Italy and Greece: Day 4

Whew! Another day done. We woke up bright and early to have our breakfast at the hotel. The same fare again, eggs, bacon, pastries, and coffee. Since we had done the bulk of our sightseeing on the day that we arrived, we were going to have plenty of free time today. But first, we made our way to the Catacombs. The Catacombs were just outside the city walls and was built to be the burial place for thousands of Christian Romans. It even has one of the oldest pieces of Christian artwork on its walls. It was definitely creepy walking through all of the tunnels knowing that bodies had been buried down there and some graves were still untouched. Unfortunately there were no pictures allowed (but I snuck just a few!)

After we resurfaced, we hopped on the bus again and took a short drive to St. Paul’s Basilica. The church was beautiful, as are most churches in Rome! It was not crowded at all, so we were able to move freely though and even got to listen in to a little bit of the service (it’s Sunday!) We were given some free time at the end and the kids were able to get chocolate and candies made by the monks of this area. Pretty neat!

Since this was all that was on the agenda today, the bus took us back into the heart of Rome and we were given free time. Our guide gave us several options of things to do and very detailed maps and explanations and set us loose. Our group started head down Via Del Corso which is the main shopping street in Rome. After a bite to eat in one of the local cafes, they were off to the Capuchin Crypt. I guess they weren’t satisfied with the Catacombs this morning and wanted to see actual bones. The Crypt is not only the final resting place of many people, but also has a very strange décor. Many of the bones are used to create things such as chandeliers, columns, designs on the walls, and a bunch of other weird and creepy things. When in Rome, right?

After the Crypt there was lots of shopping along Via Del Corso, and even a trip for some of the up to the Piazza del Popolo for delicious desserts. They all made it back to the meeting place in one piece though, so I guess there were paying attention to the map reading tutorial I gave them. The walk to dinner was quick, and it was filled with more bread, pasta, salad and ice cream. I think we can all agree that a change of cuisine will be welcomed. We loaded the bus, made our way back to the hotel, and are currently preparing for the next few days. We have an early wakeup call (5:45am!!!) to head to Naples in the morning. Enjoy the pictures below :)