Roma

     I would guess that, unlike me, not many tourists in Rome wake up the first morning and have one of  their travelling companions forcefully state “I don’t want to go to the Colosseum’.  Luckily, Lily was easily convinced to venture out of our Bed and Breakfast that first morning with a promise of another well-known Italian wonder:  the gelato store.  We saw an impressionable collection of sights during our 3 day stay, and the girls really were very good sports about it, as long as we kept up with our Italian tradition of one gelato fix per day.  On the afternoon of the last day Grace did start mumbling that she was tired, to which Lily replied, “Don’t you understand, we are doing a tour of the WHOLE WORLD”.
     Despite Lily’s protests, we visited the Colosseum and tried to bring the place alive for the girls without too many gory details.  Lily was a bit disappointed that she missed the big war reproduction shows by some 20 centuries and Grace asked why all those people would want to come see people and animals get killed.  It is hard to get the head around the violence that took place on that spot.
     Afterwards we ventured into Rome’s buzzing metro where we were warned repeatedly by security to beware the pickpocket - a new English word for the girls to learn.  A near to tears Lily had to be reassured that her pink packet of Trident gum tucked in her pocket would be safe.  I must admit that Barry and I, despite our assurances to the worried girls, were feeling a little paranoid the first time we entered into the depths of the Colosseo metro.  We had just been discussing the fact that pickpockets often dress as businessmen or even fellow tourists these days to fool their targets into lowering their guards, when 2 nuns pushed onto our crowded metro car.  I couldn’t help but think that a habit would take the pickpocket scam to a whole new level.  I looked to Barry, motioned towards them with my eyes and mouthed, “Good one”.  I think we both relaxed a bit after that.
     We snacked in front of the Trevi Fountain and then the girls ate gelato on the Spanish Steps while I window shopped along Via Condotti where petting some soft Italian boots was all I could afford.
     Our Bed and Breakfast was very close to the Vatican City, and this is where we spent day two.  One very kind worker noticed Barry with his crutches in the Vatican Museum and arranged for us all free entry and advised us to later take the fast route, exit right, from the Sistine Chapel to St. Peter’s.  Despite Rome being a large, bustling capital where even in the winter it’s hard to see the Romans for the tourists, we had several experiences of people going out of their way to be considerate and helpful;  it sure was appreciated.  The Vatican Museum, like the Louvre, would need days to see it properly, as there was memorable and ancient artwork everywhere.  The Sistine Chapel makes for the best  “I spy” game ever!
     "The School of Athens” by Raphael was also a highlight for me.  Raphael was working on this painting at the same time that Michelangelo was breaking his neck painting (I got a neck cramp merely gazing up at the ceiling after several minutes - Michelangelo had to paint like that for 4 years!) the Sistine Chapel.  The story goes that Michelangelo had given strict orders that the chapel was off limits while he was working, but Raphael, with a little help from the Pope himself, snuck a peak at what his rival was up to down the hall.  Raphael was so impressed at what he saw that he headed back to his school painting and added his rival, Michelangelo, in the foreground.
     We were all awed at the 6 acre expanse of St. Peter’s Basilica.  When Grace was asked about her Rome highlights she named in this order 1. Getting her very own bottle of 7-Up to drink  and 2.  Seeing the dead body.  The red-robed dead body was that of Pope John XXlll displayed in a glass box in St. Peter’s.  When she took Lily back to see it, they stood holding hands as close as they could to it.  After several minutes I heard Lily whisper to her big sister, “Is that Santa Claus?”.  Lily was very relieved to hear that Santa was still alive and kicking up in his North Pole digs!
     An Italian friend here in Avignon had put us in touch with her very good friend in Rome, and so Friday morning we were lucky enough to get a private tour with the kind and knowledgeable Guido around the Pantheon neighbourhood.  For me it was the area of Rome we visited that felt the most relaxed and comfortable.  The Pantheon is the only ancient building in Rome in constant use since it was built in 125 AD and it’s concrete dome is a marvel.  We then sampled some of Rome’s best coffee at “Tazza d’Oro” and wandered over to the spacious Piazza Navona.  Guido took us into a number of churches along our walk, teaching us, in his broken English, a bit about Baroque art.  Thanks to him we saw some treasures we wouldn’t have seen otherwise, including one of my favourite paintings I saw; Caravaggio’s “The Saint Matthew’s Vocation” in the Church of San Luigi dei Francesi.
     We ended our day in the National Museum of Rome.  The girls took the much needed  opportunity to lounge surrounded by the 1st century frescoes from the summer dining room of the Villa di Livia: hey, if it was good enough for the wife of Augustus Caesar to recline in and enjoy, it’s definitely good enough for my two daughters some 2000 years later!

The Colosseum

Trevi Fountain

Gelato on the Spanish Steps

I read that experts believe it wouldn't be possible to build the Pantheon's concrete dome even with today's technology.

January sunshine and gelato in the Pantheon's square.

Piazza Navona

 2 Canadian girls and 2000 year old Roman Frescoes.