Day 1: Friday, March 14 2008 10am - Getting Started
We checked in at Valeria Apartment at noon - our first attempt at staying in an apartment instead of a hotel. The apartment was advertised as only 200 meters from San Pietro (Saint Peter’s Basilica - the Vatican). It was 200 m from the building, but about 2000 meters from the entrance. After settling in at the hotel, we headed out to get the lay of the land.
We hit quite a few neat sites and ended up at the Palazzo Venezio.
The monument is a tribute to Italy’s fallen soldier - kind of like their Arlington. The biggest equestrian statue in the world and an eternal flame adorn the doorstep: a dedication to King Victor Emmanuel II and veterans of all wars.
Like most monuments, there were too many steps to get to the top. But, the hard work was rewarded with a great view of old Rome.
There was also a museum at the top dedicated to the Franco Prussian War, but we ended up playing with Jacob more than studying the exhibits.
After the long walk, the 4am wake up call started to sink in. We walked back to the apartment and took a nap.
After getting some rest, we went back out and found a nice little Italian restaurant by the Piazzo Navona. It wasn’t very good and Jacob was not cooperating very well, but it was still a good end to a long day.
It was a great day.
Day 3: Free day
If you think that you would be more likely to get to church on time, if the pastor was more inspiring, then you may want to reconsider. For us, on this Sunday, it was still difficult to get to church on time. And our Palm Sunday service was presided over by the Pope.
It was a surreal.
We only stayed at the Vatican for a few minutes before leaving to check out the Pantheon. By the way --- Rick Steves came through again. If you go to his website you can download free audio guides for your IPOD. It was great. We enjoyed a free 20 minute tour of the Pantheon courtesy of Rick Steves.
The Pantheon is a pretty amazing place. It is the central icon to Roman engineering and architecture. The building is impressive. It is circular with measurements recorded as exactly 142ft diameter and 142ft height. It is currently a Christian building, but was originally dedicated to multiple mythological figures. There are multiple “high-profile” figures buried in the building: King Emmanuel III (former King of Italy) and Raphael (top artist during the Renaissance --- reportedly died of an STD at the age of 33 --- he was apparently a ladies man).
After the Pantheon, we grabbed a picnic lunch at a grocery store on the piazza (Rick Steves’ recommendation). As you can see, I loved it.
At the top of the steps is Borghese Park. It is one of the few parks in Rome. We don’t know exactly why, but Rome seriously lacks green space. I suppose it is because everything that could be green is dug up and turned into an archeological site. There are two main areas in the park: a kids’ area with games, go carts, and a carousel and the Galleria Borghese.
The Galleria Borghese is the one used in Ocean’s 12 (where they stored the egg in the end and had Julia Robert’s pretend to be Julia Roberts in an attempt to steal the egg).
After the Borghese Park, we were wiped out. However, we still had to find another Rick Steve’s dinner recommendation. This one was on the north side of the Vatican, so we took the metro and settled in. Not surprisingly, it was good.
Unfortunately, after dinner we ended up picking the wrong route back to the apartment and walked around the “dark side” of the Vatican wall - not many streetlights or sidewalks. The upside, though, was Amanda had time to explain four seasons of Felicity to Phil. I think he is a new fan.
Day 4: The Vatican
We booked guided tours every other day in an attempt to minimize the impact on Jacob. So, Monday was the Vatican. We picked Monday because we felt it would be the least busy during Holy Week. I think we chose correctly, but the line at the Vatican was still 2-hours long.
For this tour the guide used the “microphone and headset” system. This was much better than the first tour because it gave us the flexibility to temporarily leave the group (and take care of Jacob) while still listening to the guide. We also picked up a few extra headsets (while the owners weren’t looking) so Jacob could have a new toy. Jacob is typically a fan of electrical toys that he doesn’t think he is allowed to have. It worked like a gem.
Our guide was worth his “wait” in gold - the two hour wait flew by because we got a history lesson on the papacy, the Reformation, and the Vatican grounds. If we didn’t have the guide, we all would have been really irritated by the long line.
San Pietro is the biggest church in the world. From the outside it definitely looks big, but nothing like the inside. The history of this church really originates in the New Testament of the Bible. There Jesus said that he would build his church on Peter. Most people believed it to be an allegorical statement, but the church took it literally.
After Jesus was crucified, Peter traveled to Rome to preach the gospel. After arriving in Rome, he was tried and crucified like most of the other disciples. Peter was buried on Vatican hill just 50 meters from where he was killed. His grave remained in that same spot for several hundred years. In fact, he remained so long that the landscape topography also changed. After one of the more significant floods, a wall was built directly behind his grave to prevent further erosion.
In 313AD, Emperor Constantine legalized Christianity and allowed formal gatherings to commence. From that point forward the church began to flourish. In 324AD, the San Pietro chapel was started. And, the center of the chapel was built directly on top of Saint Peter’s grave. So, the biblical prophecy was both literally and figuratively fulfilled.
There are three key landmarks in the Vatican courtyard. The circumference is lined with hundreds of Roman columns with statues of famous martyrs on top. In the center there is a huge obelisk with a cross on top. And, in the front there are two enormous statues of St. Paul and St. Peter. St. Peter is carrying the keys and St. Paul is carrying the sword.
We checked in at Valeria Apartment at noon - our first attempt at staying in an apartment instead of a hotel. The apartment was advertised as only 200 meters from San Pietro (Saint Peter’s Basilica - the Vatican). It was 200 m from the building, but about 2000 meters from the entrance. After settling in at the hotel, we headed out to get the lay of the land.
We hit quite a few neat sites and ended up at the Palazzo Venezio.The monument is a tribute to Italy’s fallen soldier - kind of like their Arlington. The biggest equestrian statue in the world and an eternal flame adorn the doorstep: a dedication to King Victor Emmanuel II and veterans of all wars.Like most monuments, there were too many steps to get to the top. But, the hard work was rewarded with a great view of old Rome.There was also a museum at the top dedicated to the Franco Prussian War, but we ended up playing with Jacob more than studying the exhibits.
After the long walk, the 4am wake up call started to sink in. We walked back to the apartment and took a nap.After getting some rest, we went back out and found a nice little Italian restaurant by the Piazzo Navona. It wasn’t very good and Jacob was not cooperating very well, but it was still a good end to a long day.
Day 2: The Underground
We were very excited about Saturday because our good friend Phil was arriving around 10am from Nawlins (i.e. New Orleans). Phil was our resident expert on Rome. He visited Rome last year and fell in love with the city. So, he knew exactly where to go, where to eat, and what the schedule should be: our vacation architect.
We first walked toward Piazza Navona to look at art and have some lunch. But, before arriving we had to pay homage to the most famous Roman Caesar - Julius. After all, it was March 15 --- Ides of March. For those who don’t remember the significance, March 15 was the date when Julius Caesar was murdered.
Phil probably made the most brilliant decision of the trip by bringing Rick Steves’ guide books. Rick Steves is an American author who specializes in travel advice. He is incredible. It literally made a good vacation extraordinary.
