Rome-Part 3 "The Night Life"

We haven't see much of Europe at night. The boys are usually exhausted so we head to bed early. Since this was our last weekend, we decided to check out Rome at Night. We followed Rick Steve's "Night Walk." (Have I mentioned that I love his books. I would recommend them to everyone who comes to Europe.) We started out in Campo de Foris. Rick recommended to try some pizza bread with cheese from a little restaurant in this square. Here we are eating our pizza bread. It was really good.

Next we headed to Piazza Navona. As you can see, this place was busy at night. People were playing music on the street, groups dancing, artists selling their pictures, and water fountains. The fountain above is the Four Rivers Fountain by Bernini. It was a cool fountain.

We grabbed a quick ice cream cone and then headed to the Pantheon. This temple was built in 120 AD. It was very beautiful at night. In the square by the Pantheon, Zack found a water fountain. We stopped to let him grab a drink. We love these fountains. They are our saving grace in the middle of the hot days in Italy. Zack has become a pro and drinking from them.

Our next stop was The Trevi Fountain. This was a huge fountain. It has 24 spouts of gushing water. It was so crowded that it was hard to get a good picture. We were warned about going in to the crowds in Rome. There is a lot of pick pocketing. So I stayed with the boys while Steve tried to get a good shot.

The last destination was the Spanish Steps.
These looked like the night hang out. We checked them out and then Steve battled the crowd to get some more pictures. While I was hanging out with the boys, a man came up with a big bouquet of roses and handed 3 to me. He said it was because I was so beautiful. I said thanks and he kept saying I was so beautiful. I think Steve saw this guy talking to me because he hurried back. He gave the guy a hard time for giving his wife roses. The guy just basically just said you are lucky. Then he offered to take our picture. He gave Steve the rest of the roses he had and took our picture. See my expression in the pic it is like "Dude, why are you backing up? You better not try to steal my camera." He took the picture then gave us back our camera. Whew! But then he asked Steve for money for the roses he gave me. I tried to give them back saying we didn't want to pay for them. But he wouldn't take them back. He kept asking for money. We tried to walk away, but he followed. So Steve gave him 2 euros, which he said it wasn't enough. But we walked away and he didn't follow. We knew he had something up his sleeve. The things people do for money...

This was the end of Rick Steve's walk. Now we had to figure out how to get back to our hotel. It took us about an hour to walk back and we didn't even get lost. Josh fell asleep on the way back and Zack loved the new "swords" he got.

We really enjoyed seeing this city at night. We wished that we had done this at more places (but the next day the boys reminded us why we didn't. They need their sleep.)

Rome-Part 2 Vatican City

Saturday morning, we headed to Vatican City. It was about a 7 minute walk from our hotel. We learned later that Vatican City is it's own country. The Pope runs all the religious and political matters. So this makes 9 countries that we have been to.

Our first stop was St. Peter's Basilica. This church is in the location of the apostle Peter's upside down crucifixion. His tomb is under the main altar. I never knew the Catholic church worshiped him so much.

The exterior is completely amazing! Standing in front of it I could not believe it was just a church. St. Peter's Square has a ring of columns around it. The ring opens up to the main street in Vatican. It is suppose to represent that the church has open arms and will welcome anyone. On the top of the columns there are 140 10 feet statues of different saints. In the picture above, we are standing on the steps in front of the basilica. The Square is behind us. Do you see the huge columns and the saints on top?

In the middle of the square is this obelisk. It came from Egypt and is over 2,000 years old! Behind you can see the actual church. The dome on top of the basilica was designed by Michelangelo.

Here is a close up of the top of the church.

After checking out the outside of the church, we got in line to go inside. The line really didn't take too long. When we finally made it inside, it was truly a WOW moment. Here is the video from our first step inside:

One of the main attraction in this church is Michelangelo's Pieta. It is a statue of Mary holding the Son after the Crucifixion. Truly, breathtaking. We later learned that this statue use to be in the middle of the Basilica without any protection. Then one day some crazy Hungarian man climbed on in with a hammer and scream "I am Jesus and this is not my mother." Then he started attacking Mary with his hammer. Pieces of the statue flew all over. Many tourist picked up a piece for a souvenir. It took 5 years to get all the pieces back and the statue back intact. Now it is behind bullet-proof glass.

