Amalfi Coast and the Positano Peach Gelato

Amalfi Coast and the Positano Peach Gelato

It’s “early” morning (about 10am) and we are on the Sorrento to Amalfi hydrofoil. The mountains look inhospitable and rough with the layers of fog that have yet to burn off. I’ve driven this coast with my parents long ago so this is a new view, to see it all from the sea. High up, the road is clearly visible with its twisty hairpin turns, crazy drivers and too narrow roads. I’m so happy to be watching from my comfy seat on the boat.

Learning about Maritime Warfare

Just out of Sorrento Liam picks out the old fortresses and watchtowers built at regular intervals along the cliffs. People here were certainly not worried about being invaded from the land, it is too steep and impassable – this was a maritime nation!

A sea view of Positano

Can you spy the fortress?

Amalfi was at the height of power around the turn of the last millennium. A proud trading nation, it competed with the Venetian, Pisan and Genoese empires for the goods of the east. It was also known for it’s schools of law and even came up with the “Tavole Amalfitane” – a maritime code of law that was widely used throughout the Mediterranean until the 16^th century. It is also said that Flavio Gioia, a son of Amalfi, introduced the mariners’ compass to Europe.

It beautiful coastline for sure, you can feel the history that these cliffs have seen. A ridiculous amount of battles and sieges have taken place here. It was such a desirable place. Lets see, there were the Byzantines, the Normans, the Holy Roman Emperor, the Sicilians and then the Pisans.  Then there was a tsunami in the 14^th century that destroyed much of the ports and the Amalfitane region never regained its former glory. Now it is the seasonal home to thousands of tourists who come to revel in the blue waters, faint at the high cliffs and send postcards home to make their coworkers insanely jealous.

The streets of Amalfi

On lookout for cliff side fortresses Liam is in perfect heaven. How did they defend them? Did they use CANONS! Wow. His imagination is on fire. The girls see all the villages, spread across the cliffs, and notice how each one has a garden so that the people can grow their own food. With all the fish of the sea they can understand how these little towns could be self-sustaining. This of course makes me think the food will taste amazing. Hmmm, who is the shallow one here?

Once we are off the ferry at the town of Amalfi it is just a short walk up to the Duomo di Amalfi and the piazza, the heart of the town. The buildings are all so darn cheerful, the stores colorful and even the mist is burning off to enhance the color of the tiles on the roofs. We go up the stairs to the church just as a whole gang of children dressed in their special celebratory robes emerge from the old 12 century cathedral (I think they may have had their communion), and their proud parents and families are all beaming around them. Massive amounts of group photos and hugs take place. Scolding mothers carry a few out-of-control toddlers away. It’s such a warm feeling. I can almost forget that we are in a tourist town.

Picnic in Amalfi

Liam is not too sure about this fountain.... hmmmm...

Inside the Church the Sunday Mass is in session so we don’t take much of a tour. Rather than make the children sit through a service that they will not understand we sit at the bottom of the church steps and have a picnic and watch the world of the little town of Amalfi go by. I wonder what it would be like to live in such a tiny community. Of course it’s not like days of old where they are isolated. It’s only a scary drive or 40-minute ferry to the big bad world, but still, it would feel quite insular to actually be a denizen of this town. We do a bit of shopping, I have an espresso (my new favorite addiction) and Randall finds himself a new watch.

Just so that they can experience it, we buy tickets on the bus that goes from Amalfi to Positano. It’s fairly cheap and runs regularly. Why not, give it a go, I say to them.

The road was completed at the turn of the last century. It is made realistically for two horses to pass comfortably. Now there is two-way traffic of giant busses. Each hairpin curve is a brush with death (in my opinion), and we nearly take out a couple motorbikes at the first one. I close my eyes (yes, I am a coward!) and think that if we were on the boat, and it sank, at least we have a fair chance of swimming to safety! But on this road, if our driver, a cantankerous old fossil, makes one false move, a fiery crash followed by twisted metal falling onto the rocks below will be our fate.  OK, not positive thoughts. But what can I say, I really don’t like heights. Sharks good, heights bad….