The first Steves’ recommendation that we used was a small pizza place just two blocks from the Pantheon --- it was incredible.
After lunch we had to rush to the first of three planned tours in Rome. It was called the “Underground Tour”. This tour takes you to multiple tier II churches around the Tiber River. It was a great way to see the less imperial side of Rome where the common people lived.
Before starting the tour, however, we had a good patch of grass and some free time to play with the bubble gun we bought for Jacob at the Navona. By the way, Jacob successfully negotiated his first deal - 10 euros down to 6 euros.
When you travel with a 1 ½ year old, you never know what kind of mood they will be in. And, when planning a big vacation like this one with lots of tours, museums, and quiet churches it can be very frustrating to miss out on pieces of it.
Jacob, in general, is probably one of the most seasoned, well-traveled, and flexible babies of all time. But, today, he was not interested in the tour. Needless to say, he didn’t want to quit playing with his bubble gun and start learning about Baroque architecture.
After a little while, he quieted down and took a nap, but the first 3 hrs were a little bit challenging.
The tour was still cool. We visited an archeological dig which was still under construction and learned what that was like. Didn’t seem that cool to me, but there was a pile of bones on a shelf that they hadn’t identified yet.
The tier two churches were also interesting --- the popes in the 800-1600AD timeframe really threw money at the churches. Most of these were baroque (lots of gold and very plain on the outside). One that was especially cool had the body of Saint Cecelia buried there. Her story was pretty interesting. Someone tried to kill her in the steam room, but she survived. Then they tried to behead her from heresy, but she survived (weird huh). According to Roman law at the time, if you fail to cut off the victim’s head in three tries, they are allowed to go. So for her, she lived for three days after the attempted beheading. Then, they lost her body for 200 - 300 hundred years. When the tomb was found and opened, an eye witness account said her body was still in perfectly preserved condition --- for 15 seconds. Then after 15 seconds, the body turned to ash. After all of this, the church decided to declare her a saint.
The area around the Tiber River perpetually flooded (one of the reasons that much of the old buildings and history were lost). By the river there is an old archway that used to shelter people while they were doing business (i.e. cattle market). The archway is adorned with pictures of Romulus and Remos - the original brothers that founded the area. However, during a power struggle Romulus killed Remos (get it – Rome, not Remo). But, after killing Remos, he scratched all references to his brother off of the monument - amazing really. So many people throughout history tried so hard to eliminate others from history, yet we are still talking about them.
After leaving the cattle market, we crossed the river through Tiberina Island and walked around a few other neighborhoods. One interesting side note from that area is that during an excavation in 1800 or 1900’s, they actually found a “now famous” marble statue. Once again – amazing how history is lost.
Toward the end of the tour, our guide and I had a chat about Italian history. It was something that I never knew or understood. This was one of those eye-opening experiences. Keep in mind, this is one of those 30 minute conversations that is summarized in a few bullets.
Brief History of Italy:
- Run by city states / feudal society from the fall of empire until 1870.
- In 1870, Italy unites under Emmanuel I and becomes a country. King Emmanuel I is crowned king of Italy.
- Vatican refuses to acknowledge the country (basically because they would lose power in Italy) and enters into a self-imposed house arrest for 59 years. Some popes didn’t even leave the Vatican during their entire reign.
- In 1929, Mussolini brokers a deal with the Vatican and creates the official Vatican borders.
- 1941-5, Mussolini allies with Hitler during WWII. They lost – Mussolini is hung (and accidentally decapitated).
- 1945 – Italy abandons dictators, brings back democracy. First state-wide democracy in Italy since the Roman Empire (44 BC).
Random Facts:
- Rome had >1,400,000 men in city at its peak (women and children were not included in the census in those days). After the fall, the population dropped to <30,000>
We were very excited about Saturday because our good friend Phil was arriving around 10am from Nawlins (i.e. New Orleans). Phil was our resident expert on Rome. He visited Rome last year and fell in love with the city. So, he knew exactly where to go, where to eat, and what the schedule should be: our vacation architect.
We first walked toward Piazza Navona to look at art and have some lunch. But, before arriving we had to pay homage to the most famous Roman Caesar - Julius. After all, it was March 15 --- Ides of March. For those who don’t remember the significance, March 15 was the date when Julius Caesar was murdered.
Phil probably made the most brilliant decision of the trip by bringing Rick Steves’ guide books. Rick Steves is an American author who specializes in travel advice. He is incredible. It literally made a good vacation extraordinary.
The first Steves’ recommendation that we used was a small pizza place just two blocks from the Pantheon --- it was incredible.After lunch we had to rush to the first of three planned tours in Rome. It was called the “Underground Tour”. This tour takes you to multiple tier II churches around the Tiber River. It was a great way to see the less imperial side of Rome where the common people lived.
Before starting the tour, however, we had a good patch of grass and some free time to play with the bubble gun we bought for Jacob at the Navona. By the way, Jacob successfully negotiated his first deal - 10 euros down to 6 euros.
When you travel with a 1 ½ year old, you never know what kind of mood they will be in. And, when planning a big vacation like this one with lots of tours, museums, and quiet churches it can be very frustrating to miss out on pieces of it.Jacob, in general, is probably one of the most seasoned, well-traveled, and flexible babies of all time. But, today, he was not interested in the tour. Needless to say, he didn’t want to quit playing with his bubble gun and start learning about Baroque architecture.
After a little while, he quieted down and took a nap, but the first 3 hrs were a little bit challenging.
The tour was still cool. We visited an archeological dig which was still under construction and learned what that was like. Didn’t seem that cool to me, but there was a pile of bones on a shelf that they hadn’t identified yet.
The tier two churches were also interesting --- the popes in the 800-1600AD timeframe really threw money at the churches. Most of these were baroque (lots of gold and very plain on the outside). One that was especially cool had the body of Saint Cecelia buried there. Her story was pretty interesting. Someone tried to kill her in the steam room, but she survived. Then they tried to behead her from heresy, but she survived (weird huh). According to Roman law at the time, if you fail to cut off the victim’s head in three tries, they are allowed to go. So for her, she lived for three days after the attempted beheading. Then, they lost her body for 200 - 300 hundred years. When the tomb was found and opened, an eye witness account said her body was still in perfectly preserved condition --- for 15 seconds. Then after 15 seconds, the body turned to ash. After all of this, the church decided to declare her a saint.The area around the Tiber River perpetually flooded (one of the reasons that much of the old buildings and history were lost). By the river there is an old archway that used to shelter people while they were doing business (i.e. cattle market). The archway is adorned with pictures of Romulus and Remos - the original brothers that founded the area. However, during a power struggle Romulus killed Remos (get it – Rome, not Remo). But, after killing Remos, he scratched all references to his brother off of the monument - amazing really. So many people throughout history tried so hard to eliminate others from history, yet we are still talking about them.After leaving the cattle market, we crossed the river through Tiberina Island and walked around a few other neighborhoods. One interesting side note from that area is that during an excavation in 1800 or 1900’s, they actually found a “now famous” marble statue. Once again – amazing how history is lost.Toward the end of the tour, our guide and I had a chat about Italian history. It was something that I never knew or understood. This was one of those eye-opening experiences. Keep in mind, this is one of those 30 minute conversations that is summarized in a few bullets.Brief History of Italy:
- Run by city states / feudal society from the fall of empire until 1870.
