Our trip to Roma

We juts returned from our trip to Rome, Italy.  We chose to stay for a week in August...bad choice on my part.  Rome is great but when it is 97+ degrees everyday with no A/C in the apartment and 3 kids, a week was too long.  We got the Omnia Rome & Vatican pass and it was worth every penny.  What makes it different from the regular Rome Pass is that it includes 3 days of hop on/hop off bus on the Roma Christina as well as FREE entrance to all of the Vatican City.  This in itself saved us probably 4 hours of waiting in the sun.  That was worth every cent we spent on the pass but the other benefits were an awesome benefit too.
The first day we got there and it was extremely hot and we didn't have a real idea of where we were supposed to go.  By the time we got to our apartment we were done!  There was a market going on right outside our apartment and we were too tired to even go explore it.  The apartment we stayed at was in a pretty good location.  There was a tram right outside that took you right into the main center/hub area (Piazza di Venezia) and there are many great restaurants right outside the door.  You have the normal (but really good) Italian restaurants and an America style restaurant right on the corner.  We visited each of these multiple times.


The second day we chose to do Vatican City.  We went to the Omnia meeting point and got our reservations to go into St. Peter's Basilica (which just meant a staff person walked us to the front of the line and let us go right in).  FYI: have shoulders and knees covered BOTH men and women or you will have to purchase a super expensive, touristy scarf to cover yourself. LOL.  We got in and it was almost too much to take it.  Very overwhelming.  There is just so much to see and it is all so grand and magnificent.

The third day we chose the Colosseo (Coliseum).  It is iconic so we had to make sure to hit this tourist spot.  We decided we would try to walk to it rather than hop on the bus.  Unfortunately we are directionally challenged and went on the right size of Piazza di Venezia instead of the left
LOL...what a difference that makes.  We were able to see many cool things though but as it got hot I got cranky.  So we found the hop on/hop off bus and hopped on (we would later find out how close we were to the Colosseo and feel quite silly haha).  The Coliseum is so grand and magnificient...and even as great as it is in the day, the nighttime view is breathtaking.  The way they light it up makes it so ROMAntic. It is definitely one of my favorite sights.  We went inside and climbed the steep stairs.  There is quite a museum upstairs and it was pretty interesting but again it was HOT!

On the Fourth Day, we went back and did the Vatican Museum.  I was so excited to see the Sistene Chapel.  All of the exhibits were too cool...really left me speechless but I was dying to get to the Sistene Chapel so I probably didn't appreciate them like I should have.  I took tons of pictures...I'll go back and look at them for many years and be able to take in all the talent of these artist.  Meanwhile, we make it to the Sistene Chapel and are ushered in all the while being told, "Shhh, no pictures (WTH???), keep moving!"  It was a little intimidating.  I was afraid I would be kicked out if I stepped with the wrong foot.

 Of course I have no pictures of the Sistene Chapel after all that anticipation :(  But I will admit my ignorance...it was not was I thought it was.  I had imagined a dome with angels and the hand of God.  While it did have the hand of God embedded in it...it was definitely not a dome.  I actually cannot figure out what it is that I am picturing and google searching "angel painting dome" doesn't help haha.  So anyway, the museum was really cool and so much to look at.

After the museum, we went to eat but didn't go far enough so we fell into a tourist trap of a place...no good food at high prices UGH!  but the gelato shop right down the road redeemed the location.  Then we ventured to the Trevi Fountain (which I prefer during the day...the yellow lights at night mess with the image for me). And we also went to the Spanish steps (well...I wasn't that impressed.  I had heard the view was great...it wasn't.  All you could see from the top was the backs of buildings...you couldn't even see the many steps from the top).  The steps at the capital building at Piazza di Venezia is a much better view and far less crowded.

The next day we chose to go to out of town to Ostia Antica...we had heard that if we can't make it to Pompeii then this would be a decent substitute.  This town is a Roman city ruin with so much to explore and see.  If you are into the ruins, this place is a must see as it is so easy to get to and free with your Roma Pass/Omnia pass (metro and entrance fee).  We barely even scratched the surface and we were there for many hours.  You could easily spend a whole day exploring.


 The last real day to explore, we decided to do souvenir shopping and go to the Pantheon

 It was also very neat.  I have heard that it is the place to be when it is raining because of the geometry of the hole in the top and some other math stuff...the rain just funnels down into these 2 small holes in the floor beneath.  I would have loved to see that but since we saw intense heat and not rain...I didn't get the chance.  It was still neat to see the dome of it and all the paintings and all.  These 2 Japanese woman just adored my blonde headed children and asked them for pictures in front of a few things...they were reluctant but smiled anyway haha.


The next morning we left fairly early and the holiday to Roma was over.  It was a great experience and I am so glad I got to experience it with my kids and parents.