An Expat In Italy: Roma - Simonsen Christmas Travels P1

A two week Italian adventure awaited the Simonsen troop for the holiday season of 2014, and this was all going to start in ROMA (the Italian way of saying Rome).

After making our lovely welcoming scene at Fiumicino Airport in Rome, we proceeded with bountiful bags to find Pino, the person who's apartment we were renting for the next few days and who also graciously offered, for a slight fee of course, to pick us up at the airport and drive us to our home-away-from-home. (Let's just say that this offer was great as the airport was a slight distance from the place and there was no other way we could have easily gotten there at that time of night or so cost effectively).

After such a long travel day, or day and night for those who had an international flight on their itenerary, it was beyond relief to finally reach a place where bags could be dropped and dismissed from thought for awhile. Even better: there was a Christmas tree set-up just for the season. Yay! Up to this point, the only Christmas tree I'd seen was in the foyer of the school.

We quickly agreed that we were famished so Dad and I headed out to find some take away, pizza no less. Lucky for us our apartment was in a quiet, quaint neighbourhood that had restaurants nearby - like 2 doors away. While waiting for our pizza Dad and I just had to partake in the Italian culture and have a glass of wine while we waited. Ahh, this was the beginning of a beautiful relationship between Dad and wine for the next few days. ;)

We look pretty darn good after our travel days, if I do say so myself. ;)

Of course there is a soccer game on in the background, lol.

Fed, watered, my jeans and goodies delivered (yes, I had to get my family to buy me jeans in Canada so that I wouldn't have to deal with up to my belly button, skin tight pants that seem to be the Italian way), conversations and news caught up we all fell into a deep, well deserved slumber with smiles on our faces cause we were finally where we needed to be: together.

The next morning, as I was the only one not suffering from jet lag, I was up and at 'em at 7am whilst the others were still working on catching up on their beauty rest. Thankfully there was a grocery store just across the street from our place so I headed over there, grabbed a few things, made a lovely cup of cappuchino and enjoyed my first real day of relaxing holidays sitting outside with a warm beverage, enjoying the sun and beautiful weather while reading a good old Mary Higgins Clark Christmas novel. Yes, this was the start of a wonderful holiday already.

Happy Holidays!

Banana tree outside on our patio area.

Once the rest of the crew began to stir, around noon, we decided to take time to explore the neighborhood. In no rush with no exact plan, we headed out and strolled around the urban Roman neighborhoods - taking in the various stores, restaurants, architecture, automobiles, etc. Tyler especially had to point out all the Smart cars he saw. As opposed to Canada, this visual was mentioned OFTEN lol. I think I had the most fun watching my family experience the Italian culture, reliving through them what I felt four months ago when I first started encountering a very different lifestyle from that which I was used to. This was especially prevalent when we had to hang out waiting for a restaurant to open since it's rare for one to do so before 7:30pm. Thank goodness they got their first taste of aperitivo. ;)

Dad and his love for Italian cappuccinos brewing.

The next day was our first main tourist, sightseeing day in Rome. After much effort, and having to stop at numerous tabacchis to buy bus tickets since the first 3 were oddly out of them, we headed via bus into the downtown core of Rome. We decided to start with walking to our first destination: Piazza Navona. We noticed that there were quite a few fountains in this piazza.

After a quick bite (love that there are numerous restaurants to be found around/near these piazzas in Italy), we moseyed on to the Pantheon. Wow! The architecture, art, symbolism, etc. of this structure was truly remarkable. I loved how it was cylindrical, which made for some very curious musings about the creation of it and how the interior was constructed. We then proceeded to the Trevi Fountain, which to our dismay is closed for renovations. :( Whitney and I were utterly disappointed at this as we'd seen it in movies and SO wanted to throw a coin in. Apparently it's going to be closed until next September for repairs; however in my knowledge of Italy I'll be impressed if it's completed by next December.

Pantheon

Tomb of Umberto I

Raphael's Tomb (Italian painter & architect)

Pantheon exterior

Trevi Fountain :( Notice: no water.

Well, after that disappointing endeavour we decided to take the "Hop On Hop Off" bus. In my previous travels I've found these to be really beneficial to hitting the main tourist sites (if that's what you're into) quickly and efficiently. Plus the tickets are usually good for 24-48 hours, just watch the hours they operate.

We took the HOHO bus to: the Colliseum and Roman Forum. It was amazing to see the ancient ruins and architecture, both there and in the surrounding area. Unfortunately, we arrived too late to gain entrance to either place however just standing alongside the Colliseum, looking up at its grandiose and thinking of all the history it encompassed was awe inspiring.

Where the lions were kept (I believe)

After taking time to really delve into the magnitude of the place we were at, we hopped back on the bus and headed to our next destination. One of the great things about being in such a culturally rich city such as Rome is that even while on the bus you get to see so many historical places. As someone who comes from such a young country, I still marvel at the length of history of these places I'm at.

Area where chariot races were once held

Altare della Patria, aka Monumento Nazionale a Vittorio Emanuele II

(monument in honour of Victor Emmanuel, first king of unified Italy)

We took the bus to our next point of interest.....The Vatican. It's kind of neat to say that we did get to go to another country while on our vacation. ;) Due to the extremely long lines, we did not get a chance to go in but instead got to marvel at the beauty of the outside.

That brought our first day of actual, tourist sightseeing to a close. And to top it all off, the Simonsen clan got their first taste of excellent, Italian made, scrumptious, creamy gelato. Yum!

The next day we resumed our sightseeing adventures, which were a lot easier since we now had bus tickets and an understanding of the public transportation system of Rome. Our second day of Rome sightseeing brought us to Piazza Garibaldi and a view of Rome from above.

Garibaldi monument

(similar ones can be found in

most Italian cities)

My favourite brother

Manfredi Lighthouse

(gift from Italian immigrants in Argentina to Rome)

Tyler keeping an eye on Rome ;)

Next we headed to another popular destination spot, one that both Whitney and I had wanted to encounter since we've viewed it in movies and tv shows (most memorable was its appearance in The Amazing Race)....The Spanish Steps. Funny thing, whenever you see it on tv there don't seem to be as many people as there were when we were there. Hmmm...lol.

The top

Heading down....

Of course it's renovation season here too.

Love the advertising, prime place.

Family, left hand corner.

These feet touched each and every step.

Home where poet John Keats died.

After all the different Italian resturants we'd been too, we went off course, followed a typical North American stomach rumble, and headed for lunch at the Hard Rock Cafe. But I must tell you.....ribs, burgers, wings, potato skins, food of all sorts that I knew, loved and truly missed made this one of the best lunch choices ever. A drink made with clamato (ie ceaser) would've made it perfect! Too bad that's something that will elude me until I step foot in Canada again.

One more jaunt around the city to see a few more sights and then back to our favourite Rome gelato place to cap our final day in Rome off with a lovely desert, and to pick up some souvenirs at a nearby shop. Plus, it was also where we knew how to take the bus home lol.

Castel Sant'Angelo

Oh, the family photobombing that started

Tiber River

The crew! :) Best family ever!

December 24th....Christmas Eve, and the day we depart Rome. Pino graciously offered to drive us to the train station this day, which was really great in more ways than one. First, the ease of getting to the train station was so nice as we didn't have to worry about how to call a cab, costs, space (5 of us with lots of luggage proved to be a taxi challenge game during our holidays). Second, Pino stopped at a couple of places along the way to make sure we got in a few more sights before our departure. Thanks Pino!