Rome Day 3...Visiting the Really Old Stuff on Halloween!

As I went through these photos after our vacation, I was so disappointed with the shots from this day. It was just one of those dark, dreary, rainy European days that you really don't expect to have in Rome. It was a bummer, but we didn't let it dampen our spirits...Ha..no pun intended!  So, we hopped on the metro and headed to the Colosseum.  As Rick Steeves recommended, we went right on by the Colosseum and headed to Palatine Hill to buy our tickets (combo for Colosseum, Roman Forum, and Palatine Hill) because the line would be shorter.  In fact, there was no line at all.

Visiting Palatine Hill

Trying to earn more gelato! :)

Looking down on a former garden and arena and trying to imagine what life must have been like there so many years ago. 

This is what the very first homes on Palatine Hill looked like.

To get a break from the rain, we stepped into the museum on Palatine Hill.  They had some great pieces housed there from the area. 

Still at Palatine Hill and overlooking the city.  I love the Italian flag way off in the distance.

Exploring the underground corridors.

Happy Halloween!

Heading to the Roman Forum.

This picture was taken at his request.  He came up with the pose.

The site where Caesar's body was burned.

The kids got a great book that shows what the buildings used to look like.  When you lift the page, it has the current picture under it.  They are fascinated by it!  When you see it that way, there really isn't a whole lot left here compared to what it was like.

Original writing from the time of Caesar.

He's not impressed....

The flooring under this statue is original to this building.  But, it used to go up the entire wall, and this building was huge!  It is now only on the floor....said the guide we were trying to follow and go unnoticed.  I'm sure he caught on. :)

On to the Colosseum...

but first we needed some refueling.

We rented video guides, and the kids were thrilled they were iPod touches.  There were audio portions, and then it would switch to videos based on your location in the Colosseum.  Totally worth the extra euro.

I was brave and let a nice young couple take a picture of us.  I NEVER pass the camera to strangers which is why we have so few family shots. 

The rain was really starting to pick up.

So, from the Colosseum, we walked to the church of Santa Maria in Cosmedin which is the home to the Bocca della Verità, or the Mouth of Truth.  You may remember this from the movie Roman Holiday.  Legend has it that if you stick your hand in the mouth and tell a lie, your hand will be bitten off.  Check out the terrified look on the little one below.  Maybe if he didn't tell lies he wouldn't be so worried.  I can tell you that he was really, really scared!

You may also be able to see just how wet Thomas is in this picture.  He tripped on the way and landed face down on the wet sidewalk.

From here, we walked back to the Forum and then on to our hotel.  It was a very long walk in pouring rain.  We were soaked to the bone, and I gave up.  We had to head back to the room to dry out a bit.  And, wouldn't you know it...there were no radiators in our room, so I spent the next three hours trying to dry out shoes with a hairdryer.  That was delightful.

Not the Rome you picture.  I finally had to put my camera away.  It was raining too hard.  We were longing for sunny skies!

One last pic of the night with my phone.  We went to dinner just a couple doors from our hotel.  With soggy shoes and dripping coats, it was all the further we wanted to venture out.

Tomorrow is our last day in Rome.  Check back for more adventures!

Until next time,
Wendy

A Visit to Vatican City

We spent our first full day in Italy touring the Vatican.  Technically, Vatican City is its own country, so we are counting that as another country visited. :)  We decided to hire a guide, and Silvia came highly recommended by three families here in Brussels.  She was terrific and really added to the experience.  We would have walked around having no idea what we were seeing.  It was totally worth it.

This is the former entrance to the Vatican Museum.  It has been replaced with a more modern entrance equipped with metal detectors and security.  It definitely doesn't fit in with the rest of the buildings, but with thousands of visitors each day you can understand why it was necessary/

Our first view of Vatican City with St. Peter's Basilica to the left.

Since no talking is allowed in the Sistine Chapel, Silvia explained the different aspects of the frescoes painted on the ceiling, as well as The Last Judgement painted behind the alter, in a courtyard outside. 

