FRIDAY AT THE VATICAN

We were up and around early this morning!  We had 11:00 am reservations for a Scavi Tour under St. Peters Basilica.  We wanted to make sure we had time to visit the Basilica before our tour, so we left our apartment at 8, and walked a few blocks to catch a taxi to Vatican City.  Way too far to walk, and public transportation in Rome is not the best.

We found a small cafe for breakfast, and sat at an outside table with a great view of the Vatican City wall.  We each had a very good cappuccino and a chocolate croissant. They were delicious!

A great capuccino and a chocolate croissant:

After our mini-breakfast we walked thru the Vatican Walls and into St. Peter Square to get in the security line for entrance to the basilica.  It was a long line, but actually moved fairly quickly.  Security was just like at the airports--all bags must be x-rayed, and each person walks thru a metal detector.

As I had posted many pictures from the interior of St. Peter's last year, I'll not post many this time around, but here are just a couple of the highlights.

Michelangelo's beautiful Pieta:

The main altar:

The dome above the main altar:

After our time in St. Peter's, we walked out to the portico to rest our feet for a few minutes.  I love this guy!

It was now time for our "Scavi Tour", but first we had to show our reservations to the Swiss Guard:

Then we had to clear security again, having each of our bags visually searched as well as "wanded".

We were then finally allowed to go thru this arch to an inner courtyard where we waited for our guide:

 The Scavi Tour is a tour under the Basilica to the actual tomb of St. Peter. We were close enough to see his actual bones. Unfortunately, no pictures were allowed. Understandable, as we were at the final resting place of the man who the church was literally and figuratively built upon. That was at the end of the tour of the City of Necropolis, a burial city dating to the 4th century (approximately 300 A.D.) It was discovered buried under what is now St. Peter's Basilica when Emperor Constantine was leveling ground to build the church that would be the predecessor of the current Vatican.

Photography was strictly forbidden, so unfortunately don't have any to share with you!  We all agreed that, so far it was the highlight of our time in Rome--truly a memorable experience.

We finished our Scavi Tour about noon, and thought we'd better have a quick bite of lunch, so we left Vatican City and walked a short block to an outdoor cafe.  We each had a delicious panini, and David and I shared a carafe of wine.  We had a great time talking about our amazing Scavi Tour!

Next on our agenda was the Vatican Museum.   Again, same airport-like security routine.
No line at all for tickets, we just walked right up and paid our 15 Euros each--worth every penny, by the way!

Where to start?  We started in large inner courtyard:

  Here's a cool water fountain:

And a wonderful HUGE statue:

We moved inside to visit the many, many rooms of the museum. Again, I posted so many pictures last year, I won't repeat them again, but here are a few of my favorites.

Amazing sculptures:

Beautiful mosaic floors:

Room after room with incredible ornate ceilings:

Dave and I are getting ready to remodel our master bath--I'd LOVE either one of these tubs!

This was an interesting display-a photo of the same painting before restoration on the left, and the actual artwork after on the right.  What an amazing difference!

A fragment from a statue--it was big-probably at least 3 feet long, must have been a HUGE statue!

We were at the end of the maze of rooms in the museum, and they all lead to the Sistine Chapel.  It wasn't quite as crowded as last year, and we were glad about that!  We sat on a bench at one end of the chapel and spent several minutes enjoying that incredible masterpiece.  Photos are not allowed in this chapel, so I don't have any to share with you.

We exited through the gift shop, and down this wonderful spiral staircase:

We came out into an absolute deluge--just raining cats and dogs!  We did have 2 umbrellas between the three of us, but we had not taken our rain jackets because we were going to be inside most of the day and didn't want to carry them around.  Lesson learned: if it calls for a 60% chance of showers--take your rain coat!

We decided we'd walk across the street and sit in a cafe to wait out the storm.  We found a nice place and Matt had a cappuccino and Dave and I shared a carafe of wine.  Again, we sat and relaxed and talked about our amazing day.  I think Matt is liking this sidewalk cafe stuff!

Soon the rain let up a bit,  we walked a few block to find a taxi stand.  Along the way we came across a chestnut vendor, and David decided now was the time to try roasted chestnuts!  Hmmmmm-the texture is somewhat like sawdust, but the flavor is subtle and quite nice.

We found our taxi stand,  lucked out with a very friendly driver, and soon he whisked us across the Tiber river right to our street.  We trudged up those 4 flights of steep stairs, weary but still full of wonder about our amazing day.  

We all pitched in to prepare our dinner of gnocchi with red sauce and reggiano cheese, some delicious romanesco, a loaf of crispy bread and a glass of wine.  This was Matt's first taste of romanesco, and he likes it as much as we do.  Jeanne, I'll think this will be on your dinner table when Matt gets home!

Mmmmmm good:

Here we are, a Lund family dinner:

 Another wonderful day in Rome for the Lunds!

On our agenda for tomorrow--an underground tour of the colosseum, and we'll also visit Palatine Hill, The Arch of Constatine and the Roman Forum.  We are all hoping this rain stops before tomorrow!

THURSDAY IN ROME

We had a perfect day in Rome, and I am very pleased to report that we didn't get lost once!

