Vatican, Rome

3 generations at the Vatican

We decided to explore Vatican City as three generations of girls!!! It was an extremely hot day and thankfully we purchased our tickets in

St. Peter’s Square

advance so we were able to bypass waiting in the long, hot ticket lines. The Vatican is a very high tourist area, as you can imagine and therefore, swarms of people gather around the outside and inside. The ticket lines looked like hundreds of people standing in the blazing sun. There are several parts to tour within Vatican City, so be sure to research what you want to do and see. There are tours which include several buildings or just one. I did not have the kids with me that day and to be honest, I think it would be too boring for them. The tours are long, crowded and require a lot of standing and walking. Please note, shoulders must be covered upon entering the Basilica. I brought a scarf because it was easy to carry around, provided coverage and was much cooler than a sweater.

Apostolic Palace

The Papal Apartments have been the official residence of the Pope in his religious capacity since the 17th century. The Papal Apartments in Italian are called appartamento nobile and appartamento pontificio.

The apartments have ten large rooms including a lobby, a studio office for the secretary, the pope’s private study, the pope’s bedroom in the corner of the building, a medical suite, a dining room, a small living room, and the kitchen. In addition, the apartments have a roof garden and staff quarters for the nuns who run the household. The pope greets and blesses visitors to Saint Peter’s Square on Sundays from the window of his small study. The top four windows to the right are where the Pope resides. The pope lives there for all months except July to September, when Papal Palace of Castel Gandolfo is the official summer residence.Three of the last five popes, John XXIII, John Paul I, and John Paul II, died in the Papal Apartments.

The Vatican is located in Vatican City also known as Vatican City State, in Italian is officially Stato della Città del Vaticano. The Vadicanis a landlocked sovereign city-state whose territory consists of a walled enclave within the city of Rome.  The population in Vatican City is 836 in 109 acres and was founded on February 11, 1929.

St. Peter’s Basilica

St. Peter’s Basilica is a Late Renaissance church located within Vatican City. It was designed by Donato Bramante, Michelangelo, Carlo Maderno and Gian Lorenzo Bernini. St. Peter’s is the most well known work of Renaissance architecture and remains one of the largest churches in the world. While it is neither the mother church of the Roman Catholic Church nor the cathedral of the Bishop of Rome. St. It is regarded as one of the holiest Catholic sites and has been referred to as “holding a unique position in the Christian world” and as “the greatest of all churches of Christendom”. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Peter’s_Basilica

The basilica is the burial site of its namesake Saint Peter who was one of the twelve apostles of Jesus and the first Bishop of Rome. Tradition and some historical evidence hold that Saint Peter’s tomb is directly below the altar of the basilica. For this reason, many Popes have been interred at St. Peter’s since the Early Christian period. There has been a church on this site since the time of Constantine. Construction of the present basilica began on April 18, 1506 and was completed on November 18, 1626.

The Pope holds a number of services throughout the year, which audiences of 15,000 to over 80,000 people gather , either within the Vatican Basilica, or in St. Peter’s Square. The picture of the Square shows all of the seating present when the Pope speaks.

Altar with Bernini’s baldacchino

Altar with Bernini’s Baldacchino: Bernini’s first work at St. Peter’s was designing the baldacchino.  The baldacchino is a pavilion-like structure 98 ft tall and said to be the largest piece of bronze in the world. The baldacchino is located underneath the dome and above the altar. Bernini’s idea for the baldacchino was for something other than the typical white marble and colored stone. Bernini designed four enormouscolumns of bronze, twisted and decorated with olive leaves and beesto represent Pope Urban.

The dome of St. Peter’s 448.1 ft high from the floor of the basilica to the top of the cross. This is the tallest dome in the world. When designing the dome, the architects of St. Peter’s looked to the domes of the Pantheon and Florence duomo. St. Peter’s is  the greatest dome of Christendom.

Tomb of Pope Alexander VII

Next I took a picture of the Tomb of Pope Alexander VII. The color of the marble in person is indescribable. It is so vibrant with gold, orange and amber tones. At the age of 80, the Italian artist Gianlorenzo Bernini designed the sculpture Tomb of Pope Alexander VII. It is located in the south section of St Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican City. The piece was commissioned by Pope Alexander himself. Construction of the monument didn’t start until 1671 and then was finally completed eleven years after the Pope’s death in 1678.

