Family Visit: Day 3

Ciao Tutti,

Thursday was my last full day in Rome with my Dad and brother.  We made the best of it, though, as we booked a tour to see the Colosseum, Palentine Hill, and the Roman Forum.  We started off the day with breakfast on our hotel's rooftop terrace.  Then, we caught a taxi to our tour's meeting point near the Colosseum.

I booked a tour with Dark Rome tours because they received great reviews on TripAdvisor.com, but was very disappointed with the quality of the tour.  That, however, did not detract from how amazing the sites we saw were.

We started off by going into the Colosseum.  It was my first time in the Colosseum since I arrived in Rome at the end of January.  It was a long wait, but was so worth it.  We learned a great deal about how the Colosseum worked and where everyone sat (rich people in the front, ordinary people in the middle, and women in the nosebleeds).  We also climbed up to the middle level of the Colosseum which provided a great view of the interior of the "performance area."  We saw where the elevators were and how they worked.  It was a very informative tour.

After posing for a few pictures, we headed over to the Palentine Hill.  I didn't know anything whatsoever about the Palentine Hill prior to the tour, so it was nice to learn so much information.  Palentine Hill was essentially where the city of Rome was founded and where the Emperors of Rome resided.

After the Palentine Hill, we took a very quick tour of the Roman Forum.  Our tour guide showed us the path that war heroes and other important people took when they were on their way to meet the Emperor.

By this point, we were all absolutely exhausted and decided to go to our favorite restaurant, Monte Carlo, for lunch.  After lunch, we grabbed a gelato and I headed off to take an Italian exam.  While I was taking my exam, my Dad and brother took a hop-on, hop-off bus around Rome.  Matt was able to enjoy Rome from a different perspective.

After my exam, I met my family back at my hotel and we went up to see the view from the actual roof of the hotel.  It was pretty cool and you could see the top of the dome of Saint Peter's Basilica.  Then, we took a taxi to the Trevi Fountain to see the Trevi Fountain at night.  We walked back towards my apartment from the Trevi Fountain and went back to Antica Taverna for dinner.

Ciao,
Michael

Family Visit: Day 2

Ciao Tutti,

Wednesday was a bit of a more "relaxed" day.  I decided to skip all of my classes and take a tour of the Vatican (again) with my Dad and Matt.  We woke up at around 9:00 AM and went to our hotel's complimentary breakfast.  It was actually pretty good and had a wide selection of pastries, yogurt, and cereal.  The American coffee wasn't very good, but most hotels and caffes over here somehow figure out a way to screw it up.

Our tour met at the tour operator's office at 10:45 AM.  We decided to take the same tour of the Vatican that I took a month or so ago.  We had a different tour guide, but she was still very good.   We decided to only pay for a tour of the Vatican Museums and the Sistine Chapel because I now know enough about Saint Peters to give the "short attention span tour" that my brother wanted.

At around 11:00 AM, we left and cut the surprisingly short line to the Vatican Museum.  We first saw a great view of the backside of the dome.

Then, our tour guide took us into the Belvedere Courtyard and gave us an overview of what we would see in the Sistine Chapel.  My Dad said it was worth the cost of the tour just to hear that.  I was also able to add some information I learned from my previous tour and my classes that the tour guide did not go over.  It was like my family got three tour guides instead of one.  After, we went and saw the Belvedere Torso and other famous artworks before finally ending the tour in the Sistine Chapel.  It was absolutely beautiful and I am happy I had the chance to see it twice while I am over here.

After our tour, we went to Saint Peter's Basilica and I gave my Dad and brother the "short attention span tour" they wanted.  We spent about 30 minutes in the Basilica and saw pretty much everything.  The only problem was that most of the alter area wasn't accessible because the church was set up for Holy Week masses.  They were able to see the Pieta by Michelangelo among other things, though.

After that, we went to lunch at a place very close to my apartment that I've wanted to try forever - Antica Taverna.  It was really good.  Matt loved it because they had bread and oil - something he was looking forward to having.

Then, we climbed the Castel Sant'Angelo which was nice because it is the one monument that I see every day.  It also had great views of Rome.  I was able to give them a tour of the castle/fort as I had a field study there early in the semester.  I think my brother was impressed by my knowledge.

After the Castel Sant'Angelo, we went to the Pantheon and it wasn't closing this time.  I gave my Dad and brother a quick tour of it and we sat down to relax for a bit.  Then, we went to see the Chiesa del Gesu which has an absolutely beautifully painted ceiling.  There was a mass going on, so we couldn't walk all the way around but I think my Dad and brother were impressed.

Then, we sat on the steps of the church and talked for a bit before eventually heading to Piazza Navona to listen to the musicians and look at the paintings for a bit.

After, we went to dinner at "Da Tonino" which is another restaurant close to my apartment.  Then, we went back to our hotel and collapsed.

Ciao,
Michael