When in Rome

I'll completely own up to using the most clichéd phrase for this post, but I just can't help myself. We spent President's Day weekend doing like the Romans do and exploring this ancient city. In the days leading up to our trip we thought our flight was going to be one of hundreds cancelled that weekend due to a pilot strike, but luckily we found ourselves boarding our plane and jetting off to Italy. It's still insane how close everything in Europe is, especially by plane. It was our first plane trip since moving here and our first flight as a family of four. It was fairly short and both kids exceeded our expectations (which were, admittedly, rock bottom). Livi handled it like a pro.

We rented a great Air BnB in the city and decided to only commit ourselves to a Vatican tour and a tour at the Colosseum. And gelato...

... lots and lots of gelato.

Thanks to our in-resident travel agent (aka my husband) who bought advance tickets for the Vatican Museum tour, we were able to skip the long lines wrapping around the Vatican City wall and head right in.

It was a beautiful morning -- with a beautiful view.

With a four-year-old and a five-month-old we had to speed through our self-guided tour.

After our tour, I got to cross off a bucket list item -- standing in St. Peter's Square.

Always taking things seriously, this one.

Honestly, I only consider this bucket-list item half crossed off because, it being a special Vatican holiday that weekend, St. Peter's Basilica had very limited hours so we didn't have enough time to stand in line and tour it. Luckily Rome is one of the port calls on our upcoming cruise and we decided to tour it then. You might be able to see the altar set up in front of the basilica for the mass later that day.

We tempted fate by keeping the kids out for a later dinner since no one in Italy seems to eat before 7pm.

Our trip to the Colosseum the next day was sadly a bust. We couldn't figure out the line situation even though we bought our tickets in advance. Livi was tired and hungry and the timing just didn't work out. Maybe next time! Though I did get some "we were there" pictures.

Other highlights:

The Pantheon.

Piazza del Popolo.

The Spanish Steps (meh -- it was very crowded and the big billboard on the building at the top of the steps took away some of the charm).

The Trevi Fountain (also a disappointment -- it is currently in the middle of a year-long renovation and was completely fenced off and scaffolded so we really couldn't see anything... not nearly as romantic as I had hoped).

Metro rides.

As disappointing as it was not being able to get in all the sights, I'd say it was a success solely based on our getting around the city with a toddler and an infant with no stroller. Brian and I also agreed that this trip was easier than our first trip as a family of four to Garmisch (the trip where both kids slept terribly and Ellie threw up one of the nights). Did I mention our expectations couldn't get any lower? :) It can only get better, right?

Oh, and more importantly it was a success based on the number of times we got gelato (I think four times over the course of the weekend?). That right there is the definitive sign of a successful trip.