Exploring Roma - The Pantheon

After Saint Peter's Basilica we headed to the Pantheon. As the most well-maintained of all the ancient Roman structures, it's amazing to see how good it looks after hundreds and hundreds of years!

This is the outside of the Pantheon. You literally have to stand hundreds of yards away to take a picture of the entire facade. Beautiful.

This building was built as a tribute to all (pan) existing gods (theo). So, it was a pagan worship center in ancient Rome. It's now been turned into a Catholic church. We found that kinda funny...

The inside of the Pantheon. It was amazingly cool inside and really quite beautiful.

Exploring Roma - St. Peter's Square and St. Peter's Basilica

We decided to go to St. Peter's Basilica today. The Vatican Museum and Sistine Chapel are closed on Sunday, and we didn't arrive early enough on Saturday to see them. But, St. Peter's is open all the time. The minute you walk into the square it steals your breath. The Vatican is splayed out all around you, and we were all struck by how beautiful it was.


Here is the front of St. Peter's Basilica from the edge of St. Peter's Square. The Square is a huge area, but my mother commented that it was smaller than she'd always imagined it. I can see why she'd say that, but it was still pretty big.


A fountain in the center of St. Peter's Square. A lot of locals sit around the fountain to people watch. It's really a lovely area.

We headed first into the Papal Tombs. Apparently many people miss this part of the tour, and I feel sorry for people who do. It's really cool and dark in the tombs, and each Pope is identified with his name, number and some information about his time as Pope. As you can imagine, the tomb of Pope John Paul II was absolutely crammed with visitors. They've even set up an area for people who want to pray in front of the tomb (the only one set up like this). Cameras were not allowed in this area, so unfortunately I will not be able to post a photo, which is a real pity.


This is one of the only photos I took in the tomb. They pretty much all looked similar - with a few exceptions.

I was so struck by the tomb of Pope John Paul that I literally started crying as I was passing it. I am not Catholic, but that man meant a lot to a lot of people. You could tell the way all the Catholics immediately crossed themselves, said a prayer - and by the HUGE group of people gathered around it.

Vatican security (managed by the Swiss Guard) dresses ridiculously (I'm sorry, but they do). They wear these really old fashioned ballooned breeches with matching boot covers. They wear black berets on an angle. But, it is the color of the outfits that really struck me. They're orange, red and blue striped. All I'm going to say about them is that they definitely would not be able to be inconspicuous in them.


Here is a shot of one of the Papal Swiss Guard. Need I say more?

Next we headed inside the basilica. St. Peter's is absolutely stunning. It's HUGE and gorgeous everywhere you turn. The carvings, the paintings...it's the most amazing thing I've ever seen in my life.


This is the widest/longest shot I could get of the inside with my small camera. It doesn't truly capture the size of the place, but it does a decent job of capturing the beauty.



One of the small enclaves within the church that contained gorgeous pieces of art and carvings.


The cuppola/dome of the basilica. It's truly amazing and almost impossible to describe how big it really is. To give you an idea...the top of the dome is nearly 450 feet from the floor. Wow.

Here is a video of the dome of the cuppola.

When we were done with the tour of the tombs and the church, we realized we were JUST in time to be blessed by the Pope! Pope Benedict XVI blesses the crowd at noon on Sundays, so we joined the overwhelming throng of people in Saint Peter's Square near the Papal apartment to wait for him. He didn't disappoint. He gave the blessing and then addressed the crowd. It was truly amazing for many reasons. It was a little overwhelming to see him personally, but it was also stunning that he then addressed the crowd in at least five languages (Latin, English, Spanish, French, German and Italian)...and there were probably a few more. Quite the experience! Here is some video of "Papa!" addressing the crowd...

My mom and I both joked that we could really use a good blessing, but the truth of it is...we were both excited about it. It was a really neat experience even for non-Catholics. If you ever get the chance to visit Saint Peter's Square I highly recommend hitting it in time to be blessed. It's a great experience!

Exploring Roma - The Coliseum

We decided to visit the Coliseum first, as my mom only has two real days in the city, and the Vatican is closed on Saturday and Sunday. FABULOUS. So, we checked out one of Rome's oldest monuments. All I have to say about this is W-O-W. It's wild to think about the things that went on in this building, but it's also amazing to know you're standing on hundreds of years of history.

OK...I have to admit it. I'm pretty impressed with myself with this picture. Does it look like a postcard, or what? Anyway...this was taken before we got in line to buy tickets. It was surreal standing in front of it...I still cannot believe I saw this!


Here is a shot of the inside of the Coliseum. The boxes where the wealthy people sat can still be seen, but much of it is deteriorating.


Here is a picture of Ainsley inside the Coliseum before she started to complain that it was boring and she wanted to go home. Great.


