Paris to Paros
Jul 23, 2017 · 7 min read

Brace yourselves. I was not a big fan of Rome. It started with our attempt to park in a public parking lot so that we could take a metro to our apartment. We couldn’t find a lot with parking for more than a few hours, and the area was so sketchy, that we wouldn’t have wanted to park there for more than a few hours. At that point, we hesitantly decided to drive through the city to our apartment. Let me remind you that Paul is driving a manual 9-passenger van. Rome is crazy. I don’t say that lightly. It felt like there was a swarm of motorcycles surrounding us and streets that split off randomly in every direction. One got so close, they put a small ding in our car. Also, if you happen to enter into certain center districts of Rome, you will be ticketed for large sums of money. On top of that, Ben was seriously turning green in the back seat from the quick shifting and turns. Fortunately, he never used the bag I handed to him. I can jump out of an airplane without a hint of fear, but my hands were shaking from this drive! When we reached our apartment, there wasn’t any parking. The parking spaces that were taken were for the size of a Fiat or Smartcar. Paul called the owner of our apartment and we met him out front in an illegal parking zone. We unloaded our stuff. Paul and my Dad went in search of a parking place. I stayed back and prayed for them.

They came in a little later having parked right outside our apartment. “OK”, I thought, “Now I can enjoy Rome”.

The next day we visited the Colosseum. It was only a few minutes from our house, so we took a short walk through a park (full of trash and smelling of urine) and booked a tour. It was pretty incredible to stand in a structure that has been around for 2000 years. We learned that it only took 8 years to build. They calculated that it would take 30,000 slaves, 24 hours a day, to complete it in this amount of time. Incredible and horrifying all at the same time.

We had the opportunity to go through a second part of the tour, but the we were just too hot to do it. We went home and rested. That night, when it cooled down (relatively), we took a 40 minute walk to Trevi Fountain.

It was crowded (are you sensing a theme). My mom and I took the three younger kids down to throw some coins in, when I noticed the police blowing whistles and getting upset. I commented to my mom that they were sure mad at someone. It turned out it was us. My kids had put their hands in the fountain (I’m pretty sure all 3 of them 😏) and they told us to leave. So, yep, we were kicked out of Trevi. There is a legend that if you throw a coin in with your right hand over your left shoulder, you will return to Rome. On the other hand, I’m not sure of the outcome if you get kicked out. After this, we ate at a hamburger restaurant (we have had a lot of pizza), where I’m pretty sure the waiter hated us for no apparent reason. Then Mae dropped a glass and broke it, sealing the deal.

Some pics from our walk…

The next morning we visited the Pantheon. It was so impressive to see how well preserved it was having been originally built in the first century. It is strange stepping into a building that old… a building that has withstood weather, war, vandalism and time. For you engineering buffs, it is the world’s largest unreinforced concrete dome. Pretty incredible.

After that, we took another hot walk to the marketplace in Campo de Fiori. There were vendors selling everything from fresh produce, to spices, to knock off sunglasses.

We shopped around, ate some pizza nearby, and headed over to the Spanish steps. We made it, but never really considered walking up them. Instead, we sat at a fountain dreaming about jumping in.

We walked 40 minutes home.

The next day, the whole family was done. We had planned to go to the Vatican, but the thought of walking more in the heat and standing in long lines among crowds of people was more overwhelming than Michelangelo’s “The Last Judgement”. The family stayed home, and my mom and I visited Trastevere instead. It began with the best gelato (toasted almond) I’ve had in Europe, followed by the Basilica di Santa Maria. It was a gem. It dates back to the 340's and had the prettiest mosaics I have ever seen.

After this, we visited the Villa Farnesina. It holds several frescoes painted by Rafael, yet there was barely anyone there. It was strange to stand so close to his brush strokes.

We walked around Trastevere admiring the quaint streets and many restaurants, and decided to have a bite to eat.

We landed at a place that had delicious food, a really cute atmosphere (and dog), and air conditioning. Perfecto.

We managed to find our way home via tram. (Random fact: For whatever reason, Rome sells all of their parking and bus tickets at tobacco stores.) We jealously watched a golden retriever jump into a park fountain on our walk home. I’m pretty sure he was mocking us.

That night, we ate our last meal out with my parents. The conversation centered around all of our best moments, funny highlights, favorite rentals, and the charm of each city. It was a great way to end our time with them. We are so thankful for them joining in on our craziness.

In the morning, we said our goodbyes as my parents’ taxi arrived to bring them to the airport.

Then, we drove out of the city (much easier) toward the Tuscan countryside. We watched the city streets turn to tree lined hills. Even in the crowds and heat, Rome was a worthwhile adventure that I’m sure to never forget.

    Written by

    A family of seven traveling through Europe for six weeks

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