Well folks, you will be so proud of me. Despite my jet lag and waking up three hours before everyone else, I managed to resist my urge to push my husband into moving traffic. Of course, traffic here consists of an army of 2,361 Vespas so, honestly, what would that accomplish?
Our second day in Rome was relatively busy. After I was done with my previous post, I snuck into the living room to plug in my phone. Of course, Tristan woke up to the click of the plug going into the adaptor and it was on. I promptly put Tristan into our bed with Glenn so I could shower, because there is no way I want to leave the Italian boys with a bad impression of we Americanos. Round about nine o’clock, we were all primped, packed and ready to hit the streets.
Our first stop was Termini Station to pick up our RomaPass. I highly advise that you buy one if you plan to visit Rome because it gives you access to free bus and metro rides, as well as free and discounted museum admission. The walk to the station was nice, especially after I enjoyed a chocolate croissant and a cappuccino, both of which helped me quell homicidal tendencies brought on by jet lag and low blood sugar. The caffe had a nice view of the Piazza del Something or Other. I mean, seriously, piazzas are all over the place here so there’s no point in learning their names.
After eating breakfast and getting our passes, we headed off to the Vatican…or so we thought. Despite years of catechism classes, both Glenn and I decided that the big church in the Vatican City is called Basilica S. Paolo. Spoiler alert: it’s actually Basilica S. Pietro. Well, we hopped onto the metro to the Basilica S. Paolo stop and then proceeded to wander the neighborhood in search of our good friend Pope Benny. It didn’t take us long to realize our mistake because the Basilica we did find looked a little shabby on the outside. We were astonished, however when we entered the basilica because the interior was spectacular. This picture can’t really do it justice but I think you can see the pretty shinies:
By the way, that’s Jesus in the middle, but I think some of the dudes around him were on the menu at our next stop, the Coliseum. The Coliseum was magnificent. It is also a giant tourist trap. Seriously, they should consider restocking the place with lions and thinning out the tourist crowd. Here is where the RomaPass was really useful as there is a priority line for pass holders which means you don’t have to wait in the line that stretches around the block, or cylinder, in this case. The size of the Coliseum is truly astounding. Tristan, however, was less than satisfied with the cleanliness of the venue and insisted on sweeping up the dirt and rocks in one of the alcoves. Once we got our OCD toddler out of the alcove, we took a short stroll around outside. Here is Tristan in one of his more balanced moments on the cobblestone:
Too cute!
And here is a picture of the exterior where I just love the color saturation:
Perhaps it was the name-calling, or maybe my over-sensitive reaction to being asked to climb stairs, but my amazing husband realized at this point that it might be good to feed me. We found a cute little caffe called Oppio Caffe. I highly recommend this caffe to those traveling with children as they have FREE kids meals. We all ate for 25 euros, which included beer and a glass of wine. Also, they pizza was so delicious. I don’t know the address, but here was the view from our table:
So, yeah, just walk around the Coliseum until you see that view and then you’re there.
A full belly demands a fine nap, so we walked back to our hotel (by “we,” I mean Glenn and I, since Tristan fell asleep before the end of the block.) We followed up our nap with a gelato at the ristorante with the Ali G. look-alike (I will get that picture!) Now, it was time for the Vatican, for real this time.
As a lapsed Catholic, I had mixed feelings about visiting Benny and company, but really, how can you go to Rome and not go see the Vatican? The art and architecture were beautiful. The Pieta almost moved me to tears. It is a beautiful expression of parental love for a lost child. The anguish on Mary’s face is palpable even though the sculpture is behind plastic. I have seen pictures of this master work before, but none do it justice so I won’t even try. Actually, I think the Pope has put some sort of curse on heathen iPhones because only one shot in the whole Vatican came out halfway decent:
There are a lot more shots on our penitent digital camera which Glenn and/or I will hopefully upload to Flickr upon our return.
After the Vatican, we headed back towards our hotel for dinner. We ate at a restaurant called Nana’s near the Trevi Fountain. The food was great and the staff loved Tristan, so if you can find the place, do stop by and say, “Ciao!” Dinner was done around nine o’clock so we trompted back to the hotel for bath and bed. Until next time, “Ciao!”
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Tristan’s Corner: a new segment where Tristan gets to chime in with his thoughts.
Today’s message: “Tiny rock!” That’s right: Tristan has started adding adjectives to his nouns. This can be added to the list of things I never thought I’d get excited about. Also, when I asked him what color crayon he wanted at dinner, he said, “Red.” Looks like he’s starting to get colors too!
Oh…and here’s a dead pope:
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