A Magical Evening in Rome

The next stop on our trip was Rome, a 3 hour drive from Florence. We got an amazing deal on an apartment just outside the city. Flavio, the owner, was there to greet us and give us all kinds of tips about transportation and the like. There was a little grocery store just around the corner and it was nice to have our own kitchen, although maybe I'm the only one who thought so. One of the mornings as we were eating cold cereal for breakfast Alex commented, "This is the worst hotel I've ever stayed in. They don't even serve breakfast!"

Here was our little kitchen. The door in the middle of the picture lead into the bathroom, and the door on the right lead outside to a rooftop patio with ping pong and foosball tables.

The family room
Ruby slept on the little blue bed and the couch turned into a bed where Pete and I slept. Also in the room with us was Henry in a port-a-crib.

Caroline and Alex shared the master suite so that they could stay up a little later than Henry and Ruby and sleep in a little in the mornings.

After getting settled in our apartment, we headed out to the train station to make our way into the city. We arrived in the heart of the city around 5pm, an unusual time for us to begin sightseeing. The kids were troopers and this first evening ended up being one of my favorite days in Rome. The newness of the city was exciting for everyone and starting off with the enormous Pantheon made a big impression.

Pete and Christina in front of the Pantheon

Henry, Christina, Alex

Henry, Ruby, Alex and Caroline with a couple of Roman soldiers

To get an idea of how big the Pantheon is you can see the tiny specs in front of Henry, Caroline, Alex and Ruby. How in the world did they build this in the 1st century AD?

Henry, Ruby, Alex, Christina, Pete
To see how big one of these pillars actually is, we all stood around it and held hands. When stretched out just enough, our family's circle was the same diameter as one pillar.

Inside the Pantheon, Rome's best-preserved ancient building

Caroline, Alex, Henry, Ruby, Christina

The best view we've ever had when munching McDonald's

Alex and Ruby in front of the Trevi Fountain

Alex, Caroline, Ruby

The fountain was magical at twilight. We actually ended up passing by it later in the week during the day and it just didn't seem quite the same.

The Trevi Fountain is the largest and most famous in Rome. Water comes pouring out of 24 different spouts powered by an aqueduct. They say if you toss a coin over your shoulder into the fountain it will guarantee your return to Rome.

Caroline, Alex, Ruby and Pete getting a closer look

Ruby, Henry and Alex sitting on the Spanish Steps

Christina and Pete with the church of Trinita dei Monti above

It's hard to take family pictures at night when it is past every one's bedtime

Alex, Christina, Henry, Caroline and Ruby