Monday, July 1st

Monday, July 1, 2012

Buongiorno famiglia & amicos,

We are now officially into our 2^nd week of vacation. Rome is an incredible city. So much history, so much to see….it was hard to know where to start. Everywhere we walked there were ruins, statues, monuments, etc. So we decided to do some walking to check out our surroundings…..which of course means “dogs” will be whimpering….transitioning to howling and ultimately barking loudly in a short matter of time.

First stop was the area called Ancient Rome. The Roman Forum, Palatine Hill and Capital Hill had several surrounding structures which were still intact (to a certain extent). It is amazing how these structures were created and are maintained today so that we have an opportunity to see them.

 

 
As usual, our fantastic (and may I say incredibly gorgeous) tour guide was filling us full of detailed information regarding the area…… what it was used for, who the different structures were built to acknowledge and many other interesting tidbits.

 
With just a snack to start the morning and a very hot, no breeze area…..about 20 minutes into our walk, “we” needed a rest.

Finally, we make our way down to the Coliseum. Although we were not touring it today (looks to Spencer’s post tomorrow), we wanted to check out the outside.  Everywhere we go….one of us is contemplating that it seems a little surreal that we are actually IN EUROPE….seeing the Coliseum, Pantheon, Vatican and many others! We are certainly blessed to have this opportunity as a family!

 By this time everyone was very, very hungry and ready for food! We dashed (as much as a hungry, hot family of 5 can dash) across from the Coliseum to a restaurant. It had 2 important things….food and AC. We were reminded very quickly that most restaurants in Rome serve very much the same food…..incredibly good, but a lot of pasta and bread!

Thanks to our amazing tour guide, we picked up a Roma Pass for everyone. This allowed us to get into several of the sites (not waiting in the very long lines) and unlimited use of the Metro and bus line. Although we did not use the bus, we took full advantage of The Metro. After lunch we decided to take an adventure….heading up to Piazza de Popolo and walking back toward our sleeping facility seeing Trevi Fountain and Pantheon on the way. Our first use of the Metro found us getting scolded (honked at) by the train driver for being too close to the tracks…absolutely doing what most tourists do….taking a picture of the oncoming locomotive.

The Piazza was huge with a fountain and obelisk in the middle. Justin has been our map guide here in Rome and in Paris. As we continue to walk almost everywhere, he figures out how to get there and keep us from getting to lost in the small narrow back streets of Rome!

 Little did we know, walking through this part of town took us through a major shopping area….there were stores & people everywhere. Although Spencer was ready for a fitted Italian suit to wear at school, we motored through the masses and headed for Trevi Fountain.

I have learned many things on this trip and maybe one that everyone but me already knew……throwing a coin into this fountain fulfills a wish (usually a wish of the romantic type). It was crazy busy there….but Spencer did a great job of finding us some space at the fountain. Carissa tossed her coin and then wanted to help out a few friends/family (Johnathan) with a handful of coins

 And Chad…I must say that your thoughts of a fountain might get a revision based on this one……….this is a fountain!

Adding yet another bit of unknown information….all of the fountains and numerous drinking spouts around the city are all filled by a vast system of underground aqueducts; Clean, cool water to not only keep fountains looking very refreshing, but easily refilled water bottles while walking around town.

A short stroll from Trevi Fountain is The Pantheon.

 What can I say….once again, an incredible structure. There is no doubt that the engineers of the past had figured out how to build! This dome is as high as it is wide = 142’. It has a hole in the top that is 30’ in diameter. It is over 1,400 years old……did I mention incredible?

 At this point….it was time for afternoon riposare (rest) and dormire (sleep). J, C & S are staying in a separate room in Rome….so from what it sounds like some actually did sleep, while others watched a movie or some House on the computer.

Our dinner time has quickly evolved into typical Italian culture….we are not starting until 8pm + typically and we have sat, laughed, talked and eaten for 1.5-2 hours……it’s been GREAT! Food generally has been pretty good and dinner this night was the best place in Rome thus far; A small corner location near the Coliseum.  . The waiter sang to us when we asked questions & another guy was actually from Virginia Beach. It is not too often we met someone from the US that was working in a restaurant. Needless to say after eating and all the walking we did, it was really time to crash for the night.

Of course what would a post be without at least one door for my daughter in it! This one is in front of the place we are staying in Rome.

As we continue to experience a completely new part of the world to us….my thoughts are focused on how incredibly blessed we are to have a family that can not only love each other as much as we do, but can explore together and enjoy this opportunity as an adult family.

~Tim