Bella Roma!

Our AMAZING trip to Rome started with a road trip to Calgary, where we got to visit the Zoo before getting on two planes.

The kids did amazingly well...

And 13 hours later....we were in Rome!

Upon our arrival in Rome, my first priority was teaching Sophia to properly drink out of a Roman fountain.  

And the fountains of Rome certainly proved to provide HOURS of entertainment for both of the kids.

Here they are with my favorite fountain in Rome!

Before traveling to Rome, Greg helped Sophia complete the following four awesome reports; she presented each report before we visited each sight!

The Colosseum

The ancient Romans were amazing builders. 

The Colosseum is the largest amphitheater ever built.  An amphitheater is two theaters put together to make a bowl. 

It was built in 80AD. 

It could hold 80,000 people.  It was used for sports, gladiators, and speeches.  It could even be filled with water for boat fights. 

Sistine Chapel

The Sistine Chapel is a church in the Vatican.  It is used today for special masses and for the meeting to decide who will be the next pope. 

The Sistine Chapel is famous for its painted ceiling.  The ceiling is covered in frescos painted by Michelangelo.  He spent four years painting the ceiling lying on his back on a scaffold.  The painting is considered the greatest masterpiece of any artist in history.  The pictures show stories from the Bible.  The most famous part of the painting shows God the Creator reaching out to touch Adam. 

Gelato

Gelato is the Italian word for ice cream.  It is made from a custard, but has less eggs and cream than American Ice cream.  Gelato is served at a warmer temperature than ice cream so it is softer and has a stronger flavor.

Gelato is made by heating two parts milk to one part cream and then adding sugar and egg yolks.  Then you add the flavor.  Then you put the mixture in a special machine that mixes and freezes the gelato.  Then you eat it up yum.

The machine to make gelato was invented by an Italian fisherman in 1682.

 St. Peters Basilica

This is St. Peter's Basilica.  It is the biggest church in the world.  The Church was built over the place where St. Peter was buried.  St Peter was Jesus' friend and the first pope.  The original church was built in 316.

The new building was designed by Michelangelo, Bramante, and Bernini.  The church took 120 years to build.  It was finished in 1626.

Everything about St. Peter's is huge!  Sculptures of babies are bigger than Pop.  The letters on the wall are six feet tall. 

The front yard of St. Peter's was designed by Michelangelo.  It was designed to represent the church giving a hug to the world.

At St. Peter's we also participated in a special prayer service for the Jubilee year with Pope Francis! We were invited to write down our own prayers where they were collected for the pope to pray over as well.  Among ours: Emmerson Grace (!), Nonna's leg, and Aunt Marie.

And of course the Italians were obsessed with Dominic and wanted to hold him whenever possible.  I caught on camera a rare time when he actually allowed it...for a split second!

We even got out of the city one day to Castel Gandolfo, a small hill town about 40 minutes outside of Rome - a personal favorite of mine! 

And mamma mia, did we enjoy some fantastic food!

[The Nutella Calzone at Dar Poeta - devoured just seconds before this picture was taken - was just as perfect as I'd remembered...and it was such a crowd favorite that we went twice!]

And, of course(!) we enjoyed some sensational coffee!

A new experience and highlight for me was the Bramante Cloister, a peaceful sanctuary from the city complete with a cafe, restaurant and frescoes by Rafael to boot!

Another highlight was meeting my Dad's friend, Fr. Michael, who gave us a fantastic tour of Basilica San Clemente.

One of my favorite things Sophia said was [looking up at the Pantheon dome], "Mom, I just can't stop looking at this dome!"  (This picture was taken from the outside.)

Here Sophia and Greg show off their bulging biceps next to Constantine's.

And Dominic even took a few of his first steps!  (Unfortunately, I didn't catch it on video until we returned.)

And speaking of walking, our pedometers told us that we averaged about 6-8 miles of walking per day!  Thanks to Pop's knee replacement and our Bob stroller, we were able to walk most everywhere, and enjoy the scenery along the way:

Sophia's wish?  That we ALL return to Rome again together (everyone in the Kiely/Adams clan!)!  She drew it here:

And wished it here (Trevi Fountain)!  

Arrivederci Roma!  Until we meet again!