Tartufo!!

Today we toured around to visit Trajan's Market, Campo de Fiori, Piazza Navona, the Pantheon, and a few other sites around the eastern side of the Tiber River. But probably the highlight of the day was eating lunch at a 200-year-old restaurant on Piazza Navona, call Tre Scalini. There we had tartufos, which are chocolate ice cream truffles covered in chocolate and whipped cream with a hidden cherry in the center. Yum yum! The Pantheon was lovely, too, but mildly disappointing as you are only allowed to sit and observe if you are praying. Otherwise, you are ushered in and out quite quickly. Anyway, all the bronze has already been taken to the Vatican to make the church seem even more grand, so who needs some silly old pagan temple anyway?? ;-)

S: Today was awesome! We went to a fancy restaurant and it is 200 years old! The food was so good. But before we went there, we went to the Pantheon and this person said to us (when we sat down on the floor) "It is not possible in a Church." We were joking around like that for a little bit. It was hilarious!!! We went all over the place after that. And believe it or not, we did not walk our average of miles! Usually we walk at least 12 miles. But we walked like 7 miles!

G: We went to the Piazza Navona and ate tartufos. It was really messy, and too much chocolate. Also, we walked to the Colosseum at night to see it with the lights on, and I played tag with Christopher outside. And I saw a stray cat. Actually three stray cats.

C: Look it the water, Daddy! Big water. Pizza! Yes, pizza. Please okay. Want down, Mommy? Want down? Go fast, Mommy! C running!

A Step Back through Time

After daringly navigating the European trainsystem, we arrived this morning at Herculaneum, one of R's favorite sites in the entire world. Far less famous than the world-renowned Pompeii, Herculaneum is a seaside city that was also covered and preserved by the explosion of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD. But whereas Pompeii was overrun by lava, Herculaneum was filled with ash and soot and then covered by mudslides, leaving it much better preserved. Visiting it is like stepping back in time -- there are whole houses still intact, an ancient Roman "Starbucks" on every corner, and beautiful art and artifacts that perfectly preserve a moment in Roman history. And best of all, there are almost no crowds, since everyone is hanging out at the much less impressive Pompeii.

Side note here: We had lunch at the Gladiator Bar/Restaurant in Ercolano, the surrounding town. The service was fabulous, and our server Suzy was very patient with our botched attempts at ordering in Italian. And the food was phenomenal!! Suzy brought us bruschetta on the house, courtesy of the manager Luigi, and from there we had fresh mozzarella and every type of seafood we could think of. The kids all ate until they were stuffed!!

D: We woke up earlier than usual today- almost seven! We had to prepare for a train ride, but arrived at the station to early and had to wait for a while. The train ride was about two hours, and we arrived at lunch. We are at this amazing cafe. The waitress was super nice, and the food was delicious. I ended up eating a whole squid! We toured the Herculaneum for about two hours, looking at the leftover frescoes and beautiful mosaics that had survived thousands of years and tons of shifting dirt. After that, we headed home (with gelato of course). Today's flavor: chocolate and some unidentifiable other ingredient. All of the flavors were written in Italian, and R accidentally ended up ordering hazelnut (which isn't her favorite).

S: We went to the train station and we spent about like 5 hours on the train total. After the first two trains we went to Herculaneum and we saw about all of it. It was so old and I   found some shells. Of course, I did not get to keep them. After though, me G and C were a group of excavators and we were moving rocks. Then of course C was so dirty he was covered in dust and dirt. So R cleaned up C. He was not happy. Then he saw pigeons. Then, he started to chase them! Since I'm his sister, I started to chase them too.

G: We saw some houses and there were some frescoes in the houses. Some of th houses were pretty nice, and the floors were decorated and stuff. I saw some old Roman shops, and markets. We also found some dig sites. Some houses still had roofs, but there were also some houses with no roofs. There were also lots of rooms. I saw some pretty awesome stuff at Herculaneum! Also, I tried some squid, shrimp, and swordfish at lunch today. And I had chocolate-orange gelato for dessert!

