St. Peter's and lunch al fresco

This is NOT Via Michele Mercati 24

After living here for four months, we finally took the kids to see St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican. We'd been to the Vatican with them before, but the lines to get inside the Cathedral were a bit discouraging...especially when you could always do it another time. January, is a great month here. The weather has been fairly mild, and the crowds have essentially vanished. I say "essentially" because it's a relative thing. At the Vatican, there is no such thing as no tourists.

We think that's the Big Man down there

We still waited about 10 minutes for the security check before entering the Basilica. Once inside, the kids were immediately able to understand the enormity 
of it. But before seeing the artistic treasures, we bought our tickets to go up to the cupola. This is the best part for kids. Charlotte, who was complaining of a sore knee, and Avery took the elevator up to the loggia. Josh, Olivia and I climbed the 250 odd steps to meet them. At this level, you cross the rooftop and enter the dome. If they didn't get the grandeur from the ground floor, the kids certainly got it now! We were looking down on a service going on in the sanctuary of the basilica -- and the people looked like ants. Even the guy with the red hat, who we assumed was the POPE (or at least a Caridinal?) looked tiny on his throne. It was really very cool to be up so high smelling the church smells and listening to the organ. We were surrounded my magnificent mosaics and could touch the stones of the golden cupola. The black letters on the gold background were nearly 7 feet high!

Then, you have an option to go to the outdoor terrace on the top of the dome (the views just described were from the base of the dome). So we all climbed the additional 323 steps, some of which are narrow and circular, and many of which went sideways (as of course, the dome is curved). It was almost as much fun getting to the top, as being there and taking in the 360 degree view of Rome. Clearly, this is the highest point in the Eternal City, a skyscraper in it's own right. I think we'll have to repeat this tour.

Back down in the Basilica, we had to see Michelangelo's Pieta which he sculpted at the age of 24. Unfortunately, the sculpture is behind glass because some idiot tried to vandalize it in the 70's. I also went, alone, into the chapel of S.S. Sacramento to see Bernini's work. This chapel is actively used for prayer so the kid's weren't interested. Josh and Charlotte joined the service which was just concluding in the sanctuary so they had an up-close look at Bernini's Baldacchino. The Baldacchino is directly beneath the dome and is a black marble sculpture of a canopy like structure -- beneath it, lies the grave of St. Peter. In the massive church, it doesn't look like a structure that's eight stories high, but apparently, it is.

Olivia loved seeing the columns line up

The kids had been on great behavior and really enjoyed the visit. Since it was almost lunch time, we only walked around one side of the Basilica -- the church is the length of two football fields -- before exiting and heading for home. It was a beautiful day outside: 60 plus degrees in the sun. I made a huge pot of pasta and used the ratatouille that I'd made the day before as a base for the sauce. Josh and the kids set the table outside, even placing our new, custom-made, orange seat cushions on the chairs. On January 16th, we ate lunch in our garden in Rome. And not just any lunch, but delicious Italian food. It doesn't get any better than that!

On the roof

We had an afternoon of swimming, naps, grocery shopping and reading. Charlotte went to orthodontist where she learned that at least one of the four baby teeth that still needs to come out will have to be pulled. We jumped the gun on getting her braces on before we left Chicago. There's not much that can be done until these four teeth come out, and the new ones come in. And, they are taking their sweet time.

Avery makes an appearance

Morris came over and fixed dinner for the kids. Josh and I went out. Without a plan for the evening, we ended up parking near Campo di Fiori and walked around to find a spot for dinner. We stumbled upon Da Pancrazio. The food was not bad, but not memorable either. However, the restaurant was located in part of the remains of the Teatro Pompeus - a 2000 year old Roman amphitheater, so it was very atmospheric.

While Josh retrieved the car, I went into a pasticceria in Campo di Fiori and picked out a few tortes for dessert...which we shared at home with a cup of tea.