Rowing into the Grotto Della Esmeraldo

Good thing we have decided to hop off at the next stop - Grotta Della Esmeraldo (or the Emerald Grotto). This is the Amafi coast’s answer to the world famous Blue Grotto of Capri. These Grottos, or Sea Caves, have tiny air openings into them, but have huge openings facing out underwater to the ocean and the beautiful sun shines through the water and into the caves illuminating the water from underneath, filling the cave with glowing blue and green light. It’s pretty darn amazing.

The Spectacular water inside the cave

We did not go into the Blue Grotto of Capri when we were there, the line was unreal and it had the feeling of the major tourist trap. (Seriously, they wanted a ridiculous fee just to get rowed in and out of the grotto.) But I have to admit that I have been to the Blue Grotto before. My dad bribed the oarsman to let me, and my best friend Cathy, swim around in the glowing warm water when we visited Capri ages ago. An amazing memory that we will always have.

The kids were pretty disappointed not to see the Blue Grotto, and when we set out this morning with the cloudy sky we told them that we most likely wouldn’t do the Emerald Grotto either. No sunshine equals no amazingly lit up water. I truly believe that their collective pleadings to the universe helped us get the sun to shine through just as we were getting on the bus and changing our plans.

From the bus stop you have to descend by elevator to the base of the cliffs. I couldn’t tell you how far, maybe ten stories, probably more. And then we wait for our turn to go into the Grotto. It is pretty low key, just us, two tourists from the UK and our oarsman. He doesn’t speak much English, but he paddles us out into the cave and we have a good look at the stalactites. It’s a cool cave. But the magic isn’t unleashed until we turn around for the paddle back and you can see the light refracting back through the water. It’s all lit up like a jewel. The kids are so very impressed. How does light do that!? It is pretty amazing. Nature can do fantastic things.

Coming out of the cave puts you in a small inlet that you have to walk past before taking the elevator up to the road again. And oh that water is inviting. Too inviting to pass up. It becomes a matter of who can change fastest. Randall, Liana, Liam and Clara all jump into the Green water. (I have a low-grade fever again, so decide not to risk getting wet. No more hospitals for me please.) They frolic for quite a while until a luxury yacht pulls up to dislodge a few sheik looking tourists for their tour of the grotto.

Back up to get the bus. I break out in a sweat thinking about it. Somewhere between the Emerald Grotto and Positano I find religion. And the rest of my family nearly find the barf bags. Partly my heavenly inspiration comes from the nervous drawing that a previous passenger had scrolled across the seat in front of me of a crucifix. It worked. I didn’t throw up, get burned in a horrific crash or even have to clean up anyone else’s vomit. We got off in Positano with firm vows that we were taking the hydrofoil back to Sorrento.

Positano

Positano must be one of the most beautiful towns in the world.

Really. I mean that.

Walking down the cliff-perching street into the heart of the city you can’t help but look up. First you see the flowers hanging off the balconies, then you see the colorful tiled roofs and then you see way, way above the green cliffs and sea birds swirling. It’s dizzying. And looking down you see colorfully coordinated umbrellas of the sun worshipers on the dark beach and the azure water with boats aplenty. Paradise on earth? Well, it is for a while.

Walking down into Positano

 

Once we finally descend all the way to the beach we find the gelato shop to top all gelato shops. Yes, really. I have found paradise on earth. I have never read or heard of food being described in any way that could compare to the taste that it imparted, so I don’t think I will try here. Just know that the very freshest of fruit was used to create the gelato, which was given in most generous portions. See exhibit A, photo of the happiest family in the world, just starting to consume their own particular flavour of gelato. Mine was peach, and I maintain that it was the best. Although each member of the family feels similarly of their own flavour.

Exhibit A - World's best Gelato

And so we have it. Our little tour of the Amalfi coast. It couldn’t be said that we made a very in depth tour. But given my illness we didn’t have the time we originally thought we’d have in this area. It doesn’t matter. It’s special, no matter what you see of it. Beautiful and memorable.

So tonight Liam is off to say good bye to his Italian soccer mates and we are off to another Sorrentine dinner. And tomorrow it’s off to the other coast of Italy to board a ship to take us to Greece and beyond…..

Bella Capri

Bella Capri

Arriving in Marina Grande

The hydrofoil only takes 20 minutes to go from Sorrento to Marina Grande in Capri -  and what a ride it is!

Behind us is the Sorrentine Penninsula with Sorrento on one side and the dark cliffs of the Amalfi coast disappearing into the morning mist on the other. Ahead Capri gets bigger, and taller and steeper. It’s huge rocky cliffs are both foreboding and welcoming at the same time.