Just as you leave the Chapel, you will pass the Monument to Gregory XIII on the right. It was built by Camillo Rusconi in 1723 out of white marble. The moument was influenced by Algardi in its structural linearity and the expressive peacefulness. The monument is known as the Figure of Knowledge and represents the pope giving his blessing.

Monument to Gregory XIII

Let’s talk food!!! After a long tour of the Vatican, everyone is hungry. As we departed the Square, there was a cafeteria-style restuarant to the left with some of the best Italian food we experienced in Rome!!! We were starving and just started walking and saw tons of people gathering outside in line, sitting in the outdoor seating and it was so noisy. You could hear espresso machines going and dishes clanking around. I think we grabbed one of everything and all shared.

$$ saving tips: Vatican City is located right off of a stop on the double decker bus in Rome. If you choose to take a cab, it will be more expensive and there are long cab lines. The buses have designated stops right outside of the Vatican Square which is easy access to and from shopping and restaurants. The double decker bus picked us up right in front of our hotel, Westin Excelsior Rome. Be sure to bring your camera to the Vatican, as they do allow pictures inside. I was quite surprised because many museums won’t allow flash photography. We saved money by eating outside of the Vatican, ordering food family style and sharing it all. Plus it’s a great way to try everything!! Look up information on the double decker bus stops at http://www.rome-tours.net/?event=offer.detail&offerId=2154&startDate=07/01/2013&endDate=07/31/2013

5wheelsto5star was featured in the March 2014 issue of Destinations Travel Magazine

Trevi Fountain, Roma

You must see The Trevi Fountain, Fontana di Trevi, in person!! Pitcures of the fountain do not capture size nor the details in the marble and travertine. The fountain is 85.28 feet high and 160.72 feet wide, spilling over 2 million cubic feet of water each day.  The fountain is a display of ancient roman acqueduct termination and constructed of carrara marble and travertine.

In the center of the fountain you will see a statue of Ocean which was carved by Pietro Bracci standing under the trymphal arch. When viewing the fountain, you will see a statue of Abundance to the left and on the right side, a statue of Health.

Drink stand by fountain

The Trevi Fountain was within walking distance of our hotel. The walk there was nice on a sunny day in September. The legend of the Trevi Fountain is that you are to throw 3 coins into the fountain over your shoulder and

Fontana di Trevi

then you will be ensured a return to Rome! Must be true as I threw the coin in the fountain in September 2011 and I ended up back in Rome less than a year later in June 2012. There is a famous song called ‘Three Coins in the Fountain’.

For more information on the meaning of the inscriptions on the fountain and history, please visit http://www.trevifountain.net/

Fontana di Trevi

$$ saving tips: It is free of charge to view the fountain. There are an abundance of cute boutiques and restaurants tucked in alleyways all around the fountain. Most of the bistros advertise their original pizza by having waiters stand out on the street waving you in. As we stopped off in wood shop to purchase a Pinocchio ornament, the manager said to be very careful of where we ate as many of the restaurants serve pizza made from frozen dough and charge a lot of money due to the location near the fountain. He gave us the tip to look in the restaurant for a wood burning oven and ask to see it if they say they have one. His advice was great! That way we knew where to order authentic Italian pizza made in a wood burning oven.

5wheelsto5star was featured in the March 2014 issue of Destinations Travel Magazine

Piazza Navona, Roma, Italy

While in Rome, you must stop off at the Piazza Navona Square which includes the famous Fountain of Four Rivers, music, gelatto, shopping and restaurants. The double decker bus conveniently stops off at the Piazza. Navona Square is exactly how Italy is portrayed in romantic movies with Italian music playing all around.

We rode the bus there and spent the entire day roaming around the square. The Piazza is a great place to take photos of the ancient buildings and statues and wander around for the day. We ate our way through the square with lunch, gelato and then cannoli.

The square is great for everyone, as we have taken our kids as well as my grandmother. There are many sidewalk cafes and bistros with shaded areas to sit as you walk along the square.

http://www.navonasquare.com/en/storia.php:

Navona Square, the most beautiful baroque square in Rome, sits on the ancient ring of the Stadium of Domitian – also known as Circus Agonalis – built in 85 AD to host Greek athletic events, agones, with the typical rectangular shape of the arena with its curved northern side.

