Sora - Italy Farm Stay

Calvin and Aidan hopped the metro to Termini (train station) in Rome to retrieve the rental car.  We had to be out of our apartment by 11:00am so it was the usual frantic packing before vacating time but we knew we had a wonderful farm holiday awaiting us.  They showed up 45 minutes after they left with an electric blue station wagon and a missing hubcap or two…. inconspicuous…NOT!. Calvin discovered the walk up and negotiate a rental car from the dented and damaged lot.  $27 per day for a 2011 Station Wagon – who needs pride.  After a quick stop at the post office to mail a couple small boxes home (so we can travel just a little bit lighter) we were on the highway to Sora. 

We have booked the next six nights at an organic, self-sustaining farm in the heart of Italy on the edge of Abruzzo National Park – it is not Tuscany!  Calvin’s farm in Cape Breton is great but it’s really more of a horse and vegetable farm than an old school self-sustainable farm with chickens, bunnies, sheep, pigs, goats, donkeys, vegetables and fruits, etc.  We had been looking for a place where we could expose the boys to life on a farm.  Apart from relaxation, we hoped that being at the farm will be a learning experience…for me too. I’m a city girl!  Basically everything you eat at the farm comes from the farm, including bread, pasta, marmalade, vegetables, fruit, wine, oil, meat, etc...

Also, there are many areas for hiking, local markets, horseback riding, cooking classes, truffle hunting, cheese making classes with the local sheep farmer, wine making, fruit and vegetable harvesting, etc.. The nearest town of Sora is just a 40 minute walk and it has plenty to offer but very little English so we hoped our slightly improved Italian would get us through the next week.

Within minutes of our arrival, Antonello and his family welcomed us with genuine Italian hospitality! Antonello (the son), Giuseppe (the dad), Maria Siragusa (the mom) and the volunteers on the farm made our stay such a memorable one as they welcomed us with their arms wide open. Upon our arrival they served us a glass of their homemade wine and pieces of bruschetta. After one day on the Farm we all felt like part of the family.   

The volunteers are mostly young 20 something travellers who apply to work for food and board (of various levels – bedroom in the house to tent in the field) but mostly for the experience.  A few of the volunteers were in month 5 of their stay – a great indication of how well they are treated and how much they enjoy their experience.  A few of the volunteers were camp counsellors and really connected with the boys.  The boys played plenty of hacky sack, bocce ball and football with the volunteers and it was getting pretty competitive.     

Antonello is responsible for the creation of this new tourist model.  It’s a mix of Italian Agriturismo, WWOOF (World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms) and Low/Mid-range motel.  You can do as much or as little as you want while staying at the farm but it’s hard to not roll up your sleeves and get involved.  It’s not like the fancy farm hotels found at most Agriturismo locations or as rustic and demanding as volunteering at most WWOOF locations or as color coordinated as a roadside motel BUT it is the best of all three = Agriturismo setting + non mandatory hands on WWOOFing experience at Motel prices.   

Antonello started his ‘project’ as he calls it only five years ago and he is expanding for the third time due to the overwhelming success.  We booked two months in advance to get a spot during the farming season.  Our room was simple – four beds lined up in a large room with an ensuite bathroom decorated in flea market farm chic with a hand drawn forest scene on the walls around us.

The boys (Calvin included) started wandering around the farm within minutes of arriving.  At some point, Giuseppe waved to them to get in to his car. I had no idea where they were going and how long they would be gone. They all piled in and drove up the hill to the newly purchased, soon to be renovated, farm houses where they crush the grapes for their home made wine.  The boys got their hands dirty and were rewarded with glasses of freshly squeezed grapes (for the wine).  When they returned, the remaining farm guests had arrived and I was busy lounging on the veranda couch chatting with the various couples.  Everyone introduced themselves and we were lucky as everyone was very friendly and searching for a similar experience as us.  The boys were the only kids on the farm that week so they had plenty of attention.   

We had dinner with the family and all the guests the first night on the farm and three more nights as the week progressed.  The dinner is not inexpensive but the amount and quality of food is outstanding.  . It was a real treat to eat organic produce straight from the farm and to experience Maria’s wonderful cooking.  The food seemed to just keep coming – green beans, eggplant, salad, fresh bread, pasta, chicken or pork. You could also purchase some of their homemade wine to have with your dinner. The atmosphere was relaxed, peaceful and friendly. It was fun to eat communally with our hosts and fellow travellers with the buzz of fun, laughter and conversation filling the air during meal times. 