Capri island has been a holiday destination and fishing village since before Roman times. One Roman emperor, Tiberius, loved the island so much that he built a huge estate here and effectively ran the Roman empire from Capri from 27 AD til his death in 37 AD. Not a bad place to work from!

Clara and "Greenie" the shiny Capri beatle

Prayers in the 17th century Church of Santo Stefano

We arrive at Marina Grande, without much of a plan. We only have about 5 hours to spend so the amount of things we can do with the munchkins is limited. First thing we hike up the steep roads leading from Marina Grande to the Piazzetta in Capri town. I can feel the recent illness in the steep hills and end up as the caboose of our little people chain. Clara hangs out with me and tells me all kinds of stories about her new “pet” “Greenie” – the shiny beetle that she found on a wall. I’m glad for the company. I’ve had some sad news that my Uncle Terry – my father’s brother – has taken a turn for the worse in his battle with melanoma, and isn’t expected to recover.

We reach the top of the long winding pathway and pop out onto the main square. We’ve told the kids about Uncle Terry and they all want to go into the main church there to say a prayer. Even Liana kneels down to light a candle and sends a good thought and prayer to our dyeing loved one. It’s pretty emotional as Uncle Terry epitomised all the goodness and kindness in this world, and inspired all of us to be better, more humble people.

Views from Tragara to UP to Mount Solaro 

This water is irresistible

Leaving Capri town we walk along the Belvedere of Tragara and drink up every drop of oohing and awing of the amazing view as it unfolds past pine trees, swirling mist and expensive villas.  Capri town is in the saddle between two mountains. You do not realise the size of the cliffs until you are standing under them looking up in awe.  

We picnic at the furthest spot along the way, with a lunch packed for us by the staff at our b&b. Looking down on Marina Picolo, Capri’s small port, the water begs us to jump into it, even though it is a thousand feet below. The cliffs are dotted with courageous umbrella pines and way down below are the boats, big and small of the holiday makers’ bob and streak through the azure vista. The spectacular Faraglioni rocks jut out of the ocean just off the coast to make a beautiful scene dramatic. Again we have glorious weather.

view from our picnic spot

Happy Family

A stroll, some window browsing and another session of oohing over the view and we are back to Capri town and the Piazzetta where I take a quick photo of my four intrepid kids. It captures the happiness that we all feel standing on this mass of rock, looking out into the calm, blue Tyrrhenian Sea. A sea that we’ve all decided that we much jump into no matter what!

Heading down the narrow streets to the marina

So, we leave off our plans to visit Ana Capri, Roman ruins and the chairlift that goes to the tippy top of Mount Solaro, and head straight to the tourist boats that circle the island. With hands full of Lemoncello smoothie (heaven in a glass) we take the hour tour around the island, seeing all of it’s different sides and colours. We see the giant Natural Arch and soaring caves and uber luxury yachts and even travel through the arch of the Faraglioni Rocks that we had been admiring from our picnic. According to local legend (or tourist legend if you are not in a romantic mood) all lovers must kiss when they sail through the caves to ensure their love will be eternal. We hear a loud UHHHHMMMM and turn around to see Liana smirking at us. Randy gave me a good smooch on the lips directly under the arch, which made Liana beam and Liam gag. Gotta love kids. And romantic husbands.

With the touristy stuff out of the way we all rush down to the white stone beach and begin frolicking in the perfect water. It’s refreshing and invigorating and just perfect. A sunny day on Capri. I could feel regret for the things we didn’t see, and things we didn’t do. But sometimes the right thing to do is to enjoy the moment and the little pleasures – like squealing kids and aqua coloured water.

 

Another night, another evening of footy at the church in Sorrento for Liam and of course an amazing Italian dinner. As Hans Christian Anderson once said:


“Just living is not enough... one must have sunshine, freedom, and a little flower.”

I’m not sure if he meant flowers as in fields of spring poppies, or the flour that is making my perfect pasta dish – but I heartily agree with both.

Much love for now, from me and mine.  

At our b&b in Sorrento, the kids waiting patiently to go out for dinner

On Montessori and Naples

I love our Montessori schools at home in New Zealand.

The lemon is as big as Clara's head!

