Rome Day 2: Vatican

Ahead of our trip we bought tickets to visit the Vatican.  While I knew the kids would likely be bored, it just seemed like one of those places we had to visit when in Rome.  I'm so glad we bought tickets ahead of time.  Before the doors even opened the line was snaked around the block.  The walk from our hotel to Vatican City was very picturesque.




The Vatican Museum collection is so impressive.  There was so much to see...amazing paintings, statues and textiles.  At one point we sat in a courtyard to enjoy the surroundings.  K decided to play photographer with my iPhone.  He did quite well.


One of our other favorite spots was the Gallery of Maps.  The walls were lined with painted frescoes of different areas in Italy.  Every inch of the ceiling was also painted.  Just breathtaking.



Another hallway lined with huge tapestries.

After 3 hrs. we finally made it to the end of the tour and the Sistine Chapel.  Given the scale it was hard to take it all in.  Photographs were not allowed but I didn't realize it until after I took a few.


The kids were totally knackered by the end of the tour so we skipped the Basilica and set off to find a place for lunch nearby.



We sat outside and had a nice relaxing meal.  The kids ate sausages (guess they were missing London!) and I had linguini with an ridiculous amount of clams.



After lunch we strolled along the river and then back towards our hotel.


Our destination was Della Palma, a gelateria that was recommended by my brother.  With 150 flavors of gelato to choose from the kids were in heaven.  From this point on, Della Palma became a daily visit.  No other gelateria would do.  The favorite flavors were Peanut Butter, Stracciatella and Mint Stracciatella.


Refueled with gelato we walked to Borghese Gardens for the afternoon by way of the Spanish Steps.  Once again we got ourselves a bit turned around but finally made it to the steps.  From the top were nice views of the city below.





On our walk back from the park we strolled through Piazza del Popolo where there was a man entertaining kids with large bubbles.  He was like the pied piper with a group of excited kids surrounding him.  K & C ran around the piazza in an attempt to pop the bubbles as they floated away.




For dinner we opted again for pizza.  We tried another local restaurant, Margherita, and sat outside enjoying the warm night air. The kids split a traditional Diablo pizza (pepperoni) and J&I shared a ham, mozzarella & rocket pizza with bread on the bottom and top.


Yum!