Italy: End (Rome, Pompeii, Amalfi)

After all the students, chaperones, and guides departed the hotel, we took a deep breath preparing to enjoy a couple days in Italy on our own. Our trek from the hotel to the nearest subway station was surprisingly treacherous, the pavement was super uneven and there were often so sidewalks or crosswalks as we walked along busy roads. Thankfully, the boys helped me with my suitcase. 

This Airbnb was possibly the best we've ever experienced! I highly recommend. The host met us with pastries and Prosecco. He gave us a kind and caring explanation of the apartment and many tourist resources.

Boys relax and decompress after a pretty hectic week!

view from the apartment balcony

One of the many resources offered by our host were low/no cost walking tours. He had the locations mapped out on a linked Google map, as well as brief descriptions of the stops. One such tour he recommended we do in the evening, and so we took an evening stroll in Rome. We were able to catch these lovely vistas as the sun was setting. 

Giardino degli Aranci

[The Orange Garden]

Temple of Hercules Victor - Dating back to the 2nd century BC, this is the oldest surviving marble building in all of Rome. It survived the fall of Rome because it was repurposed as a Christian church.

These handy street fountains kept us hydrated - convenient and appreciated.

late dinner

Tiber Island - known for medicine and its hospital 

The next day, we did another of the hosts suggested walking tours. 

This one took us to the Trevi Fountain.

Another stop - Chiesa di Sant'Ignazio di Loyola known for its optical illusion 3D dome painted on a flat surface.

The Pantheon (c.125AD), known for its massive unreinforced concrete dome and central oculus. Originally a pagan temple dedicated to many gods, it has also survived because it was designated a Christian Church.

Famous master painter Raphael is buried here, as well as the first two kings of unified Italy.

We found ourselves in need of a restaurant recommendation after the Pantheon. Fantastic Airbnb host to the rescue. This lunch was fabulous. Italy's reputation for delicious food is not an exaggeration according to our field research.

We strolled along Via dei Fori Imperiali one last time as we wrapped up our day. We got to take a closer look at the Forum, see the Colosseum one more time, which was lovely and captivating. 

exhausted

Again, our fabulous host hooked us up. His son drove us about 2-1/2 hours to Pompeii and Amalfi!! I mean, we had to pay him, but it was less expensive than if we went through a tour group, and the guy was super nice. We really appreciated his expert, assertive but safe, driving, especially over the mountain road that connects Pompeii to Amalfi.

Pompeii Forum

originated in the 4th century BC and destroyed in the 79AD eruption of Mount Vesuvius

casts of victims

When the bodies of decomposed under the hardened volcanic ash, they left voids. Beginning in 1863, archeologists began filling those voids with plaster to better capture their final moments. These casts were haunting and fascinating.

Pompeii

We were in a bit of a time crunch, so we had enough time to get to Amalfi and return home at a decent hour since we had a super early flight home the next day. I wish I would have prepared more for our time in Pompeii so it wouldn't have felt so panicked (to me, not my family) as we were wrapping up our time there. 

Speaking of not having enough time, we would definitely like to spend more time on the Amalfi coast. There were so many cute coastal towns in this area. Definitely worth returning. Our first order of business was to walk out on the pier to get a better look at the stunning mountains, water, and buildings. Just an overall perfect vista...

Ryan tempted the phone fates when his phone fell but landed precariously on rocks and did NOT go into the water. It would have been gone forever, but miraculously, he was able to carefully extract it. Phew!

Ryan and Evan sit on the pier (bottom center)

💖

We really only had time to walk up and down one cute street. It was perfect, but like I mentioned, we may have to return someday. 🤞

Evan sips a lemon spritz at our seafood lunch.

To cool off, and because churches were a major trip theme, we toured Duomo di Sant'Andrea.

I think this is Burke's favorite picture from the trip - very holy!

Before heading back to Rome, I really wanted to put my feet in the water, so we walked down to Mandingo Beach. Perfect way to wrap up the trip!

Bye, Italy! 🇮🇹

Our perfect host arranged a 4:00 AM taxi for us to head to Fiumicino Airport. We had a bit of an issue with the driver, whose "card reader wasn't working" and we had to use an ATM to get more Euros. That was annoying way to begin our travel day, but the rest of the day went pretty smoothly (aside from the landing at O'Hare, began our decent but then started climbing again which was a little freaky). As we drove home from Chicago, Ryan was working out if he could get to a musical rehearsal (spoiler: he wasn't able to). Then, Burke and Evan had to leave for a travel baseball game at 6:00AM the next day, so quickly back to reality. For my part, after about 3 days back at home I Googled "how long does jet lag last". I was exhausted, emotional, and brain foggy for about a week. I was excited to see Artie and we needed to stop spending money, but otherwise, was sad for this adventure to end. Until next time... 

Italy: Middle (Rome)

After Florence, our 5 charter buses headed to Rome. I captured this excellent use of solar panels at an Autogrill (road side plaza) on our way. Wish we had more of this clean energy in the US.

It was already a long day of travel when we arrived in Rome, but there's no rest for the weary as we had a full itinerary. I'm not going to sugarcoat, this was a rough day. I was simultaneously very grateful and amazed by all the things I was seeing and learning, but also very hot, sweaty, tired. We arrived at St. Peter's Basilica, and after some extended wait time (tardy tour guides, organizing groupings and tickets, etc), we set off. 

There is so much Christian lore and history here. I found it fascinating. And the basilica is stunning. The story goes that Peter was crucified under Nero in this general location and buried unceremoniously in a pagan graveyard. In the 4th century, Constantine decided to build the basilica in the location where Peter was said to be buried on Vatican Hill, though definitive scientific proof is difficult. I also found it interesting that catholics consider Peter the first pope, while protestants do not. 