The preschool is beautiful and peaceful.  It nurtures the little people inside our children, bringing forth their innate love of learning. And our lovely primary school, which is three classrooms inside the bigger school of Bellevue, has grown in the last 10 years from just a handful of students to over 50 learners.

Our kids have flourished with Montessori and will remain our first choice for education for the Douglas monkey’s….

However, one’s eyes do stray a bit…. Especially mine, when it comes to travel. I understand the importance of the community and a home base. It is fundamental to giving children the stability to go forth in the world.  So I couldn’t help but research the Montessori school that one of my friends told me about in Italy. And it just so happens to be in Naples.

And so that is how we happened to be on the hydrofoil from Sorrento to Naples early (well, 10am) the next morning. When we told the kids we were going to look at a potential school for them they were all horrified. No way, New Zealand is our home. Of course it is, but wouldn’t it be wonderful to spend six months in a different culture, learning another language and making friends? Hmmmm, they weren’t too sure.

On the Sorrento Docks

The school is quite unique (and similar to our own Bellevue Primary school) in the fact that it was founded by a handful of NATO parents wanting a better education for their children. The school opened in 1958 and now has over 400 students from preschool to 10^th grade. It is located in Naples, securely situated on the NATO military base.

I have called and made an appointment for an observation, so after the hydrofoil we took a taxi to the military base and waited at the heavily guarded gates waiting for someone to come and escort us up. Only they didn’t come, due to the mother’s day pageant, (this is still Italy) and finally the guards called and got permission for us to come up. Apparently we weren’t too much of a military threat with our four charming children, as they let us hike through the base up to the school itself.

It’s always interesting to see another school and how they do things and of the different challenges that they have. Children from 27 different countries, some not speaking either English or Italian, would certainly be one hurdle. Needless to say they have a lot of focus on language and culture, which is brilliant.

The head directress, and her son (who runs the administration side of things), was so very welcoming and kind, and give us a full tour of the school.

The view of Mt Vesuvius from the Bay of Naples Hydrofoil

Liana was sold as soon as she found out (and saw pictures) of the 7^th, 8^th and 9^th grade classes and their field trips. They regularly go to places like Scotland, Ireland, Germany etc…. it’s all pretty close by. Clara joined in one of the younger classes and made friends right away.  Suddenly all their hesitation was gone. So, when do we start mum and dad?

We had a picnic lunch on the patio of the school, admiring the view across the Bay of Naples. And wondered if we should do something like this for a while. I guess you can say, “watch this space”, but then, there are many places still to explore before we can commit to anything.

Always at home in a wheelhouse!

From the base we all cram into one tiny taxi and head back to the hydrofoil. The driving in Naples is absolutely nuts. Lanes? What lanes? Red lights? Just a suggestion. It has a rougher, more gritty, feel than the other cities we’ve been to so far in Italy. (One of the minuses of the school, its location.)

The Cliffs of Sorrento

Naples is a beautiful city in it’s own right. It is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world. With known settlements dating back to the 9^th century BC and today is the third largest city in Italy (behind Rome and Milan) with the fourth largest economy. In addition to the NATO base, it is head to MSC shipping line, among other big corporations. And the port is giant. It has the second largest passenger flow in the world, second only to Hong Kong. And yet it still retains a patina of its history. Most of the downtown is a UNESCO world heritage site and displays so many facets of the cities past - Naples the Greek and Roman town, Renaissance beauty, and the powerful Kingdom of Naples (which only fell with the unification of Italy in 1861). And most importantly it is the birthplace of my family’s favourite food – PIZZA!

The cruise back across the harbour is beautiful. Mount Vesuvius standing tall to our left as we come into view of the cliffs of Sorrento. All six of us go up to the wheelhouse and enjoy the view. Liam is sporting new Italy sports clothes and trainer shoes for practising soccer in so he’s Happy As Larry.

Liam in his football kit....

By the time we get back to the Palazzo Montefusco it is late afternoon and Liam is champing at the bit to go find a soccer match. While I was sick they discovered the local boys get together in the afternoons at the church and play soccer in the courtyard.

So off he goes, minutes after arriving home - with his father’s blessings. I am not totally comfortable with him walking five or six blocks through a foreign town without a mobile phone and not speaking much of the language, but then he’s been doing it for several days now. And later on when I go to spy on him he’s in his element running around and high fiving the local boys. They walk off after a goal with their arms around each other. Liam couldn’t be happier.