The next morning, Calvin, Noah and Aidan drove to a local horse farm for a horseback ride through the countryside including four crossings of a rushing river…no really, the river was really moving and the group of six riders lost their dog to the current on three of the four crossings.  The dog made it to the other side each time but only after some frantic moments and a lucky bend in the river that ricocheted him from the water to the shore.

 
 

The boys spent vast amounts of time with the animals and learning about life on the farm. Each morning, Giuseppe would take whoever (usually Aidan and sometimes Devin and Noah) was up early enough to the orchard to pick fresh figs, dates, apples, grapes and pomegranates or to the chicken coup for fresh eggs which were added to the breakfast table.   Though he is not speaking English, Giuseppe seems to communicate with the boys with glances and waves of his hands (very Italian, don’t ya think) and they follow his gestures correctly…..most of the time. 

He was so kind and was such a wonderful person especially with the boys.  He took them for rides on the farm mascot Leia, the Donkey, and the older horse. The boys looked forward to feeding Leia the fallen figs every day. At the time we were there all the animals had recently had babies so we got to see baby pigs, chicks and rabbits. The boys were always eager to do work on the farm so each day they looked to Giuseppe for instructions. Aidan would work the pump for him when he watered the vineyard and Noah helped the volunteers with moving rocks from one area to build a wall in another area. Devin rode the tractor and helped to feed the animals. On two mornings the volunteers killed a pig for the meal the next night. You could hear the squealing and the boys were all onsite to witness the killing.  It was not terribly humane but it is a working farm so I should not complain.  Needless to say, I chose the vegetarian meals those nights. 

Every aspect of the farm life was a valuable learning experience for the MacInnis boys. Noah and Aidan have talked about going back to the farm as volunteers when they are 18. Every morning at about 6am the shepherd would bring his flock down the path behind our room. You could hear the bells on the sheep ringing and then again at 5:30pm he would come back the same way to take them home. Just like Pavlov’s dog, we would jump up when we heard them coming back for the day to watch the shepherd and his 50 sheep head home.     

We didn’t want to spend the $s to eat on the farm every night so we made our way into town to get some food supplies to store in the communal fridge.  We told Antonello that we would like to BBQ so he showed us to the wood and bonfire pit.  A couple from Israel and the UK decided to join us and the boys collected the wood and started the bonfire.  The palm tree branches are better than gasoline to start a fire and within seconds we had a raging fire.  


When it settled a bit, we spread some coals on the ground with a small grill overhead and cooked a great meal of fish, chicken and vegetables which we shared.  The bonfire became a nightly tradition with Aidan & Noah getting it started. Aidan picked figs, stuffed them with the rosemary that he picked and roasted them on the fire. They were unusual tasting but Leila really enjoyed them and we appreciated his creativity.    

Noah and Calvin love pomegranates and they seem to grow wild around here. They spent many hours over the week chatting and picking the seeds from the fresh fruit – this is a little piece of heaven.

While driving aimlessly through the town one day, we discovered a pizza joint full of locals.  Since it was lunch time, we decided to try some local za and ordered 3 large pizzas to take back to the farm.  It was outstanding and we all munched down while lounging on the veranda….life is tough.

I signed up for a cooking class with Maria as the instructor.  Her English is not great but cooking is more of a watch me and repeat exercise.  Initially, the boys were going to join me but there was just too much competition in and around the farm to pull them in to a kitchen for more pasta making instruction.  I was joined by a man from Australia and a lovely woman from the US. We spent a few hours preparing the night’s dinner.  We used the fresh eggs supplied by the chickens that morning to make the dough for the pasta and a sauce from the squash on the farm. I learned such an easier technique for making the pasta from Maria and I was her #1 student. No gold stars but my dough rolled out so nice and thin. Maria’s mantra is stretch and roll. The chefs were toasted many times at the dinner table that night so I think our cooking was a success. The homemade wine is pretty good and only $4 euro a litre so maybe it was just an excuse for everyone to tip their glasses a few more times than usual.

It’s become a tradition to stroll through the Centro and experience a few hikes at every location, so we set off with the hand drawn map from the farm to scale the highest local mountain with a deserted Castle on top.  We packed a picnic and some water and left the farm to make the climb. It was crazy hot that day and the climb up was directly in the sun.  We drank most of our water by the time we reached the top.  The castle was amazing. 













