When in Rome ... & other Italian adventures

As they say, “all roads lead to Rome.”  So for our fall break we decided to take our girls to explore the Eternal City.  We read books about ancient Rome in order to prepare for our trip and by the time we left the girls were excited to visit the Colosseum where the Gladiators battled and to see the Circus Maximus where the chariot races took place … and also to eat lots of yummy pasta & gelato.

Since we had a whole week to explore and were going to be driving, we decided to add some other stops within Italy to our itinerary for the week.  Our first stop was Orvieto, the quintessential Italian hill town about 90 minutes outside of Rome.  This was the first time in Orvieto for all of us, and it quickly won our hearts.  From the narrow cobblestone streets and charming cafes and restaurants, to the beautiful & brightly colored Gothic Cathedral and elaborate underground network of Etruscan-era caves this small town has lots to love. 

We had only one afternoon to explore Orvieto so we tried to hit all the highlights – porchetta sandwiches for lunch, a visit to the cathedral, a tour of the underground to see the ancient wells, olive oil presses and pigeon nesting houses, browsed the small shops, enjoyed some local wine at an outdoor café, and ate delicious homemade pasta (with wild boar – a local specialty) for dinner.

The next morning we were off to Rome.  Thankfully we were arriving on a Sunday morning so the traffic into the city was not bad at all.  We had an amazing time - seeing all the sights rich in history, eating some of the most delicious meals of our lives, drinking fabulous wine & exploring some areas more off the beaten path. I can honestly say that we all thoroughly enjoyed our 3 days in Rome.  Here are my top 5 tips for truly enjoying Rome with kids.

1. Hire a guide who specializes in tours for kids/families.  I am so happy that we hired Paolo Lenzi to take us on a walking tour of ancient Rome.  He picked us up at our hotel and we made our way to the Colosseum.  He made it really fun for the girls because he told some pretty entertaining Gladiator stories, taught them how to play an ancient Roman game as we walked through the Forum, took us to try some of the best gelato and chocolate in Rome, taught us why it never really gets wet inside the Pantheon despite the large opening in the dome, and taught the girls the proper way to drink out of a Roman water fountain.  It was great to spend time with a local and we saw more in four hours with Paolo than we ever would have been able to accomplish on our own. 
   
2. Stay in a central location.  We debated whether to stay in an airbnb apartment or a hotel, as there are pros and cons to both, but ultimately decided to go with a hotel mainly so that we would have an indoor pool (and parking for our car).  We stayed at the Westin Excelsior and it was fabulous.  It was very centrally located so it was not a big deal to go back to the hotel midway through the day and having the pool was a big hit with the girls.  
   
3. Embrace the riposo (Italian siesta).  While Kenzie & Lexi don’t typically nap anymore, we did try to have some form of “riposo” every afternoon.  Between all of the walking and the late dinners (since restaurants don’t even start serving until 7:30pm), this was key to ensuring that everyone stayed happy. It worked out great and we had some of our most fun experiences over delicious leisurely dinners.  The girls did great and enjoyed some fine cuisine along side us.  Kenzie was the most adventurous eater – ordering a whole sea bass, wild boar and ox-tail while we were in Rome.  Lexi is our pasta girl and she loved the lasagna, pasta amatriciana & tagliatelle Bolognese.  We were even able to enjoy time in the Westin lobby bar after our dinners - the girls loved dancing to the live music while Randall and I enjoyed a night cap.
   
   
   
   
   
   
4. Find interesting & fun ways of seeing the sights.  Following our riposo after the four hour walking tour, we were ready to see more of the city but the girls were a bit tired of walking.  So we decided to head to the Borghese Gardens, which were right near our hotel, and we rented a 4 person rickshaw to get around.  This allowed us to see parts of the city that we had never seen before and it was really fun for the girls.  We even found the only playground in Rome.  The next day we ended up hoping on one of the double decker bus tours for a bit because Kenzie is a sucker for a double decker bus & it was also a good way to give our feet a rest while seeing the city from a different perspective.  
   
5. Don’t feel like you have to see everything & allow time to just meander.  When I first contacted our guide, Paolo, I had asked him to also take us on a tour of the Vatican.  His advice was that if we had already seen it (which Randall and I have), to hold off on taking the girls.  Based on his experienced opinion, the long lines and large crowds do not make it an ideal location for young kids.  While at first I was disappointed that the girls would not get to see the Sistine chapel, I am glad that we took his advice.  Instead we visited the Vatican City on Sunday right when we got to Rome.  We arrived in St. Peter’s Square just in time to hear Pope Francis address the crowd at noon.  It was a special experience for all of us, and the girls especially like seeing “the Pope’s toy car.”  I don’t think not touring the inside of the Vatican made our trip any less special and I am sure the girls will return to Rome one day  (even though the Trevi fountain was under construction and we couldn’t throw our coin in) & will see it then.  Some of our favorite time spent in Rome was just meandering the streets, hanging out in the piazzas.  The girls enjoyed blowing bubbles in the Piazza del Popolo and watching the street musicians and artists in the Piazza Navona.  Randall and I enjoyed sipping a glass of wine at a street cafés and just people watching. 
   
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So that was a glimpse into our Roman Holiday.  I will write about our time in Tuscany in the next post …  oh how we enjoy living la dolce vita!