Eating out is a fancy affair

Sorrento town closes the streets to cars for the evenings on the weekend and the whole town must come out to stroll along the streets and be seen. And of course there are the tourists. They can be easily spotted though and sidestepped if needed.

After the obligatory and amazingly delicious pizza we fall into bed, looking forward to the adventures tomorrow…. Capri awaits!

Campania, A Volcano and a Sunny Bench

Somewhere in the night my temperature spikes, I get a delirious fever and feel down right awful.


Wall frescos in Herculanium

When the alarm goes off I take as much panadol and ibuprofen as I can and hope it's just a quick bug. We are off to catch the train to Naples and see a different part of the country - Campania.

I do remember part of the train. I had set aside some of that time to work with the kids on their home work. (Oh yay, math first thing in the morning.) But by the time we reach our van tour/transfer the pain killers are already wearing off and I am thankful that the van is organised and ready to go. I curl up into a ball and remain so.




Four cute Romans in Herculanium

From the Naples train station we make a stop at Herculaneum to see the Roman seaside town that was covered by a pyroclastic flow from the famous eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD. Covered in 20 meters of mud and ash it remained perfectly preserved for 1600 years! This is where the rich people from Pompeii would have had their beach homes. It may not be as big as Pompeii, but the fresco's are very well preserved and the two story wooden houses give you the feel of walking down an ancient Roman street.


After Randy and the kids have had enough (I moved my foetal position from the van to a bench) our driver, Tony, suggested that we go up on Mt. Vesuvius for lunch. He took us to a little boutique vineyard that makes all their own food. The owner met us and took everyone (sans moi) around to see the grapes and feel the soil and admire the view from this lovely spot. I don't eat, but the food looks amazing. Fresh bruschetta, spaghetti with home grown tomatoes. And wine tasting. Randy says it is fantastic. Somehow food can really impart the feeling of the land that cannot be shared any other way. Taste is a wonderful sense.

Learning about the forum in Pompeii



Clara makes bread in a perfectly preserved Roman oven

Pompeii, the grand highlight of this area. (At least in the kids fascinated minds.) What must it have been like all those years ago when the ash and smoke started falling down the mountain and covering the city. There was warning of course and many Romans would have left days before, but many thousands died that day. Pompeii does something to the imagination. Maybe because the city is still fairly intact, and you can see the shadow of Mount Vesuvius always present, it is easy to put yourself in the shoes of the people and what they went through on that day.

And what a find for the interested archaeologist. It is a perfectly preserved Roman town, frozen for all eternity during the time of the Pax Romana. The small details that aren't written about in the Roman histories and aren't usually found in archaeological digs were preserved. In Herculaneum some 300 bodies were found, preserved by the mud, where Romans usually cremated their bodies. In Pompeii the people were literally encased in ash and the space where their bodies lay were perfectly preserved. The archaeologist who uncovered them made plastic casts of the people which still lay where they died on August 24, 79 AD.....

I transferred to another sunny bench and again Randy and the kids went in without me. They hired a guide who was excellent. The girls came back to find me and couldn't stop talking about how they were able to grind grain on the ancient mills. And they walked through the forum and sold olive oil. They were in a real Roman bathhouse with real Roman tiles. He really engaged their little imaginations.They were Romans for the day. Perfect.

Lucky for me I have been here before so when they describe their experiences I can imagine exactly what they saw.

And so we end our day in the town of Sorrento, on the other side of the lovely Bay of Naples from where we left our train this morning.

The next days are a bit of a blur. I know that I am sick. I know that the wonderful people who run the Palazzo Montefusco (our b&b) take me to the hospital in Sorrento and I get antibiotics and other stuff. The owners wife makes me chicken soup. Randy keeps the kids busy and happy. They all check on me, give me love and show me their special purchases and tell me about their discovery of gelato and crepes. I feel all their love and I'm sure it helped me get better - eventually.

After three days I emerge on wobbly legs and take my first walk around the old town. Our b&b is an ancient building 1,000 years old right in the heart of the walk-only downtown. The streets are cobblestone and everywhere there is lemoncello and fresh fruit. Italy may be in an economic crisis, but the focus is still on having a good life. Liam shows off the lemon that is the size of Juliet's head. The old man who sells them laughs. These are the moments that make us humans happy.

