Anna, the kids, my mother-in-law, Linda and I went to Rome last week. Let me just say that Italy sucked. It did not live up to my expectations AT ALL.
I mean, sure the Colosseum is AMAZING and the Pantheon was BEAUTIFUL and I felt extra holy for having been to the Vatican and seen the Pope up close and in person (OK...not so up close...but still in person).
But whatever. I had one goal for my first trip to Italy and that was to finally buy some personalized "Vito" merchandise. I expected to come home with a bag filled with "Vito" key chains, "Vito" coffee mugs, "Vito" bicycle license plates, etc. Not a single "Vito" item was to be found. As far as I'm concerned, the trip was a waste.
Joking aside, we had a great time in Rome. We saw some amazing sites and we know we just scratched the surface in the 5 days we were there.
The first day we saw the Colosseum, Roman Forum and Palatine Hill. I asked the kids what their favorite part was and of course they said the ice cream.
On Day 2, we toured the Vatican Museums and St. Peter's Basilica. The kids favorite part: The pop tarts they had for a snack before we went into the Sistine Chapel.
Starting on Day 3, I stopped asking about their favorite part.
The view of St. Peter's Square from the steps of the Basilica.
Despite their goofy uniforms the Swiss Guards are in charge of guarding the Pope.
A well deserved beer after traipsing through the Vatican Museums all day. The food in Rome was awesome. I had some great Lasagna and probably the best Eggplant Parmigiana I've ever had.
One of the fountains in the Piazza Navona.
The General Audience with the Pope was both exciting and a bit anti-climactic. The Catholic School boy in me was very excited about seeing the Pope in person. The reality of it was that it was 80 degrees in direct sunlight with no seats (we got there 15 minutes before the start). The audience lasted for about 90 minutes but that was because the Pope and the priests/Cardinals that spoke basically said the same thing in 5-6 different languages. And naturally, after waiting all this time I had to take the kids to the bathroom (no line for the Men's room...my hand over Katie's eyes) and THAT'S when the Pope gives his blessing on the crowd.
Thank God for the Zoom on my camera.
Still, I'm glad to have gone. But we had to rush back to the apartment to catch our ride to the airport.
One last thing to share. Vito drew this picture of St. Peter's Square and the Pope and the teacher wrote down exactly what he said (click on picture to enlarge).
"We went to the Vatican in Rome, really called Italy. Italy is a fun place, but I didn't bring any toys, only my stuffed animal, Sparkles. We saw the Pope, he was asking a lot of questions."
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