I believe this might be the only proof my mother was actually on this trip! I guess we were both too busy taking pictures of Ainsley!

They have the underground tunnels and rooms (where they used to keep the animals and the gladiators) uncovered almost like an archaeological dig, so you can stand above them and see down into the spaces. It's grown over with ivy and weeds, but it's still stunning. We walked around the entire facility and went down to the lowest level they'll allow (still not underground) and checked out what we could.


Here is a shot of some of the cells where they held both gladiators and animals. It struck me that they were REALLY small...and they probably held dozens of men each.


This was taken from the "first floor" level and shows some of the stairways and passages in the lowest level of the building.



Another shot of the same area. As far as I can tell this is the main corridor of the basement area where the gladiators would have been lined up to go to the arena level.

Perhaps this is really silly, but it struck me that as much as my feet hurt, I was wearing shoes with thousands of years of technology put into them above and beyond what the average spectator did in the glorious days of Rome. My feet hurt bad enough...either those women had some serious foot problems, or they were tough ladies.


The cross you see in this photo is rumored to mark the location of the caesar's/emperor's box, but there is actually no proof this is true.


Here is the same box from the inside. It's easy to see that in its day this would have been a very impressive entrance.


Crumbling pieces of the facade and interior could be found all over the facility. Some of them were kept behind locked gates, but large pieces like this (I assume from broken columns?) were out in the walkways and could be leaned against for rest. Ainsley loved jumping up on them.


And, finally, Ainsley's favorite part of the Coliseum...the stray cat that roamed around the entire time we were there. It's a good thing I didn't have to pay to get her into this tour.

Our Hotel

All I can say about this hotel is wow. It's stunning. It's the Rome Cavalieri Hotel. It's part of the Hilton's Waldorf Astoria collection. My mother travels A LOT for business, so she's built up a TON of frequent flier miles (the reason we not only got to Rome but got there in first class) and a ton of hotel reward points. She used most of her Hilton Honors points on this place. But you'll see why...


The bedroom. The king-sized bed has a fluffy mattress and down comforter on it. We had two balconies that looked out over the city. And flat screen TVs in every room. I could totally get used to this.


The sitting area of the suite. We were upgraded to this room because of my mom's travel status with Hilton. However, we were encouraged "...not to mention this upgrade to other Hilton Diamond members." Not sure if they thought we were looking to brag??

One of the benefits to this room was that we had access to the "Imperial Lounge." The lounge had cushy chairs, a few flat screen TVs, balconies with AMAZING views and lots of free food. Mom and I were all about this free food since eating in Rome can be a very unsettling experience for your pocketbook. They had several different buffets set out during the day...breakfast, lunch, tea, supper. You could come in at any time and have food or get a drink. Since grabbing a Coke from the honor bar in the room cost upwards of $11, getting a free Coke in here was worth the trip upstairs.


This is the buffet in the Imperial Lounge. The food was delicious. They had everything from olives fresh off the tree to loads of fresh cheeses to Caprese salad to smoked salmon. And, the wine was fabulous!


Here is Ainsley eating breakfast on one of the many balconies off the Imperial Lounge. Each morning they provided freshly-squeezed orange and grapefruit juice along with pineapple and carrot juices. They even had homemade donuts and some of the best croissants I've ever put in my mouth.


Here is Ainsley talking to one of the employees who worked in the lounge. She read and spoke beautiful English and started reading Ainsley's book to her. I literally had to bite my tongue when she got to the part about a Texas tornado. It sounded something like Teehhxas Tornaaaaahdo. Fabulous!

The most amazing thing about this hotel, in my opinion, has to be the views. You literally get a panoramic view of the city. We could see the Coliseum, the Vatican and Saint Peter's Basilica and many other landmarks from our room.


Here is one view of the city from the lounge. It was a bit hazy on this day, but you can still see the mountains in the background. With an almost-constant breeze blowing outside it was a wonderful place to sit and enjoy a glass of wine.


Here is one view of the city from the balcony of the Imperial Lounge. This is the view you got if you sat outside to have breakfast or lunch. Not a bad way to enjoy a meal.


Here is a view of St. Peter's Basilica taken from the balcony of our room. It was a bit around the corner and not in our direct line of site, but still...


Another view of the city from the lounge. This one also captures one of the gorgeous pools on the property. It was in the 40s and 50s while we were there, so we didn't get to swim, but it was still pretty to look at!

Roma - Day One, Continues...

We got to Chicago without too much trouble and then boarded the plane for Toronto. Everything went pretty well in the airport, as we only had to walk a few gates to get to our overseas flight. I was already starting to get a little tired of trucking all the bags we had, so it's a good thing.