I am happy to be out of my sick bed, but still not up for much. I am glad to be able to enjoy the kids and my amazing husband and this beautiful town.

Tomorrow is Friday and it's our last day for making a visit to the Montessori School that I have been in touch with in Naples.....

Vatican and Gladiator School

Vatican and Gladiators - Last Day in Rome

We get a very early start as the Vatican City can get very crowded.  Ding dong ding goes the alarm. A whole lot of groaning ensues. A taxi ride later and we are cruising past the walls of the worlds smallest country - the Vatican City. Home to his holiness the Pope and a vast museum of history and art. It's Liam's second choice of things to see on this trip so despite growling about having to wake up early he is at his best - for the time being.

We've booked a few special tours on our trip, mostly through Context Travel, who specialise in small groups and family oriented tours. This morning is one of them. "The Vatican City for Families." It comes with an early entrance to the Vatican City and our own personal guide who is not only a historian but also trained in inquiry learning for children.Given the sheer scale of the Vatican it seems it would be one of the places that would best be explained by a professional.

It turns out to be the right call.

We meet Francesca at a little coffee shop across the street from the Vatican City entrance. I'm so glad we have her, just to navigate the crush of people, if nothing else. She gets us efficiently into the Vatican City, which isn't necessarily an easy feat. Although the general admission doesn't open for nearly an hour the queue of people already go a city block down the ancient walls.

Entering the Vatican City Museum

The entrance is all new, all modernised since I was last here. New high tech entrance facilities and moving stair ways. Security guards and surveillance cameras. Such a testament to how the world is going.

As we have thirty minutes before the general public are allowed in we decide to go straight to the Sistine Chapel to see it before the crazy hoards descend. That way we will be allowed to spend more time there and hopefully Francesca can actually explain what we are seeing. Not just get a quick peek at the figures and be herded through.

One of the ceilings of the hallways!!
(No pictures allowed in the Sistine Chapel)

We rush past amazing treasures. Statues. Paintings. Ceilings in Tromp D'oil that look so real it's hard to imagine anyone can be that talented. Sometimes we even have the hallways to ourselves. That is something that I wasn't expecting!

Finally we enter the  Sistine Chapel. It was famously painted by Michelangelo, who spent five years on the scaffolding creating his scenes. Apparently he worked so long and hard that he messed up his eyesight and back from standing in the contorted position for so long. A real perfectionist genius. He was the darling of Lorenzo de Medici "the Magnificent" of Florence and a name the is synonymous with the Renaissance and art of all kind.

Really and truly the paintings are amazing. I saw it when I was a teenager, but really didn't know what I was looking at. To be honest last time I saw it I thought that it looked more like a bunch of muscled contorted bodies on a ceiling and didn't give it much thought. (Ah, teenager hood!)


Everyone has seen the famous picture of God giving the touch of life to Adam, but there is so much more here than just that one painting. Slowly, and taking the time to answer all the questions that the kids throw at her, Francesca tells us the stories painted on the walls. Not just creation and the spectacular Judgement day, that covers the entire back wall behind the alter, but the other smaller stories that show man's need for the guidance by God. The drunkenness of Noah, the Great Flood  and Moses getting the Commandments from god. Clara was particularly excited to see that one as she has recently been there to Mount Sinai herself. It's the stories of the bible - both old and new - come to life in vivid detail. I feel like even if I had never read the bible I would know about the main characters and what they did. And a little about a the man who devoted half a decade of his life to paint them.

Roman Statuary

We are lucky enough to have the chapel for almost forty five minutes without huge crowds. When the people start pushing in, and the guards start getting grumpy and shushing everyone, we back track to see some of the other treasures of the museum. There is so much here - art, architecture, statuary, books, clothing - ancient, medieval, even modern!

We barely even scratched the surface of everything on display in the three hours that we have. I loved the long hall of maps that were painted to represent all of Italy. Randall and Liana were taken with the Roman statuary. And Liam was trying to figure out the meaning of the fig leafs that were strategically placed on most of the statues, and giggled whenever he found one that didn't have the leaves. Francesca got to explain to him about the pope who was offended by the naked statues and covered them up. Better her than me... but then he had just seen the story of the serpent on the roof of the Sistine chapel!

