Italy and Greece

Monday, June 6, 2016

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 :)

Ready for the Catacombs

Heading inside...

The church inside the Catacombs

Open tombs

St. Paul's Basilica

Inside the church

Ready for free time!

First stop...McDonald's

View from the Altare della Patria

Theater of Marcellus

Walking across the Tiber River

Panoramic view of the city

Ready to eat!

Dinner!

Saturday, June 4, 2016

Day 3

Good morning all! Yesterday was definitely a busy one. Our tour director described it as the most difficult day of the trip, so I guess it's good to get it done early when we still are full of energy.

We started the morning at 9:00am, a reasonable hour, and had our first traditional European breakfast. Food consisted of meats, cheeses, rolls, croissants, espresso and even some bacon and eggs. Once fully stuffed, we loaded the bus and made our way to the Vatican. The Vatican is an independent city state which means it is its own country, state and city. In fact, it is the smallest country in the world! There were a lot of people though wanting to get it. Thankfully we had a scheduled tour and were able to skip the entire line. We met our guide, got our headsets on and then entered. Even though there were so many people outside waiting to get in, there were even more people inside! We walked through the Vatican museum and saw amazing works of art, sculptures, tapestries, but we were like cows being herded through the halls. After we made it through the museum portion, we were ushered into the Sistine Chapel. Michelangelo. It took him a full four years to paint the ceiling and he did so when he was only 33 years old. He took 22 years off, and then came back to paint the Last Judgement. The room was beautiful. You had to be silent and could not take any pictures, so it was nice to be able to just enjoy the surroundings.

We left the Sistine Chapel through a special guided tour exit and found our way to Saint Peter's Cathedral. There is a special "Holy Door" that only opens every 25 years for Jubilee years, otherwise it is cemented shut. We were in luck however, as this year is the Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy. This means that the door is open for 2016. They say any Catholic who walks through it gains plenary indulgences (at least that's what Wikipedia said). Non Catholics just get the experience of walking though a door that many others will never have an opportunity to do. Regardless, it was pretty cool. The inside of St. Peter's is HUGE! We're talking one of the largest churches in the world! There was a special area down the middle of the church showed the length of other Catholic churches in the world to compare. Los Angeles was on there, but it was just over half the size of St. Peter's

It was lunch time at this point, so the group split up to eat and buy souvenirs. A few of us went to a sandwich and smoothie shop, and of course, some of us had to get more gelato (you should be noticing a theme). We met back up and made our way to the bus for our next stop, the Colosseum.

The Colosseum was built in the first century AD so it is almost 2000 years old, and still standing! It is also the largest Roman Amphitheater every built, holding anywhere from 40-70 thousand people. We met our guide and she took us up and around the entire structure. The views from the top were amazing and considering how old this thing is, it's in pretty good shape. It's always crazy to think about who walked where you're walking or who sat where you're sitting. Many famous people I'm sure. We left the Colosseum and made the short walk to the Forum. This was the area where the Romans did everything. The markets were there, the banks were there, the senate met there, there were churches, and anything else you can imagine a city would need. At one point, it was completely buried under 6 meters (20 feet) of dirt. It took archaeologists a while to finally uncover everything, but when they did, the structures were still intact. Unfortunately my camera had a mind of its own and deleted my forum pictures, so I'll have one of the kids send me theirs so I can add them to the blog later.

We left the forum for dinner and it wasn't a moment too soon. Everyone was ready to eat. On the menu tonight was pizza! Can you believe they serve you a whole pizza for dinner? With ice cream for dessert! It was very filling and it gave us the energy we needed for the Night Tour. Thankfully this was on the bus, so we didn't have to do anymore walking. We saw the entire city all lit up at night. It was beautiful and a completely different vibe from the daytime. I can't say that I stayed awake the whole time...but from what I did see, it was amazing. A very busy day, a very busy evening, and hopefully a long restful night. Enjoy the pictures below!

Waiting to go into the Vatican

New friends!

St. Peter's peeking through

Inside the Vatican Museum

Outside St. Peter's

Inside St. Peter's

The Dome inside St. Peter's


Lunch/Gelato Break!

"We want to do a jumping picture!"

Inside the Colosseum

The Colosseum

One of many victory arches

Heading to dinner with our Tour Director

First Course

Pizza!

Strawberry and vanilla ice cream

Friday, June 3, 2016

Day 1 and 2

It has been quite the journey to get where we are now! It's nearly 10pm Rome time as I'm writing this. Let's start at the beginning...

Our group gathered at LAX this morning at the bright and early hour of 5:00am. The check in process was quick, security line was reasonable, and we still had plenty of time to grab breakfast before we needed to board. The flight was uneventful as most flights are, so we made it to Canada with no problems, just very hungry bellies. Most of the kids got a below average tasting burger, but that's airport gourmet for you. The second leg of our journey was a little bit longer, and a little bit darker, but we made it to Rome with no issues as well.

It was a new day so we hit the ground running. After a quick bus ride into the city, we were let off near the Spanish Steps, an incredible sight to see. Unfortunately it was being restored, so completely closed off to tourists. The barrier that they had around the steps looked like plexiglass, so at least we were able to see through and capture a few images of the steps. Out next stop was the Trevi Fountain. They say that if you throw a coin in over your left shoulder, then you shall return to Rome. Parents, just a warning...everyone took part in this. We continued our walking tour through the city and finally ended up at the Pantheon, one of best preserved of all Ancient Roman buildings. This was definitely a moment of awe for me, staring at something that was build during the 1st century BCE and is almost 2000 years old.

We were then given our free time, and not a moment too soon. It was time for our first authentic Italian meal.. The whole group found a little restaurant on one of the side streets. Thankfully there were able to accommodate 11 people. The table was filled with pastas of all shapes and forms; rigatoni, spaghetti, cannelloni, and all with different toppings from tomato basil to carbonara and even a little salmon. Fully stuffed, we headed back to the Pantheon to make our way inside this giant structure. The only source of light that they Pantheon has (other than the doors being opened) is a single oculus. It has no cover, so when it rains, the water comes right into the building. They are still using the original drainage system to get rid of the water.

We left the Pantheon and split up into a few smaller groups. Some went to get Gelato, some went souvenir shopping, and some found a shady spot up against the fountain in the Piazza we were in. After a little bit of downtime, and perhaps a nap or two, we headed off to the Piazza Campo de' Fiori. The walk was a little further than we had anticipated, so we just popped in for a few minutes before heading back to meet up with our group. Hoepfully with the free time we have on Sunday we'll be able to go back. There were a bunch of street vendors selling everything from clothes, purses, fresh flowers and even some more pasta!

Once we made it back to the group, it was off to our last stop of the day, the Piazza Navona. This square was built on tops of the site of an old stadium and has a very open feel. The main church is Sant'Agnese in Agone and was beautiful inside and out! There is also a fountain in the square called the Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi. This fountain is supposed to represent the four major rivers on the continents including the Nile. A few more Gelato's and souvenirs were purchased before we all piled back on the bus and headed to the restaurant for dinner. Within five minutes of driving, 90% of the bus was asleep. It could have been more, but I eventually fell asleep, so I can't say with certainty what people were doing after that.

We arrived at the restaurant a little more refreshed and ready to chow down again. One of my favorite things about EF are the three course dinners we get every night. Tonight's started with a salad and bread, continued with an amazing lasagna, and finished off with traditional tiramisu.With dinner a wrap, it was just a quick ride to our hotel which is where we are currently. Everyone is pretty wiped and I'm sure asleep by now. Tomorrow is a busy day, but we should be filled with energy after a good night's sleep. Enjoy the pictures below!