Vacanza Italiana 5: Rome

Tuesday, September 11th

The last leg of our journey took us back to Naples for a train ride into Rome. It was a relatively short trip back north, and we were able to relax this time. Thankfully we had hired a car to meet us at the station and drive us to our new apartment. It was a much appreciated break at the end of the trip. This time our apartment was on the third floor in a building with no elevator. It took several trips to get all our bags and gear up to the penthouse apartment. The apartment itself had two loft levels, three bedrooms and each room had windows that opened onto small balconies. The extra reward for the 100+ stairs up was that one of the lofts led to a roof-top patio.

After we settled in and let Dom nap for a bit, we went out to find some dinner. We walked across the Tiber River and down a few streets until we found Il Corallo. After eating seafood pasta, Dom and daddy watched some skate boarders in front of Santa Maria in Vallicella while mommy bought groceries.

Riding the train from Naples to Rome, so many things to see.

The boys watching skate boarders outside of Santa Maria in Vallicella.

Wednesday, September 12th

Knowing that we had such a short time in Rome, we booked a golf cart tour that would take us to see the main historical sites of the city. We put Dom in his RideSafer vest and called an Uber to take us to Piazza della Repubblica, where we met our tour guide. Our tour started with a stop at the Trevi Fountain, and it was early enough in the day that it was not too crowded. Dom was able to get right up front to throw coins in to the fountain.

Next we went to the Spanish Steps where Dom played in the Barcaccia Fountain. From there we stopped to look at the Colosseum, then drove around the exterior and stopped at the site of Circus Maximus. Dom was not really impressed by the Colosseum; the construction vehicles working next to it were far more interesting to him. Circus Maximus gave us a view of the Palatine Hill and Dom spent his time collecting a few rocks to bring home with him. The next stop was Aventine Hill. Chris peeked into the key hole at the Villa Malta and we walked in the Garden of Oranges with a view of St. Peter’s. Once again Dom was happy that he could play in a fountain and chase pigeons.

After that we went to our last stop, the Altar of the Fatherland, Trajan’s Column and Forum. It was so hot that I had a hard time focusing on all the information our guide had to share with us. However it was amazing to see pieces of stone carved during the Roman time laying in the middle of the city. When we were finished at the Forum our guide took us back to our apartment on the golf cart. Dom napped, we relaxed for a bit, and then in the evening while Miss Sarah stayed with Dom, Chris and I went to dinner at Casa Mia. I had more seafood pasta and Chris had beef tartare, and we observed all the other tourists eating early too.

Ready for his first taxi ride with his Ride Safe vest… well actually it was an Uber.

The Trevi Fountain

The Spanish Steps and Trinità dei Monti church at the top.

Stopping to look at the Colosseum.

St. Peter’s Basilica from the Garden of Orange on Aventine Hill.

Roman Forum and the Altar of the Fatherland.

One very tired little boy.

Thursday, September 13th

It was our last day in Italy. Miss Sarah took Dom out to play in parks while Chris napped, and I explored more of the city. I crossed back over the river and wandered down several new streets before finding my way to the Pantheon. We had driven past it on the tour, but it was a life list sort of thing to go inside. From there I walked to the Four Rivers Fountain, stopped into a few churches, and drank coffee and ate a Danish at the bar of coffee shop with some locals. I checked into a few shops on the way back to the apartment and then walked through Campo di Flore. Meanwhile Dom had splashed in a fountain and made a new friend.

After a very short nap, we took an Uber to the Vatican for our guided tour. I am so glad we had booked a tour because it was total chaos to even get into the Vatican; several different gates and checkpoints before getting into the first courtyard. If we had been on our own, I am not sure we would have bothered once we saw how crazy it was. We had an amazing tour guide; once again LivItaly did a great job. She started by taking us to see the collection of popemoblies, then into the Pine cone courtyard, before continuing into the Pio Clementino Museum. There was such amazing art everywhere but it was so crowded it was almost impossible to see anything. Our guide had Dom looking for animals on the statues and walls – she was showing him boats and other things as we went through the museum. The final stop was the Sistine Chapel, which is not even really a stop. The guards keep people moving, and we could only stand in the center of the room for a few minutes. It was surprising how small the chapel actually is, but also amazing how large the paintings are. While I feel quite familiar with the paintings I never really understood the scale until I was in the room.

Dom and Miss Sarah waited right outside the chapel, so we met up with them and exited the museum. Our last stop in the Vatican was St. Peter’s Basilica. At this point Dom was over touring so he and Miss Sarah stayed outside playing. Chris and I looked around the Basilica. I cannot believe how large it is, and how many mosaics there are. I tried to get close to the Pieta, but there were 100 other visitors, and unfortunately we could not get up close to the Baldachin. Even so I am so glad that I was able to experience it all, to understand the size and see these things I have read so much about. As we left the Basilica we stopped to see the Swiss Guard and listen to the bells playing in the tower outside before leaving the Vatican.