We didn't set an alarm this morning, and we all woke well rested and ready to explore Rome.  We left our apartment about 10 am, only slightly apprehensive about getting lost again.  After laughing at ourselves all over again this morning, we again carefully reviewed our maps.  We had the great idea to   use the compass on our iPhones to help us navigate.  What a great help that was!

Our plan for the day was to visit some sights fairly close to our apartment, starting with the Trevi Fountain.  With Matt's excellent navigation skills and our compass, we walked those twisty, turning streets right to the  fountain!

 We joined several hundred other tourists, and took our picture in front of that beautiful fountain.  Here we are:

And here I am, throwing my coin in the fountain to ensure a return trip to Rome.  Hey---it worked last year!

After our time at the Trevi, we popped into a church in the same piazza.  Like most churches in Italy, it was beautiful.  The frescoed dome was lovely:

After leaving the church, we continued with our wandering, enjoying the interesting shops along the way, and we even bought a couple of souvenirs:

Next on our list was a visit to the Cappuchin Crypts, a very interesting place.   It's very hard to describe, so I've included the "Wikipedia" entry below:

The Capuchin Crypt is a small space comprising several tiny chapels located beneath the church of Santa Maria della Concezione dei Cappuccinion the Via Veneto near Piazza Barberini in Rome, Italy. It contains the skeletal remains of 4,000 bodies believed to be Capuchin friars buried by their order.^[ The Catholic order insists that the display is not meant to be macabre, but a silent reminder of the swift passage of life on Earth and our own mortalityWhen the monks arrived at the church in 1631, they brought 300 cartloads of deceased friars. Fr. Michael of Bergamo oversaw the arrangement of the bones in the burial crypt. The soil in the crypt was brought from Jerusalem,  by order of Pope Urban VIII.

As monks died during the lifetime of the crypt, the longest-buried monk was exhumed to make room for the newly-deceased who was buried without a coffin, and the newly-reclaimed bones were added to the decorative motifs. Bodies typically spent 30 years decomposing in the soil, before being exhumed.

Photos inside the crypts were strictly forbidden, but if you are interested to see photos of this amazing place, just "Google" Cappucin Crypts, Rome.  You will be amazed!

After our fascinating visit to the crypts, we decided we would have lunch in the Trastevere area, and visit the Santa Maria in Trastevere Church.  As this was miles from the crypts, we hopped into a taxi for a harrowing ride in the crazy Rome traffic, crossing the River Tiber into the Trastevere area.

We found a small cafe near the Piazza, and settled in for a nice lunch.  The charming and friendly waiter graciously agreed to take our picture:

Matt said his ravioli was delicious!

After that nice lunch, we walked a block or so to the Basilica of Our Lady in Trastevere.  

This church, founded in 220 A.D., is one of the oldest churches in Rome.  Over the centuries it has undergone several restorations, and the current church was built in 1143.  Here is the exterior:

The interior of the church is known for it's breathtaking 13 century mosaics. These pictures don't begin to capture their beauty, but you can get an idea:

The floors are very intricate marble mosaic:

Interior, looking back toward the entrance and the beautiful stained glass windows:

After our time in this amazing church, we wandered the charming, winding streets of Trastevere:

Soon we came to a foot bridge over the Tiber, and decided to walk back to our neighborhood.  Here are my two favorite guys on the bridge:

We strolled along the streets of the historic center, admiring the beautiful buildings, doing a little window shopping and a lot of people watching!  We found a small sidewalk bar, and rested our weary feet while enjoying a cold drink.  We continued on to the Pantheon:

  The ocular:

 Pretty mosaic work behind the altar:

We were near Piazza Novonna, so we walked in that direction and just happened to pass a Gelataria.   Our flavors of the day: dark chocolate and pistachio for David, dark chocolate and coffee for me, and Matt chose the coconut and raspberry.  Mmmmmm good:

Along the way we found one of the many pretty water fountains, and David filled our water bottle.  The water from these fountains is cool and delicious!

By the time we finished our meandering, leisurely stroll to Piazza Novonna, it was dark, so we enjoyed the beautiful Bernini Fountains all lit up:

 Here we are, all three of The Travelin' Lundburys:

By now we were winding down, and just didn't feel like cooking dinner.  We took a quick family vote: dinner out tonight!  With nary a wrong turn, Matt skillfully guided us right back to our apartment, not even looking at a map or using our compass! We dropped off our packages, and walked a 1/2 block or so to a lovely outdoor cafe for a relaxing dinner.

 Our antipasto plate:

 David and Matt each chose a pizza, and they said it was delicious!

My choice was a pasta with wild mushrooms and clams, it was very, very good.

Here we are, enjoying our dinner

We sipped our wine and ate our delicious dinners and chatted about our amazing day in Rome.  Of course, there were strolling musicians playing songs on accordions.  How Italian is that?  I even heard  "When the moon hits your eye like a big pizza pie--That's Amore!" Do you suppose this is the moon he's singing about?  I sure think so!

It was a  perfect ending to a wonderful day in Rome with my two favorite guys.

