Day 14

Rome!

We got up early and hopped the EuroRail - a mere two hour and twenty minute trip. We arrived during a mild rain and had a long trudge across town with luggage. Our energy was flagging, so we stopped at a ristorante where the boys each had their own pizzas.

Then we were off on La Dolce Vita, stopping at the famous Trevi Fountain, which despite the weather was packed. We then fought our way through an umbrella wielding crowd to our hotel, which was only a block from the Pantheon. We got to the hotel and crashed for a couple hours waiting for the rain to clear.

Then we were off and we hit obstacles at every path. The Pantheon was closed for a service. If we strained against the gate, we could see the hole in the center of the dome though. That was very cool. By the time we made the mile and half walk to the Collesium, we found that it had closed for the day, as had the entrance to the Forum. Undaunted, we headed off toward the Circus Maximus and let the boys run around on the old chariot grounds to work off some energy. Pretty cool. Then back to the hotel and off to a lovely dinner.

All in all, we've had better travel days. Our first impressions of Rome were that it needed more parks and that it could be a bit cleaner. Overall though, we were impressed and at times awed by the ruins. We were just eager to be able to see them up close.

We did get to see inside some amazing churches, one of which had an exhibit on Galileo. Jenna noted that we think of the Catholic Church as being opposed to science, and yet, historically, they had a deep interest in all things scientific. (They just weren't always happy with what they found). Jenna called the churches "the palaces of the people." I thought that a beautiful sentiment.

The highlight of the day came as we walked home from our trek to the Collesium. We're all tired, the boys are mudstained, and we're over a mile from the hotel. We cross the bridge that crosses a little island in the Tiber. This was the spot where Rome was first founded. On this bridge, people attach locks to decorative loops on posts. On the locks are proclamations of love -- Paolo and Stacey 4/24/2010. The keys, presumably, lie at the bottom of the river.

As tired as we were, we could still appreciate this little morsel of beauty.