I can’t believe we have already finished day 20! We didn’t get to sleep last night until after midnight so we decided that the kids needed a good sleep in day. Tavis and I got up at 6:30 and ventured down for breakfast. We discovered that breakfast didn’t start until 7:00 so we walked around the property. It was a beautiful morning and there is a nice trail around the hotel property with stretching stations throughout. We also got good look at the pool area.
At 7:00 we ventured back to the breakfast area and chose to sit outside by the pool. They offered to bring us drinks as we checked out the buffet. I preferred the buffet in Munich better but this one was definitely bigger with much more variety. The fruit and pastries were amazing! I did not do a good job at pacing myself and left a bit overstuffed.
After breakfast we spoke to the Concierge about purchasing a Roman pass for the family so we could tour the city and see a few museums. She was great! She talked us out of it and gave us a map with a bunch of suggested sights to see. She also informed us that the hotel has a complimentary shuttle downtown. She even offered to help us purchase tickets online to any museums we would be interested in seeing. We went to our room and did some brainstorming to see what made sense to do with the kids. We decided that The Colosseum and Vatican City were our top 2 choices and we didn’t want to book too much. We also did a bit of searching online and expected that it would cost us about 150 euros for the family to do those 2 items alone.
Just before 9:00 we went back downstairs to purchase our tickets and and we were beyond impressed with the service we received from Anna. Vatican tickets weren’t available until Tuesday so we decided to do The Colosseum today. Anna got us “Skip the Line” tickets at 12:50 for 28 euros and she called to confirm that we did not need to purchase tickets for the kids! There is no charge for children under 18 accompanying their parents but this is not portrayed on their website. Next, Anna was able to get us “Skip the Line” tickets to Vatican on Tuesday for only 78 euros! With the amount of money we saved on the free breakfasts and not needing a bus pass we were quite happy with our selections.
At 9:30 we finally woke the kids up so they wouldn’t miss the breakfast buffet. Tavis and I also enjoyed a few more bites of food. Everyone enjoyed their breakfast and we even finished with enough time for the kids to go for a quick swim before the courtesy bus arrived. Addison passed but I took Ayva and Ari down to the main pool and they swam for the full 30 minutes. They didn’t want to leave but I assured them that we would be back.
At 11:30 we met the shuttle in front of the hotel and it was very prompt. We got downtown just before 12:00 and Tavis marked on his phone while I took a photo of the meeting point so we knew where to catch our ride home. We then ventured down the streets of Rome. One thing we noticed were how narrow the streets were and how there really didn’t seem to be any rules to driving beyond red light is a suggested stop and red walk sign is also just a suggestion. Cars were parked on street corners and bikes were just stacked all over the place. We assumed our regular formation as we walked with Tavis in front, the kids following in a line with me bringing up the rear. We were also quite concerned about pick pockets so we only brought 1 backpack which only had water (an essential item) and rain jackets (which we didn’t need).
There are a LOT of temples, basilicas and ruins in Rome! I think we saw something noteworthy on every street. We had 50 minutes to make the 20 minute walk to the Colosseum so we took a bit of a detour down to Trajan’s Forum. This was our first look at real ruins! They are still excavating the site but you can actually view what they have uncovered and walk around the area free of charge. It was amazing! I could have spent a bit more time here but we had to continue on.
The Colosseum
I am the first to admit that history is not one of my favourite subjects but all that came to mind when the building appears was “OMG”! It was so surreal to see the columns and the half built structure. We were able to walk right in past the hundreds of people lined up. I overheard someone saying it was already a 1 hour wait to purchase tickets. We had to go through what felt like an airport security before approaching the ticket booth. We handed our printed ticket (purchased online 3 hours earlier) over and the agent informed us that there would indeed be no fee for the kids. We were then provided the actual tickets. We walked up to the gate, someone scanned them and we were in!
The building is massive! We really didn’t know where to go so we just started reading everything we saw and made our way slowly around the bottom level. A part of the center was rebuilt to show what it would have looked like when it was built. Only people with a guided tour could go down there so we just took photos. Occasionally I overheard an English guide giving a speech. After seeing everything we could on the bottom we made our way up the extremely large steep stairs. We came to the conclusion that the ancient Romans were huge! I learned a lot more about the structure than I thought I would and I actually found it fascinating. We were there for 2 hours and I was not bored at all! For more information you can always visit wikipedia. The clouds began to roll in and lightening and thunder appeared in the distance. It was a nice relief to the heat.
After seeing the entire amphitheatre and being satisfied with our daily sightseeing we decided to see what else we could find in Rome. As we walked away we saw a bunch of people lined up and saw a sign that tickets were required. We were not interested in purchasing any more tickets for the day so we walked along the street next to it and peered in through the gates. We followed the street to the top of the hill until we reached a dead end. We were looking for something called The Roman Forum but the huge gated area was in the way! As we walked down the hill and passed the gate again I decided to ask what the tickets were for and how much they cost. The person at the gate informed us that it was the entrance to The Roman Forum and The Palatino Hill and if we purchased a ticket it would also get us into the Colosseum. DUH!!! We already had tickets!!!
The Palatino Hill
We began walking up the hill and were in awe of the columns and ruins scattered everywhere. It was so surreal to be walking amidst it all. We didn’t really know where we were going so we just walked along the path until we found something to read. It was quite fascinating. We walked all the way up the hill (again) and under the road we took before to a viewpoint overlooking the city and the Colosseum. We then made our way to an old open stadium and walked around. The path just kept going around corners to more ruins and buildings half fallen. You could see how grand it must have been at one point in history and amazing to think that they were able to build such massive structures so long ago. Another great thing was that drinking water fountains were found everywhere inside the gates. There were even a few restrooms. About half way through, the sun broke through the clouds and it got really hot. Just before 3:30 we made our way to the Palatino museum and discovered that although we were super, our tickets were not. They wouldn’t let us into the museum unless we purchased an additional “SUPER” ticket. We carried on.
We walked up what we thought was a hill which had another great view of what looked like a huge stage that was half fallen. We then made our way around a park and down a large set of stairs toward the stage. When we looked back we realized that we were actually standing on top of a huge building that was once either a large palace or sanctuary. I really don’t know. We were all very hot by now and our goal was to find the so called Roman Forum.
The Roman Forum
By 4:00, the kids were ready to swim and we knew the bus left every hour so our goal was to see what we could and get back to the bus stop in an hour. We walked through more huge columns, stone walls, and eventually stopped in front of a building that had 6 joined columns. Apparently that was it! The Roman Forum is 6 columns with a bunch of other bases where broken columns once stood. As we walked down the crowded street I have to admit I thought everyone there was a little nuts. All these people crowded around to see a bunch of huge rocks. I have to admit though, it must have been quite a site in its glory. The entire area had such a crazy feel with half excavated sites all around us, pieces of columns scattered on the ground. It really was amazing to see but we were hot, tired, and hungry. By 4:15 we began making our way back to the bus stop. We had a quick dinner at Burger King and arrived at the rendez-vous just as our shuttle pulled up! It was excellent timing.
We got back to the hotel around 5:30, quickly changed into our bathing suits and were down by the pool by 5:45. Everyone enjoyed a refreshing swim in the main pool. By 6:30 the clouds rolled in again and it looked like rain was coming. We moved to the inside pool just before the rain came down. At 7:00 the pool closed and we went up to get changed. Tavis and I walked down to a super market and picket up some snacks. When we got back we all sat on the patio and enjoyed watching the lightening storm with our snacks. We even got to talk to Grandma & Grandpa Craik.
Now we get some sleep and tomorrow we explore Vatican City.