Tomorrow in Rome: The Vatican!

JUST FOR MY MOM....

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

We're thinking of you today, and sending you 3 big birthday hugs all the way from Rome.

Have a perfect day, and I hope you do something fun!

Love,
Di, David and Matt

ROME, DAY ONE .........

In Which the Travelin' Lundburys Get Lost, and Then Get CRANKY!

After a few delays and two looong days of traveling, we are finally in Rome!

Our flight from Seattle to New York was great--right on time and quite uneventful.  We landed at JFK  airport 40 minutes early, and had a 4 hour layover---or so we thought.

After a 4 1/2 hour flight,  we thought a nice walk was in order so we set off to explore the airport and find a nice restaurant for a relaxing late lunch/dinner.  Hmmmmmm-the options at JFK are very limited.   We finally chose a small bistro and had a very mediocre dinner of Kobe Hamburgers for the guys and a Pastrami and Kim Chee Sauerkraut sandwich for me.  Our taste buds weren't exactly delighted, but our tummies were full,  and our wallets were lighter!

We headed back to our gate and settled in to wait for our flight to Rome.  After several announcements  and a gate change we were finally told our flight was to depart at 10 pm-almost 3 hours late.  It was a long 7 hours at JFK, and then an 8 1/2 hour flight to Rome.  We were very happy when we finally landed Italy, it was sunny and 74 degrees!

After a nice 40 minute drive to the old historic area of central Rome we arrived at our apartment and met our friendly greeter, Mr. Louis.  He gave us a brief tour and collected the rent for our 5 night stay.  We're very happy with our apartment, which is in a great location just a couple of (very convoluted) blocks from the Pantheon.  We have two roomy bedrooms, two bathrooms, a large living dining area, and a tiny, but adequate kitchen.  The only downside:  4 steep, winding flights of stairs--no elevator.   Maybe we'll work off some of that pizza and pasta!

At this point Matt had been up for 48 hours with very little sleep, so he took a 1 1/2 hour "power nap" while  Dave and I unpacked and organized.  Matt woke rested and refreshed, and we were ready to hit the streets and explore a bit. Our plan was to find our way to a supermarket and buy some groceries for a few meals.

Before leaving the apartment I carefully marked on our map the location of our apartment, and as we walked we even noted a few landmarks so we'd to know exactly where to turn on our way back.  If only I'd been like Hansel and Gretel and left a trail of breadcrumbs.............

Mr. Louis had given us (vague) directions to a large supermarket "Carrefour", gesturing in a slightly westerly direction, and assuring us it was only 100-105 meters from the Pantheon.  Well, we walked and walked,  stopping several times to ask for directions.  My Italian must be rusty, because no one seemed to know where the Carrefour was, and instead directed us to Despar Market.  After several blocks, we still had not found ANY supermarket, let alone Carrefour or Despar.  We were beginning to feel just a wee bit frustrated...........maybe a touch of jet-lag setting in?

We found a nice small sidewalk cafe, and decided we'd relax for a few minutes, have a nice cold beer, and consult our maps.  While we were sitting and gazing about--we spotted a small sign RIGHT NEXT DOOR to our cafe:  Despar Market!  Feeling a little foolish and much relieved, we finished our drinks and managed to get next door to Despar without getting lost again!

Grocery shopping was great--we stocked up on fresh pasta and sauce, cheese, yummy Italian hard salami, a head of that delicious romanesco, and even a small carton of fresh brussell sprouts, Matt's favorite.  Throw in some yogurt for breakfast, and a nice loaf of bread and a bottle of wine, and we are set for a few days of meals.

Back out to those windy, narrow streets of Rome, where we once again consulted our map.  By now it was dark, and we were having trouble reading the teeny tiny print on the map.

I'll spare you the many gory details, but just picture 3 tired, extremely jet-lagged, cranky, snarling travelers wandering those lovely narrow winding streets in the dark, lugging heavy bags of groceries, making wrong turn after wrong turn............

After wrong turn #27 or so, we found ourselves in a nice piazza (plaza or square) on a somewhat major street.  While Matt and David were trying (in vain) to read our worthless map and figure out our location, I spied the most BEAUTIFUL sight of the day:  a taxi stand!

Problem solved!  We "cried uncle" and plopped our very tired, jet-lagged selves in a taxi, gave the driver our address, and sat back while he used his GPS to navigate the confusing maze! Several blocks and many turns later,  he pulled right up to our small street.   We piled out and gratefully paid him 6 Euros--worth every penny and then some!

We lugged our groceries up those 4 flights of stairs, unlocked our door and sighed a huge sigh of relief to be "home" at last!  We quickly put away our groceries and prepared our first meal in Rome, slices of crusty bread, cheese, yummy Italian salami, a sliced apple and a glass of red wine. We enjoyed every bite, all the while chatting about our eventful day.  And, yes, we did have a good laugh at ourselves for getting so lost and cranky!

Tomorrow in Rome:  We don't have a set itinerary, but will probably include a visit to the Pantheon,  exploring the Trastevere area, and maybe even a visit to the Capuchin Crypts.

And I'm sure we'll get lost!

Stay tuned......