- In 1870, Italy unites under Emmanuel I and becomes a country. King Emmanuel I is crowned king of Italy.
- Vatican refuses to acknowledge the country (basically because they would lose power in Italy) and enters into a self-imposed house arrest for 59 years. Some popes didn’t even leave the Vatican during their entire reign.
- In 1929, Mussolini brokers a deal with the Vatican and creates the official Vatican borders.
- 1941-5, Mussolini allies with Hitler during WWII. They lost – Mussolini is hung (and accidentally decapitated).
- 1945 – Italy abandons dictators, brings back democracy. First state-wide democracy in Italy since the Roman Empire (44 BC).
Random Facts:
- Rome had >1,400,000 men in city at its peak (women and children were not included in the census in those days). After the fall, the population dropped to <30,000>
- Roman aqueducts brought over 900,000 cubic meters of water into the city at the peak of the empire. Rome today only uses 700,000 cubic meters.
- Coliseum was built in 10 years (100 – 200 AD); no one in Italy believes it could be built that fast now. The tour ended up lasting about 4 hours. By the 3rd Jacob was asleep and finally enjoying the tour. By the end, we were whooped (especially Phil who was still recovering from Jetlag). Nevertheless, we managed to hang around the area and dine at another Rick Steves’ recommendation (de Julia).
It was a great day.Day 3: Free day
If you think that you would be more likely to get to church on time, if the pastor was more inspiring, then you may want to reconsider. For us, on this Sunday, it was still difficult to get to church on time. And our Palm Sunday service was presided over by the Pope.
It was a surreal.
We only stayed at the Vatican for a few minutes before leaving to check out the Pantheon. By the way --- Rick Steves came through again. If you go to his website you can download free audio guides for your IPOD. It was great. We enjoyed a free 20 minute tour of the Pantheon courtesy of Rick Steves.The Pantheon is a pretty amazing place. It is the central icon to Roman engineering and architecture. The building is impressive. It is circular with measurements recorded as exactly 142ft diameter and 142ft height. It is currently a Christian building, but was originally dedicated to multiple mythological figures. There are multiple “high-profile” figures buried in the building: King Emmanuel III (former King of Italy) and Raphael (top artist during the Renaissance --- reportedly died of an STD at the age of 33 --- he was apparently a ladies man).
After the Pantheon, we grabbed a picnic lunch at a grocery store on the piazza (Rick Steves’ recommendation). As you can see, I loved it. Sunday really turned into a walking day. We didn’t have an overly articulate schedule, so we just wandered around checking out various churches. One church that was especially odd was the “S. Maria Dell’Orazione E Morte”. Apparently, this church never opens to the public and is dedicated to the dead ---- no one knows what goes on in there, but there is a hole in wall so people can still tithe --- weird.
After the church of the dead we found our way to the Trevi Fountain. The Trevi Fountain is one of those highly acclaimed sites --- “you have to see the fountain when you go to Rome”. From the descriptions, one would think it is at the center of Rome. However, when you see it, it is a big fountain tucked into a really small area between a bunch of buildings --- it really looks out of place. They say if you through a coin into the fountain you will come back to Rome --- we all tossed in the coins --- I guess we should start planning the next trip.
After the church of the dead we found our way to the Trevi Fountain. The Trevi Fountain is one of those highly acclaimed sites --- “you have to see the fountain when you go to Rome”. From the descriptions, one would think it is at the center of Rome. However, when you see it, it is a big fountain tucked into a really small area between a bunch of buildings --- it really looks out of place. They say if you through a coin into the fountain you will come back to Rome --- we all tossed in the coins --- I guess we should start planning the next trip. The Spanish Steps were the next big site. Ok, well, they say it is a big site. From my perspective it was highly over hyped. The street leading to the Spanish steps was reminiscent of the Champs Elysees: very busy and lined with high-end shops. The marathon was also routed toward the steps, so it made it exceptionally busy.
I guess the beauty of the steps was lost on us because all we saw was an exercise routine. When Jacob was smaller, climbing steps wasn’t that bad. Now that he is pushing 25lbs, climbing 50-75 steps while carrying him in his stroller is a major workout.
They say the steps are really nice in the spring (we were a little too early) because it is adorned with thousands of flowers. Still though, once we reached the summit, the view was pretty spectacular. Every major site in the city was visible.
I guess the beauty of the steps was lost on us because all we saw was an exercise routine. When Jacob was smaller, climbing steps wasn’t that bad. Now that he is pushing 25lbs, climbing 50-75 steps while carrying him in his stroller is a major workout.
They say the steps are really nice in the spring (we were a little too early) because it is adorned with thousands of flowers. Still though, once we reached the summit, the view was pretty spectacular. Every major site in the city was visible.
At the top of the steps is Borghese Park. It is one of the few parks in Rome. We don’t know exactly why, but Rome seriously lacks green space. I suppose it is because everything that could be green is dug up and turned into an archeological site. There are two main areas in the park: a kids’ area with games, go carts, and a carousel and the Galleria Borghese.The Galleria Borghese is the one used in Ocean’s 12 (where they stored the egg in the end and had Julia Robert’s pretend to be Julia Roberts in an attempt to steal the egg).After the Borghese Park, we were wiped out. However, we still had to find another Rick Steve’s dinner recommendation. This one was on the north side of the Vatican, so we took the metro and settled in. Not surprisingly, it was good.
Unfortunately, after dinner we ended up picking the wrong route back to the apartment and walked around the “dark side” of the Vatican wall - not many streetlights or sidewalks. The upside, though, was Amanda had time to explain four seasons of Felicity to Phil. I think he is a new fan.
Day 4: The Vatican
We booked guided tours every other day in an attempt to minimize the impact on Jacob. So, Monday was the Vatican. We picked Monday because we felt it would be the least busy during Holy Week. I think we chose correctly, but the line at the Vatican was still 2-hours long.
For this tour the guide used the “microphone and headset” system. This was much better than the first tour because it gave us the flexibility to temporarily leave the group (and take care of Jacob) while still listening to the guide. We also picked up a few extra headsets (while the owners weren’t looking) so Jacob could have a new toy. Jacob is typically a fan of electrical toys that he doesn’t think he is allowed to have. It worked like a gem.
Our guide was worth his “wait” in gold - the two hour wait flew by because we got a history lesson on the papacy, the Reformation, and the Vatican grounds. If we didn’t have the guide, we all would have been really irritated by the long line.
San Pietro is the biggest church in the world. From the outside it definitely looks big, but nothing like the inside. The history of this church really originates in the New Testament of the Bible. There Jesus said that he would build his church on Peter. Most people believed it to be an allegorical statement, but the church took it literally.
