October 2nd - Oct 6th
Oct 2nd
We got up this morning and left our room on the Cruise ship. It was a very hectic day. We had to travel out from the ship and get on to a big bus. It took us to the end of the dock where we were supposed to get on a city bus. But we had to wait in a huge line up. Finally we got on this bus and headed to the train station. We were going to get on a train into down town Rome. Well, it was sooooo busy that when we finally got to buy our tickets and we had to line up it was a huge crush of people. We got separated and it was a bit scary. There were so many people that we squeeze our way up to the platform. None of us were very happy about it. We finally got onto the train and made our way to Rome. Then when we made it to the terminal we had to change onto the Subway. That was another adventure. It was difficult because there was 12 of us trying to stay together and bring all of our luggage with us! Phew it was tough!
But we finally made it, we got to our Airbnb, and were able to take some time to relax and breathe out!! Our place is called San Giovanni with a view! And it is true – out of our window we can see the church of San Giovanni, the oldest church in Rome, built in 381 CE.
Oct 3rd
Today we said goodbye and farewell to my Grandma Kingshott. She was catching her flight back to Canada today! My dad took her back to the airport and made sure that she got all settled. We all loved having her here with us and we are really going to miss her. It was amazing to travel with my Grandma, I got to share a cabin with her on the cruise, and we spent a lot of time talking and just being together. I loved it.
Today we are going into the city of Rome to see the Colosseum. The Rome Colosseum was very different then the one in Verona. It is much bigger, but also a lot more destroyed. There are no more seats and a lot of the hallways and arches have fallen down. But it is just amazing.
We had tickets to get into the Colosseum at 8:50. The tickets were very specific and we had to be on time, Uncle Joe went ahead and made sure that we could get in and that the tickets were ready to use. The rest of us walked over from the place we were staying. It was a great walk along the old roads in Rome and just as we turned the corner, we could see the massive walls of the Colosseum rising up ahead of us. It was very busy at the Colosseum, but we were able to get in and have a wonderful walk around. It is so nice to be able to travel with my Nanny and Papa. They are both really smart, and are always teaching me things. Since they were both teachers, I think it is hard for them to stop teaching, I think they like it, and I like learning it too.
The Colosseum was built by Emperor Vespasian in 72AD and completed under Emperor Titus in 80AD. It could hold up to 80,000 spectators on it seats. It is funny because now they will only let in 3000 people to look around at one time! It was used for Gladiator fights, fighting between criminals and animals like lions. Also executions were done there and it was even filled with water and turned into a hypogeum where they staged famous sea battles. My Uncle Joe and Papa, and my cousins Donny and Jon and my brothers Liam and Brendan all loved learning about the boat battles. They all thought that would be really cool to see!
Most of the walls have been striped of their marble, but it would have been totally covered in beautiful white marble. The Colosseum suffered huge damage during the great earthquake of 1349 and that went into total decline.
Outside the Colosseum there is Constantine’s Arch. He built this arch in 312 AD after returning from the battle of Millvian Bridge where he fought off a rival emperor and took control of Rome.
From then we decided to fully explore the Roman Forum and the Palatine Hills. These are the original homes, building and temples that were built during the time when Rome was the main force in this part of the world. I really enjoyed walking along the tops of the many buildings and looking out over the Circus Maximus. This was a huge stadium that was built for chariot racing and could hold over 200,000 people. I just stood there overlooking the stadium tying to imagine seeing all those people watching the horses racing and hearing them cheer so loudly. It must have been amazing.
Most of the building have fallen down, or been mostly destroyed, but we were able to walk around and learn about a few of them. We saw the temple of the Vestal Virgins and the tomb of Caesar.
We came back to our apartment really tired and worn out. What a huge day. I have learned so much history this summer, so many different people, different places, and over so much time. What an incredible world.
Oct 4th
What a great morning we had. We had a wonderful big breakfast at the apartment and then headed into town on the Rome on the Metro. It was a very busy ride and it was hard to find a place to stand. We traveled into down town Rome and got off at the stop called Spanga. It is the stop for the Spanish steps.
We all ran up the steps and stopped to take lots of pictures. There was a bunch of police officers in shiny vests who job it was to blow whistles every time someone sat down. I guess you are not allowed to sit on the Spanish steps anymore and they are really strict at enforcing it! The Spanish steps are a set of 174 steps that link the piazza di Spanga to the Trinita dei Monti church at the top of the steps. It was built in 1723 and is a beautiful.
