Rudmann Family Wonderings and Wanderings : Birthday/Pre-Christmas trip to Rome

To celebrate the occasion of Nora's 9th birthday yesterday, as well as Mike's day off and the beginning of winter break, we decided to take the train up to Rome on Saturday for a two night stay. Instead of trekking into down Naples, we picked up the train in the city of Aversa, which is 15-20 min. away from our house. The train ride itself was eventful. We discovered that no one seems to follow ticketing rules and just sit where they please. When we boarded, all 5 of our seats were occupied and we had to ask all of those people (and their stuff) to leave. No one batted an eye and no one apologized. There was a good 10 minutes of jostling/reconfiguration until we were in our seats. I was half expecting someone to have a pet or livestock in one of their suitcases.

When we arrived at the Rome Termini station, we found our way towards the public bus that took us to the great apartment Mike found on Air BnB near Piazza Navona. Boarding the bus was no small feat in and of itself, but we did it! The bus took us along one of the main arteries of Rome, so there was lots of cool stuff for the kids to see. After getting the keys and a short orientation from our hostess, Violetta (Thomas thereafter referred to our lodging as "Letta's apartment"), Mike and Thomas napped while the girls and I scouted out a local supermarket to get snacks and breakfast food. Once the boys were up, we all went back out again and strolled along Piazza Navona, which features an amazing fountain designed by Bernini and baroque St. Agnes Church designed by Borromini. We were disappointed that there wasn't a Christmas market going on, which we read about online, but the kids were thrilled to discover a carousel in operation at the far end of the piazza and got to ride. We wandered back along small side streets until we found a cozy place to eat, Antica Taverna, which fit every stereotype of the quintessential Italian restaurant: checkered table cloths, red candles in chianti bottles dripping wax, wooden paneling, solicitous waiters. Probably a tourist trap (should have been clued in by the American Christmas songs playing in the background), but we were all happy to be in such a warm, kid-friendly place, especially when Thomas knocked over an entire glass of water on the table.

The following morning, we took a brisk 15 minute walk to St. Peter's to attend the 10:30 Mass. We passed Castel San'Angelo on the way, the imposing medieval fortress across the Tiber that used to be a refuge for the Pope in the Middle Ages (connected by secret passageways to the Vatican) and a
prison in the 19th century. The girls were fascinated by its intriguing history and I think that's when Nora started making up a story in her head about a young girl who finds out that her great-grandfather was Pope and, because the Church now follows rules of succession not election, becomes "Pope-ess." We encouraged her to write down her story so we can all find out what happens. St. Peter's was very impressive, of course, but the girls and I agreed that we prefer the colorful mosaics of St. Mark's in Venice to the heavy Baroque ornamentation in St. Peter's (the art that "pops out" at you, as Nora put it). Mike remains a fan of St. Peter's grandeur. Wonder what Thomas thought?

After church, we lingered in St. Peter's Square to hear the Pope's noon address to the crowd from his apartment window. It was quite an experience, even though we only picked up a little bit of what he was saying (since it was all Italian). Then we wandered back to our neighborhood, had a delicious panini lunch, and deliberated what to do next. I was feeling pretty worn out from our morning walk, and Thomas refused to nap, so Mike took all the kids out to explore some more nearby sights (the Pantheon, Trevi Fountain, overpriced caricatures by an artist in Piazza Navona) while I rested. Then we all went out for dinner at a great pizza place Mike had read about in Rick Steve's guidebook (Pizzeria Baffeto). Caroline ordered her favorite - marinara pizza (just crust, sauce and oregano, but it is wonderful!) and Nora was a fan of the anchovies on my Pizza Napoletana and kept asking for more.

On Monday morning, we decided to pack up and trek down to Ancient Rome to see as much as we could before catching our train back home. Thanks to Mike's knack for figuring out schedules/tickets, we boarded a bus that took us straight down to the Colosseum. Since we had our suitcase with us, we couldn't enter the Colosseum, but the kids were content to just walk around the outside and then, when they ceased being content, Mike found a local playground that we could take them to. They were thrilled! Then we found another cozy, family-owned place for lunch (Trattoria Lezzi) before getting on the Metro to get back to Termini station and board another crowded train where everyone seemed to be sitting in the wrong seats. Fortunately, Thomas napped half of the way, the girls got along, and our car was waiting for us intact when we got back to the Aversa train station parking lot, so we had much to be grateful for. Then it was back home for Nora's birthday dinner of honey mustard chicken, instant mashed potatoes and broccoli, followed by presents, skyping/phone calls with family, and double chocolate brownies. What more could a 9 year old ask for?