I've traveled a lot and seen many thing in my life. But nothing yet compares to Rome. It's hard to believe its only the 3rd most visited city in the EU (after London and Paris.) Now, I'm certainly no history buff. In fact, I'm kind of anti-historical stuff when I travel. It's not that I don't appreciate history, it's just that I'm an instant gratification kind of traveler! I want things I can experience in real time. Like food, music, culture, and art. But even I was drawn into the history of Rome. How could you not be!
So where were we? Ah yes...
Day 5: Forget you Buc-ee's (that's for all my Texas peeps!)...this is what Italian gas station food looks like. We stopped at the massive Autogrill before entering Rome. The incredible structure stretched OVER 8 lanes of traffic and housed several restaurants, shopping, and luxurious bathroom facilities. When I imagined gas station food I was thinking greasy, reheated hot dogs and stale Kit-Kats. But this place was insane! A buffet of fresh vegetables, grilled meats, breads, pastas, salad, fruit, deserts, and of course wine. In a country that celebrates meal time so much I don't know why I was so surprised!
After filling our bellies we all loaded back up for the short 10 km drive to our flat in Rome. Short drive! HA! This afternoon goes down as the worst afternoon in our entire trip. I'll spare you the details but it involved 2 hours stuck in downtown Rome rush-hour traffic, me alone in the flat with no food and two very cranky boys, and Arthur out for hours on an impossible mission to get rid of our useless rental car. I did whatever I could to keep the boys happy that afternoon...and this round of music car seats did the trick for all of about 5 minutes.
Day 6: Our flat was in an incredible neighborhood and a very short walk to the Colosseum. And since we have a house full of early risers (the kids...not the adults!) we were lucky enough to make it right as the sun was coming up! This place is incredibly breath taking! You can almost hear the echos of past centuries!
Or maybe that was just the guy trying to sell me a selfie stick for the 40th time! I DON'T NEED NO SELFIE STICK YO! Deep breath...
After nap we headed out to Villa Borghese, Rome's 3rd largest park. The views from the top were stunning!
Our feet tired and we knew it was a huge park so we enlisted the toddler to drive us around in the bike cart.
Just kidding...Arthur did all the work! Notice how carefree the rest of us look while poor Arthur is pedaling the weight of a family of 4 and 2 strollers. Good man!
This park was probably one of my favorite places in Rome. Xander rode a Merry-go-round for the first time in his life. Then rode it 4 more times before we made him stop. Of course an epic tantrum ensued! So we stuffed a polse in his mouth haha. Honest to goodness my little Norwegian child went to Rome, was offered a "hot dog" and asked for a "hot polse" lol. As the sun set we headed back to the metro to catch a quick ride home.
Right...nothing in this trip was ever easy.
For some reason, the metro stairs that we had just walked out of only a few hours early were now gated and locked. And the next closest metro stop? Well, down the Spanish Steps of course. Only the #1 place in Rome to AVOID when you're walking around with 2 strollers. Suffice it to say that Arthur more than got his workout in that day. And at least we got to see the Spanish Steps, which apparently had only reopened after years of renovation the day before! The ride home was another hot mess. A little advice, don't take 2 strollers on the Rome metro on a Friday night. Also, when we finally made it back to our flat our key broke off IN the lock. We made friends by buzzing everyone in the building until someone let us in. So many "great" memories on this trip!
Day 7: This was the Piazza...um...something...is it awful that I don't even know what this one was called? I mean, when there are incredible sights literally around every single curve it's really hard to keep track!
But THIS! THIS is one of my bucket list places to see! THE TREVI FOUNTAIN Y'ALL!!!! Thanks to 2 years of AP Art History, and the near equivalent of an undergraduate minor in Art, this has been a place I've wanted to visit for a long long time! It was incredible! And we made it there early and beat the crowds (which I highly recommend as it was starting to get crazy when we left!)
We stopped for a cappuccino and to rest our feet before our next sight. And you guys...epic moment! Arthur drank a coffee. When in Rome right? (groan...sorry...you know you were waiting for that one!)
Cappuccino for the toddler too! Just kidding, just the sugar at the bottom.
And whatever chocolate pastry his little mischievous heart desired!
Proof that the other half of us were there too :)
Around the next bend...the Pantheon!
Simply amazing.
A quick stop at the Piazza Navona for lunch, where Benjamin caused a small scene with his cuteness!
And again the toddler got whatever he wanted so we could survive the meal. You want juice, in a glass cup, with an orange straw? Coming right up! How about 2?
It was a long, hot, walk home for naps but the streets of Rome were fascinating to see. That afternoon we wondered out to another gelato place for our last evening and grabbed more pizza to eat at home so we could get the kids in bed early. We loaded up the next morning at 4:30 AM in the taxi for our flight back home to Norway.
Now if you've made it this far, round of applause. This was not our easiest or most relaxing trip ever. Arthur and I talked each other off a cliff multiple times every day. And I learned that under no circumstances should you EVER travel with 2 small children without help. And if you must, bring grandparents. And if you can't bring grandparents, go somewhere where the wine is good, cheap, and plentiful. Because you will surely need it!
Ciao Italia! Thanks for all the....um...memories!!!
