I think everyone enjoyed themselves pretty well. The Colosseum, the Vatican (and up close with the Pope himself), the Trevi Fountain (very cool), the Spanish Steps, the Pantheon, the leaning tower (and a train ride), and a lot of old Ruins. Of course, Italian food actually IN Italy!
Unfortunately, we selected a hotel that was WAY away from town (pretty much at the northern edge of Rome), but there was a very close bus connection, which we figured out pretty quickly.
The first night, we took the bus a few stops to a large residential area of the city with shops and restaurants, but not near the heart or tourist areas. After wandering around and exploring a bit, we decided to eat at a pizza shop in which you just picked the items you wanted behind their counter, they cut to size, and they gave it to you (for a price, of course)... if you speak Italian! We had communication issues at first, but living in Poland for a year told us we could over come that without too much frustration (hand gestures work well almost anywhere). We were able to communicate what we wanted but understanding they were asking about the size to cut was a problem. Never fear, the cook in the back understood a little English; not enough. Fortunately, their English speaking delivery driver showed up and very quickly had us with food and drinks in hand ready to go to the tables on the walk way to eat our dinner. It was good! After a little more walking, we ended the evening with Gellato (Italian ice cream, which is on every corner, just like Starbucks in Seattle).
We ate at many different areas of the town and different styles of food. I cannot complain about almost any food and had no reason to this week.
Wednesday morning, we planned the tour of the Vatican. The Pope was giving his weekly Wednesday morning address in front of St. Peter's Basilica (under a cover because this was a crazy rain day) and we could see him way off in the distance as we waited for our tour time to start. We could also see him on huge TV screens, but seeing him with the naked eye was pretty cool (even if he was very far away).
The Sistine Chapel was closing down early for some activity that evening, so we rushed through the first parts of the Vatican, saw the famously painted chapel (definitely glad we saw that), then slowed down a little, but could not go back to everything we rushed through.
After the Vatican tour, we decided to go through St. Peter's Basilica on what was the rainiest day we have seen in ages. We had to stand in line for more than 2 hours... outside... in a torrential down pour which soaked through umbrellas... moving slowly in a loop under the open sky to go through the metal detectors that granted us entry. When we finally made it inside, and away from the rain which did not stop the entire evening, we were able to see so many wonderful things. As I have gone through the cathedral at Krakow's Wawel castle, I was not surprised at how many "final resting places" were within this church, or their ranks in the Catholic faith/leadership (this is St. Peter's Basilica and the Vatican, after all). I was a bit surprised at how large it was.
After we reached the final corner of his huge sanctuary and turned back towards the front, we were stopped as the church officials/security (?) blocked traffic just as we approached (there was only one row of people in front of us). I saw acolytes and minor priests moving around and arranging things as we waited. "Cool, they must be getting ready for some type of service," I thought and told my family. We waited for about 5-10 minutes as a few people adjusted this, moved that, brought forward certain implements for their worship... then the procession began: acolytes, choir, priests, bishops, cardinals, and >>> THE POPE <<< no more than 10 feet away, walking by, going to give a Wednesday evening mass. We are not Catholic, but this was still one of the coolest things about the trip to Rome!!!! In the USA, a new president every 4 or 8 years, but Pope John Paul II (from Poland and served at the Wawel cathedral before becoming Pope) was in this role for most of my life and Pope Benedict XVI is only the 2nd Pope I remember.
Pisa was nice, especially the buildings around it and the mausoleum. It was a holiday, so not much was open, not that there is much else to do in Pisa besides hold up the tower to prevent it from falling (or to push it down so that it does fall :)).
We had many great experiences and a lot of fun. I hope the kids can appreciate what a great opportunity we have living in Europe and these trips to countries it is unlikely we would have visited while they were this young if not for living here.
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