Day Three: Uffizzi Gallery, Florence Geocaching and Roma

When we got back from Italy and people asked how the trip went, I would alternate between descriptors like "fantastic" and "amazing" with words like "fast paced" and "exhausting." The truth of the matter is we had a very small amount of time to show our sons the parts of Italy we thought they would enjoy. This was not a restful vacation, but it was absolutely unforgettable and truly rewarding in so many ways.


Our third day in Italy was tireless. As I looked through the pictures and reviewed my notes for Tuesday, April 6th I felt disbelief at how much we fit into 24 hours. Our day began with an early appointment at the Ufizzi Gallery in Florence. I love art and Florence is home to the most famous Renaissance artwork of all time. That being said, I knew the kids were not going to be enthusiastic spending hours in lines to see sculpture and paintings - no matter how masterful the art was. Matt and I decided to split the kids up on this day. On Tuesday, Seamus and I would visit the Uffizi with my parents, Miranda and Chris while Matt would spend the morning geo-caching in Florence with Finn.

Seamus was a good sport in the Uffizi. When I asked him days before if he'd like to visit the famous art museum with me, he agreed without any hesitation. I knew that in order to keep his interest, Id have to let him lead while making sure to point out the highlights. That is exactly what we did. Seamus didnt spend much time looking at the art, but I made sure he saw the masters. Sandro Boticelli's Primavera and Birth of Venus; Leonardo di Vinci's The Baptism of Christ and Annunciation; Titian's Flora and Venus of Urbino; Parmigianino's Madonna with the Long Neck; Raphael's Portrait of Leo X; Carravaggio's Bacchus and Sacrafice of Issac; Michaelangelo's Doni Tondo. We werent in the museum as long as I would have liked, but I felt overwhelming grateful to say to my son "Seamus, let me introduce you to your first Michaelangelo." I said that about many of the great artists we saw on the Uffizi walls. It was thrilling for me.



While we were in the Uffizi, Finn and Matt found at least two geo-caches in Florence. Matt said he had a great time because he and Finn were forced out of the more touristy areas in Florence and into neighborhoods they might not normally have visited. Matt and Finn also went to the Leonardo Di Vinci museum where Finn was able to see life size models of all of di Vinci's famous sketches. He seemed to enjoy that a lot.



Our group met up at around 1pm and had a quick bite to eat. The kids had fallen in love with the wonderfulness that is gelato so that is what they ate for lunch. Matt and I had a panini. I LOVE Italian paninis with proscuitto and mozzarella. Yum! At this point in our trip, Matt and I had planned to spend a couple days in Rome, away from the villa and the rest of my family. We knew we couldnt go to Italy without showing the kids the Colosseum and the Vatican so we boarded a 3 oclock train and headed off to the Eternal City.

Once again, I was amazed at how well my boys traveled in Italy. We were up at 8am and had been walking all over Florence the entire morning. At the bare minimum I was expecting some grouchiness or quick tempers from the boys, but they hopped on that train and spent the 1.5 hour trip into Rome totally subdued- almost like they were in a trance. Perhaps they were in a trance. Looking back, I think I might have been. I was pretty worn out. While traveling to Rome, I took out my ipod for the first time on our trip. Im a music freak and I remember thinking "Man, have I missed music these past few days." It was on that train that I had "a moment." Once in a long while, I'll have an experience where everything good seems to come together and for a minute or two, my life feels perfect. Its happened to me maybe 2 times in my life and it happened for a third time on the train to Rome. While I was sitting there, the song Monteleone by Marc Knopfler came on shuffle. Outside it was rural and green - an absolute gorgeous day. Seamus was sleepily gazing at the landscape out the window; Matt sat beside me holding my hand; Finn played silently across from me on his DS. For a instance, everything slowed down and gelled together in perfect harmony. The music. The company. The surroundings. Italy. I acknowledged what was happening and said to myself "Im going to remember this moment for the rest of my life. Right now, I am the most contented person on earth."

I love Rome. It is my favorite city (so far) in Italy. Rome is massive. Its bustling and loud and gorgeous. There is so much to see and do. We got off at the station and took a cab to our home in Rome, the B&B Locanda All'Orologio. We found this place by chance in 2007 and fell in love with the neighborhood. The B&B is really fantastically located: very close to the Piazza Navona and the Vatican. Its within walking distance to everything. There are many streets in the neighborhood that are pedestrian only so the traffic is limited. Seeing the place again made me so happy. It felt like I was seeing an old friend after many years absence.

I dont think we unpacked our bags before we were off exploring the neighborhood. We allowed the kids to run a bit without being right on top of them. I dont know what it is about Rome, but I felt a sense of security and calm when we were walking around our neighborhood. Everything was familiar and it felt great to relax and take in the atmosphere. We ended up eating a fantastic meal at a restaurant down the street called La Danesina Hosteria. The spaghetti dish I order was superb. It was called "spaghetti al grazia" and it was, by far, the best meal I ate in Italy. I wish I knew what was in it and how it was made because it was soooooo damn good!

Im not sure if it was the food or the atmosphere but we got our second wind after dinner and decided to walk to the Colosseum. Once the sun goes down, Rome reminds me a lot of Mexico. The city is electric at night. People are out - walking and talking. Vendors and lovers flood into the piazzas. Its colorful and lively. The Colosseum was about a two mile walk from our B&B - not far, but an ambitious proposition considering we'd been going... going... going all day long. Matt and I had never seen the Colosseum at night; the kids had never seen it at all. We decided to go for it and on the way, we saw many other beautiful landmarks at night: the Pantheon, The Emmanuel Vittorio monument and Trajan's Column. I must say it was an unbelievable experience to share the historical sights with Matt and our boys.

We didnt get back to our room until after 11pm. As I recall, we spent no time falling asleep. The boys bought these glowing crystal night lights with Roman landmarks etched into the glass. The last thing I remember before falling asleep was seeing the colors of that night light change from red to green to blue to purple.

What a incredible day!

Happy Wednesday.

PS - Thanks to Linnea for gently nudging me to get blogging again. Love you. :)