We walked away from the square and back towards our apartment in to the Trastevere area for dinner. The cobblestone streets bounced Dom to sleep in his stroller as we found our way to Tonnarello, a restaurant our guide had recommended that would be open early for dinner. We all ate a lot more pasta and the waiters just loved Dom. Then it was back to the apartment to finish packing and try to get some sleep before our very early departure from Italy.

Interior of The Pantheon

Entrance to the Vatican Museum

Laocoön dating from 40 B.C.E.

The masses visiting the Vatican Museum with us.

St. Peter’s reflected in the window in the Gallery of the Maps.

: Pietà by Michelangelo

: Bernini’s baldacchino

: Pontifical Swiss Guard

St. Peter’s Basilica

Friday, September 14th

After attempting to get some sleep, we all got up at 3:30 am to be ready for our 4 am pick up and transfer to the airport. Dom had no problem with the early wake up and chatted about all the things we drove past in the dark. We were at the airport so early that the lounges were not even open when we got there. Fortunately it opened up shortly after we got there so we could have some breakfast. We flew from Rome to Frankfurt, then back to Seattle. Our stroller, which we had thought we plane side checked, stayed in Rome so we had a big adventure when we arrived. All our other bags arrived and we had no problems getting through customs, and on our way home. Chris and I were exhausted – Dom not so much because he managed to sleep for a few hours on the plane.

Vacanza Italiana 4 : Amalfi Coast

Saturday, September 8th

Leaving Florence, we had a car transfer to the train station to save us the struggle back across the cobblestone streets with our bags. The train ride was longer on this leg and would make a stop in Rome before we would disembark in Naples. Unfortunately our train delayed leaving Florence, which was putting us in Naples 10 minutes after the car rental shop closed. As a result we spent the entire train ride trying to contact the rental car office, our travel company, or the main office for the rental agency to make sure the could get a car when we arrived. There was no luck in reaching anyone that could help us. As soon as the train stopped in Naples, Chris jumped off and ran to the rental office. Miss Sarah and I unloaded all our bags and gear from the train and then transported it like a pair of Sherpa out of the station. We got quite a few odd looks as we went along.

We met Chris at the rental car office and fortunately there were a bunch of other people trying to get their cars as well. Chris was the last person in line, but we did get our car. It was amusing that they rental company told him multiple times that our car was big. They were concerned about maneuvering it around the small streets in the Sorrento area. It was not big to us, and anything smaller may not have fit all our bags.

We had an hour plus drive South of Naples, passing through several mountain tunnels before getting to the Amalfi Coast. Once we were near Sorrento the streets got narrow and switched back and forth along the side of the cliffs. We headed into the mountains passing lemon orchards and agro-tourism hotels. The view was beautiful, but it seemed to take forever to get to our next stop. We had rented a villa in Sant’Agata sui Due Golfi, with views of the Gulf of Naples and Capri.

While dinner spots open before 6 pm had been tricky in the other cities, it was almost impossible here. Nothing was within walking distance of our villa and after the long drive our goal was to quickly get something to eat and buy groceries and then be in for the day. We tried three or four restaurants and were about to have gelato for dinner when we found Mr. Gregory Pizza. It was clear they were open just for tourists, as the only other diners were American and Russian. Dom and the little Russian girl played together on the patio. The fact that they both had cars was more important then being able to talk to each other.

We then stocked up at the grocery store and returned to the villa to enjoy the evening drinking wine on the patio looking out over the valley.

Heading from Naples with a view Mount Vesuvius

Looking out towards the Gulf of Naples from the bedroom balcony.

: Patio at night

Sunday, September 9th

This was our day of rest; of just relaxing at the villa. It was a great place with an inside and outside kitchen, and a large fenced in yard. Miss Sarah took the bus to explore the Amalfi Coast and Dom played outside all day in his pajamas. We cooked meals outside, read books, drank wine, and recharged a bit for the final leg of our trip.

: Dom coloring on the patio

Monday, September 10th

We woke up and drove back towards Naples to Pompeii. We had booked a private family friendly tour of the ancient city. It was definitely the right thing to do. The scale of Pompeii was hard to understand until we were there. Our tour guide loved Dom, wanted to take him home with her, and was above amazing helping us see as much of the site as his little legs could handle. It is hard to describe what we saw. It was not what I expected, but that is neither good or bad. It was hard before we went to really understand how many people were affected when the volcano erupted. To see, and learn, about how the Romans did everything from get take out food and wash their clothes was remarkable.