We then walked over to the Trevi Fountain. It is a beautiful enormous fountain carved out of solid marble. It was carved in 1762 and shows the Taming of the waters. It is a fabulously beautiful fountain, but wow was it busy there!!
On the way from there over to the Pantheon, which was our next stop, I went into a souvenir shop and found a beautiful purse. It is such a nice reminder of our time in Rome. The boys chose t-Shirts from Rome and my cousins Donny and Jon also picked out T-shirts. We all had a great time choosing which things we like the best.
Our next stop was the Pantheon. The Pantheon was built between 113 and 125 AD by the emperors Trajan and Hadrian. The whole building is phenomenal, it is hard to choose what I liked most about it, but I think when my mom told me the story of the columns at the front of the temple – that is the most interesting. Here is a picture of Nanny and I in front of those columns.
The Columns are huge – each weighs 60 tonnes, and there are 16 of them. They were quarried in Egypt and dragged over 100km on wooden sledges to the Nile river, where they were ferried on barges down the Nile to the Ocean. They were then transferred to huge ships to carry them to Ostia (on the shore near Rome) off loaded onto barges and pulled up the River Tiber to Rome. Still not done they had to be transported about 700 m through Rome to the Pantheon and erected. WOW. What a huge job.
The inside of the Pantheon was once a Roman temple and was transformed into a Church once Rome followed Christianity. Another neat feature was the ceiling. Almost 2000 years after it was built, it is still the world’s largest unreinforced concrete dome. It is made of lighter and lighter concrete mixtures as you get closer to the top. Instead of heavy marble in the mix, the concrete at the top used lighter volcanic tuff in the rock mix making the roof lighter and able to stay up.
We had an incredible day walking around the City of Rome, we walked home and took a break by walking down along the river Tiber, getting an ice cream – of course, and then catching the Metro with took us back. It was a great day.
Oct 5th
We got up early again this morning to try and get out to the Vatican before the crowds got too big, but when we got there the line up was huge!!! I guess the Vatican was closing early today as the pope was consecrating some men to become Cardinals. My Papa was telling me that there is a Canadian Priest named Father Czerny who works with refugees who has been chosen to be a cardinal. It is a great honour. My Nanny and Papa are coming back to Rome before they fly home and are going to see the pope! They have signed up for a special meeting (with a few thousand other people) to see him! I hope they get up early and get a good seat!
It was so busy we didn’t get a chance to get in, so we left and headed towards the Castle D’Angelo.
This was originally built as a mausoleum for the emperor Hadrian in 123 AD, and then later as a fortress and castle for many different popes. In this picture you can see a painting of Hadrian and his tomb inside the fortress.
Pope Nicholas III built an underground tunnel in the mid 1300’s between the Vatican and the Castle so if he got attacked he could escape and hide inside the fortress. Many different popes built and changed the rooms and decorated them. We walked all around the castle and learned all about the various rooms and uses of the castle. It was a great tour of the castle.
We then walked back to our apartment and took a stroll through the Trajan’s forum. We saw where the original court houses were located and what is left of them now. It is so incredible to think of this other city, alive and different, right here, in this place.
Oct 6th
Today we are going to Travel to Naples. It is going to be a hassle taking all the bags and going on the subway. So we toke are time getting on the subway. We were taking the subway to the train station and taking the train to the airport to pick are van. My Uncle Joe got a small car. We got a medium van. We only had 2 stops on the subway, so it was not that big of a deal but it was sill pretty crowded. We got to the train station and my uncle Joe, papa and my dad when to go and get the tickets.
My uncle and papa came back with tickets but not my dad, the machine was giving him trouble. He was with the boys and I was with my nanny and papa. We were all free if we all went with an adult. One adult could not be with two kids, they could only go with one. My Nanny and Papa, my cousins Donny and Jon and my Uncle Joe and Auntie Jen and I all got on the first train and my Mom, Dad, Liam and Brendan all got on the second train because it would not take credit cards so he had to find some Euros. Finally we made it to the train and then on to the airport where we picked up the car.
We headed out onto the highway and drove about 3 hours south, past Naples up through some crazy twisty turny roads to the little town of Lettre. Where we met our Airbnb host for the next few days. Her name was Marialousia and she had the best house.
It was a 250 year old farm house that has been in her family for generations. She showed us the grape vines, the fruits and vegetables she grows, and then she toured us around her home. What an incredible place. We were so lucky to stay here. And best of all was the view from the balcony. The ocean, Mt. Vesuvius, Castello di Lettre, and the ancient city of Pompeii, all spread out before us.
Ciao!
Talk to you soon from the Amalfi Coast!
Tia and Mari
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