Weekend in Rome

We flew down to Rome for the weekend (I know, one day I'm going to wake up from this dream) and did a 3-day whirlwind tour through the city. This post has a few purposes: scrapbook/remembrance for our family, ability for friends and family to see what we're up to, and a place to write our itinerary for those who ask and for us in the future.

As soon as we arrived at the airport in Rome, we found the tourist information booth and bought the Roma Pass. It got us into the Colosseum and Borghese Museum for for free and gave us a 3-day Metro Pass. We definitely got our money's worth out of it because we took the Metro EVERYWHERE. I highly recommend this if you're going there.

Kelsey wanted to hold onto the bar on the Metro like daddy (4), Naptime in the backpack (5), We saw an ALTA ski resort sticker in the Fiumicino Rome Airport so he put his Snowboard hat on the top of the pole for a pic (9)

We stayed in Hotel Elide which Tally would recommend to anyone, but I wouldn't. It's great if you're looking for a nice, clean hotel close to the National Museum and the Rebublica Metro Stop and you are SINGLE or at least you don't have KIDS. We made it work but we didn't have a cot for Kels, the room was small (even for Europe), we were in the room right by a busy street (the garbage truck comes in the middle of the night!), and it was a small hotel so we didn't have a phone in our room and the breakfast was barely more than a croissant (we didn't eat there). The TV was new and nice, but all in Italian. It was perfect for the traveller who doesn't want to spend time in their hotel during their trip and just wants a place to crash (and doesn't have kids, did I mention that?).

Outside the National Museum, near our hotel room

DAY ONE: Colosseum
We decided to take a tour of the famous Roman relic, which we are glad we did. Not only did it save us time in line, but we learned a lot about what it used to be like compared with how it looks now.

Kelsey playing outside the Colosseum as we tried to listen to our tour guide

Inside the Colosseum

Closer look at the understage; this is where they kept the animals (2), quite the dirty, but tired look (3), the lower or understage level is still in tact b/c it didn't have any precious materials to raid(4), surviving seats - how they would have looked back in the glory days (5), original stones w/ engravings (6), Tal standing on the original floor/marble (7), Finally asleep (8), the whole Colosseum used to be three layers thick but there's only a small portion like that left (9)

Original steps to the next level, except they used to have marble on top of the brick

View from Colosseum of Palatine Hill and the Arch of Constantine

Palatine Hill was the location of the cave where Romulus and Remus were found by the she-wolf that kept them alive. Later, Romulus killed Remus over where to build a great city, thus Rome got it's name from Romulus. Also, Palatine Hill used to be the "Beverly Hills" of its time. Those that were weathly and famous lived on Palatine Hill.

Beverly Hills, California & Palatine Hill, Rome: Can you see the resemblence?

Cool Tree

Small, ancient Stadium

Circus Maximus
This was a large stadium used for many things including chariot races. It is now a public park, as shown above, but used to look something like this:

Kelsey playing on Palatine Hill

View of Roman Forum from Palatine Hill

On the way down from Palatine Hill into the Roman Forum

Walking up to Capitol Hill from the back, overlooking Roman Forum

The next day we stopped back by the Roman Forum to get another view of it

Borghese Museum

It had a lot of amazing pieces of work. Wow. Definitely worth it. I only wish it allowed you to take pictures. It's not that big of a museum, which is nice, but has a lot of great art. For those of you planning to walk from the Metro, I advise you to rent one of those tandem bikes on the way up. The Borghese Park/estate area is HUGE.

Pretty sunset after the Borghese Museum

DAY TWO: Walking through the city and back
The Pantheon is the oldest standing domed building in Rome. It was originally built as a temple to all the gods of ancient Rome, but now is used as a Catholic church. It is also one of the best preserved buildings in Rome. Several other domed buildings, like the Duomo in Florence, were modeled after the Pantheon.

The occulous provides light to the entire building as there are no windows.

Running from the LAW

Trevi Fountain or Fontana di Trevi served as an aquaduct of "pure water" for the Romans.

Throwing coins into the fountain so that we will someday return to the Eternal City (3)

Little Miss in Rome

Steps up to Capitol Hill

Michalangelo designed and created the staircase and the square in 1536

Rome Capitol building

This Renaissance palace is now the seat of city government built on the ruins of the Acropolis, the religious and political center of ancient Rome.