We were the only people there.  We climbed a circular stair case in the dark to reach the upper walls of the castle where we had the best possible views of the town below.  After we searched every possible nook and cranny for treasure, we ate our lunch and started down the shady side of the mountain.  Going down is so much easier.  We made our way back to the farm and enjoyed another terrific dinner with the family and new found friends.   

The volunteers told us of a local rodeo happening at the farm where the boys went horseback riding.  We decided to attend the event that was scheduled to begin at 3:00pm.  The first rider crossed the wire at 4:10pm after a 18.9 second run around the barrels.  Calvin took the pictures and this beautiful blonde was nowhere near the best but she is the only rider that we have pictures of ??? .  It was a lot of fun and most of the town had turned out to cheer on family and friends. 

It was difficult to say good bye to our new family at the farm but we were on our way to Istanbul, Turkey where very different, but new experiences awaited.  We left late in the morning for a hotel near the Rome airport in the small town of Fiumicino for an early morning flight the following day to Istanbul.  The hotel was fine but it didn’t have a restaurant and we really felt like a non-home cooked meal.  We unpacked the minimum amount possible and went to search for some lunch.  We drove into the local town and circled the area until we found an all you can eat Japanese place that was unbelievable.  

The boys tried just about everything on the menu. We were stuffed and went home to kick back for a while.  We finished our Italy time with some tiramisu and gelato not knowing if we would see either again on this trip.

I thought to myself that there’s no knowledge of the Turkish language in our family as we drove to the airport and I can’t say it wasn’t without some apprehension when we boarded the flight to Istanbul. 

Ciao Italia – we had a great time!

Brief summary of our Italian encounters

Venice to Fucecchio to Florence to Pisa to Fucecchio to Pompeii to Castellabate to Paestum to Naples to Castellabate to Rome to Vatican to Sora to Rome

1,925km - 24 hours of driving not including city time

Best experiences:  Seeing Venice for the first time by boat; Cooking class in Florence; Italy beating Slovenia; holding up the Leaning Tower of Piza; strolling the streets of Pompeii; eating Pizza at the world’s first pizza joint; cruising the Amalfi coast; discovering the origins of mooning; the Colosseum; horseback riding in Sora, and; making lots of new friends

Best accommodation: Venice for the romance (yes, romance), Sora for the company, peace and quiet, Florence for the food, Castellabate for the company & view and Rome for the location and the history.

Best meals:  Too many to list: Japanese in Fiumicino, Pasta in Tuscany, Chinese in Rome and traditional Italian in Castellabate

Best desert: Tiramisu courtesy of ourselves and gelato everywhere but especially Grom in Venice

Bested by an animal… NOT this time but run-ins with the following: 2Pigs / 3Horses / countless bunnies / Bazillion Wasps / 1Donkey / 3Chickens’ /100s of stray dogs.

Best cathedrals: St Peters

Best repeated new phrase: “We……(pause)…..INVeNTed  EVERythinG” 

Best city: Venice, Florence and Rome

Best beaches: Castellabate

Rome

When In Rome…do as the tourists do…..

We said goodbye to Amalfi and hello to Rome in 2 hours’ time. When we arrived at our apartment in Rome, Calvin was happy to return the car and go back to public transit. Although driving into Rome was quite uneventful it still is a whole different experience driving in Italy (as you are well aware of since we have mentioned it in every entry about Italy). We are staying in another 2 bedroom apartment on the 4^th floor with no elevator. I’m not complaining -we are getting lots of exercise. The location is convenient to the public transit and a 20 minute walk to most of the Roman ruins. We look out to the street below and as soon as we arrived the boys spotted the local gelato place across the street. Sweet!  We really do enjoy these old ‘high’ street communities where everything can be had within a two block radius. We had the local butcher, fruit and veggie market, gelateria, bus stop and various cool clothing stores within 20 meters of our apartment.  Rome is scheduled to be a short six days but with more to see than most countries.  We’ll be rockin’ all week to get to all the main tourist traps. 

Colosseum (Colosseo) and Palatine Hill

We decided to start our Rome experience at the Colosseum. We walked there and saw so many other ruins just by the side of the road, unmarked but clearly extremely old.  It’s likely Rome’s most famous landmark and you see it in so many pictures but when we turned the corner and caught a first glimpse, it was breathtaking.  The size is surprising – it’s massive.  Originally capable of seating some 50,000 spectators for animal fights and gladiatorial combats, the amphitheatre took only 10 years to construct – impressive for any century let alone the 1^st century. 

