Rome, Italy

We just got back from spending a week in Italy! Joseph had a dental conference at the base in northern Italy, so we decided to tag along and make it a family vacation. We flew into Rome and spent three days running around the city.


Our hotel was just a few blocks away from St. Peter's Square. We spent time there every day - it was a great place for the kids to run around and there was always something to see. There are hundreds of columns and statues surrounding the square, with St. Peter's Basilica at the head. We went inside the basilica one morning, and it was stunning.

Michelangelo's Pieta sculpture, made in 1499 when he was only 25 years old, was beautiful. The basilica was enormous, and so ornate. Very, very cool.

We visited the Vatican City museums and chapels. Again, everything was covered in paintings, murals, sculptures, and gold. I've never seen anything so fancy! We got to go in the Sistine Chapel and see Michelangelo's amazing paintings on the ceiling. We weren't allowed to take photos in the chapel, but it was absolutely incredible. I can't believe we were actually there in person!

One afternoon we walked along the Passeggiata del Gianicolo, a walkway on a ridge that overlooks the city of Rome. The view was beautiful and it was fun to walk around an area that was off the beaten path of all the tourists.

We took a hop-on-hop-off bus tour of Rome one day, since it was the best way to see everything we wanted to see. The architecture in the city was breathtaking (can you tell I'm running out of descriptive words for how cool everything was?!?). It was so neat to hear the history and realize that some of the buildings had been there for thousands of years!

We loved visiting the Colosseum. It was massive, and the kids were really interested in it. Some of the history of the Colosseum is not exactly inspiring, but to think that it has been there since 80 AD was incredible.

There are a number of sights that we didn't make it to, but we saw so much during our few days there. We walked through parts of the city, ate at some cute cafes, and enjoyed delicious pizza and gelato! The kids were such good walkers, and were so patient with all the lines we had to stand in. :)


In one word, Rome was incredible. We were constantly in awe of the elaborate architecture, decorations, sculptures, and obvious wealth of ancient Rome. I'm so grateful that we were able to learn and experience so much there!

Up next: Venice!