St. Peter's Square - The obelisk is Egyptian and was (stolen) brought to Rome in 37AD. It's been in its current location since 1586, and is believed to be placed approximately where Peter was crucified in ~64AD. 

the pope's apartment

Ryan and I ended up in the same tour group for St. Peter's. 

13th century bronze statue of St. Peter

This part was designed by Michelangelo!

After touring St. Peter's, we trekked over to the Vatican Museum where the main attraction is the Sistine Chapel. There were a lot of very interesting things to see and learn, but it was very hot and crowded, and we were being rushed. Regrettably, this did not leave space in my brain to appreciate what I was seeing. Especially, at the end when I was stopped by a member of our group who informed me that Ryan was separated from his group and was missing. (Ryan and I were in different tour groups  after St. Peter's.) Then there was a big to-do when my group came out of the Vatican Museum, trying to account for everyone and reconnect with the larger group. Idk. It was a lot to manage, but in the end, we all managed to board the 5 buses, everyone accounted for.

Here are some cool moments I was able to appreciate in the Vatican Museum. 

This is the muse of music. I love etymology. A muse is a goddess or source of inspiration, and our word museum traces back to the Greek mouseion, meaning seat of the muses.

The Gallery of Maps, Renaissance-era maps of Italy and papal provinces, was very interesting. Would have liked to spend a little more time here.

No pictures allowed in the Sistine Chapel! Before I realized that, I took a couple, and got yelled at buy security, along with many other tourists who were taking pictures. 

In this illicit picture, you see Jeremiah. It's said that Michelangelo gave Jeremiah his face and body positioning to represent how Michelangelo felt about this project. He did NOT enjoy painting this, apparently. Yet here we all are... 

2026 Family Picture of the Year!

Commissioned ~70AD and originally called the Flavian Amphitheater, it was the site of to-the-death entertainment featuring animals, prisoners, gladiators, etc. After a couple centuries of use, it fell into disrepair during the decline of Rome. Eventually it was stripped of marble and other materials to build other structures. It's a miracle the Colosseum still stands. It's clearly a prototype for modern arenas.

Our giant group tries to organize itself to tour both the Colosseum...

...and the Roman Forum.

I was in Evan's tour  group this time, and went into the Forum first. The forum was the bustling city-center of the Roman Empire.

Arch of Titus (~80AD)

Our tour group stops by the Temple of Julius Caesar (low roof in foreground). After his murder, he was deified and honored with a temple. Building began in 42BCE on the site of Caesar's funeral pyre where Mark Antony read Caesar's testament. 

Temple of Antoninus and Faustina (140AD)

Curia Julia, meaning Julius Caesar's meeting house, is where the senate met. Commissioned by Caesar, but finished after his death and dedicated in 29BCE, this building is preserved because it was repurposed as a basilica in 630AD and therefore protected.

True to the theme of our time in Rome, we were hurried through The Roman Forum so we could be at the Colosseum for our timed-ticket. We fared better than others. Ryan's group waited forever in a line to enter the Forum, left the line to make their Colosseum timed-ticket, and then had to head back to the Forum, and didn't have much time in either place. Our bus guide, Andrea, was livid with these two venues. It was a bummer to feel rushed, but it was still stunning. We'll just have to go back...

inside the Colosseum

I caught Ryan's group finishing up their Colosseum tour.

Burke and I reconnected after our separate tours concluded, and went off to enjoy some free time in Rome while the boys did the same.

We made our way to Vittoriano, a modern building built to honor Italy's first king. It was appropriated by Mussolini's regime and its vast staircases and balcony served as backdrop for Mussolini speeches and propaganda. 

We took a glass elevator ride up to the rooftop to enjoy arial views of Rome. Pictured here is Via dei Fori Imperiali, which leads the Colosseum (center, back) with Roman Forum on each side of the street.

Finally it was time to travel to the final performance at Palazzo Farnese Caprarola (about 30 miles northwest of Rome). This small town was enchanting.

Palazzo Farnese Caprarola

This gorgeous venue was the perfect place to conclude this memorable tour experience. It was also very special that, unbeknownst to us, this performance was planned as a fundraiser for ALS.

choir

Evan: member or the tour choir and orchestras

chamber orchestra

symphony orchestra

another cool shot of the orchestra, basses in the foreground

Now the very sentimental part...

At the end of the concert, which went quite late, the audience kept wanting more and more encores, 

Burke took a moment to celebrate the seniors who just played their last concert as SJHS students. When the orchestra played Cinema Paradiso for the final time, I was absolutely sobbing at this lovely, sweeping cello section of the piece. It is sometimes so shocking that Ryan is so grown. How?!

Once the audience accepted that the ensemble was done, there were no more encores and were out of music, Tyler and Ryan started jamming as they do. Ryan smiles big and real when he's playing music, especially with small groups of friends. I hope he never loses that joy, and can tap into that in other aspects of life too. 

Our fearless tour group leaders bidding us farewell.

Dragon Bus selfie with Andrea

Andrea and Burke

Burke thinks Andrea may be the best tour guide he's had. He was outstanding both professionally and personally.

On a trip full of headlines, one of the major headlines is that Burke and Ryan wrapped up their high school orchestra partnership at Palazzo Farnese Caprarola. I really have no words. We're all just immensely grateful for the opportunity and for Ryan's awesomeness.

But that's not all...

Stay tuned for the final part of our Italy adventure.

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