Eventually our tour comes to an end and it's time to say good bye to Francesca. We make our way back to the Sistine Chapel (which is more or less the end of the Vatican museum, before you get to St. Peters Basilica). This time we are with all the main tourists. It is a CRUSH. We are literally touching bodies with all the people around us as we moo-ve down the corridors (the ones we so recently had to ourselves). We finally have to reenter the Sistine chapel to get to the exit into St Peters Basilica on the other side and it becomes worse. I am completely claustrophobic of all the people. It's awful. I can't imagine a single person in that room has a chance to absorb any of the spirituality that was intended for that ceiling.

I pick up Juliet to keep her from getting stepped on (just imagine what her view was of that place! LOL) and we literally fight to get out on the other side. Eventually we pop out and are aside the basilica. The crush lets off as some people veer off to climb the steps to the top of the dome and others go to the souvenir shop and the rest enter the basilica, like us.

St. Peters Basilica was designed in part by...... Michelangelo.... yes, none other than the painter of the Sistine chapel. Back in the 16th century if you were an artist it was important to be well versed in all the arts - not a painter, or a sculptor or an architect - but all three! And St. Peters is amazing. Michelangelo (who was in his 70's) was arm twisted into becoming the architectural overseer by the pope and his influence shaped the church as it is today. It's the tallest dome in the world (inspired in part by the Pantheon as well as Florence's Duomo). It is the largest Christian church in the world and is a pilgrimage site for millions of people, an icon now of the catholic religion, and also of the ingenuity of the Renaissance period.

Liam is unimpressed. He tries to argue with me that the Pantheon is actually bigger. I know what he means. The Pantheon seems bigger without all the clutter of the icons and statuary to hide its austere dome. But really, it is not possible, even for Liam, to be unimpressed for long. Once you allow your eyes to be overwhelmed by the sensual nature of the building and just go with it you get drawn into a whole new sense of Christianity. The love of showing off, if I can say that. The amazing gold leaf, marble and paintings everywhere.

Four hours of being in the smallest country in the world and our kids have had enough of culture and religion. We go down the street for a pizza while the noon bells dong away across the city. It's time to go back to our lovely little apartment and pack up before heading out on our afternoon adventure. The kids number one excitement for Roma - GLADIATOR SCHOOL!

I saw the recommendation for Gladiator School on Trip Adviser and did a few searches online and finally a link to contact them. I must say it is quite a bit off the beaten track in Rome, not very touristy, hard to find..... but totally worth it!

Our taxi got us lost finding the correct address on the Apian Way (still haven't figured out if he did it on purpose for the opportunity to charge us an extra few euros) we discovered the recreation of an ancient Roman fort just off the Apian Way. The people who have started this are part of the recreation society of Rome and take their Roman gladiator history very serious!

I am not signed up (as Juliet is not old enough to participate) so just Randall and the three big kids get to change into Roman togas and go into the museum and get a personal explanation about the Roman fighting machine and how it worked. What weapons they used. How they built their fortresses and defences. Liam gets a gleam in his eye as he wears the helmet and raises the swords of the ancient Roman legions. The kids know a bit about the history of Rome, so this brings a lot of the things they know and the places they saw come together in a hands on way.

Before long they are out on the dirt practise arena. Their teacher gives them wooden swords and teaches them the blocks and strikes that any gladiator of the 1st century ad would use in battle and they work on it for over an hour. I am impressed with the way they are all brought into the "class" if you will. You'd think Clara was truly fighting for her life with the dedication that she put into her blocks.

Finally they get to have a one on one "battle" with the teacher in the small arena and come away with sweaty clothes and gigantic smiles on their faces. Before we leave each one of them are given "Roman Citizenship" and a Roman name.
Liana becomes Flavia
Randall becomes Crixus (after a famous gladiator of ancient times)
Clara becomes Invicta (meaning invincible for her courageous fighting in the ring)
Liam is given the name Maximus (probably because he has the potential to go all the way)

It's been a long and satisfying day. We're exhausted. After a spaghetti dinner in the Piazza de Spagna  we finish the packing and go to bed as early as possible. I've been feeling unwell all day so I can't wait to get horizontal. Tomorrow we say goodbye to Rome and head south to Naples and the Sorrento coast. Our train awaits early in the morning. Buona Notte. Goodnight.