Our first weekend off this new year was the first weekend in Feb. Tiera and Jake were on a choir tour to Madrid, Spain so we decided to take Caleb and Connor to Rome for the weekend.

You know those days that just start off wrong....well this was one of them.

We were all excited to go and we arrived at the airport only to find out to our horror that the flight was leaving in 10 minutes and we weren't allowed to take it. I had looked at the itinerary many times and read that we were leaving at 11:15 am and for some reason did not catch on that I was looking at the flight number. That was the only flight going to Rome that day and so we had to rebook our flights leaving the next morning at 10:00am. It cost us more to rebook our tickets than the whole cost of our original tickets! I was just sick. So...we came back home, watched a movie, the boys did some homework and we planned the rest of our trip. Caleb and Connor did not have to go to school since they had already got all their homework ahead of time and just the idea of having to go back to school when they thought they would be walking the streets of Rome...aghhh.

So...we left bright and early the next morning to make sure we didn't miss our flight. :)
Our weekend kind of continued on as it started...
we couldn't find our hotel then when we got there and we went up to our room there was a maid still cleaning it. She called down to the front desk and the guy came up apologizing and gave us a different room, we missed seeing the Sistine Chapel as it was closed on Sunday (we even knew that, but forgot), we got to Palatine Hill in time to see it, but for some reason they closed early that day so we missed it, we stayed in the city till about 9:30pm the first night and found out that the subways were all locked up when we wanted to go back to the hotel. Trying to find a bus at night, with no idea of how or which one to get on made for some interesting times. Then we almost missed our plane returning. There was some freak traffic jam that slowed traffic down for miles! It took us 45 minutes to go 10km. Our taxi driver was amazing and he got us there in time, barely. He was weaving in and out of traffic and driving down the emergency only lanes, etc. Crazy but amazing. Then we get to the EasyJet counter and there is no one there. We now have 1/2 hour before they shut the gates. People were lined up behind us as well and still no person at the counter. She finally arrived moments before the gate was closing and checked us through. We're not sure what happened there. But needless to say, I was a nervous wreck thinking about having to rebook flights again and the cost that would be involved.

Anyways, besides all these crazy things happening, we had a wonderful time together with the boys. Even though we didn't get to see some of the things we had planned, we still got to see some amazing sites. After getting set up at the hotel we decided to get one of those hop on hop off buses to see the sites and get our bearings of the city. It was a gorgeous day so we could ride on top of the bus. We were in awe with the magnitude of some of the sites we saw. It was hard to believe we were in places with such history where we read about events in the bible and here we were walking some of those same places.








It was surprising to me to see all the egyptian influences. In a number of places around the city, including the Vatican, there were obelisks placed in the center of the town squares.



































The area around the Colloseum was stunning. Probably our favorite thing to see besides St. Peters Basilica. These are some of the sites around the area...







































































Rome at night is very impressive as the old sites are often lit up.

You always need to be looking up as well as around you. The artistic designs surround you. Here is a ceiling in one of the arches.











The Victor Emmanuel Monument was the biggest monument we have ever seen. The picture just can't show how large it is in real life. This monument commerates the unification of Italy and its leader at the time. It also has the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.








Part of the Forum.













A palace overlooking the Circus Maximus where chariot races were held. The Circus Maximus could hold 250,000 people.











Trevi Fountain...
We were surprised to find the big fountain in such a small square in the city. Somehow we had imagined it to be in a big open area.










The Castel Sant'Angelo was built as a tomb for an emperor but was used as a castle, prison, refuge for popes and today a museum. Mostly impressive from the outside, not so much on the inside.




























In one of the churches they have displayed the chains that supposedly held Peter and Paul prisoners.











Part of the Forum.









































The Pantheon...
this was a Roman temple dedicated to all gods built in 27BC and rebuilt in 120AD. This is the only ancient building in Rome continuously used since its construction. The hole in the ceiling is the only source of light.









Vatican City and St. Peters Basillica & Square.













The Swiss Guards who guard the Vatican city. We had heard about these very impressive, highly trained guards. Hmm...




































Inside St. Peters Basillica. It's hard to put into words what the pictures just don't show. It's massive, beautiful, ornate, breathtaking and unlike any of the churches we've seen. The church covers 6 acres and holds 60,000 people standing.

















































The canopy over the altar is as tall as a 7 story building.


















The dome is higher than a football field on end. (430 feet high)

The Basilica of Constantine...

This is only a piece of what is left. It continued up another 55 feet higher than these arches. It must have been an incredible site to see. How did they ever build these things??

The Arch of Titus commemorated the Roman victory over the province of Judaea (Israel) in 70AD.

Mamertine Prison...

We visited the site where Paul was said to have been held prisoner when the angel came and undid his chains but he stayed and witnessed to the jailer.

More of the Forum.

A neat picture that Caleb captured of the mini bus that's used in the really narrow streets of the old town area.