It was a two hour tour, and by the time we finished we were tired and very sweaty. We were happy to climb back into the air conditioned car and drive back towards the Villa; this time stopping the Sorrento. The city was just as tourist filled as Florence had been, but it was more individual tourists than tour groups. We walked down to the port and had lunch at a waterside restaurant. Then we put our toes in the water before taking an elevator back up the cliffs and looking out over the water. We stopped for gelato, picked up a few snacks, and walked back to the car past lemon groves.

The Forum in Pompeii, the focal point of the whole city.

The Large Theatre in Pompeii

: Playing in the sand in Sorrento

Looking out from the Sorrento view point

Vacanza Italiana 3 : Florence

Wednesday, September 5th

The next leg of our journey, traveling from Bologna to Florence, was by train. With all our luggage we walked the half mile to the train station, which felt like so much. Add to it that our platform was furthest from the entrance; all the adults were quite beat by the time we got onto the train.

Dom loved the train ride and the 30 min trip gave us a bit of time to rest before walking to our apartment in Florence. There had been a misunderstanding about our check-in time so we had a few hours to kill. We walked through the Piazza Duomo and found a restaurant with outside seating and space for all our bags near us. Several rounds of drinks later, after Dom had walked around the block a few times, we were finally able to check-in.

The apartment was located only a few blocks from the Duomo and very beautiful, with wood beams, exposed brick walls, and decorative tiles. After settling in and Dom took a nap, we went back out in search of dinner. Dom loved running along the narrow streets, tested out his side-ways walking, and had a great time exploring. We found a restaurant with outside seating and some very yummy truffle pasta. After buying some of the locally made Limoncello, we returned to the apartment for the night.

Traveling to Florence by train.

The living room of our Florence apartment.

Thursday, September 6th

This was Dom’s day playing with Miss Sarah, while mom and dad took a food tour and visited the Uffizi Gallery. The walking food tour took us to a dozen different stops within a mile or so of the apartment. The first stop was for a Shakerato (shaken iced coffee) at Rivoire a restaurant in the Piazza della Signoria. From there we stopped into Santi Apostoli Church then sampled some olive oil and Balsamic vinegar in the shop next door. Next was a glass of wine and tiny truffle sandwich, followed by a decorative coffee, and then a fried bread, tomato and mozzarella sandwich. Then we sampled more wine on our way to the Central Market. Chris sampled the boiled beef sandwich at the market and our guide pointed out lots of local specialties. One vendor let us sample a fennel salami that was so soft it melted in your mouth, but Chris was too stuffed to try the lard and truffle sandwich at the Savini Tartufi stall. It was very rich and salty; definitely something you only eat one. Our last stop with the guide was another wine shop near our apartment – we actually passed Dom and Miss Sarah on our way there – where we had a wine tasting with a cheese tray.

Aside from the really yummy food and wine, my favorite part of the tour was all the street art we saw. There were so many different styles and it was often more creative than random spray painted tags. We returned to our apartment stuffed and ready to rest our feet for a bit before we went back out to the Uffizi Gallery. It was busy, but worth the visit to see some remarkable painting in person, including; Birth of Venus, Madonna of the Long Neck, Venus of Urbino, and several Michelangelo pieces.

After seeing everything I could, we went back to the apartment. It had been a long day so we picked up some groceries and Chris made us dinner in.

: Barista and his coffee foam designs at the News Cafe

Meat vendor at the Central Market.

Medusa wooden shield, painted by Caravaggio as a gift to Grand Duke Ferdinando I de’Medici in 1598.

Friday, September 5th:

After the busy day prior, we took our last day in Florence slow. Miss Sarah was off exploring the city with her friends and Dom wanted “no out.” We ate in, read books and when Dom took is nap I went out to walk the street a bit on my own. I continued to be blown away by the Duomo, I walked around the outside of the whole building and tried to catch a glimpse of the Baptistry doors. From there I wandered in the Orsanmichele, which was beautiful, and stopped in a few paper shops before getting back to the apartment. It is definitely a city I wish we had more time in.

After Dom woke up from his nap, we got smoothies across the street from our apartment and walked to the Santa Maria Novella. We walked around the inner court yard – skipping the interior – which was going fine until Dom decided to run across the roped off courtyard / burial ground. Once we retrieved him, we wandered through the streets to the Arno river, crossing back and forth over until we found our way to the truffle restaurant our tour guide recommended.

We took a seat with a view of the street, ordered prosecco and several different great truffle pasta dishes. Dom had no problem eating all the truffle spread, but quickly lost interest in watching people walk by. After a meltdown, some knocked-over decorations, and a few falls, he was in his stroller and we were walking to Point Vecchio. Most of the stores had closed up for the night, but the sun was setting making the view out over the river beautiful. From the bridge we returned to the apartment to pack up for our departure the next morning.