 The boys were really excited to get in and see where the gladiators once stood and fought for their lives. We decided to opt for a group guide who helped us skip the line and ended up only costing an extra 5 euros to our tickets. It was well worth it as she was an archeologist herself and was obviously passionate about her job. She shared a lot of interesting information about the emperors and gladiators and the internal structures of the building. The floor has been removed in the Colosseum so that you can see the underground cells and tunnels where the people and wild animals waited to be lifted, poked or thrown in the ring to fight one another.

You will notice from the picture we have posted that all of the walls have holes on the outside. The outside of most of the Roman ruins were recycled after the fall of Rome for local construction or for new architectural wonders like St. Peters Basilica.  Most of the ruins have lost their marble or limestone including the Colosseum.

We left the Colosseum and walked up to Palatine Hill where Rome was founded by the twins Romulus and Remos (mythological? perhaps).  It’s just a short walk up the hill from the Colosseum and you almost instantly leave the crowds behind. Visitors flock to the Colosseum and the Roman Forum but seem to shy away from Palatine hill which is full of interesting ruins and quaint gardens. There is so much to see and all of it such a window into the world of Ancient Rome: the House of Livia, the House of Augustus, the Temple of Apollo, Palace of the Flavii, Domus Augusta and the amazing Circus of Domitian.  There is a small but very informative (free) museum and a fresh water spring to drink from. 

Interesting travel note about Rome…you can drink from the fountains all over the city.  The water is, for the most part, still aquaducted from the mountains and it is fresh and apparently endless.  Most emperors and prominent political figures made the hill their home and built their residences up there.  We explored the many paths and found a large open area that once was an amphitheatre, Augustus’s home and the huts that Romulus and Remos lived. The hill provides a fantastic view of Rome and the Roman Forum below but we were too tired to go further so decided to leave the Forum for another day.   We had a copy of Gladiator to watch that night and we all sat around the laptop and watched Russell Crowe kick some butt after a long day.  The movie is one of our favorites but it was extra special that night after our visit to the real Colosseum and our new appreciation for the atmosphere surrounding the Gladiator battles.   Russell Crowe, oh my…

Roman Forum and other really touristy spots

The next day we left early to visit the Roman Forum.   The Forum was the commercial, political and religious center of ancient Rome, which included the Arch of Septimus Severus, Temple of Saturn, Arch of Titus and the House of the Vestals.  The armies would march under the various Arches carrying the conquests of most of the known world at the time.  Exotic animals captured and kept in cages until fight day at the Colosseum were also paraded around for the locals to see.

Various carvings on the Arches depicted the conquests and wild beasts of the time.  I have to say that the boys were not really impressed with the Forum.  I’d suggest you visit the Forum first or hire a real good tour guide as there are mostly just columns laying on the ground and a few foundations of buildings.   A really good tour guide and an extra shot of imagination are required to picture what this must have looked like two thousand years ago.  We lacked both that day.  We did want to find the burning and original burying grounds of the great Julius Cesar but it wasn’t very impressive – not sure what we were expecting.   

We didn’t stay long.  I gave myself the name of Lilianna and used my best Italian accent to pretend I was a tour guide for the boys...you know, just to shake things up a little. Here is a picture of "Lilianna" helping out some American tourists. We found our way out of the Forum area and headed to the next site.

We climbed hundreds of stairs (as we do every day in Rome) to reach the street level for more exploring. Devin has declared stairs his #1 enemy and eggplant his #2. Noah convinced him to try grilled eggplant in Spain and he just about lost it. On the way to the Trevi Foundation which was quite a walk, we came across a Chinese restaurant in one of the tiny squares. We all looked at each other and said…YES! We were growing tired of pasta, pizza, pizza and pasta so why not trade one starch for another! The kids thought it was pretty funny sitting in Rome eating Chinese food but it was some of the best we have ever had. We had a great lunch and were ready to tackle the rest of the sightseeing.   

The Trevi Fountain was jammed full of tourists but we had to go to see this magnificent fountain and of course throw a coin over our shoulder.  The superstition is if you throw a coin you will return to Rome one day. I threw a coin in about 18 years ago and here I was back in Rome so everyone gave it a shot.  The fountain is the largest Baroque fountain in the city and one of the most famous fountains in the world. 

