On Saturday, April 14th, our family flew to the continent for some sightseeing in Italy. Over seven years ago we made our first trip to Italy, but stayed a full week in Tuscany exploring and drinking Chianti (or apple juice for the kids). This trip was to Rome and the Amalfi Coast. We were pleasantly surprised to find that a few other families that we knew from our expat community were also going to Rome at the same time. Consequently, we arranged to share a tour guide for two half days.
So Saturday, after a gate mix up by Heathrow, we did make it to our plane on time and landed safely in Rome. A prearranged van service collected us and navigated us safely to the apartment we had rented not far from the Colosseum for the four nights we would be in Rome. The apartment manager was waiting for us and lead us up to the fifth floor of a walk-up! Loaded like pack mules, Steve and I collapsed upon entry. Some basic instructions and some guidance on getting around the city from the manager and we were on our own. With only a short time in Rome, I rallied the troops to get on the move quickly so we could start seeing the sights!
This trip had an added bonus: we were going to get a chance to meet up with my cousin, Kaitlin, who is studying architecture and happened to be in Rome for the spring semester. In the weeks prior to flying, we had been in contact and arranged to meet for dinner on Saturday after we arrived. So a quick text message and we agreed to meet at 17:00 at the Pantheon. The five of us made our way down the stairs (all 93) when we noticed at the bottom that Katie was carrying her backpack, which she did not need for sightseeing and would only be extra weight that would hold her back as we were about to do quite a bit of walking. Steve ran all the way back up to put it in the apartment. (By the way, he had already been up and down earlier, after our arrival, to stop at a small convenience store for milk and cereal for breakfast the following morning.)
Once we were making our way, we seemed to regain the bounce in our step. As we passed the Roman Forums, we stopped and gawked at the crumbled structures that had been part of this city for more than 2000 years. A drizzly rain did not impede our progress toward the Pantheon. Everywhere we turned there was history to drink in. The kids weren't so keen on it all, but I made them linger in the dampness so I could absorb as much as I could. Steve continued to lead us to our destination. When we found ourselves in Campo dei Fiori, we realized we had seriously made a wrong turn! I texted Kaitlin to let her know we were a bit lost. She assured us we were only ten minutes and even offered to come and get us, but we figured she had better stay put. Rather than rely on the paper map, I pulled out the trusty 4G phone, used the map to find us and confidently watched as our blue dot moved closer to the plotted destination on the little screen.
Wow! The Pantheon! The piazza here isn't too big so it was a great place to meet and Kaitlin found us easily. When standing in the piazza you see roads coming in from all directions and my cousin pointed out that people in Rome say that "all roads lead to the Pantheon!" This, of course, made us laugh as we had somehow managed to get lost on our way here. Saturday evening mass was still being celebrated so we decided to get Gelato! Fortunately for us, THE BEST gelato in Rome can be found down a side street not far from the Pantheon. Please be aware that this is the best according to my cousin and her professor. It was really good, but I am not sure I am the true connoisseur. I may need a trip back to just try gelato and concentrate on assessing that rather than architecture!
So with our first gelato under our belts we made it back to the Pantheon. Kaitlin was able to tell us a bit about the building. She also told us about being inside when it was snowing back in February and another time when it was raining. If you have never been to see the Pantheon, there is a large hole at the top of the dome. It was planned this way. The floor even slopes to allow for precipitation to drain. We also took advantage of a downloaded audio guide from Rick Steves website to add further to our appreciation of the building.
With one major sight checked off of our list we let Kaitlin lead the way around the city and to our final destination for the evening - dinner at the Hard Rock Cafe. It was so nice to not have to rely on a map and just follow someone through the winding streets of this city. She took us past the Trevi Fountain and up to the Spanish Steps. We stopped on the way in the church of Santa Maria Soppa Minerva. Having been there already with her program, my cousin was able to tell us what we were seeing. It was great!
Some of you may be wondering why we would be going out for American food when we were in Italy. Others of you know that we love to collect a pin from each Hard Rock we get to; and with a Hard Rock in Rome, we had to make our way there at some point. In addition, my cousin had been eating and cooking pasta and pizza for weeks and we figured accurately that she would love to get a break for some American classics. Our All Access card and a priority seating request made the day before we left from England meant we didn't even wait but sat right down upon arrival. For those of you who have been to Rome, you may understand why we were so happy to finally find a chair. The city is big and we had just about walked the whole thing! After dinner we walked my cousin to Termini station so she could catch a bus and we had less than a half of a mile walk down the hill (thankfully down hill) from there to our apartment where we found the energy to crawl up the 93 steps to our apartment.
Day one in Italy was done. We needed to get some rest because I had big plans for sightseeing on Sunday and there was no plan to hop on public transportation. Everyone better have good walking shoes!
