Catching up on posts: Ceil's Re-cap of our Italy Trip

At this point, I am probably considered a guest writer since I haven’t been very regular in my contributions to the blog. Nonetheless, I thought I would catch you up our trip to Italy since it hasn't had much coverage yet.

Italy was wonderful and we dragged the kids around and saw a lot. Yes, I do mean dragged. What crazy kid wants to sit in a hotel room when there is so much too see? I have two of them. We weren’t even staying in expensive hotels, we had the basics; beds, bathroom and t.v. with one station in English which was a sports station. They didn’t even show soccer-- it was usually a pool tournament. There was wifi in the Florence hotel so that was a major bonus for Miles. We left him home alone a few times by the end of the trip.

We arrived Wednesday night and checked into our hotel after a taxi ride from the rail station to the Jewish Ghetto. The cab ride was a little more intense than a NYC cab ride. I think in NY they drive faster and change lanes and cut off other taxis more but in Rome the intensity is all about the narrow streets, the number of other cars that are trying to fit on the street, the pedestrians that are oblivious of the cars (more so than New Yorkers), and thousands upon thousands of scooters driving wherever they please.

That night we went on a neighborhood walking tour looking for the best gelato place and also a restaurant to have dinner. It was 75 degrees in Rome, much warmer than I expected. I can’t imagine what it is like in the summer when it is the height of tourist season. All the guide books talk about the heat and the crowds in the summer and I thought it was hot and crowded in October.

We ate at a nice restaurant and the kids enjoyed their first Italian meal with a primo (first course) pasta and secondo (second course) pizza and we found a tasty gelato store nearby. Day one we spent in Ancient Rome, starting at Michelangelo’s Campidoglio, Roman Forum, and Colosseum. We stopped for a late lunch more pizza and pasta and then the kids and Andy went on a city walking tour back to the hotel while I walked around more stopping at the Pantheon, Piazza Navona, Piazza Campo de Fiori.

Day two was the Vatican St. Peter’s Basilica and the climb to Michelangelo’s Dome and wandering around awestruck in the Basilica. Stopped for lunch than head to the Vatican Museums with a focus on the Sistine Chapel. Day three Andy and Lee went back to the Vatican and Miles and I did more walking around the Pantheon and that part of town – Trevi Fountain, etc.

The next day was more walking around in the morning and we caught a train to Florence in the afternoon. More churches and museums in Florence. In the Uffizi, Miles was heard to say, “Oh, and look, yet another picture of Mary and the baby Jesus!" We toured the Uffizi and enjoyed the exhibit on Leonardo da Vinci. The next day we went to the Galleria dell’Accademia and saw Michelanglo’s David. We climbed the dome at Il Duomo as well as the bell tower and did lots more walking and shopping in Florence and amazing food was had by all. I visited Santa Croce and will have to go back and visit because the altar was being renovated and was covered in scaffolding.

The kids weren’t fully committed to all the walking, churches and museums but we went and we saw everything, even if it was at a speedy rabbit’s pace. No tour groups for us, I would try and hear some tidbits from the American tour guides as I walked past and that worked well for me.