Roman was devastated that they took his favorite stuffed elephant, Cheesy. Gabriel was equally devastated that they took his Teetee (his favorite blanket), and Julian was upset to miss his clothes and quicksilver backpack.  We filed a police report and worked on getting my mom’s substitute passport the next day.  It definitely left a sour taste in our mouth from Rome, but those are just ‘things,’ as we told the boys. The time we had in Rome was epic and full of the wonder and the beauty of history. My poor Mama, though....we had to find her clothes, toiletries, get her passport, and find her items to get her through the rest of the trip.  The consulate in Napoli was able to get her a temporary passport within about 30 minutes after arriving the next day; having that taken care of was our biggest worry. From there, we went to the Base Exchange and some local stores to get her a few outfits for our upcoming adventures to Tuscany, Florence, and Pisa.

Our car!!!

****In the future, we’ll not park a vehicle full of luggage in Rome, even though one couldn’t tell there was luggage because of the cover on the back!  We will either pay to store the luggage, keep it at the Airbnb, pay for a parking garage, or just take the dang train! 
 
****Final tip:   I recommend visiting Rome at a time of year that isn’t quite as hot and humid....perhaps spring or fall.  It doesn’t get too cold in southern Italy in the winter, so that may even be a good time.  It was extremely hot, humid, and crowded and would have been more enjoyable if it was cooler and less crowded.
 
So, off we go, with a blanket wrapped around our window, back to Napoli to show my mama our home and Bella Napoli.  What an adventure! Until next time, Roma! 
 
Next up: Tuscany & Pisa......Vino, Florentine Steak, The Leaning Tower, and more...