We then headed to another key tourist spot and just followed the crowd to the Spanish Steps. On the way we stopped at a café and shot back an espresso. We first stood across the street from the steps and watched all the people lounging and sunning themselves and while doing so a street vendor came over and offered me a couple of roses. I said no thank you and he told me they were free because I was so lovely.  Wow, that is so nice…..I thought, so I said thank you very much! He then told Calvin how fortunate he was to be married to me…who could argue…except Calvin pretended he didn’t know me and he was instead married to the woman standing in front of him. Ha ha…The guy must have seen us coming because he knew Calvin was kidding.

Then after complimenting me so nicely he asked Calvin for some money for the roses!! I haven’t fallen for many scams but he totally got me on that one. Here these are for free because you are so  lovely but how about giving me some money anyway? No thanks, keep your stinking roses!   After I picked my ego up off the pavement we climbed the many steps to the top and admired the view.  

The steps slope upward from the Piazza di Spagna at the base to the Piazza trinita dei Monti and a beautiful church at the top.  It’s the widest staircase in Europe….anybody care? …not really, except for the 000s of tourists who come to see the widest staircase in Europe. 

We were wiped so we jumped on the Metro and returned home.  We decided to try one of the local restaurants for dinner and fell for the ever common tourist 12 euro breadbasket.  Damn, each slice of bread for 2 euro (that’s $3cdn)….we were not happy with the bill but the food was great. 

The Great toy hunt

After introducing the concept that everyone gets to celebrate a birthday on this trip regardless of your real birthday, Aidan was quick to point out the necessary birthday gift giving tradition. 

We decided on one gift and of course, Aidan wanted something we could not find anywhere.  It has turned in to a fun thing for all of us as we have to locate the local toy store(s) in search of Captain America.  We have yet to find the Captain but we are having a blast walking through all the toy stores in Italy. 

Campo de Fiori and Pantheon

This was a little too far for us to walk so we caught the bus to Campo de Fiori. This is a rectangular square near Piazza Navona and in English means ‘field of flowers’.  The name was first given during the Middle Ages when the area was actually a meadow.  It used to be used for everything from public hangings to political meetings and now it is a flower market but every morning it has food, clothing and anything else you could imagine.

We walked a round and looked at every stall and bought some candy, nuts and truffle paste (great for pasta).

Calvin negotiated 4 large fruit salads and we just stood around watching the world bustle by. As we were leaving I saw some people eating some delicious looking cannoli and so I asked them where to find these little pieces of heaven. They didn’t offer us a bite but told us they were amazing and where to find them. They were right. They were amazing.

We walked to the Piazza Navrona , ate our cannoli and admired the three beautiful fountains. After wiping our faces and loosening our belts we set out to find the Pantheon.

The Pantheon is a temple to all the gods of Ancient Rome and was rebuilt by Emperor Hadrian around 125AD.  It is billed as the most perfect architectural splendor in the world.  I suppose that is a personal thing but this place is simply amazing.   The pillars in front are massive and the Roman doors at the entrance are breathtaking.  

There is a large, spectacular dome in the middle that is said to have inspired the dome revolution throughout Europe.  You can look up to the heavens and see the sky through the hole at top and when it rains the floors are sloped away from the middle so the water will not pool.  Almost two thousand years after it was built, the Pantheon’s dome is still the world’s largest unreinforced concrete dome.  The name 'Pantheon’ likely originated from the Greek adjective meaning “to every god”.  It has been in continuous use throughout its history and since the 7^th century, it has been used as a church and from our view, it’s the best preserved Roman building in Rome.  We took our time walking around inside and looked at all the monuments and paintings.

I had read in one of our tour books about a GIANT foot that was part of an ancient statue that marked an entrance to the city. I was determined to find this GIANT foot as some little quirky site that the boys would think was fun. We walked up and down the street it was supposed to be on a couple of times and couldn’t find it so we wandered into another church that was quite lovely. Aren’t they all though? This one was the Santa Minerva and it contained a statue of the risen Christ by Michelangelo.  We all seemed to need a rest so we did on the stairs of the church and then… back to that FOOT! I was determined to find this GIANT foot! Noah suggested I just ask someone to which I shot him a look of contempt. We went back down the street (3^rd time) and found it. The reason we had missed it was because it was no bigger than my foot!! Not GIANT at all. We had walked by it and not noticed it. We all had a laugh and the boys enjoyed teasing me about the GIANT foot for the rest of the day. We planned to take the bus back home but couldn’t find our bus number so we walked all the way home. It took about an hour which normally would not have been too difficult but after a day of sightseeing we were beat!