After spending our time in the church, we headed up to the top of the dome. We paid the extra 2 euros to take the elevator up instead of walk over 500 stairs. We walked around the inside of the dome. It was an amazing view.

Here is the view of Rome from the dome.

Here is a closer view of the dome. Pretty incredible! Just think at how old this is!

When we were done with the Basilica, we headed over to the Vatican Museum. This is the 2nd largest museum in the world. On our way over there, a lady stopped us and tried to sell us tickets to a guided tour of the museum. We wouldn't have to wait in the hour line to get in. We wouldn't have to try to find our way around a maze like museum. We wouldn't be confused as to what we were talking about. We would have a lot of fun and laughs...okay, she sold us. And let me tell you, it was worth it! We learned so much on this tour. Here are a few of the fun facts:

1. Captain Jack Sparrow is in the Vatican.
2. Bill Clinton is also in the Vatican. Steve didn't snap a pic of it. But there was a statue that looks exactly like him.
3. It was uncommon for artists to sign their work. When the Pieta was revealed, the crowd didn't believe that it Michelangelo's work. It was too good to be. He overheard this. So that night he broke into the chapel and carved his name on Mary's sash. We could see this on the duplicate in the museum. It wasn't behind bullet-proof glass. :)
4. Michelangelo was forced to paint the ceiling on the Sistine Chapel. He didn't like painting. He much preferred to sculpt. But the pope asked him to do it. They had an argument in the pope's office. Michelangelo can out of the office with the imprint of the pope's ring on his cheek. The pope won.
5. Michelangelo painted some interesting things in the ceiling for the pope. First, he painted God's naked bottom right were the pope would be staring during mass. His response, God was busy creating the world so that is why he is facing the opposite direction. Second, a little boy on the ceiling is "Flipping the Birdie." It is in a dark corner so the pope didn't see it right off. Third, Michelangelo puts the pope's second hand man in hell in the painting. This man told the pope that Michelangelo had painted everything naked. Michelangelo was than sent to repaint them with clothes. Thus this clerk was going to hell. He also had a snake wrapped around him and biting him in a not so pleasant part. Ummm...I think Michelangelo won.
6. Da Vinci was caught by the pope dissecting a dead human body in his room in the middle of the night. This was against the law and he was kicked out and never allowed back in.

Here is a little slide show of the museum. It was amazing! I really have a new appreciation for art. I can only imagine how hard it would be to sculpt marble and paint ceilings and sew tapestry. Simply amazing! I'm glad we went in!

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After our tour, it was time for lunch. We found a little stand and had a panini. We also grabbed an Italian Ice. The boys really liked those.

Then we headed to our hop on hop off bus to get to another part of Rome. We sat up top. The boys thought this was neat, esp Zack.


We got off the bus and went to the Cappucin Crypt. This was another church that had bones in it. We thought it would be a lot like the one we saw in Hallstatt. The one there was peaceful and not at all gruesome while we were in it. This was a totally different experience. They had used real bones to make everything. The bone chandelier really freaked me out. They had also put bones back together to make a body and then put those dark black robes on them. Then they made a scythe out of bones for them to hold. It looked more like a horror movie than a church. We got out of there pretty dang fast. CREEPY!!!

From here, we walked over to the Baths of Diocletian to find out that the church we go through to get to there was having a wedding. So we couldn't go in. Rome must be the place to get married. I can't tell you how many brides and grooms we saw. There was a cool waterfall in front of the church.

From here jumped back on the bus to get to another part of town. Watch for more pics from our night walk.

Rome- Part 1

Ever since we found out we couldn't drive our car to Rome, Steve has been searching for an inexpensive way to get us down there. He talked to his coworkers about how to find airfare deals and hotels and everything. He took there advice and planned the whole weekend. He really did an amazing job. Everything was great!

