All roads lead to Rome (but we still don’t recommend driving here!)  What a fantastic and unique city.  There were so many important places that we wanted to revisit with the kids, so the last couple of days have been pretty full.

We arrived on Thursday afternoon.  By all accounts, we got very lucky and probably should have arrived much later (we missed an exit – go figure).  For those of you that haven’t driven in Rome – DON’T!!!  It was a crazy experience that tested our composure, but we made it to our parking garage in one piece (and still married).

Thursday evening was spent touring around Trastevere, on the south side of the Tiber River.  Maureen and I did not explore this area the last time we were in Rome.  It’s a very lively Roman neighbourhood with lots of restaurants and excitement on the streets (buskers, spray paint artists, street comedians).  We strolled through the streets and alleyways, and tried more gelato flavours.

The next morning, we went straight to the Forum and the Colosseum.  Greg and Brianna seemed pretty amazed by the history of both places.  The ruins in the Forum are so fascinating, and we picked up a book that shows before and after images of the ruins.  We spent close to 4 hours in this area.  Next we made our way to the Trevi Fountain, the Spanish Steps (Trinita dei Monti church), and the Pantheon.  We walked everywhere (20,200 steps on Mo’s iPhone) and by the end the kids were spent, but glad we had filled the day up visiting these historic ‘must-sees’.

This morning we woke up to the sound of chanting outside our window.  When we looked outside there was a procession of about 100 priests and monks, along with a Roman Bishop and Cardinal strolling past our apartment (filling the narrow street).  They were followed by hundreds of worshippers who were also singing and chanting.  It was such a cool experience to witness.  Very powerful and moving.

After breakfast we made our way to the Vatican.  We wanted to see the Sistine Chapel, but the lines were too long.  Instead we explored the Basilica (St. Peter’s Cathedral) and St. Peter’s Square.  We were very lucky to experience a Mass inside the famous Cathedral and see a cardinal up close for the second time today! So much history in that building to learn about – our favourite was the Michael Angelo sculpture called ‘La Pieta’.

The afternoon was spent strolling through the streets and piazzas by the river. It was 23 degrees and not a cloud in the sky.  We stumbled upon an interesting event.  A group of young priests were mingling with the locals; they had set up a net and turf (about 14×20’) and were playing ‘soccer’ in a piazza outside a chapel.  Then some of them were playing guitar and saxophone in the streets and others were singing in the chapel and handing out candles for special intentions to be placed on a cross on the floor. It was all very easy going and the kids were given candles to go set in the church and Greg played some soccer with these priests who were excellent players to put it mildly.  They said they practice soccer, basketball and volleyball as their 3 main sports while in the seminary.  One gave Bri a rosary and Greg 2 medallions to keep. So, overall we had some religious ‘experiences’ today to say the least.