All About Rome

Drew belongs to the Lincoln Boys Choir and this year they were invited to perform in Italy for 10 days (June 20-29, 2012) including Rome, Florence, Venice and Milan.  Jace and I had the opportunity to join Drew for part of his trip while he was in Rome.  It was amazing!  The organization that put the trip together works with musical groups that go on these tours and you could tell they were used to working with kids.  The schedule was pretty brutal.   There wasn't a lot of downtime for the kids.  They were up early for rehearsal and usually went until late evening.  Kept them busy and, for the most part, out of trouble!

Jace and I weren't part of the official group since we traveled on our own but we were able to be part of several of the tours of Rome.  While we weren't with the group, he and I walked ALL over Rome.  I wore my pedometer while we were there.  On Thursday, I had over 16,000 steps; Friday, over 20,000; Saturday, over 23,000 steps.  They say that 2,000 steps equals about 1 mile.  A lot of walking!

Dad and Drew in front of Trevi Fountain

Ah....love in front of Trevi Fountain.

Alley in Rome.  Lots and lots of little alleys with great shops and restaurants.

 

Piazza Navona

Drew at Piazza Navona

Another one at Piazza Navona

Rome is built on seven hills which translates into lots of steps!

The first night we were there, Jace and I found a great little restaurant in one of those alleys and this couple serenaded us for a bit.  Of course, they wanted a few euros for their efforts but we were stingy.

This is the poster with the Boys Choir listed with the other groups.  This was for their performance at Basilica de Minerva which was Sunday.

Dad and Drew inside Basilica di Minerva.

The Colosseum.

Drew:  "Ah, si, very interesting..."

Old ruins.

Colosseum.

Colosseum.

The tour we went on this day had the little headphones so the tour guide could speak into the microphone and then we'd all hear what she was saying.  The group looked just so cute with our little red boxes hanging from our necks.

Unfortunately, we didn't get to go inside the Colosseum because the workers decided to strike that day.  I guess many of the attractions had issues as well as the city buses because the city workers decided to give themselves a three-day weekend by striking on Friday.  Bummer.  This is all that we were able to see of the inside!

More old ruins.

More old ruins.

More old ruins.

The second night we were there, Jace and I walked to the Tiber.  Down by the river, they have all these tents set up with restaurants, bars and vendors.  Definitely the nightlife in Rome.

On Saturday morning, Drew sang at St. Peter's Basilica at Vatican City.  We got there pretty early so the lines weren't bad.  After the Boys Choir sang and we left the church, the line was already getting very long to just get into St. Peter's.  It's probably about a mile walk to the other side of the Vatican City where the museum is to take the tour. 

St. Peter's Basilica.

St. Peter's Basilica.

St. Peter's Basilica.

Drew in front of one of the altars at St. Peter's Basilica.

With another tour group, we toured the Vatican Museum and the Sistine Chapel. 

Vatican Museum.  As you can imagine, the artwork throughout the museum is amazing.  It's hard to imagine the process of these paintings on the ceilings and walls.  Absolutely beautiful.

Lots of statues in the Vatican Museum as well.

Amazing long hallway with artwork.

I'm not sure I knew exactly what the Sistine Chapel was.  It's a relatively small chapel--probably about the size of large auditorium with a basketball court.  Over several years, they went through and cleaned the paintings created by Michelangelo.  I guess the company that did the cleaning, has the copyright to the ceiling paintings now so cameras aren't allowed.  However, everyone was snapping away so I took a quick one, too.  Of course, without a flash it doesn't turn out very well.  :)  Anyway, it was definitely worth having the tour guide.  He told us very interesting facts about how the ceiling paintings came to be, the story behind it all and everything.  I'm really glad we had a guide because, while it would have been cool to see it without the tour guide, having him tell the story behind the creation of the ceiling was definitely worth the money.

This is simply Drew being Drew.  Gotta love the kid. 

Between Jace, Drew and me, I don't know how many pictures we have but we all have a lot.  I haven't even gone through Jace's camera or his phone.  It was a fantastic time.  I would have loved to stay with Drew for the rest of the trip, but duties called and we weren't able to.  However, we've created some great memories that will stay with us a lifetime.

All I can say is that if you ever go to Rome, don't be afraid to be a tourist.  Go on the tours with the guides.  Traipse into the alleys even if you're not sure where they go.  It was a great time!