After Jesus was crucified, Peter traveled to Rome to preach the gospel. After arriving in Rome, he was tried and crucified like most of the other disciples. Peter was buried on Vatican hill just 50 meters from where he was killed. His grave remained in that same spot for several hundred years. In fact, he remained so long that the landscape topography also changed. After one of the more significant floods, a wall was built directly behind his grave to prevent further erosion.
In 313AD, Emperor Constantine legalized Christianity and allowed formal gatherings to commence. From that point forward the church began to flourish. In 324AD, the San Pietro chapel was started. And, the center of the chapel was built directly on top of Saint Peter’s grave. So, the biblical prophecy was both literally and figuratively fulfilled.
There are three key landmarks in the Vatican courtyard. The circumference is lined with hundreds of Roman columns with statues of famous martyrs on top. In the center there is a huge obelisk with a cross on top. And, in the front there are two enormous statues of St. Paul and St. Peter. St. Peter is carrying the keys and St. Paul is carrying the sword.
The steps of the church are made from marble stolen from the Coliseum. The front of the church has a huge door with multiple panels depicting the life of Christ and he and his disciples’ crucifixions.
There are several other works of art on the portico, each with their own significance. Jacob especially liked the marble scene on the floor.
As we entered the church the guide asked us to find words to describe our initial reaction. The group came up with tall, gaudy, over the top, impressive, awesome, crowded, and not spiritual.
One of the biggest attractions in the building is Michelangelo’s Pieta. Michelangelo was contracted for many pieces with the Vatican: statues for Pope xxx’s tomb, the Pieta, and the Sistine Chapel. Michelangelo is regarded as the world’s greatest sculpture.
Jacob lasted about 20 minutes into the Church. It helped with the tour, but he didn’t finish his snack and Amanda’s arms were on fire by the end of it.
The church is decorated with numerous chapels and lots of tombs. Most of the tombs are for popes and some of those tombs hold glass coffins with the popes exposed.
Rome is notorious for their collection of relics. There have been several patrons throughout the years that have brokered deals to trade for relics. There are four stations surrounding the center of the church which hold the relics: the spear that pierced Jesus’ side, the veil that Veronica gave to Jesus to wipe the blood and dirt from his face (fell from heaven), some pieces of the cross, and St. Andrew’s remains.
San Pietro Basilica is a really neat place. The overwhelming size of the place sneaks up on you, and there is a story in every corner. It doesn’t really feel like a church --- much more like a museum. If you read the history, you also know that it has a rather “sorted” past. Nonetheless, for a Christian this building has a very moving influence.
The basilica was only half of the tour and it ended at lunch time. Our guide led us to the best pizza place in town – he was right. This stuff was great.
After lunch we hit the Vatican museum. The guide again gave us a brief history lesson about the various popes, art exhibits, etc. All very good. The big takeaway about the Vatican --- they were uber wealthy, corrupt, and hired the best artists for religious art.
The museum is stocked full of high-end art: plenty of Raphael, Michelangelo, and DaVinci. One story that they told was about the value of the art. In the US a 6in X 8in painting was sold for $45MM (artist name I can’t remember). The Vatican has a similar painting by the same artist. The difference, however, is this painting was 15 foot by 20 foot. Can you imagine how much that one is worth?
Unfortunately, in the 1500’s (at the beginning of the Reformation) Rome was sacked by the Germans and Spaniards. The stories from that invasion were worse than any other in history; they killed thousands of people, burned multiple churches, and destroyed lots of art and relics.
The museum today is still revered as one of the best in the world, but it would be 10 times better if the Reformation would have been less violent. There was still a lot to see in the museum.
After the museum the tour takes you through the Sistine Chapel - Michelangelo’s Fresco Masterpiece. It was packed, dark, and noisy. We weren’t allowed to take pictures, but that didn’t stop me. The painting was amazing, but even more so is how they are done. A fresco is a painting on a wall. When you look at it you think that they just painted on the wall. In reality, however, the painters only paint on wet plaster. In other words, they don’t have a prepared wall before they paint; they prepare the wall as they paint.
Most artists would sketch the picture before painting and then they would use the sketch to create a “pattern” on the wet plaster. Michelangelo, however, didn’t use any patterns and didn’t make any sketches --- the just prepared the wall with wet plaster and then started painting. This is why people consider him a genius.
The scale of the project surprised us the most. When you consider the size of a normal painting (4 ft by 6 ft) and then realize that this painting was ~100ft by 40ft. It leaves you breathless. Quite honestly, it is difficult to see if the quality is really good in person, but the books, experts, and historians confirm that for us.
After the Sistine Chapel the tour was over. It was yet another excellent tour --- educational, inspiring, and interesting. Although, I think Jacob enjoyed flirting with the girls a bit more.
After the tour ended and Jacob finished his game, Phil and I went to the crypt. This is where they keep all of the notable popes. Most notable in this crypt were Pope John Paul and St. Peter. Pope John Paul’s area was like a shrine with lots of pilgrims praying and tourists snapping pictures. St. Peter’s tomb was more somber and holy. It seemed surreal to be standing so close to Jesus’ #1 disciple.
We finally left the Vatican around 6pm to scope out another Rick Steve’s joint. It was good again and provided us the best Bruschetta ever. On the way back to the apartment we hit another homerun with the Old Bridge Gelatoria. We ate a lot of gelato in Rome, but this ended up being our favorite spot.
Day 5: The day of relics
Wednesday was a “no tour” day and completely planned for a Christian pilgrimage through Rome. Through the years Rome has collected numerous Christian relics; most of them are associated with Jesus and his Disciples’ lives. To detail each of the places would take thousands of words, so for this review I am only going to list brief descriptions.
We started on the east side of town at Basilica of the Holy Cross, San Giovanni in Laterano, and Sanctuario della Scalla Santa.
Holy Cross:
- Pieces of the cross
- Nail that pierced Jesus’ foot on the cross
- Thorns from the crown
- Titular of Holy Cross: tablet stating charges brought against Jesus
- Finger from St. Thomas
- Copy of the Holy Shroud
- Dirt collected by St. Helen (Constantine’s mother) from Calvary
- Tomb of Nennolina
San Giovanni:
- Head of St. Peter
- Head of St. Paul
There are several other works of art on the portico, each with their own significance. Jacob especially liked the marble scene on the floor.
As we entered the church the guide asked us to find words to describe our initial reaction. The group came up with tall, gaudy, over the top, impressive, awesome, crowded, and not spiritual.One of the biggest attractions in the building is Michelangelo’s Pieta. Michelangelo was contracted for many pieces with the Vatican: statues for Pope xxx’s tomb, the Pieta, and the Sistine Chapel. Michelangelo is regarded as the world’s greatest sculpture.
Jacob lasted about 20 minutes into the Church. It helped with the tour, but he didn’t finish his snack and Amanda’s arms were on fire by the end of it.