C: This house is messy. This rock fell down... I put it over here. This rock go here. So much dirt. Dirt dirt dirt! Look... a stick! My stick! Mine!!!! Oh. Stick broken. Stick for you.

The Steps that Weren't... and those that Were

This morning we got up bright and early to take the Metro to Spagna station so we could visit the famed Spanish Steps. But the Metro workers and bus drivers were on strike, so we decided to walk to the Spanish Steps instead. Only when we got there, the Spanish Steps were being renovated and were inaccessible. So we walked to the Borghese Gallery, but tickets were sold out. So we walked to the Biopark (Rome's very lovely zoo)... but because the Metro was out for the day, we had to walk all the way back to the hotel. All in all, we walked over 27,882 steps! And then we made up for it with an amazing Italian dinner and some homemade gelato. We're certainly getting our exercise in!

D: Since the Spanish Steps didn't work out as planned, we headed over to the biopark, which I had originally thought was a botanical gardens of sorts. It turned out to be a zoo! The monkeys were my favorite part of the while thing. They were so cute and did actions that seemed almost human in nature, like getting into arguments and coloring with sidewalk chalk. Of course, one was picking bugs out of another's fur. After the zoo, we walked several miles to head back to our hotel. On the way, we found a restaurant with amazing food and awesome tiramisu! By then, we decided to head back and from there, went to sleep.

S: I was a little disappointed that the Spanish Steps were closed. We ALL were, in fact. So we skipped that and we went to the zoo. I usually don't like the zoo because I'd ask the walking, but since we have been walking like ALL THE TIME it was like nothing! We also went to a playground and I hit my head hard on some stone tunnels. We saw lemurs, and peacocks, and Trumpet Swans, oh my! But overall today was a really fun day!

G: We went to a Zoo! And l saw some monkeys and giraffes and flamingos. And I had a mint gelato after dinner, but I didn't like the leaves in it.

C: Mama, the monkey is noisy! The monkey is sad. Sing to the monkey, Mama. Monkey wants songs.

Holy Camole!

Today we went to the Vatican, St. Peter's Basilica, Piazza San Pietro, and Castel Sant'Angelo. It was a long day of standing in lines, standing in crowds, and standing in hallways, but we were able to see the Sistine Chapel some other beautiful artifacts and learn a bit about Church history. And then we got to run around a real ancient castle that was featured in Assassin's Creed! E knew where to find all the coolest nooks and crannies.

D: The Vatican wasn't entirely what I was expecting. I had thought of it is a very solemn monastery-type building, when in reality it was more of a museum. We were able to see many great works of art, such as sculptures and tapestries, that had been kept there when the popes decorated. Also, the Vatican has the only Latin ATM in the world, but we forgot to go see it. The Basilica was amazing. There were paintings on the walls that on closer inspection revealed themselves to be highly detailed mosaics! The rest of the team wouldn't believe it at first. I didn't see much of the castle, unfortunately, because I hurt my foot and was relegated to the first set of stairs. Luckily, the team took tons of pictures, and there were indeed lots of cannonballs. Success!

S: The Vatican was so cool! There was so many cool things and there was a cafeteria that served great food. Then, we went to a castle!! It was awesome! It was like a fort with REAL cannon balls, and cannons, and even a catapult!!! It was awesome.

G: I saw candles at the Vatican. I also saw some frescoes in the walls, and I saw a lot of people walking. The Church was really big, and Mom wouldn't let me sit down unless I pretended to be praying.

C spies a playground from his birds' eye view.

C: Pigeons! I want pigeons!! Waaaahhhhh!!! Oh, look. A castle. Let's run and play! Oh. Wait. Is that... a playground?? *gasp*

Marvelous Ancient Rome

Today Team Wilderness trekked to the Colosseum, the Circus Maximus, the Bocca della Verità, and Trevi Fountain. We sure covered a lot of ground!