We boarded the flight for Toronto and got there about 10 minutes early. Apparently Canada forces all travellers (even those not staying in the country for more than the time it takes to board the next plane) to retrieve all their checked luggage and go through customs. Fabulous. As if I don't have enough stuff.

We went through the border agent line where I was asked if Ainsley's father knew she was on this trip. Umm...yes. He informed me that next time I traveled through Canada without him I would need a letter indicating he was aware of the trip. Interesting.


Canada's one redeeming quality, in my mind, is the fact that they had a playscape near our gate at the airport. It's a wonderful way for a 4 year old to blow off a little steam before getting on a 5+ hour flight.


Ainsley really loved this thing...I think we stayed here for at least an hour.

We boarded the plane in Toronto after a 4+ hour layover and got ready for our VERY long .overseas flight to London. We boarded around 6:30 p.m. local time (4:30 CST), but we were already completely exhausted. We ate dinner shortly after takeoff, and then Ainsley and I settled in to sleep. Our seats reclined almost completely, so she got about 3 hours of sleep. I was worried about her waking up and walking off by herself to the bathroom or somewhere else, so I slept VERY little.


First class is the ONLY way to travel when going across the pond. This section absolutely saved my sanity on this long flight. Ainsley also loved all the buttons she got to push to move her seat around.


Miss Ainsley was treated like a queen the entire time we were traveling. Everyone who met her called her princess, and she certainly lived up to the moniker.

We got to London about 6:30 a.m. and immediately boarded our flight for Rome. Ainsley promptly spilled orange juice all over herself, and I had no extra clothes for her to change into. Oh well, it'll dry, right?

We finally landed in Rome around 11 a.m., retrieved our bags and headed for the car. Our driver took us to the hotel and pointed out some of the major sites along the way. I'll post pictures later since I managed to forget my USB cable for my camera. Nice.

Our hotel is spectacular. We're in a suite with a view of Rome and the Vatican. It's truly stunning. I have one word for Europe. And it's not the word you think. Yes, it's beautiful. Yes, it's culturally stimulating. But my word is different. EXPENSIVE. It is amazingly expensive here. Like CRAZY expensive. Don't plan on making the trip unless you have some serious money to burn. I'm going to be paying off this sucker for years.

Our Voyage to Rome - Day 1

Well, we got started early this morning. I woke up at 4 a.m. and got ready. I waited until almost 5 to wake Ainsley since she just needed to change clothes to be ready to go. Malcom and Linda picked us up and took us to the airport. Our flight left at 7:10 a.m., so we wanted to get to the airport before 6. I had a large suitcase, my carry on bag, my purse, a stroller, and Ainsley, who also had a carry on bag. Little did I know...you can't do curbside check in on international flights. Great.

A kind porter took pity on us and helped us get our bags into the terminal so we could check in and get our one bag checked. The woman at the check-in desk apparently got up on the wrong side of the bed, because she was a total hag. Apparently I didn't do anything right, so I was corrected on several occassions. Normally, I would have made a rude comment to her, but I let it go. That's my charity for this trip, becuase she really kinda hacked me off. We got checked in and turned our bag over to security. Now I just had to get everything left to the gate.

Ainsley helped me by holding her stuff and rode in the stroller. Thank God for roller bags that roll whichever way you push them. I would have gone nuts otherwise. TSA opened my carry on and took my moisturizer. I forgot about the 3-ounce rule for carryons when I put my dop kit in my carry on bag. It was originally supposed to go in the checked bag, but there just wasn't room. So, TSA confiscated it since it was too big. Good thing I don't buy expensive lotion or I would have been really mad. We got to the gate and boarded almost immediately. After we got up in the air they served breakfast. The flight attendant asked if Ainsley would be sharing mine, and when I told her "No" she looked a little irritated. However, Ainsley got her own breakfast and promptly squashed a blueberry under her knee. Ah, well. If that's the worst casualty of this trip I'll definitely take it. She asked me if she should change clothes now, and I told her "No, it'll dry."

Our captain is anticipating getting us to Chicago almost 20 minutes early, which is great. It'll give us more time to maneuver around the airport before we get on our next plane to Toronto. This is going to be a really long day, but so far everything has gone really well.

Addison's Online Video Debut

Ok, so I admit that this video is not terribly interesting. I was trying to get her to say "Mama," and she never did do it. She loves "B" words - baby, bottle, byebye, bellybutton (yes, I'm serious), but she rarely ever says "Mama." For those of you with young children you know this is the Holy Grail of words you want your baby to say. Addison only says it when she's mad or upset. Yes, I love that she wants me to comfort her, but I wish she got the same kick of saying my name as she does yelling "Daddddeeeeeee" when she sees Derek. Oh, well...