The church is decorated with numerous chapels and lots of tombs. Most of the tombs are for popes and some of those tombs hold glass coffins with the popes exposed. Rome is notorious for their collection of relics. There have been several patrons throughout the years that have brokered deals to trade for relics. There are four stations surrounding the center of the church which hold the relics: the spear that pierced Jesus’ side, the veil that Veronica gave to Jesus to wipe the blood and dirt from his face (fell from heaven), some pieces of the cross, and St. Andrew’s remains.San Pietro Basilica is a really neat place. The overwhelming size of the place sneaks up on you, and there is a story in every corner. It doesn’t really feel like a church --- much more like a museum. If you read the history, you also know that it has a rather “sorted” past. Nonetheless, for a Christian this building has a very moving influence.
The basilica was only half of the tour and it ended at lunch time. Our guide led us to the best pizza place in town – he was right. This stuff was great.
After lunch we hit the Vatican museum. The guide again gave us a brief history lesson about the various popes, art exhibits, etc. All very good. The big takeaway about the Vatican --- they were uber wealthy, corrupt, and hired the best artists for religious art.
The museum is stocked full of high-end art: plenty of Raphael, Michelangelo, and DaVinci. One story that they told was about the value of the art. In the US a 6in X 8in painting was sold for $45MM (artist name I can’t remember). The Vatican has a similar painting by the same artist. The difference, however, is this painting was 15 foot by 20 foot. Can you imagine how much that one is worth?
Unfortunately, in the 1500’s (at the beginning of the Reformation) Rome was sacked by the Germans and Spaniards. The stories from that invasion were worse than any other in history; they killed thousands of people, burned multiple churches, and destroyed lots of art and relics.
The museum today is still revered as one of the best in the world, but it would be 10 times better if the Reformation would have been less violent. There was still a lot to see in the museum.
After the museum the tour takes you through the Sistine Chapel - Michelangelo’s Fresco Masterpiece. It was packed, dark, and noisy. We weren’t allowed to take pictures, but that didn’t stop me. The painting was amazing, but even more so is how they are done. A fresco is a painting on a wall. When you look at it you think that they just painted on the wall. In reality, however, the painters only paint on wet plaster. In other words, they don’t have a prepared wall before they paint; they prepare the wall as they paint.Most artists would sketch the picture before painting and then they would use the sketch to create a “pattern” on the wet plaster. Michelangelo, however, didn’t use any patterns and didn’t make any sketches --- the just prepared the wall with wet plaster and then started painting. This is why people consider him a genius.
The scale of the project surprised us the most. When you consider the size of a normal painting (4 ft by 6 ft) and then realize that this painting was ~100ft by 40ft. It leaves you breathless. Quite honestly, it is difficult to see if the quality is really good in person, but the books, experts, and historians confirm that for us.
After the Sistine Chapel the tour was over. It was yet another excellent tour --- educational, inspiring, and interesting. Although, I think Jacob enjoyed flirting with the girls a bit more. After the tour ended and Jacob finished his game, Phil and I went to the crypt. This is where they keep all of the notable popes. Most notable in this crypt were Pope John Paul and St. Peter. Pope John Paul’s area was like a shrine with lots of pilgrims praying and tourists snapping pictures. St. Peter’s tomb was more somber and holy. It seemed surreal to be standing so close to Jesus’ #1 disciple.We finally left the Vatican around 6pm to scope out another Rick Steve’s joint. It was good again and provided us the best Bruschetta ever. On the way back to the apartment we hit another homerun with the Old Bridge Gelatoria. We ate a lot of gelato in Rome, but this ended up being our favorite spot.Day 5: The day of relics
Wednesday was a “no tour” day and completely planned for a Christian pilgrimage through Rome. Through the years Rome has collected numerous Christian relics; most of them are associated with Jesus and his Disciples’ lives. To detail each of the places would take thousands of words, so for this review I am only going to list brief descriptions.
We started on the east side of town at Basilica of the Holy Cross, San Giovanni in Laterano, and Sanctuario della Scalla Santa.
Holy Cross:
- Pieces of the cross
- Nail that pierced Jesus’ foot on the cross
- Thorns from the crown
- Titular of Holy Cross: tablet stating charges brought against Jesus
- Finger from St. Thomas
- Copy of the Holy Shroud
- Dirt collected by St. Helen (Constantine’s mother) from Calvary
- Tomb of Nennolina
San Giovanni:
- Head of St. Peter
- Head of St. Paul
Sanctuario della Scalla Santa:
Step of Pontius Pilot – the steps that Jesus walked up that led to Pontius Pilot’s villa.
Between the sites we stopped off at a playground. Jacob had a great time until he busted his lip. This was a pretty good one that bled for quite a while – poor guy.
It was around noon when we finished, Jacob was sleeping, and we were hungry. Rick recommended a nice little place by the Coliseum (where Engineering students from the University of Rome hang out). We didn’t tell the waitress that we came via “the blue book” and so she yelled at us afterwards, reduced our bill by 20%, and gave us free dessert. The power of Rick Steves. Rick also recommended we teach Simona a new English word, so Amanda taught her “skeezy”. She immediately added it to her vocabulary “da gawbage is skeezy”.
We walked through a nice scenic overlook to the Coliseum before heading to the Basilica of Saint Peter in Chains and Santa Maria Maggiore.
St. Peter in Chains:
- Chains that bound St. Peter while in custody in Rome
- Michelangelo’s Moses
Santa Maria Maggiore:
- Wood remaining from Jesus’ manger
- Tomb of Bernini
- Hundreds of mosaics
It was a clumsy day for Jacob. At the Santa Maria basilica, he fell from a step and busted his head on the marble; in case you were wondering --- I was watching him this time too.
We continued on our pilgrimage to Santa Prochetti where we saw the flagellation post. This is the post where Jesus was bound during the scourging before the crucifixion.
At the end of the day, we were wiped out --- we didn’t follow a Rick recommendation and instead found the nearest McDonalds, ate great McMenu meals, found our way back to the Old Bridge Gelatoria, walked home and crashed. We probably walked 40 miles that day, but it was another fantastic a great day.
Day 6: Old Rome
The following day we woke early and grabbed a bus to the old Rome area (forum, Coliseum, Palatine Hill). We got suckered into a picture with some Roman Gladiators – the real ones --- yeah right. The worst part of this is that they expected payment after they took pictures of us with our camera. A real sham.
We met with our group at the base of Palatine Hill and learned that our guide was a PhD from University of Michigan in Classical Archeology. He was a cool guy who really knew his stuff and shared a lot without any arrogance. He had a good sarcastic humor and could go with the flow of the questions really well.
To start the tour he provided a great background to Roman history. I tried to capture the highlights in an outline below. Keep in mind this is the first 2000 years boiled down to 30 minutes and then the 30 minutes was reduced to 8 bullet points.
Brief History of Roman Empire:
- 753 BC – Romulus / Remos raised by wolf on Palatine Hill. Romulus kills Remos to consolidate power. Rome is founded and named after Romulus.
