The Last of Leslie

Ciao,

It's been since Wednesday (nearly a week) since the last post. Our pace of touristico visitations has gone done (we've exhausted the list of the usual places) but we continue to actually do things here in Roma. Aside from Yvonne's daily ritual of cappuccino at Bar Giulia, we tend to switch things up from day to day. Auntie Leslie left today for her return trip to Denver. Hopefully the trip went off as rather boring - that's a good thing in air travel.

Thurday the 28th - Vaticano Scavi Tour (http://saintpetersbasilica.org/Necropolis/Scavi.htm)
Auntie Leslie was kind enough to sign us up for this well in advance (a couple of months, I believe). Left the kids at home with a babysitter (Ginny) and went to the tour over at the Vatican; an easy 10 minute walk. This tour doesn't allow photos so there's no record of us having been there. You'll have to rely on my fabulous prose. Here's the backstory: Under the current location of San Pietro Basilica there used to be (and still is) a pagan necropolis from the time before emperor Constantine (c. 312 AD). Bunch of rich families buried their dead in mausoleums along a road - quite common for Rome. Turns out San Pietro (Saint Peter if you don't speak Italian) was buried here after he was crucified - upside down - and there was a small monument built to honor him. Along comes Constantine, converts to Christianity and builds a huge church (Old San Pietro) over the site. To do this he does a massive earthmoving project (since it was on a sloping hillside) to make a flat foundation for the church. Cuts off all the mausoleums at a uniform height and fills them with dirt. Pisses a lot of folks off in the process. Then in the 1500s there's the idea to build an even bigger church right over the old one (why not?). It's done in 1689 (after about 150 years of work) and part of Old St. Pete's becomes the Vatican Grotto (the basement layer - so to speak). Pope Pius XI dies and alterations to the Grottos inspires the idea to change the Grottoes to a more useful space (it only has 8' of headroom) by lowering the floors. When doing this they find the necropolis remains, scrap the floor-lowering project and get permission to excavate the necropolis to see what's there. They unearth the necropolis and some evidence that St. Peter's bones may still be there. They get more permission from Pope Pius XII and find the bones. Years later this results in the exclusive Scavi Tour. Full story at: http://saintpetersbasilica.org/Necropolis/JW/TheBonesofStPeter-1.htm

We get back and decide to take the kids out for dinner, gelato and Trevi Fountain at night (what were we thinking?). Dinner at Pizza l'Archetto was just fabulous (especially after we gave the kids the iPhones for entertainment while we drank wine as our order was cooked). Our table was about 6 inches (150 mm) from live traffic. Common in Rome. Hadden had Pizza Margarita and Clara had most of my pasta. The restaurant came as a recommendation from Diane Seed's The Food Lover's Guide to the Gourmet Secrets of Rome (2006).  That book hasn't missed yet. Yvonne took a cooking class from her on October 17th. Afterwards, we get gelato from San Crispino (from Seed's book) and eat (or spill) it at Trevi. Don't even get tweeted at by the Polizia even once! Briefly, Leslie considers buying a green laser for her 3-year-old but then considers giving a toddler a high-powered laser as a toy isn't the best idea. Kids in bed at about 10pm that night. We'll pay for that tomorrow.

That's a car speeding by just inches from my son and wife (you can't quite see Yvonne in this photo).
This is quite common in Rome. It's possible to get hit by a car in your dinner seat and neither of you be at fault.

Pizza was good!

So was the pasta. At least whatever portion made it into Clara's mouth.
Waiter saw her and said, as only a true Italian can, "Mamma Mia!"

Auntie Leslie liked the wine and remained significantly cleaner than Clara.

Tossing coins in Trevi after gelato. I think Hadden's wishing for more gelato.

