When in Rome!

No excuses! I have slacked terribly in writing this blog since we’ve been home. I know all of you have been devastated by the absence of our posts. We left you in suspense with so many unanswered questions!

Did we ever make it through Italy? Did Mom enlarge her purse meat collection? Was Dad able to drive through Rome and Venice? Did we starve to death because of our inability to read Italian menus?

Well, don’t dismay, we have returned to finish the story! Actually, we’re only half way through our vacation as far as blog posts go, and we still have TONS of pictures to share with all of you! We are also super excited about a post focusing specifically on the differences between Europe and America, and tips for traveling abroad along with more food posts and fun surprise posts! 

Only now do I feel completely recovered and readjusted after being home for a few weeks. Since we’ve been home life has been… well, life has been life. Lets just say that we are all glad things have been leveling out recently. We have been home long enough now that we have begun to forget the hardships of traveling and remember everything with fondness. 

     Looking back on our vacation I can remember pros and cons about our time in Rome. Pro number one: Air conditioning! We had been on vacation for three weeks by the time we made it to Rome and not a single air B&B or vacation rental had air conditioning up to that point. The worst was Sarlat, (see The Tradition of Entertainment post https://thetravelingtwins.travel.blog/2019/09/03/the-tradition-of-entertainment/?fbclid=IwAR3iXiucMMEz6xcibx01BJPvI8_hj3TsTzCGBLF9tTsmwB6vNnW_-WLdVM4) where we stayed in a three story stone building with no air flow. Emily and I slept on the third floor in the tower where we were sure we’d cook to a crisp.

Traveling throughout Europe in the end of summer without air conditioning is surprising, sticky and uncomfortable. We were all concerned as we headed south to Rome that we’d surely melt, but as soon as we walked into that apartment and felt the cool air on our skin… I thought someone might start crying from happiness. We all slept harder than rocks that night, even Emily who slept on the ground atop couch pillows because we couldn’t figure out how to unfold the foldout couch.

Con number one: Rome was actually relatively dirty. I was unsure if it seemed dirty only because we had already spent time in Paris which was surprisingly clean (at least the section we were in).

Once we returned home, I talked with a friend who had visited Rome shortly after we had and she confirmed my observation. Rome actually smelled bad. Not all of it smelled, and of course there were nice areas but there were streets filled with overflowing dumpsters and trash. 

Pro number two: So many historic landmarks to see! So many buildings and monuments that you’ve always heard about are within miles of each other. While this was a pro this was also a con. I went to Rome with unrealistic expectations. I expected this vibrant historic city where old buildings and landmarks from the great Roman Empire lined the streets and the glory of what was once the capital of the known world could still be seen in part today. Unfortunately I was disappointed. Rome is more like some monuments wedged in-between buildings. Something that thoroughly  surprised me was how young everything really was. The oldest thing we saw in Rome was the Coliseum which wasn’t even origanilly built until 70 AD!

Some of the most famous sights weren’t even built until much later like the Trevi fountain built in 1732, St Peters Basilica in 1506 and the Pantheon in 126 AD. Most of the historic city I had expected to see lay under our feet and had been built upon.

The only thing remaining from the glory of the Roman Empire was the Forum. The Forum was a collection of building and courtyards that was once the center of ancient Rome. The remains of  the empirel palace on Palatine Hill and temples (some dating back to 497 BC), pillars and statues all reflected the glory of Rome but also the devastaion and abandonment it has experienced in its history.

Pro number three: The Sistine Chapel! The Sistine Chapel deserves a point all its own. All throughout Europe the ceilings will take your breath away with extravagant paintings and elaborate carvings. The Sistine Chapel left them all in the dust. Unfortunatly you were not allowed to take photos but I will always have the photo in my mind. Of course, just like everything else it didn’t look like I had expected but in this case I didn’t mind. The paintings were so vivid as they portrayed beloved Bible stories and heros of the faith and of course Adam reaching for the hand of God. We saw the Sistine Chapel at the end of the Vatican museum which was also amazing but all in all made for a very tiring day after driving into Rome that morning. 

We only had a day and a half in Rome so we saw everything at top speeds. Luckily at this point in our trip we were all pros at sightseeing with efficiency. We also saw St. Peters Basilica our first half day there along with the Trevi fountain and the Pantheon and Castle Sant’ Angelo (the last one only from our taxi window). Our second day in Rome we saw the Coloseum, the Forum (which included Palatine Hill) and visited the Trevi fountain for a second time. The only way I can think that we could have seen more would have been if we had had chariots to race about the streets in.

Overall Rome was a success and defiantly worth the visit but we were also relieved when we all piled in the van, headed back out to the Roman countryside and on to our next adventure. Keep an eye out for our next blog post coming soon as we float into Venice!