Touring the Vatican Museum.  

The statue of Apollo...when Michelangelo painted the image of Jesus in The Last Judgement he used the face of Apollo as his inspiration.

The face of this statue was the inspiration for the face of God in the famous section of the ceiling where God is giving life to Adam.  You know the one where their fingers are almost touching.

In the background, you can see the crest with the keys and crown.  This is the symbol for the Vatican.  Thomas was very good at locating it everywhere.

Just outside of a dome in the museum that is similar to the one in the Pantheon.

Hercules!  And, he is Thomas' favorite.  Unfortunately, the picture focused on Hercules and not the kids.  Darn photographer!

Looking down into the Coutryard of the "Pigna".  It is named after a 4 meter pinecone statue not pictured in this photo.

This painting on this ceiling is actually 2D, but it looks 3D.  It was pretty remarkable.

When we look at the marble statues, they are usually all white, but when they were originally carved, they were painted with eyes.  The eyes of this statue remained because the eyes were made of glass.  I prefer the statues without eyes because these two creeped me out!

A statue of the old fisherman caught my eye because most statues were made to represent bodily perfection.  This man was clearly made to show his age.  They know he was a fisherman because he basket is filled with fish. 

The hall of maps was completed in 1583.  The regions of Italy were frescoed into some 40 maps.  The colors were amazing and only overshadowed a bit by the magnificent ceiling!

Peeking into the Papal apartment.  The kids could see the Swiss guards pacing back and forth.  The Swiss guard is the official guard for the Pope.

Michelangelo finished the Pietà when he was just 24 years old.  My grandma had this statue when I was little.  I never imagined I would see it in person.  It is housed inside St. Peter's Basilica.

This is the simple resting place of Pope John Paul II.  He did not want a grand site.  This prayer area is just past the Pietà on the right side of the Basilica.

St. Peter's is MASSIVE!  I wonder what it would be like to visit the church of all Catholic churches when you are only 9 and 11?  You'll have to ask these two!

The amazing dome

This alter lies over the burial site of St. Peter...or so they believe.

There are mummified Popes in the Basilica.  This Pope was originally resting where Pope John Paul II is now lying.  He had to be moved.  I guess he knows where he rates. :)

You are allowed to take pictures in St. Peter's Basilica because everything is marble and all of the paintings are actually mosaics.  Can you believe it?  Look at this mosiac.  It was amazing!

The kids and Silvia

We decided to climb to the top of the dome.  The Vastines are actually trying to stand upright...it's the walls that are leaning.

The best view of Rome!

A shot after we decended the dome.  We were waaay up there!

St. Peter

After leaving Vatican City, it was 3:00 and we were starving.   One of the things we tend to do here is seek out Hard Rock Cafe.  Chris was really against this when we first got here, but now that we have that need for a good old American meal, he doesn't fight it too much.  Hands down, this was our best meal in Rome.  Maybe it was because we thought we were actually starving to death. :)

Off to the Pantheon.  This dome is something to see.  It is still unknown how the Romans built a dome in that time completely out of concrete.

We noticed a lot of lights and activity going on and realized they were shooting a movie.  I was pretty excited to see Adrien Brody.  I love a celebrity sighting!

The dome of the Pantheon

The Victor Emmanuel II monument

The beautiful sites along our walk.  I'm just in awe of how OLD everything is!

The obligatory shot with Caesar!

After Vatican City and after the Pantheon, we decided to walk to the Colosseum...because we just hadn't walked enough I guess.  Ha!  And, it was gorgeous at night!  We had planned to actually wait and see it on Wednesday, but Thomas just could not wait one more day. :)

Everyone had to touch it!

This end had to be reinforced...because it's really old you know...It was built in 80 A.D.  Crazy!!!

Finally, a couple of iPhone pictures.  This was taken when we were standing up in the Dome of St. Peter's Basilica.

And, a panoramic shot from the top of the dome.

Tomorrow, we are off to Palatine Hill, The Roman Forum, and the Colosseum (officially).  See you then!

Until next time,
Wendy