- 750 to 550 BC – Rome runs as a Republic and begins to expand (i.e. Democracy – USA is a republic). Very successful form of government for this time - good at creating efficiency and alignment. Gives the people a voice in the government, senate grows in strength, the “city-states” unite and start driving toward common goals.
- 550 to 55 BC – Rome expansion is in full gear. Great armies are pushing in all directions from Rome. As the empire grows, the political strength begins to shift from the government to the military leaders. The people are behind the Generals, not the Senators. The size of Rome cannot be managed by a democracy any longer.
- 55 to 44 BC - Military leaders begin to quarrel and vie for more power; civil wars begin. Julius Caesar wins final battle and converts the Roman “Republic” into a Roman “Empire”. Thereby, destroying the democracy and installing himself as the dictator for life.
- 44 BC – Julius Caesar is murdered (political plot). Marcus Antony (former general of Caesar) gives a great speech at the forum, unites the people against those that killed Ceasar, and virtually ensures that the dictatorial government will stand. Augustus (Caesar’s nephew) is named Dictator (or Caesar).
- 44 BC to 350 AD – Rome continues to grow, pushed its boarders to control the entire Mediterranean coast, England (Britannia), Europe (to the Rhine and Danube), Middle East (to Iran – or Persia), Northern Africa to the deserts. Basically, the Roman Empire conquered as far as they believed there was value.
- 350 AD to 550 AD – Corruption enters. Enemies at borders start pecking away at the empire. Lose key battles to the Visigoths, Saxons, and Persians.
- 550 AD – Rome implodes and Europe plunges into the Dark ages.
The tour was basically broken into three areas: Palatine Hill, The Roman Forum, and the Coliseum.
Palatine Hill:
Palatine Hill was reminiscent of Pompeii except Pompeii was preserved much better. This area is considered the birthplace of Rome (i.e. where Romulus and Remos first settled). Over the years it grew to become the imperial palace for most of the Roman emperors.
It was adorned with aqueducts, fountains, and lots of rooms. The rooms were amazingly tall. If you could place your mind back to the height of the empire and view the ruins as if they were still in their full beauty, it would take your breath away.
We were lucky because we got to see one of the newly uncovered areas of the hill. It was the personal residence of Caesar Augustus. The line to the exhibit was uncannily short so we got to see the residence. There is really something amazing about seeing buildings and art that is over 2000 years old.
The views were great and the stories were limitless. I have never known so much about the Roman Empire.
Forum:
The Forum is located at the base of Palatine Hill. This is where all of the Roman elite shopped, debated, and hung out. It was the Beverly Hills / Washington DC of the Roman Empire.
Every time a new Caesar came to power or a military leader won a key victory they would erect a new archway, building, or statue. Most of those memorials were built in the Forum.
The roads in the Forum were uncovered in their original form. They are large basalt stones. Over the past 1500 years, however, they have separated a bit and are very difficult to walk on - especially with a stroller.
The popular story of the Roman Empire really starts with Julius Caesar. As everyone knows, Julius Caesar was murdered by his friends and other members of the Senate. What people don’t know is how he was martyred. After this death and at his funeral Caesar’s top general Mark Anthony gave a great political speech in the Forum. He basically condemned the actions of those that killed him and played to the crowd’s hearts by deifying everything that Caesar had brought to the people.
Out of anger the people rushed the stage and carried Caesar’s body to the center of the Forum. At that point, they burned his body. This was significant because no time before were burials allowed inside the city walls. By burning Caesar in the Forum center, they demonstrated their disgust for the Republic. This essentially provided the platform for the democratic system to be expelled and a monarchy established. It was the beginning or Rome’s imperial age.
What is interesting about the forum is how impressive it still looks even after 2000 years of age and pillaging. All of the buildings used to be covered in marble, but all of that has been stripped and used for other uses – the Vatican’s needs and burned to make lime.
Since the Roman Empire didn’t accept Christianity until ~300AD, there are hundreds of monuments and temples dedicated to Roman gods. After the empire legalized Christianity under Constantine’s rule, he went through the city and “Christianized” it as much as possible. He chipped out all references to Pagan gods and replaced them with biblical references.
Coliseum:
The final aspect of the tour was the Coliseum. It looked a lot like the movies and pictures, but it was definitely more interesting in person.
There was a gladiator training center next door. These guys were like modern day sports heroes. The crowds loved them, would go to the practices, and root for their favorites at the main events. The owners didn’t want to lose their investments so most events didn’t commission the gladiator to fight to his death.
A few interesting tidbits:
- The coliseum would hold 70,000 people.
- Most events were not fought to the death.
- Had all kinds of events: synchronized hippopotamuses, rape of the sabine, gladiatorial, jungle hunts, circus-like events, water combats, etc.
- The structure has stood for 2000 years. How many modern coliseums would stand that long?
- Half of the building collapsed during an earthquake. The half that stood had its foundation in bedrock; the half that fell was set on topsoil.
- The coliseum was built after Nero’s reign to appease the general population after years of neglect.
- It was built directly on top of the lake that Nero built for himself; it was built as a sign to the people that times were changing. It was also an amazing engineering feat to drain the lake and fill it with concrete.
- Romans were the first to use concrete, and the Coliseum could not have been built without it.
- Through the years there were many repairs made. Most of the time they minimized the cost and made it look good on the outside and rough on the backside.
- Only took 10 years to build.
- It has two layers of basements.
- It was built with a retractable dome; ok, they could move a canvas tent over the top.
When we think about ancient architecture, we tend to think that everything was “Michelangelo quality”. The truth is, however, there were more bad then there were good. The picture below illustrates that point. You can see how the lettering at the top is very straight and uniform and the text at the bottom is starting to drift. Also notice the AE in the center. It looks like that was chipped out and replaced --- probably because the sculptor misspelled a word.
This was probably the best tour. The guide was really good, we learned a ton, and Jacob was happy throughout the entire tour.
After we left the tour, we headed back toward the Piazza Navona to buy our Rome souvenirs. We had been scoping out a few things all week long and finally settled on two paintings and a plate.
On the way back we walked past the prison that held both Peter and Paul, so we stopped in to see – it was a pretty miserable place, especially considering they lowered them into the cell from the floor above. There is an alter in the cell now.
We reached the Piazza Navona and bought our souvenirs. Quite honestly, at that point we were on the verge of going home. It was only 4pm and way too early for dinner, but it would be kind of a waste of a day to go home already. We ended up just hanging out in the Piazza. There was a Turkish band set up on the piazza that Jacob really liked. It was really fun to watch him dance and get into the performance. Before long, a pretty big crowd had gathered around. Jacob was in the center dancing and having fun. I think most of the people were watching Jacob instead of the band and am sure the band made more money thanks to Jacob.
For our final dinner we decided on Phil’s favorite gnocci restaurant from his last trip. The only problem was it was still too early for dinner and it was a long walk. We decided to walk because that would kill some time and just stop along the way as our hearts desired. This is where Rome is pretty cool. The first stop we made was at a “nothing special” type church just east of the Navona.