Out and About in Rome

Modern meets ancient-a TV screen in a column (2), ancient looking ruins on a random street corner (3), fishing in Tiber River-trash filled the trees that lined the river (9), Kels & I sitting on a random Lion fountain on the way to the Spanish Steps (10), I really wanted this purse, but decided I was too old for it (12)

The Island in the Tiber River

Italian Market

Colosseum by Night

Wearing dad's hat

Bounding down the stairs

Walking up the Spanish Steps

Fountain Trevi by Night

We ran into missionaries from the LDS Church (the church we belong to) in Rome singing Hymns

DAY THREE: The Vatican City

St. Peter's Basilica

The famous dome, looking up (2), the Vatican gardens (3), a tight, sideways sqeeze for on the way up and down the dome for Tal & Kels - she quickly learned to keep her hands inside the cart at all times (4), view of the capitol building and Colosseum-to the right of white bldg. (5), Pope's house - he waves from the top story 2nd to last windo from your right (7), a circular staircase - it made me dizzy (8), we got to see the tombs of the Popes including John Paul III where a group of people were praying by his tomb - this isn't it as no pics were allowed, but it was taken inside St. Peter's Basilica (9), I love mosiacs (10), View of the city entrance from dome (11)

Part of the Vatican Gardens

This Egyptian marble can be found all over Rome and especially in the Vatican. Back in the day, it showed their power an wealth because they conquered other nations. Now, this stone is very rare in Egypt or anywhere else in the world, making it SUPER valuable, maybe even priceless.

So it was right after this that I realized Kelsey's 8CHF Oilily bow was missing. I knew she'd had it just a few rooms back and I was so tempted to go looking for it. However, we were on a tour and the place was crowded (can't imagine what it is like in SUMMER) so I didn't go back. Anyone who knows me knows I HATE losing bows. I put a tiny clip from my hair in hers b/c her bangs fall into her eyes now. A little while later, I noticed that clip was gone too. ARGH! It wasn't until we got to the airport that evening and I changed her diaper (good mom, I know) that I found both of them in the top of her diaper. I later observed her at home putting her bow down her shirt. Lucky for me, she was wearing a onesie and both the bow and the clip were safe and sound the whole time. So clever, Kels.

The Sistine Chapel

The famous ceiling paintings that Michelangelo is so famous for and never wanted to do. We took an Eden Tour of the Vatican Museum (which includes the Sistine Chapel) and WOW, I learned a ton. Our guide taught us about all of the ceiling paintings, the meaning Michelangelo most likely intended and what the Pope had originally intended. I love the one of Michelangelo eternally mooning the Pope.

The Vatican Museum

An unknown sculpture that Michelangelo admired - the Thinker may have been modeled after this (1), glass eyes in sculptures (4), Pinecone Court (5), A Swiss Guard opened a door to a "royal reception room" off the Sistine Chapel that is usually closed to the public but we got to peek in (6), I love mosaics (7), the entrance for VIPs (8), A statue that looks like Bill Clinton (9), a tapestry where the arm points at you no matter where you are (10), The Creation of Adam by Michelangelo in the Sistine Chapel (11), Apollo (12), the Pope who didn't want everyone to look at the amazing maps in the room created a pompous ceiling so his guests would praise him and not the past pope who had all the maps made (13), One of the many maps commissioned by a pope - the cartographer traveled around Italy for 10 years to create these maps and had very little tools. Today, these maps are still 95% correct and show hills, valleys, churches, coastlines, and other landmarks. (14), Statue of Hercules (15), Dome of St. Peter's (17), a statue admired by Michelangelo. The right arm was originally missing, Michelangelo studied the human body so much he predicted how the arm would be bent, others didn't believe him, until they found the missing arm. Michelangelo uses that arm pose on Jesus in his Sistine Chapel Heaven & Hell painting (18), I love mosaics (19), Fertility godess (20)

A REAL Swiss Guard

We mailed a postcard from the Vatican to ourselves in Zurich since the Vatican is technically its own country. Their post office is said to be the most efficient in the world!

By the end of the trip, we were exhausted and I practically sprained the arch of my left foot from all the walking. Seriously, Tally pushed me in a luggage cart in the airport on the way home. But it was worth it. Oh, and I need better shoes.

For more photos of the trip (yes, 350 total) click here.