Vatican City

We couldn’t decide if heading to the Vatican in the early morning or the late afternoon would be better to avoid the crowds but after a late wake up time, our fate was sealed.  We packed our lunch and headed to the Metro. Eight stops later we arrived with a whole throng of tourists. Since we really just wanted to see the Sistine Chapel, we planned to cruise through the Vatican Museum as fast as possible.  Ya see, you have to enter the Sistine Chapel through the Vatican Museum and there is usually a two hour wait to get into the Museum. 

The walk from the entrance of the Museum to the entrance of the Chapel is a 45 minute walk on a good day.  Yup, inside a museum walking for 45 minutes – get a sense of the size of this place….freakin’ huge.   We ‘picked’ the better of the two arrival times as we walked straight in to the Museum but the amount of tourists was overwhelming and we were not able to build any pace to our walk to the Chapel. 

We really can’t complain too much about the walk as we were in awe from the moment we entered.  The Vatican Museum(s) are among the greatest museums in the world, since they display works from the immense collection built up by the Roman Catholic Church throughout the centuries, including some of the most renowned classical sculptures, furniture, jewellery, mosaics, stain glass and most important Renaissance art in the world.   The museum was founded in the 16^th century as the conquests piled up and they have done a great job displaying the millions of pieces.

Calvin whispered, under his breath, how powerful it would be if the artifacts displayed a brief description of ‘how’ the church came to own such a foreign treasure and the ‘cost’ of that treasure.  Anyway, it’s impressive and staggering to think of the amount of works on display and apparently a multiple more are archived in the basement. 

As there is no short-cut to the Sistine Chapel, we took our time and took in all the artifacts. The tapestries and mosaics were really beautiful and the boys were impressed by the ceilings.

Finally we reached the Sistine Chapel and it was crowded but we managed to carve out a little niche for our family to just stand and look at every panel. You are supposed to keep quiet as it is a chapel but of course the many tourists find this difficult to do so your experience is tainted a little by the guards shushing every few seconds. They do try to rush you through but we stayed and took our time. The Creation of Adam with God’s outstretched fingertips is beautiful but the entire ceiling is equally impressive.

I was explaining to the boys what each panel was and what it represented when we got to one that said it was God creating the Sun and Moon. The actual panel on the ceiling shows God creating the sun, moon and planets.  The sun at the end of his outstretched right hand and the moon over his left shoulder but more importantly to my crew, an angel flying across the piece with his robe askew revealing his bare bottom. 

The boys thought it was pretty funny and out of place up on the ceiling until they came to the conclusion that that is why we call it “mooning” someone. When God created the sun, moon and planets, he created ‘mooning’ as we know it…..not sure that was Michelangelo’s plan. These boys are learning so much! We spent half an hour looking at the ceiling and the paintings surrounding the interior of the Chapel.  The true mastery and genius of Michelangelo is fully realized when looking at that ceiling. 

We ate our lunch and made our way to St. Peters Square to visit St Peter’s Basilica. It amazes me that female tourists show up at the CHURCH of all churches in short shorts or tank tops only to be turned away with an utterly shocked look on their faces. Come on ladies, show some respect here.  For many (we’re talking billions) this is a place of pilgrimage. 

St Peter’s is the largest of any Christian church in the world.  It has markings in the floor of the sizes of a few of the other larger churches in the world.  Size does matter.  As we went in, it got very dark and started to rain a little so we took our time looking in every nook we could find.

We spent a lot of time admiring Michelangelo’s Pieta which is such a sad statue of Mary holding a slain Jesus.

When we left the church it was raining but it didn’t stop us from walking around the square and finding the spot that the Pope would bless us from if he were there, but he wasn’t. Instead of the Metro we took our first taxi ride through the city and it was great. We got to see a little bit more of the city on our last day in Rome.    

I apologize in advance for the length of this post but there was so much to see and do in Rome that we could have written a tour guide during our short stay.   Few cities have the ability to inspire like Rome.  We absolutely loved Rome and could have spent months if not a lifetime absorbing the energy, romance and history.  With Trevi Fountain tradition on our side, we will be back!