When in Rome...

Get comfortable, this is a long one...

Day 1, Saturday: arrived at 7am after traveling since 2:30 from Bonn, almost missing our flight. Left our luggage at our hotel near Santa Maria Maggiore, in old town Rome. Brunch in a small park, look around, "hey, isn't that the Colosseum?" Yes, it was...walked around the Colosseum and napped on some steps in the Roman Forum. We got on a bus (had to maneuver the buggy around the bar in the door) but the bus driver came back and told us we couldn't ride because of the buggy and that we had to get off! Unbelievable!! We did have some people arguing in our favor, good to see not everyone feels the same about baby buggies. In the evening we ate dinner at this little outdoor cafe and listened to some old men singing folk songs.
Day 2, Sunday: We took the subway to The Vatican, St. Peter's Basilica. Rome is not very handicap/baby buggy friendly...only a few metro stops with handicap access, cobblestone streets, crazy traffic, lots of roads and buildings with only stairs...on and on. The Sistine Chapel wasn't open as it was Sunday, and who goes to chapel on Sunday? Koko took the boys so I had the rest of the day to myself...wandering the streets of Rome until about 9pm! I got wonderfully lost a few times, visited Castel Sant'Angelo, Piazza Navona, St Ignazio di Loyola, the Pantheon, Fontana de Trevi, Quarinale, San Carlo Quattro, Fontana Del Tritone, Piazza di Spagna, Villa Medici, and Piazza del Popolo. There are fountains everywhere, and small fountains with fresh water you can drink from. That was really nice as most of the time in big cities you can't drink the water, but have to buy it and it's rediculously expensive!
Day 3, Monday: Koko had her conference the next 3 days, so I had the boys all day. Monday went well. We went up the Villa Borghese, considered the heart of Rome, a beautiful park, had a picnic, then went to the zoo, which is built around old Roman ruins. Back to the hotel around 7pm to meet Koko for dinner.
Day 4, Tues: Not nearly as pleasant. After walking by the Circus Maximus and over Isolda Tibera, I tried walking with the boys through a "park" below the Vatican, but could find none, just a long, busy, winding road with lots of traffik, so the boys couldn't get out and run very much and I had to try to push them up this big hill. We did get a spectacular view of Rome from the top though. My friend, Francesca, from Rome, told me about the best Gelato shop in Rome...Gelato dei Gracchi. We found it...if you are ever in Rome, I also recommend it, it's just a small shop and there were no tourists, only Italians, that has to say something. =) I went out wandering to find a place to eat dinner, as Koko took the boys for nuggets at McD's. I found this restaurant that had been referred to Koko, but the tables were full...I continued on, tried to head back towards my hotel and got lost, walked another hour or so, and happened to come out back at the same restaurant!! Amazing, I took it as a sign I should eat there. =) I asked the waiter if he recommends the salad, he said yes, but they also have mixed vegetables. I had the veggies, then he brought me the salad anyway, "on the house", he also brought me bread, and in the end charged me only for the pizza and my water and wouldn't let me tip him. Wow! The man who cleans the tables came and asked what I wanted to do with my pizza, I asked him if I could take it home with me, he said I could take him home with me if I wanted to. Those Italians...
Day 5, Wed: I took the boys to the Museo Explora, a museum for children. Then to a park...there aren't very many parks as we know them, with playgrounds and such, only open areas, with an occasional piece of stone or cement in the middle for children to kick a ball at. Interesting. We then went down to Fontana dei Trevi...the boys love fountains! Koko took the boys a little after 7 and I went and met up with Francesca's sister, Kiara, and her friend, Sara, in Piazza Navona. I also got to meet her father Steffano, lovely family. Kiara took us to her boyfriend, Manuel's Cocktail bar, Fluid, quite popular. They serve a buffet; dishes with rice, pasta, little sandwiches, etc. Again, not so many tourists, very cool place! Kiara said I could help myself to the buffet, and just pay for my drink, but in the end, Manuel didn't charge me anything. It seemed to be a little exclusive as there was a man at the entrance to let us in. Kiara's cousin Paolo and his friend Massimillion met up with us later and we all just sat around talking until about 12:30am. I took a taxi back to Santa Maria Maggiore, stopped and had one last Gelato, was invited for a drink with one last Italian man, then packed until about 2. We left the hotel Thursday morning at 6, getting back to Bonn at 1pm.
All in all, a great trip!