Surrounded by two imposing travertine arcades, decorated with Ionian and Corinthian capitals, it could host up to 30,000 people, who accessed through the two main entrances located in the middle of its longer sides. The square came back to life in the second half of the 15th century, when it started to host the market. In 1485, it was paved to favour the several festivals and processions that were starting to take place there more and more often.

In the 16th century, the square was enriched with the fountains donated by Pope Gregory XIII Boncompagni; then, Pope Innocent X ordered the construction of the majestic Pamphili Palace on the land owned by his family. The Palace was built by Girolamo Rainaldi and embellished by marvellous frescos, a Gallery by Borromini and several art works.

The Fountain of Four Rivers, Roma

http://www.navonasquare.com/en/storia.php:

The Fountain of the Four Rivers (Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi), unveiled in 1651, is definitely one of the most beautiful and famous monuments in baroque Rome and represents the four major rivers known at the time. The Ganges, Nile, Danube and Plate: four white marble, 5-metre high statues located on travertine juts. The Nile, by G.A.Fancelli, has its head draped because its source was unknown at the time. However, the population thought that it expressed Bernini’s contempt for the nearby church of Sant’Agnese in Agone, designed by his rival Borromini, as the Rio de la Plata’s arm raised to protect its head, by Francesco Baratta, ironically expressed the artist’s fear that the church may collapse.
However, these rumours are totally groundless because Bernini finished the fountain before Borromini started the church. Finally, the Ganges is by Claude Poussin, while the Danube is by Antonio Raggi.

$$ saving tips: There are great restaurants located right outside of the Piazza which are far less expensive than eating inside the square. We were craving authentic, Italian pizza so our tour guide recommended a restaurant called Ristorante Pizzeria Zio Ciro, where all of the pizzas are cooked in their wood burning oven. They make homemade sausages to put on top of the pizza and they have pastas, salads, seafood and more. Everything we ordered was fresh and fabulous along with a cold beer! Take the double decker bus to the Piazza!! It is a fun and inexpensive way to see Rome and take pictures.

http://www.pizzeriaziciro.com/

We stumbled upon really cute boutiques walking down the side streets. Many of the shops had great sale racks tucked in the back.

5wheelsto5star was featured in the March 2014 issue of Destinations Travel Magazine

 

Tunis, Tunisia

Tunis was not a place I had originally planned to visit. I was on a cruise which took a detour, resulting in a change of port spur of the moment. It was announced that we were heading to North Africa! I was quite surprised as we were supposed to sail to Portofino, Italy. The thought of going to a new continent was pretty exciting. As we sailed into Tunis, it was very hot, dry, and dusty with flies all around. I heard pipes playing and looked towards the harbor and saw guards, camels, taxi cabs and herds of people. It seems chaotic and noisy. I was a bit apprehensive about getting off, as I really didn’t know much about Tunis. As we walked off of the ship, we were surrounded by vendors. Thankfully, the cruise ship educated us in advance about the vendors. In Tunis if a vendor put a necklace, a scarf or essential oils on you- you’ve just purchase it! I tried my best not to make eye contact, so the vendors didn’t think I was interested. The vendors followed us all the way until we were up the stairs on our bus. Tunis is a place where you need to bring bottled water.

The best part about the day in Tunisia was touring the National Bardo Museum. The museum houses some of the oldest Roman mosaics in the world!! It was absolutely fascinating and I wished my kids could have seen the mosaics. The museum seemed very modern, open and bright. I was quite impressed with how nice the inside was after driving through the town it is located in.

National Bardo Museum

The National Bardo Museum is a jewel of Tunisian heritage. It is housed in an old Beylic palace dating back to the XIXth Century. It retraces, through its collections, a big part of Tunisia’s history (from Prehistory to the contemporary epoch) and contains the largest collection of mosaics in the world including the famous mosaic representing Virgil, the poet. The visitor may discover there an abundant collection of Punic jewels as well as a gallery of Roman sarcophaguses and Christian baptisteries. One of the high points of the visit is a Roman ship’s cargo wrecked off the coast of Cape Africa, facing the town of Mahdia, with its Hellenistic Greek art master pieces: bronze pieces, marble sculptures, and furniture. This was the result of underwater excavations undertaken during the first part of the XXth Century with the participation of Commander Cousteau. The great Tunisian sites classified by the UNESCO as part of the world virtual pantheon of the humanity are: The city of Carthage, Ancient Dougga of western Tunisia, El Djem’s spectacular Coliseum, The refined Arab Medinas of Kairouan, Tunis, and Sousse.Each one of these remarkable cities is present in the Bardo Museum’s collections The museum also includes touching testimonies of the creativity of each of the Tunisian regions since 40,000 years; namely the enigmatic Hermaion of El Guettar (south of Gafsa) which is the first temple edified by man to honor the sky’s supreme force.