D: We were walking a lot more today- probably because we weren't so fresh-off-the-plane as we were yesterday. We covered several miles, starting with the Colosseum. We saw the underground chambers where animals and prisoners were kept for the games. The seating layout was actually a lot like seats today, in baseball stadiums and the like. The seating arrangement worked about the same way as well- the higher social status you had, the closer seats you got. Today, the more you pay, the closer. After the Colosseum, we headed over to the Circus Maximus. It was little more than a dirt track, but there were some ruins at one far end. The chariot races that were held there long ago completed seven one-mile laps. We stopped for Gelato while we were there. Today's flavor: lemon. After the Circus Maximus, we wandered over to the Bocca della Veritá. Legend states that if you stick your hand in the mouth and had told a lie, your hand would be bitten off. The Trevi Fountain was my favorite of the day. Even though our feet hurt and we were tired, we saw the fountain. It was impressive, and we were able to fill our water bottles with fountain water. Awesome!

S: Today had so much walking.  We went to the Colosseum and we got some marble! And when we left, we went to the Circus Maximus. We went around the track sort of. And I had a chocolate chip gelato. It was good! And then we went to the Trevi Fountain. Someone even proposed to a girl there!!! When we where walking on a part of the fountain, a police officer blew their whistle at us. But overall, today was fun!

G: Today we saw the Colosseum, which is a big circle. But part of it is scrumbly and broken. Then we saw the Circus Maximus, which is also a big circle. And we saw a face in a rock, and I had a chocolate gelato. And then we went to Trevi Fountain, and I sat on it but a policeman blew a whistle at me.

C: Want go play inna dirt?! Vroom vroom! Imma episcator! Mommy! Daddy!! Lookit these big rocks! Also, pigeons!!

Tomorrow, the Vatican!

A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum

Today we had some fun! After our flight landed early in the morning, we dropped our bags at the hotel and then we went to the Roman Forum! Everything there was really old.

We're walking, and we're walking, and....

D: There was definitely a lot of walking involved. The place was big, and there were places and parts of old homes that used to line the Forum that had fallen down, but we were still able to walk in them and explore the buildings that lasted nearly two thousand years! There was also a slight bathroom mishap- We weren't able to find it, because a janitor had been cleaning it the first time we walked by. We had thought it was a janitorial closet! ^.^ Luckily, we made it on time.

S: When we got to the Forum, I was like, WOW!! I couldn't wait to go inside! We went inside and it was so cool! We went all over the place. There was so much stuff. When it started to rain, D was dancing because she loves the rain. We went to like a palace thingy and there was a fountain that was like a cave. And then, we went to the top and there was like a little garden thingy and a koi pond. It was really cool there.

G: I saw plants. I saw some ivy and the trees were wacky. The flowers we saw were really pretty. We went in a little maze garden made of tiny bushes. We walked a lot and saw some statues, but I don't know who the people were.

C: Want go play inna dirt?! Vroom vroom! Imma episcator! Mommy! Daddy!! Lookit these big rocks!

So, the funny thing that happened was that is actually rained while we were at the Forum. Nothing but sunshine in the forecast for the whole week, and we managed to get caught in a rainstorm. But it didn't ruin our fun. We still learned quite a bit about Roman architecture and fancy Roman living. And then, of course, we got gelato to round out our day.

We're off to Rome!

Look at us; we're on a plane!

We're on our flight to New York, and from New York we'll catch another flight to Rome. So exciting! But there's one little problem... we're stuck on the tarmac for an hour, waiting for our turn to take off. The anticipation is making us giddy!

In the meantime, C has learned all about the inside of an airplane, which is very different from the outside. The inside has seats, and seat-back pockets, and a window shade that goes up and down and up and down and up and down. Up! Down!! And G learned how to lock the bathroom door to make the lights go on. Wonders never cease!