When we went inside we found the tombs of the disciples Phillip and Jacob. Amazing. It was reminiscent of the time we found the disciple Andrew in Amalfi.
We finally arrived at Giovanni’s. Granted, it was a deviation from the Rick Steves’ recommendation and it didn’t have gnocci that night, but it was still really good. We decided to take a cab home because it felt like we walked 20 miles that day.
It was essentially the end of the first part of our trip.
Step of Pontius Pilot – the steps that Jesus walked up that led to Pontius Pilot’s villa.
Between the sites we stopped off at a playground. Jacob had a great time until he busted his lip. This was a pretty good one that bled for quite a while – poor guy.
It was around noon when we finished, Jacob was sleeping, and we were hungry. Rick recommended a nice little place by the Coliseum (where Engineering students from the University of Rome hang out). We didn’t tell the waitress that we came via “the blue book” and so she yelled at us afterwards, reduced our bill by 20%, and gave us free dessert. The power of Rick Steves. Rick also recommended we teach Simona a new English word, so Amanda taught her “skeezy”. She immediately added it to her vocabulary “da gawbage is skeezy”.We walked through a nice scenic overlook to the Coliseum before heading to the Basilica of Saint Peter in Chains and Santa Maria Maggiore.
St. Peter in Chains:- Chains that bound St. Peter while in custody in Rome
- Michelangelo’s Moses
Santa Maria Maggiore:- Wood remaining from Jesus’ manger
- Tomb of Bernini
- Hundreds of mosaics
It was a clumsy day for Jacob. At the Santa Maria basilica, he fell from a step and busted his head on the marble; in case you were wondering --- I was watching him this time too.We continued on our pilgrimage to Santa Prochetti where we saw the flagellation post. This is the post where Jesus was bound during the scourging before the crucifixion.
At the end of the day, we were wiped out --- we didn’t follow a Rick recommendation and instead found the nearest McDonalds, ate great McMenu meals, found our way back to the Old Bridge Gelatoria, walked home and crashed. We probably walked 40 miles that day, but it was another fantastic a great day.Day 6: Old RomeThe following day we woke early and grabbed a bus to the old Rome area (forum, Coliseum, Palatine Hill). We got suckered into a picture with some Roman Gladiators – the real ones --- yeah right. The worst part of this is that they expected payment after they took pictures of us with our camera. A real sham.
We met with our group at the base of Palatine Hill and learned that our guide was a PhD from University of Michigan in Classical Archeology. He was a cool guy who really knew his stuff and shared a lot without any arrogance. He had a good sarcastic humor and could go with the flow of the questions really well.To start the tour he provided a great background to Roman history. I tried to capture the highlights in an outline below. Keep in mind this is the first 2000 years boiled down to 30 minutes and then the 30 minutes was reduced to 8 bullet points.
Brief History of Roman Empire:
- 753 BC – Romulus / Remos raised by wolf on Palatine Hill. Romulus kills Remos to consolidate power. Rome is founded and named after Romulus.
- 750 to 550 BC – Rome runs as a Republic and begins to expand (i.e. Democracy – USA is a republic). Very successful form of government for this time - good at creating efficiency and alignment. Gives the people a voice in the government, senate grows in strength, the “city-states” unite and start driving toward common goals.
- 550 to 55 BC – Rome expansion is in full gear. Great armies are pushing in all directions from Rome. As the empire grows, the political strength begins to shift from the government to the military leaders. The people are behind the Generals, not the Senators. The size of Rome cannot be managed by a democracy any longer.
- 55 to 44 BC - Military leaders begin to quarrel and vie for more power; civil wars begin. Julius Caesar wins final battle and converts the Roman “Republic” into a Roman “Empire”. Thereby, destroying the democracy and installing himself as the dictator for life.
- 44 BC – Julius Caesar is murdered (political plot). Marcus Antony (former general of Caesar) gives a great speech at the forum, unites the people against those that killed Ceasar, and virtually ensures that the dictatorial government will stand. Augustus (Caesar’s nephew) is named Dictator (or Caesar).
- 44 BC to 350 AD – Rome continues to grow, pushed its boarders to control the entire Mediterranean coast, England (Britannia), Europe (to the Rhine and Danube), Middle East (to Iran – or Persia), Northern Africa to the deserts. Basically, the Roman Empire conquered as far as they believed there was value.
- 350 AD to 550 AD – Corruption enters. Enemies at borders start pecking away at the empire. Lose key battles to the Visigoths, Saxons, and Persians.
- 550 AD – Rome implodes and Europe plunges into the Dark ages.
The tour was basically broken into three areas: Palatine Hill, The Roman Forum, and the Coliseum.
Palatine Hill:
Palatine Hill was reminiscent of Pompeii except Pompeii was preserved much better. This area is considered the birthplace of Rome (i.e. where Romulus and Remos first settled). Over the years it grew to become the imperial palace for most of the Roman emperors.
It was adorned with aqueducts, fountains, and lots of rooms. The rooms were amazingly tall. If you could place your mind back to the height of the empire and view the ruins as if they were still in their full beauty, it would take your breath away.
We were lucky because we got to see one of the newly uncovered areas of the hill. It was the personal residence of Caesar Augustus. The line to the exhibit was uncannily short so we got to see the residence. There is really something amazing about seeing buildings and art that is over 2000 years old.
The views were great and the stories were limitless. I have never known so much about the Roman Empire.
Forum:The Forum is located at the base of Palatine Hill. This is where all of the Roman elite shopped, debated, and hung out. It was the Beverly Hills / Washington DC of the Roman Empire.
Every time a new Caesar came to power or a military leader won a key victory they would erect a new archway, building, or statue. Most of those memorials were built in the Forum.
The roads in the Forum were uncovered in their original form. They are large basalt stones. Over the past 1500 years, however, they have separated a bit and are very difficult to walk on - especially with a stroller.
The popular story of the Roman Empire really starts with Julius Caesar. As everyone knows, Julius Caesar was murdered by his friends and other members of the Senate. What people don’t know is how he was martyred. After this death and at his funeral Caesar’s top general Mark Anthony gave a great political speech in the Forum. He basically condemned the actions of those that killed him and played to the crowd’s hearts by deifying everything that Caesar had brought to the people.
Out of anger the people rushed the stage and carried Caesar’s body to the center of the Forum. At that point, they burned his body. This was significant because no time before were burials allowed inside the city walls. By burning Caesar in the Forum center, they demonstrated their disgust for the Republic. This essentially provided the platform for the democratic system to be expelled and a monarchy established. It was the beginning or Rome’s imperial age.
What is interesting about the forum is how impressive it still looks even after 2000 years of age and pillaging. All of the buildings used to be covered in marble, but all of that has been stripped and used for other uses – the Vatican’s needs and burned to make lime.Since the Roman Empire didn’t accept Christianity until ~300AD, there are hundreds of monuments and temples dedicated to Roman gods. After the empire legalized Christianity under Constantine’s rule, he went through the city and “Christianized” it as much as possible. He chipped out all references to Pagan gods and replaced them with biblical references.
