Day 253 April 14 2015 Rome Italy

Day 253  April 14  2015  Rome Italy

We started the day by taking the bus in the wrong the wrong direction.  It did not take us long to realize what we had done but it did add ½ an hour to our trip.  The first place we visited was Vatican City starting in St. Peter’s Basilica.  The church is absolutely amazing, full of beautiful carving, painting, and mosaics.  We visited the crypt where the sarcophaguses of the Popes are displayed.  The most impressive tomb was Saint Peter’s which has two stairways leading from the main church.  We then spent the rest of the day in the Vatican Museum which has a very impressive collection of art.

Day 252 April 13 2015 Rome Italy

Roman Colosseum

overlooking the Roman Form

ancient fountain 

enjoying lunch outside the Colosseum

inside the Pantheon

Plaza Navona 

Day 252  April 13  2015  Rome Italy

We started the day at the Colosseum where we admired the ruins.  It was one of the sites in the world that I have wanted to see for many years and I am glad we made it.  Once we left the Colosseum we walked around the many ruins at the Paltatino Hill.  The palace that once stood there must have been breath taking.  The third site we visited was the Fountain of Trevi only to find it drained of water and under restoration.  We then walked from the fountain to the Pantheon followed by a visit to Piazza Navona.  We then decide to call it quits for the day; however as we were walking to the bus stop we passed a gladiator weapons museum and decide to check it out.  It was interesting as it showcased the evolution of helmets and swords over time.           

Day 251 April 12 2015 Rome Italy

Day 251  April 12  2015  Rome Italy

We had a lazy day today and did nothing.  The only thing we left the apartment for was to get supper at a nearby restaurant.  Evy and I read for most of the day and the kids played on their tablets

Day 250 April 11 2015 Rome Italy

lemon tree in the back yard of the apartment we rented in Rome

Day 250  April 11  2015  Rome Italy

The main activity of the day was driving from Vinci to Rome.  We got to the apartment in Rome at 4 pm.  Evy and I went for a walk to explore the neighbourhood while David and Isabel stayed in the apartment playing games and watching videos on their tablets. In the evening David and I watched a movie while Evy and Isabel set up family sharing and Isabel’s tablet.

Day 249 April 10 2015 Vinci Italy

enjoying gelato in Italy again

The copy of the David statue in its  original location

Ponte Vecchio which Evy fail to inform me it was full of jewelry shops!

Some people have a lot of talent

Day 249  April 10  2015  Vinci Italy

We drove to Florence and toured the city center.  We walked to the Piazza del Duomo and admired the cathedral and bell tower.  We then walked to the Ponte Vecchio where Evy and Isabel checked out the jewelry shops.  The next stop was at the Museum of Archeology where we spent several hours looking at the collection.  The last touristic stop of the day was to be the Fortezz da Basso.  We thought that it was an old fort that we could tour, only to discover that it is a conference center with nothing interesting to see.  Isabel decided that she wanted to put her savings into an iPad so we returned to the mall and she purchased her new iPad mini 2.  I hope it lasts longer then the last 2 tablets she has had.  The first one was a Samsung galaxy tab 3 that lasted until 10 months before the charging port stopped working.  We then got her an Asus and it lasted 5 months until its charging port stopped working.  

Day 248 April 9 2015 Vinci Italy

entrance to our hotel in Vinci

I can still carry him

cooking supper 

enjoying some of the local produce

Day 248  April  9  2015  Vinci Italy

We took it easy today with a trip to the local shopping mall where Isabel looked for a new tablet as hers died.  We then bought stuff for supper and returned to the hotel where we barbequed the chicken and sausages while enjoying the view from the top of the hill.

Day 247 April 8 2015 Vinci Italy

a very cheesy picture of the leaning tower

Piazza del Duomo in Pisa 

I can fix this thing by myself!

Inside the Duomo 

outside the  Leonardo da Vinci Museum 

Vinci Italy

Day 247  April 8  2015  Vinci Italy

Today involved a visit to the Leaning Tower of Pisa, the Pisa Baptistery of St. John, the Cathedral of Pisa and the Museo Leonardiano Vinci.  The kids went with Evy to purchase tickets to the Leaning Tower.  When they came out, Isabel was crying as the ticket agent said she was too young to climb the tower.  The rules are that kids have to be 8 years old to visit the inside of the tower.   Since the adult and kids tickets were the same I went and bought a ticket for Isabel and the people checking at the entrance gave us no issues when we used it.  The baptistery had some very interesting acoustics.  There was a man chanting in the middle of the bottom level and we were on the top level.  The amplification of the sound due to the shape of the structure was astounding.  Once we left Pisa we went to Vinci to tour a Leonardo da Vinci museum.  It was a small but interesting museum with lots of models of his various inventions.