Family Trip to Italy Day 4: Roma-Firenze (Two Best Decisions, Autogrills, and Timothy panics)

Day 4: Roma-Firenze (Two Best Decisions, Autogrills, and Timothy panics (Monday, May 18)

Today it was time to say arrivederci to Roma, but at breakfast Jonathan, Caroline, and I decided to take a quick walk (just two minutes from our hotel) to see the Basilica of Santa Cecilia in Trastevere. St. Cecilia was martyred (beheaded) for her faith in AD 230, and in 1599 it was discovered that her body was miraculously intact. She is recognized as the first incorrupt saint. Under the main altar is a sculpture of St. Cecilia depicted exactly as she was found—on her side, with her head turned, and her right hand holding up three fingers: three persons in one for the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  

When we walked into the basilica the nuns were singing lauds (morning prayers) and it was hauntingly beautiful.

Back at the hotel, we all gathered in the lobby with our suitcases to wait for our private driver. In planning this trip, I thought long and hard about the logistics of traveling from city to city. Originally, I had thought that we would just take a train, but it wasn’t as simple as that: we would have to take a taxi to the train station (in our case, two), board the train with all our luggage, and at our destination arrange for another taxi (again, two of them) to take us to the hotel. That’s a lot. In the end, it made better sense to hire a private driver for most of our transfers. Best Decision Ever! I used the Day Trip app and booked all our transfers before even leaving home.

At the appointed time, a Mercedes Benz van arrived. We loaded up our luggage and (sadly) said arrivederci Roma! Midway through the 3-hour drive to Florence, we stopped at an AutoGrill. I cannot even begin to describe the wonderfulness that is an AutoGrill, and if you want to know what I am talking about just scroll through the photos. IYKYN.

I should also mention it was during our drive that Timothy realized he had left his International Driver’s License at home. He was booked to drive a Ferrari in two days—an excursion we had been planning for months!—so you can imagine the panic. Luckily the problem was resolved after many texts back and forth with event provider and a quick phone call to the Nonni back home with instructions to go to our house, open our safe, take a photo of Timothy’s license, and then text everything to me. Nonna and Nonno were Superheroes because by the time we arrived in Florence we had Timothy’s license. Whew.

All that excitement with the license AND the AutoGrill made time pass quickly and, before we knew it, we were in Florence! The driver dropped us off in front of our VRBO. I had decided that in Florence we would stay in a VRBO instead of a hotel. Another, Best Decision Ever! Our two-story apartment was gorgeous! Everyone had their own room and bathroom. The air conditioning worked great. It was so beautifully decorated. We could do laundry. And we could see the Duomo from our living room window! Really, I could live there.

The other great thing about the apartment was its location. Within an hour of checking in we walked to Piazza Santa Croce where we immediately purchased tickets for the Basilica. This is one of my favorite churches because you can see the tombs of Michelangelo, Galileo, Dante, and Machiavelli; additionally, Cimabue’s crucifix is displayed, and I have written the story behind this crucifix many times. You can read about it here.

Afterwards we dispersed. Joe went to the grocery store for breakfast items and snacks; Caroline, Lauren, and I went to the needlepoint store; and the rest of the crew went to a rooftop bar that was famous on Instagram because of the incredible views. At the needlepoint store, the girls and I each purchased a needlepoint kit and then joined the boys at the rooftop bar for a Hugo Spritz. So refreshing!

Dinner that evening, compliments of Jonathan and Caroline, was at Cantina de’ Pucci. It was one of those local restaurants where the owner brings out items for us to try (all on the house)—Prosecco, pappa al pomodoro, cantucci—and it was one of the best meals of our trip.

After a gelato, we returned to our apartment to play cards and admire the Duomo in the moonlight.

Tomorrow … day trip to Tuscany!

Family Trip to Italy: Rome Day 3 (Family Photos and the Pope)

Day 3 Family Photos and the Pope (Sunday, May 17) 

I woke up again to the smell of baking bread! Which made me think of a cappuccino and an apricot cornetto. Which made me think of breakfast. Time to get up!

A little later, we all walked along the Tiber River dressed in outfits which were color coordinated because we were headed to a family photography session at Castel Sant’Angelo! This was a Christmas gift from all the kids, and let me tell you when I opened their note on Christmas morning, I started crying. I mean … best Christmas present ever! They had organized everything: the photographer, the place (Rome!), the time, and the fact that we would coordinate our outfits.

After a 20-minute walk, we arrived at Castel Sant’Angelo and met Paulina, our photographer. She photographed, we smiled (and posed), and the guys were pretty good sports about all that smiling and posing. I enjoyed every minute of it.

Afterwards, what to do now that we were all dressed up? Why … go see the Pope!

If you are ever in Rome on a Sunday, you can attend the Noon Angelus Blessing (Regina Caeli Prayer) with the Pope. No tickets are required; you show up in St. Peter’s Square, and at noon the window from the Pope’s apartment opens, a banner unfurls, and Pope Leo appears at the window to greet pilgrims, give a short homily, and bless all those in attendance. It is always an emotional experience.

For lunch, we continued with the Pope theme with lunch reservations at l’Isola della Pizza. What does this have to do with Pope Leo? It was one of his favorite pizzerias when he was a cardinal, and it was where he had his “last meal” before entering the conclave. And we agreed with the Pope … the pizza was molto delizioso (as was the Antipasto Misto—mixed appetizers of the house including cheeses, meats, vegetables, breads).

After all that food and we needed to walk! So, we headed to the Pantheon where we decided to split up to explore and then meet back at the hotel by late afternoon. Joe, Timothy, and I walked to a Ferrari store, then climbed up the Spanish Steps for the gorgeous views. We declared it Gelato Time after all those steps!

Dinner that evening, compliments of Nicholas and Lauren, was at Ristorante Fieramosca in Trastevere. It was our last meal in Rome as we would be leaving for Florence in the morning.

But wait … we were not yet ready to say goodbye to Rome! So Joe, Timothy, and I walked 30 minutes to the Trevi Fountain. It was late, it was magical, and it was unforgettable.

Stats for the day: 28,000 steps!