On Friday, we headed to a little airport about an hour from Stuttgart. After checking in and passing security, all stress-free I might add, we found a little children play place by our gate. This was wonderful! It made the 2 hours go by so fast! Zack and Josh loved playing! Every airport NEEDS one of these!

Zack loved flying the airplane.

He even let Josh get in and play with him.

There were big Legos. Zack really liked building towers. Josh liked bum scooting around in them.

There was also a TV playing little parts of several different kid movies, like Jungle Book, Toy Story, Dalmatians, Cars, etc. They were all movies that we did not put our our laptop for Zack to watch. Zack noticed the movies and exclaimed "Mommy, Mommy! I haven't seen this in a long, loong, loooong time!" He was so excited. It was pretty cute. After a while of standing in front of the TV, he said "I need a seat." Then he grabbed a little chair and sat down. I think he will like being home next week with all of his toys and movies.

Soon it was time to board the plane. First we got on one of these.

This drove us to the plane. We got out of the bus and had to walk over to the plane. Then we walked up the stairs right into the plane. I thought this was really cool. I had never had to do this before. It was a fun way to get on the plane. Zack could actually see the big plane and could tell we were getting on it. I thought it was pretty cool.

The flight was short, only about 1 hour and 10 minutes. The boys were both great on the plane. We are hoping this is a preview of our long 13 hour flight home. At least we can hope!

Steve used the USO to set up a driver to pick us up from the airport and take us to our hotel. We met this guy right outside of the airport. He was really nice. He even had a car seat for Josh. He just didn't know how to install it properly. Josh LOVED facing forward. Zack LOVED not having a car seat, until he was sliding all over the seat around every turn. At one point, I thought he was going to loose his lunch. The driver was a little crazy. He honked at everyone and would say something in Italian to them under his breath. Sometimes he even yelled at them in Italian. We were very happy when we arrived at our hotel all in one piece.

We checked in to our hotel. Then we went to the restaurant next door for some real Italian food. We ordered some pasta and pizza. It was so delicious. The pasta sauce was amazing. We don't know if we can ever eat Olive Garden pasta again. It is just not the same.

After enjoying our wonderful dinner, we headed for bed. We knew we needed a good nights rest so we could tour Vatican City on Saturday!

Hallstatt, Austria

After Rothenburg, we headed to another picturesque town: Hallstatt, Austria. Hallstatt was smaller than Rothenburg, but just as cute! It might even be a more beautiful because it is tucked up in the mountains next to a lake. It was gorgeous. We met the Hunter there. This is their last weekend here and we are glad we could spend part of it with them. We got there right in time to take a picture of the Market Square before it was too dark.

We grab a quick bite to eat. And I mean really quick, the restaurant was going to close just as we walked in. The chef wasn't too happy about how large our group was, but he let us eat as long as we were fast. So we ate fast.

We headed back to our hotel. We had an apartment like hotel room that slept both families. There were 2 rooms and a kitchen and dining area. Zack really liked waking up with his friends right there. All of the hotels that we have stayed have playpens for cribs. But this hotel had a real crib. I was wondering how Josh would do in it. I know he doens't remember his crib at home. He was very excited when he figured out that he could stand up in it. The sides in the play pen are too high for him to grab to pull himself up. Luckily, we only had to lay him back down 2 times. Then he fell to sleep. What a good baby!

In the morning, it looked like it was going to be a cooler day. We didn't have any pants for Josh, so he got to stay in his pajamas. We headed off to town. We saw this cool pear tree in the Market Square. It grows right up the side of the house.

Here we are in front of Market Square. Can you see what a cute little town it is?

And, of course, our boys are looking right at the camera.

From here, we walked up a hill to St Micheal's Church. In front of the church is a cemetary. It was a really cute cemetery. Each grave had a flower box filled with flowers.