Coliseum:
The final aspect of the tour was the Coliseum. It looked a lot like the movies and pictures, but it was definitely more interesting in person.
There was a gladiator training center next door. These guys were like modern day sports heroes. The crowds loved them, would go to the practices, and root for their favorites at the main events. The owners didn’t want to lose their investments so most events didn’t commission the gladiator to fight to his death. A few interesting tidbits:- The coliseum would hold 70,000 people.
- Most events were not fought to the death.
- Had all kinds of events: synchronized hippopotamuses, rape of the sabine, gladiatorial, jungle hunts, circus-like events, water combats, etc.
- The structure has stood for 2000 years. How many modern coliseums would stand that long?
- Half of the building collapsed during an earthquake. The half that stood had its foundation in bedrock; the half that fell was set on topsoil.
- The coliseum was built after Nero’s reign to appease the general population after years of neglect.
- It was built directly on top of the lake that Nero built for himself; it was built as a sign to the people that times were changing. It was also an amazing engineering feat to drain the lake and fill it with concrete.
- Romans were the first to use concrete, and the Coliseum could not have been built without it.
- Through the years there were many repairs made. Most of the time they minimized the cost and made it look good on the outside and rough on the backside.
- Only took 10 years to build.
- It has two layers of basements.
- It was built with a retractable dome; ok, they could move a canvas tent over the top.
When we think about ancient architecture, we tend to think that everything was “Michelangelo quality”. The truth is, however, there were more bad then there were good. The picture below illustrates that point. You can see how the lettering at the top is very straight and uniform and the text at the bottom is starting to drift. Also notice the AE in the center. It looks like that was chipped out and replaced --- probably because the sculptor misspelled a word.
This was probably the best tour. The guide was really good, we learned a ton, and Jacob was happy throughout the entire tour.After we left the tour, we headed back toward the Piazza Navona to buy our Rome souvenirs. We had been scoping out a few things all week long and finally settled on two paintings and a plate.
On the way back we walked past the prison that held both Peter and Paul, so we stopped in to see – it was a pretty miserable place, especially considering they lowered them into the cell from the floor above. There is an alter in the cell now.
We reached the Piazza Navona and bought our souvenirs. Quite honestly, at that point we were on the verge of going home. It was only 4pm and way too early for dinner, but it would be kind of a waste of a day to go home already. We ended up just hanging out in the Piazza. There was a Turkish band set up on the piazza that Jacob really liked. It was really fun to watch him dance and get into the performance. Before long, a pretty big crowd had gathered around. Jacob was in the center dancing and having fun. I think most of the people were watching Jacob instead of the band and am sure the band made more money thanks to Jacob.
For our final dinner we decided on Phil’s favorite gnocci restaurant from his last trip. The only problem was it was still too early for dinner and it was a long walk. We decided to walk because that would kill some time and just stop along the way as our hearts desired. This is where Rome is pretty cool. The first stop we made was at a “nothing special” type church just east of the Navona.
When we went inside we found the tombs of the disciples Phillip and Jacob. Amazing. It was reminiscent of the time we found the disciple Andrew in Amalfi.
We finally arrived at Giovanni’s. Granted, it was a deviation from the Rick Steves’ recommendation and it didn’t have gnocci that night, but it was still really good. We decided to take a cab home because it felt like we walked 20 miles that day.It was essentially the end of the first part of our trip.
Thus, we headed to Arles. I drove to the town center and just walked around the narrow streets of shops. I stopped to grab a sandwich for me and Jacob and continued walking. We found a park, so I let Jacob out of the stroller to walk around.
Dustin ended up calling to tell me that he would be done early and that our plan was changing - we were heading to Avignon for the night instead of Nice.
The next morning we grabbed breakfast and then toured the House of Popes (Dustin language; it is actually called Palais des Papes). In the 1300s, the papacy was moved from Rome to Avignon due to some political reasons. Seven popes resided in the Avignon House of Popes from 1309 through 1377. It’s pretty impressive, but I’m sure it’s nothing compared to the Vatican. We can’t wait to go to Rome in March!
Aside from pure southern French charm and the palace, the other notable item found in Avignon is the St. Benedict Bridge. This bridge was made famous in the 1100’s after Benedict told the church that God spoke to him and told him to build a bridge across the river Rhone. He was quickly laughed at and mocked by both the clergy and citizens. The story indicates that the Pope told Benedict if God told him to build the bridge, then he can start with this rock. As the pope made the statement he pointed to a huge boulder left over from building the cathedral. Without hesitation Benedict walked over to the boulder, picked it up, moved it to the river, and tossed it toward the river edge. That clearly signaled to all watching that God supported his mission and the town rallied behind Benedict to build the bridge. After Benedict’s death at 26 years of age, the papacy canonized his life work, and he was thereafter only referred to as Saint Benedict.
After Avignon, we drove to Aix en Provence. Aix is similar Avignon. We walked through the many streets of shops and through the Christmas market. Jacob also had a carousel ride. This town reminded us a lot of Italy. I think we are learning that there aren’t really country-by-country differences. Instead, there are regional differences. Southern Europe (Italy, Southern France, Barcelona, etc.) all resemble one another just like Northern Europe (Holland, Germany, etc.).
That night, we finally made our way to Nice. We didn’t really have a plan once we got there. On Saturday morning we woke up to cold, rainy weather (we could have stayed in Holland if we wanted that). Since it was so yucky outside, we took a quick stroll through town to the beach and then decided to drive north along the coast to see what there was to see. The biggest surprise for me was that the beaches are rocky, not sandy.
Monaco (the second smallest European country behind Vatican City) is not far from Nice. We stopped there to see yet another Christmas market in Monte Carlo. Each market seems to have something a little unique, but for the most part, they are all very similar. This one made snow to help decorate. This was really just another gross display of wealth by the “rich and famous”.
After Monaco, we continued north (back into France) and stopped in a small town for lunch. Then, we turned back south and drove to Cannes: known for the Cannes Film Festival. How could we be that close to where all the Hollywood stars go and not go ourselves? Unfortunately, the festival is held in May and it was freezing cold, so we didn’t see anyone famous. The beaches of Cannes were less rocky. I guess as you travel south, the beaches get nicer and nicer. 
We left Cannes early evening with the hopes of finding a neat place to eat dinner
on the way back to Nice. Luck was on our side. We came upon Antibes (Dustin pronounces this one as AnTEEBS – he really has no culture at all – the proper pronunciation is ahn-teeba). This town was the highlight for Dustin. It was quaint and charming. It also held a Christmas market where we found a unique stand that sold children’s puzzles and other items. They were all handmade by the lady running the stand. We purchased an elephant puzzle for Jacob, and he now plays with it constantly. Mostly he brings me all the pieces and watches me put it together. Hey, whatever keeps him entertained makes me happy. Each piece is a different color so it’s a good learning tool as well. We found a nice restaurant and had a wonderful last dinner on our trip.