http://www.bardomuseum.tn/

National Bardo Museum

The best way to describe my day in Tunis, is that I am grateful for the experience, the mosaics and mosques that I had the pleasure of seeing but I would probably not return. If I were to return some day in the future, I would not wear any make-up! Make-up will definitely cause you to stand out in, what I felt to be, an unfavorable way. Since I was only in Tunis for the day, I did not eat any of the food.

History: sited from wikitravel
Independence Day, 20 March – a time when hotel rooms are completely booked. Plan accordingly.
Tunisia has a rich cultural history, ever since Antiquity. The Carthaginian Empire, Rome’s arch enemy, was centered in Tunisia. Its capital, Carthage, is now a suburb of Tunis. Founded by Phoenician settlers from Tyre and Sidon (modern day Lebanon), Carthage was an ancient Mediterranean powerhouse. Three wars between Rome and Carthage (known as the Punic wars) were waged in the first few centuries before the birth of Christ. These culminated with the decimation of Carthage in 146 B.C. by the Roman general Scipio, who is said to have wept at its destruction.

Between the destruction of Ancient Carthage and the Arabic conquests of the 7th century, many cultures have made Tunisia their home. Carthage enjoyed a new period of prosperity under the Roman Empire until its collapse in the 5th century. Roman rule was replaced briefly by the Vandals, who made Carthage the capital of their kingdom. Carthage was then absorbed temporarily by the Byzantine Empire, until the rise of Islam in the 7th century.

After the dissipation of the Arabic Caliphates, the Ottoman Empire’s Turkish Pashas ruled Tunisia. With the fall of the Ottoman Empire, Tunisia eventually fell under the sway of European Imperialism, as a French Protectorate, along with neighboring Algeria.

http://wikitravel.org/en/Tunisia

Carpet presentation in Tunis

On our tour, the guide took us to a carpet presentation which was a complete surprise to all of us. The carpet presentation wasn’t mentioned as part of the tour and at times was slightly uncomfortable. We were taken to a store, lead up several flights of stairs into a room which was not ventilated. Due to the language barrier, many of us had difficulty understanding what the presentation was about. The tour guide left the room while two salesmen started waving carpets around. The carpets were gorgeous, detailed, original and probably thousands of dollars. The presentation was high pressure sales. I would not recommend this part of the tour as everyone seemed very uncomfortable, not only with the presentation, but with the room we were in as well. It was definitely an experience not to be forgotten!

$$ saving tips: In Tunis it can be difficult when it comes to purchasing items. Due to the language barrier, much of the sales are initiated via eye contact. I witnessed a miscommunication regarding a sale which turned frightening. Don’t allow vendors to put anything on you, don’t make eye contact and keep walking if you are not interested in purchasing. It is best to be with a tour guide who can speak the language if you want to shop. There was beautiful jewelry, carpets, silks, and scarves. Purchasing a tour in advance is the best way to tour the city if you are only there for a day. I would not recommend taking a taxi anywhere as some of the tourist were complaining about cab drivers price gouging and misunderstandings about the price quoted once they arrived at the destination.

Roma, Italy

National Monument to Victor Emmanuel II

On our walking tour through Rome, we were in awe of the Victor Emmanuel II Monument and just had to take a family picture in front of the large gates.

History:
The Altare della Patria (Altar of the Fatherland) also known as the Monumento Nazionale a Vittorio Emanuele II (National Monument to Victor Emmanuel II) or “Il Vittoriano” is a monument built in honour of Victor Emmanuel, the first king of a unified Italy, located in Rome, Italy

The Coliseum was one of the main reasons that we chose to visit Roma, Italy. The history of the Coliseum is fascinating of course, but we weren’t sure if the kids would find touring the Amphitheatre as exciting as we would. Prior to touring the Coliseum we took the kids to 3D Rewind Rome tour which shows what life was like for the gladiators Hollywood style.