Then we went into the chapel and saw this:

It has over 600 painted skulls with all the other bones under them. Space was limited in the cemetery. Bones would only be there about 10-15 years before making room for the freshly dead. Many of those bones ended up in this chapel. Interesting, huh?

We walked down to the opposite end of town, which is like a 10 minute walk, and found a boat to rent. we rented a really slow motor boat. It was very relaxing! Zack even got to 'drive' the boat. He thought he was pretty cool. Josh loved the bottom of the boat. He bum-scooted all around it. He also loved looking over the edge and waving hi to the water. The scenery was also amazing. There were just too many picture to have just one. Here is our lovely boat ride:

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After our ride, we ate some lunch and then went to tour the Giant Ice Cave. Here we are at the cave entrance.

This was magnificent inside.

It was really cold inside. But what do you expect when the ice was over 35 meters deep in some areas.

Here is one of the ice structures. I can't remember what the guide said about it. She would talk for a really time in German and then say like one sentence in English. So I should remember that one sentence, but I don't.

This is our whole group at the bottom of the cave. Beautiful view, huh? And some cute people!

Only one more weekend left. Here we come ROME!!!

Rothenburg

On Friday, Steve's work had a family picnic. Zack got his face painted like a tiger. He also ran around with American kids. When the German kids try to talk to him at German parks, he gets confused and sad. It was fun for him to run around with kids who speak the same language.

We left the picnic and drove to Rothenburg. Rothenburg is one of Germany's preserved medieval walled towns. It is a very darling little town. Here we are walking through the gate to get in the city.

All of the houses and building look like this. It is so cute! It is what I pictured when I thought of Germany- cute little A-framed houses all squished together. The house reminded us a lot of the Cuckoo clocks that we saw in the Black forest. The clocks look very similar to many house we saw here. Very darling!

We walked to Market Square. Steve and the boys in front of the Town Hall and in the middle of Market Square.

At the Market Square, we met this guy:

He is the Night Watchman. He gives very comical walking tours of the town as he 'watches' the town. We and a group of about 50 people followed him around while he told us the history of this town and what it was like to live here many years ago. We actually learned a lot. But I'm not witty enough to make it interesting, so I won't bore you. He did take us on the outside of the wall. This is the gate we walked out of. I thought it looked so cute all lit up.

He showed us the hill that the town sits on. It was a breath-taking view.

After the tour, I decided I was going to change my profession. Everyone in the group of 50+ paid the Night Watchman 6 euros. Then he did another tour in German at 9:30. He made over 600 euros in 3 hours and that includes a break between the 2 one hour tours. That is some fast cash!

Anyway, we headed back to our hotel room and tried to sleep. We were reminded how much we miss our AC and our quite neighborhood where there isn't loud drunks laughing at all hours of the night.

In the morning, we headed back in to the walled town.

Our first stop was the Crime and Punshiment Musuem. Zack trying to be just like Daddy. It was really fascinating to see and read all the old punishments. I didn't get to read much because I was chasing Zackary around. But I did read that bakers were put into a cage and dunked under water (and who knows how long they were held under) for not making bread the right size. If the bread weighed 20 ounces when it was supposed to be 15 ounces, they were dunked 5 times. Crazy!!

This is a mask for women who talked too much. I think I have one sister who would have had to wear this. But I'm not going to mention any names.

Zack was fascinated by the big execution swords.
It was really an interesting museum, unlike any I have ever been to.

Next, we visited St. Jakob's Church. The outside was under construction. The main attraction in this church (is that what you call it when it is in a church? It seems like all the churches have some reason to get the tourists inside) is a 500 year old, 35-foot-high wood carving called "Altar of the Holy Blood." On top is Christ on the cross. The center is the Last Supper. On the right is Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane. This was the first time I have seen this in a Catholic church. It was amazing!

We walked around the town some more, the shops were so fun, and then headed to the wall. We could walk aropund the whole town on this:

This was the view from the wall:

We really loved Rothenburg. I don't think the pictures above do it justice so I have to include a slide show of a few more pics to help us remember this cute little town.

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