12/24/15
Day 1:
This year we went to Rome for Christmas. We got crazy good plane tickets so we jumped at the chance. We got to the airport and had a car service pick us up and take us to our hotel so we were worry free! It only cost us 50 euro and was totally worth it to us. It did take our driver a little while to find the hotel since it was in a building that had private residence in there as well but once we found it, we were more than happy. This bed and breakfast only had 6 rooms so all the focus was on the guests. They were gracious and accommodating and had Prosecco for us in the room!
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| Our room. It might look a little cold but the ceiling made it really cozy. |
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| Just look at those ceilings! |
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| The little cafeteria area where they serve breakfast. |
The location was absolutely amazing. We were steps away from the Trevi Fountain.
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| The Trevi Fountain |
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| I loved the color of the water! |
Jack put a map of Rome in his back pocket to see how long it might take to get pick-pocketed. Yep, it took us less than an hour! But knowing what to expect, we had prepared and only lost the map. We went and had a bite to eat, walked around Rome for a couple hours and then turned in for the evening.
12/25/15
Day 2:
Day 2 was Christmas so we were expecting most places to be closed but actually so many were open that it was almost like any other day! We first headed to the Vatican for Christmas mass. We had heard that it was a "first come, first serve" type seating arrangement but that it was free. We assumed this meant there was a little bit of seating outside while the mass was held inside and we would watch it from jumbo trons. We really couldn't have been more wrong. We walked slowly to the Vatican and took in the sights.
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| Walking towards the Vatican |
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| It doesn't even look real...more like a painting |
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| Walking over the bridge towards the Corte di Cassazione |
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| Looking back on the bridge |
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| The Corte di Cassazione or the Palace of Justice |
The Palace of Justice is the seat of the Supreme Court of Cassation and the Judicial Public Library. It is located in the Prati district of Rome heading towards the Vatican.
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| Looking at the Vatican from the bridge we crossed |
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| Within the Vatican walls walking towards St Peter's Basilica |
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Map of Vatican City
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| St Peter's Square was so empty when we first got there! |
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| People were slowly trickling in |
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| The Vatican Obelisk |
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| Close up of the Obelisk |
As you can see, there were very few people around so we thought maybe the mass was later so we started just roaming around. We noticed there were chairs set up but there was only maybe 100 people at most so I was ready to wait another hour or two and leave. Mike stood at the cordoned off area and said, "I don't know why, but I'm not leaving this spot. I will wait all day, I just feel we should be here, something big is going to happen." Needless to say I wasn't happy about the prospect of standing in St. Peter's Square for the entire day without food or a place to sit but when in Rome....
After waiting about two and a half more hours and people really starting to pour in, they finally opened the gates to the chairs. It was actually one of the more frightening things I have ever experienced. People seemed to forget that we were in a holy place and they just charged for the seats. I'm not sure if I can explain what it's like when a sea of humanity surges forward at once in a frenzied state. We were almost separated at one point due to the pushing and pulling of the crowd. Thankfully we finally got two seats and the crush of people subsided.
Jack tried to get up and get a picture of the crowd behind us.
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| Keep in mind this is only a small glimpse |
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| So many people! |
Later I got a couple pictures of the sea of humanity from the Pope's perspective...believe it or not, there were tens of thousands of people there. I have never been in an area with that many people before.
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| We are the little circle |
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| There were tens of thousands of people there |
When our Pope finally came out and gave his
Urbi et Orbi (you can click on the link to see the actually address), his voice was strong yet soothing and soft. I can't explain how, even though he spoke in Italian, his voice calmed us completely and it felt as if we were transfixed by his words, which we seemed to understand more than we should. I couldn't stop crying. I am not much of a crier but those tears just kept streaming. His message of peace and love of each other was deeply poignant. I believe this was the single most moving experience either of us has ever had, aside from the birth of our children.
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| The balcony as we wait for our Pope |
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| Almost time! |
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| Our Pope! |
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| Our Pope |
The ultimate moment was when the people from so many different countries started quietly yelling, "Papa". I just cried and cried. It was a beautiful moment and I am forever grateful that I was able to experience this.
We took a very leisure walk back towards the Trevi fountain.
We walked absolutely everywhere this day and kind of had the place to ourselves.
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| Tourist Map of Rome |
We walked almost every inch of Rome but stopped frequently for food and drinks so it never felt overwhelming or like it was too much. We got back to the area of our bed and breakfast and the Trevi Fountain and walked over to the Imperial Forum. It is part of the area of the Roman Forum and the Colosseum, but it is free to walk around and explore and since we had a tour scheduled the next day for the other stuff we just walked around.
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| Area of the Imperial Forum |
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| Looking at the Imperial Forum from Palatine Hill |
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| Basilica of Ulpia |
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| The Forum of Trajan |
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| The Forum of Trajan from the Roman Forum |
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| The Forum of Augustus |
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| The Forum of Augustus |
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| The Forum of Transitorium |
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| The Forum of Ceasar |
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| The Forum of Ceasar from across the street |
Here are a few more pictures of the area while we walked around and the sun began to set.
When we were done walking around we found a nice little restaurant for Christmas dinner and had lots of white wine garlic muscles and crusty Italian bread.
When we got back to the bed & breakfast, they had made homemade Tiramisu. These were HUGE pieces and oh so delicious! They even had more Prosseco wine for us in the room. They really took good care of us.
12/26/15
Day 3:
This was the day that we had a Tour for the Colosseum, the Roman Forum and Palatine Hill. We made our way to that part of Rome and went to a fun Spanish restaurant for breakfast drinks while we waited for the beginning of our tour.
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| Michael in heaven with his breakfast beer |
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| I had an espresso |
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| 100 Montadidos Spanish Restaurant |
Finally it was time for our tours to begin! Although we both agreed we would go back to 100 Montadidos for lunch when we were done with the tours! They had GREAT Sangria!