It takes you back to the time of 310 AD as you put on your 3D glasses and see what life was like as a gladiator through animation! The movie includes fighting scenes between the gladiators and shows the enormous crowds of people who would show up to the event. The museum is located around the corner from the Coliseum and you can purchase tickets the same day.

After viewing the 3D movie, you enter into a glass elevator which lowers down to show what type of environment the lions were kept in and where the gladiators were fed rations. After the tour, the kids can try on costumes, view ancient artifacts and there is even an espresso bar for adults! We were very excited to view the Coliseum after taking the 3D Rewind tour as the stories of the gladiators were fresh in our mind.

We took a walking tour around the outside of the Coliseum. It was very interesting and not too long for the kids. However, it was about 90 degrees standing in the sun and I would highly recommend taking the tour in the morning in the summertime. There are tours which are more extinsive and take you through the inside of the Coliseum.

History:

The Roman Coliseum or Coliseum, originally known as the Flavian Amphitheatre, was commissioned in AD 72 by Emperor Vespasian.  It was completed by his son, Titus, in 80, with later improvements by Domitian.
The Coliseum is located just east of the Roman Forum and was built to a practical design,  with its 80 arched entrances allowing easy access to 55,000 spectators, who were seated according to rank. The Coliseum is huge, an ellipse 188m long and 156 wide. Originally 240 masts were attached to stone corbels on the 4th level.
http://www.rome.info/colosseum/

As we made our way to the Roman Forum, which I had seen many times in pictures, you just can’t imagine how large the structures really are and how close they are. There is a fence around the Forum buildings but you are still very close and can take great photos. To see the anchient buildings with a town and people now built all around it seem surreal. You can envision how the Forum came to life at one time, as the city’s most important public building.

History:
The Roman Forum (Forum Romanum) was the central area of the city around which ancient Rome developed. Here was where commerce, business, prostitution, cult and the administration of justice took place. Space where religious activities were conducted and the communal hearth of the city.

The Roman Forum was designed by the architect Vitruvius with proportions 3:2 (length to width). The Arch of Septimius Severus, built in AD203 and the Roman Forum Rostra or platforms for public speeches. The reliefs on the triple arch represented many of Rome’s victories over oriental tribes and the Rostra was decorated with prows of warships captured during battles. The Roman Forum became the spectacular showcase of the Roman Empire filled with beautiful statues and architecture.

The main sight of the Forum include the Arch of Titus (Arco di Tito), the Temple of Saturn, Temple of Vesta, and the church of San Luca e Martina. These are all linked by the Sacra Via, the main road through the Forum.
http://www.rome.info/roman-forum/

Spanish Steps

The Spanish Steps were in walking distance to our hotel in Rome. We decided to talk there and check them out.

History: The Spanish Steps, Scalinata della Trinità dei Monti, are a set of steps in Rome, Italy, located between the Piazza di Spagna at the base and Piazza Trinità dei Monti, with the Trinità dei Monti church at the top. These set of stairs are the widest in Europe.

This stairway consists of 135 steps and was built with French diplomat Étienne Gueffier’s money of 20,000 scudi, in 1723–1725. The stairs were designed to  link the Bourbon Spanish Embassy and the Trinità dei Monti church to the Holy See in Palazzo Monaldeschi located at the bottom of the stairs. The Spanish Steps were designed by architects Francesco de Sanctis and Alessandro Specchi.

Spanish Steps

$$ saving tips: It was an extremely hot day in June and we were grabbing Panini’s at carts on the sidewalk as we walked around with our tour guide. The Panini’s were very filling and cost only 2€ in comparison to stopping and eating in a touristy area restaurant. We made sure to carry bottled waters in a bag that we took turns carrying. It is cheaper to purchase a tour of the outside of the Coliseum or walk around it on your own for free! The guided tour which takes you on the inside is more expensive. If you are near the Spanish Steps, than I would make it a point to see them or walk on them. It wasn’t my favorite part of Rome. It was so hot and crowded there. They didn’t allow you to eat on the steps, so we had to leave with our ice cream cone and then come back. There really isn’t anything to do there but sit on the steps, that is, if you can even find a seat. However, there is a ton of high end shopping around the steps. If you are not up for high end shopping, just walk around and visit the coffee shops and window shop. Great leather shoes down some of the alley ways. The Spanish Steps are free to visit and just walking distance from the Trevi Fountain!!!

5wheelsto5star was featured in the March 2014 issue of Destinations Travel Magazine