Tomorrow - Steve off on his own to Parco Aquedotti (Aqueduct Park)
Smart move, Steve goes to Aqueduct Park in the suburbs to view, what else, aqueducts while kids, Yvonne,  Leslie climb Gianicolo Hill (Janiculum Hill). The camera went with me so this blog is about my trip. Saw some aqueduct remains in rome at Porto Maggiore and nearby then hopped on the subway A line to see Aqueduct Park. Walked along the entire length of Aqua Claudia in the park. Perhaps 2 km in length. The longest uncollapsed stretch is 1.375 km. Really Cool. I hear the other group had a good time on the Janiculum Hill and got there in time to hear the cannon go off at noon. Ka-boom! Now they shoot a blank but back in the day the Pope got tired of all the churches in Rome keeping their own time and ringing their bells slightly off from one another. So he shot a live cannon from Castel Sant'Angelo each day at noon to synchronize the churches. No word on where the cannon balls where landing. Later, it was moved to the Janiculum Hill. Good idea.

Aqua Claudia as the Porta Maggiore. The Anio Novisa is the top layer and the Claudia underneath. Both are supported by the arcade, which was surfaced with travertine here since it crossed two ancient roads here and Claudius wanted the aqueduct to do double duty as a triumphal arch.

Aqua Claudia out in the countryside at Parco Aquedotti. Note the nearest arch is reinforced with  a brick facade concrete arch put there by a later emperor.

The beginning of a 1.375 km stretch of the Aqua Claudia that's still standing. Mind you, they didn't use any grout of cement for the arcade. It's just stone-on-stone. 

Looking up from below.

Looking at the Aqua Claudia from a golf course.

Me sitting on the Aqua Claudia. I like that in many instances in Italy you can climb all over 2,000 year-old relics.

That night, we got a sitter and went out to dinner at a place recommended by Ginny, the sitter. It is where her Italian roommate works - Il Bacocco Enoteca Bistrot. Great wine, service, food, etc. And no touristicos.

Saturday - Truth or Dare.
Went to the Circo Massimo to give the kids some run-around time but got there and it was being set up for armed forces day and was full of helicopters, tanks, boats and other weapons. All in all, pretty cool. Not sure if the Italian military had any assets in the field left. So, we walked down to Santa Maria in Cosmedin and visited the Mouth of Truth (Boca della Verita). Hadden was game and we found out that neither Hadden, nor Yvonne nor Auntie Leslie is a liar. Steve and Clara played across the street rather than stand in the line so the book's still out on us. 

He still has his hand so he must not fib!

Leslie looks surprised that she still has her hand.

I did not witness this one directly so I am guessing here. Yvonne is either (1) showing Hadden a  Karate move, (2) demonstrating that the Boca Della Verita turns your hand into a fist if you don't lie except for the occasonal professional white lie, or (3) this is a 3/4 sleeve impression of a missing hand - not quite what Gregory Peck did but close

A typical family portrait later that day. Two smiling and two not.
 "Kids, look like this is fun...NOW!"

Sunday - a walk on THE road
Via Appia Antica - 312 BC (at least the first stretch...in dirt - it was later paved with stone). We took the bus and subway (and bus again) to get to the starting point. Chose Sunday because it's closed to traffic (sort of - we saw significant traffic). Walked from the Tomb of Cecilia Metella back towards Rome to the Catacombs of San Callisto. The walk was uneventful and we didn't visit the catacombs (not really a kids thing - plus kids were cranky). We did stop to see the Circus of Maxentius (he lost out to Constantine for emperor). It was pretty and somewhat awe inspiring. Best thing for kids: place was covered with anthills. Anything to keep them entertained. For them it was "Circo de Ant Hill". There was one staff who had it in for us. After trying to refuse admission to Hadden and Clara (they did not have proper tickets that admit them for zero Euros) he tailed us like in a bad spy movie. He roved around about 50 yards from us and yelled at us any time we did anything. Off the ruins! (to Hadden). No eating! No sitting! Get away from there! Somebody peed in his corn flakes that morning or something. It was rather comical. We were not allowed to eat an orange (I mean come one! Look at the size of the field) and there was another group having a full-on picnic at the other end. So, as we left, Clara and I stood on an ancient ruin just to spite him. That's me teaching by example. I had this guy pegged for the third reviewer (he's the reviewer of your journal paper that, unlike the other two reviewers, hates your paper and gets it canned - classic sketch at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-VRBWLpYCPY).

