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We'll try to record our family vacation adventures here, so see what happens.

Tuesday, September 6, 2011

Kartschoke’s Magic in the Mediterranean ~ Day 6 Civitavecchia/Rome

August 16 2011 – Sunny & Hot High of 85
Today we knew was going to be our longest day of the trip since we were going to do a full day tour of Rome called Jumping into Eternal Rome.  We got up early and had room service deliver breakfast.  We loaded up several water bottles since we knew it was going to be a hot day, and it was.  Our 1st part of the trip was to take a small bus ride from the boat over to a train station so we could take a train into Rome.  We had about a 45 minute train ride into Rome and our train stop was right near Vatican city so this was also our 1st stop on the tour.  We had an excellent guide (Mario) who took good care of us throughout Rome.  We took an easy walk from the train station right into St Peters Square, very impressive.  From there we went in a relatively quick line to get our bags checked before we entered St Peters Basilica.
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This is where we touched holy water
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This is a statue of St Peter. We were told if we touched his feet, it would add 5 years to our life. So we all touched his well worn bronze toes.
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This is Michelangelo’s famous Pietà statue found inside of St. Peters
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The Swiss Guards are here too.
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After visiting St. Peters Basilica we did get a few minutes to shop and we quickly bought a few postcards and stamps so that we could mail them from Vatican City. Next we took a bus tour past Castel Sant’Angelo and the very new ( barely 100 years old) “wedding cake” Monument to take us to the Coliseum.VID00392DSC01199
Victor Emmanuel Monument also known as the wedding cake.
Now it was time to see the colosseum. We learned that it would require a person to win 5 fights to become a free citizen. It was hot here so we tried to stay in the shade as much as possible.DSC01205
Here we are with the Arch of Constantine ( A.K.A the tunnel of awesomeness according to Jared) and the Colosseum behind us.
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PICT0036DSC01222Now we took a bus over to a local restaurant for 3 course lunch which included wine at every table. The lunch was antipasti & bruschetta, Lasagna, and tiramisu. As part of the tour they also had a local artist who came to every table and would cut out a silhouette from a black piece of paper.  We had him do Alexa & Jared and the silhouettes were very good and it only took him about 2 minutes to do a face. PICT0038VID00432
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After Lunch we continued our tour by going to the Trevi fountain.  This was very beautiful but was probably the most crowded place on the entire trip. Jared even took a drink from one of the little fountains here.
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But of course we needed to throw a coin into the fountain to guarantee a return trip to Rome. Right hand over left shoulder as they say. Also we got some more Gelato and this time it was Nutella and Strawberry flavors.
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DSC01243DSC01244We walked from the fountain to the pantheon. This is one of the oldest intact buildings in Rome and is over 2100 years old.  It was originally built as a temple for all gods but later turned into a catholic church. The only light inside the building comes from a circular opening at the top. And what happens when it rains, you ask, well there are little holes in the floor to take any rain water away. DSC01257DSC01262DSC01266
Next we made our way past the government buildings and we saw where the parliament meets and where the prime minister works. DSC01254We next walked to our final destination the Piazza Navona. This nice square held 3 different fountains including the one below that was called the fountain of the four rivers. DSC01273
We took a bus back to the Vatican train station and again rode a 45 minute train ride back to Civitavecchia. It was also nice that they gave us all water bottles and cookies for the train ride.  We were a little late for dinner at Animator's Pallet restaurant but it did not bother our waiters. We were a bit tired and so did not go to the show this night.  Instead Jared went to the Oceaneers Lab, he even played one of his favorite games called 4 square, and Alexa went swimming while we watched some of  A Bug’s Life movie on the big screen at the pool.

DSC01216Tigger picture of the day.
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Todays pharmacy pict: Rome
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Towel animal of the day, A bird.
VID00409                                                 Todays I love shirt of the day.
Map picture

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