Random Family Travel Blog: Rome in a day

We were really looking forward to seeing Rome and especially the Colosseum. The Colosseum was built by an emperor guy with one of the coolest names: Vespasian. I also can't go to Rome without the soundtrack in my head playing Wim Mertens piece, "Struggle for Pleasure" because it was in the film "The Belly of an Architect" which was largely set in Rome.

Pyramid of Cestius

One the way into Rome we passed the Pyramid of Cestius that was built in 12 BC in the middle of the wall around Rome. Our first stop was of course the Colosseum which was a mob scene of tourists. We had prepaid tickets from the internet but we still had to wait fifteen minutes in the prepaid ticket line. The inside of the Colosseum had a lot of areas to see compared to my last visit more than 20 years ago. Back then, nobody was paying to go inside, cats ruled the place and tourists just looked at it from the sidewalk.

We then looked at the Circus Maximus which is just a large park but surprisingly retains the shape of the original venue. The spine running down the middle is still visible also. It is easy to imagine the chariot races that took place here.

Next we went to the Capitoline Hill where Michelangelo designed the travertine paving pattern. When we were there some sort of formal military event was happening. Some thought it was a funeral for a high ranking military or government official and it very well could have been. There was a band playing and men giving speeches. At the conclusion they all paraded out of the square.

We quickly looked at Trevi fountain, another tourist circus, noting how the fountain is built into the side of a building. Around the corner we had lunch. I ordered a very good fish but was made to give it up to a boy sitting next to me, who was reading an Artemis Fowl book for the six hundredth time, in exchange for an unexceptional pasta dish.

Trevi Fountain


We ate inside in the AC


We don't mind if the head's still on.

Pizza dough with Nutella inside.

We admired the fine tailored suits in the nearby stores before making our way to Vatican City. We had prepaid tickets for this museum also but we had a licensed guide to show us around too. It's a good thing because I headed for the museum entrance that is no longer in use before she guided us to the new entrance.

Once inside we noticed that one of us had chewing gum stuck to the bottom of their shoe. I took the shoe to the very large crowded WC area and was startled to have an Italian woman scolding me. At first I thought that I was getting a drubbing because I was supposed to put some euro-coins in a dish to use the restroom but then I noticed that I had wandered into the ladies washroom. I don't think they have a dish here anymore.

I made my way with her help to the mens room and began cleaning the shoe with TP but when I was done and walking away she was there waiting for me and scolded me for not flushing that paper away. I thought I was saving water.

Vatican Museum Garden.

After getting into the museum our guide didn't let us push our way to the Sistine chapel. We looked at the entire museum. We saw three Salvador Dali paintings, a large Etruscan urn that looked like it was pieced together from hundreds of fragments, and an astounding number of statues.

Etruscan Urn

Inside the Vatican Museum.


Trompe l'oeil ceiling fresco

Gallery of Maps

Dali painting

One of the many thinkers by Rodin

When we got nearer to the Sistine Chapel we were getting very hot and tired but they had placed a cafe in the museum just before you arrive at the chapel. We had a rest and something to drink before heading into the place. There were many signs showing a camera with a circle and a line through it just before entering. My first impression when we got inside was of hundreds of people holding cameras overhead and multiple flashes every second. Our guide had actually said to just be stealthy when we take pictures and to avoid flash. This place was a carnival. One guard was telling people "silence" but it was futile. The frescoes were very impressive though. I've seen way more than my share of painted ceilings and this one really is different.


Carnival Atmosphere.

Sistine Chapel Ceiling

After we left the chapel we made our way to Saint Peters Basilica. This place is impressive. We spent a few minutes here but were really ready to leave and get back outside. We quickly went to the Pantheon before giving up on the tourism for the day. The Pantheon is one of the best preserved Roman buildings. It was built using concrete and has had the largest unreinforced concrete dome for almost 2000 years. Unreinforced means that there is no steel structure inside the concrete.