The circus. It's big. 

What Hadden and Clara were most interested in. Ants.

The tail who self-assigned himself to us. Notice that he is properly keeping his distance and trying to be inconspicuous in watching Hadden and Clara but he was CLEARLY following us. I suppose he wants everyone to think he's just staring at that pile of bricks that he sees EVERY day he works there - "gee, have these changed?

We're leaving so screw you - just stepped on your ancient brick pile. Tell him off Clara!

Walking the Appian Way.

Bye-Bye Leslie and Bioparc
Leslie left this morning. Went to bar Giulia with Yvonne for a cappuccino and they called a cab for her and ensured the correct fair and all. Great place! It was kids' choice and they wanted to go to the zoo (bioparc). So we did. Not too many pictures as they are zoo animals. Suffice it to say the zoo was nice, the kids had a great time, we stayed too long and everyone was cranky in the afternoon after we got home. Thanks for visiting Leslie and enjoy your boots and other stuff.

Our children getting ready to go to the zoo.
We think they're gifted.

The barista at Bar Giulia loved Clara's shirt this morning. He's a S.S. Lazio fan (soccer team)
and Clara is wearing a Lazio shirt.

Buonna Notte,

Steve

Calcio, Bici, Ostia and Ulpia

Ciao,

Auntie Leslie's stay continues and the daily "adventures" (as we are still trying to call them) continue. On Sunday I got to go to a soccer game with my son...after some coaxing (promised him a plastic centurion costume upon return - ugh). It was Roma vs. Palermo at 15:00. We got our Roma gear on and headed out just fine. Security is weird at Stadio Olimpico. They didn't check my bag at all for the derby match (Roma vs. Lazio) but did so twice here. They also are supposed to check you ID (since in Rome they print your name on your ticket). They only checked Hadden's ID (his passport - he's 14 months old in the photo) and then waived us through. So, if you want to bring in a flare or other illegal device, ask your 4-year old son to carry it. Hey, if you're caught, you can say "I've never met this guy before in my life."

Game ended 1-0 and Hadden was a trooper. Only played with his batman/spiderman/star wars toys for about 20 minutes. I think he could identify the keeper by the end of the game and that those two guys could use their hands. Also was interested in whistling being the international form of booing.

The astute blog reader will note that Hadden is not, in fact, watching the game.

Not here either.

How did he miss an open goal!

The time honored Serie A tradition of diving.
Oh! My leg fell off...
Well, it's severely broken in three places...
Perhaps only a bad sprain...
My knee's skinned...
I'm fine.

On Monday we went back to Villa Borghese for the 4th time so we could show Auntie Leslie the 4-person bicycle we rented with Nona a couple of weeks ago (Pinci bici). First, of course, the mandatory Bar Giulia stop in the morning for macchiatto (mandatory for Yvonne) and pastry (mandatory for kids) - see map below. A person I met in who works near Campo dei Fiori says this is the best coffee in Rome. High praise. I wouldn't know; I don't like coffee. Got a hot chocolate there the other day and the barista thought it was for the bambinos.


View Larger Map

Anyway, got to the park and raced up to the bike rental stand. Rented a 4-person bike for 20 Euros/hr and we were off. There are a lot of hills in Villa Borghese (not huge hills but you'd notice them on a bike) so it's nice that the bici (pronounced "bee-chee") had an electric motor assist. As with all rental things, this too was built for a guy who's about 5' 8" tall. It was like pedaling a childrens' bici. I did not crash once and we saw most of the park. The brakes are extremely loud and squeeky so I'm sure we destroyed whatever tranquility there was in the park. Hey, we have 2 kids - the tranquility was gone already.

The gang on their "bici". What a contraption!

Steve sticking his head WAY out of the bici. Please, do not try this at home.
Done on a closed course with a professional driver.

"I driving daddy!" (she drives like a two-year old - always turning)

Went to Piazza Navona that night to run off some energy. It's pretty at night.

Ostia Antica
On Tuesday, we planned to head out early to see Ostia Antica, a port town of about 75,000 (in it's heyday) about 18 km from Rome. At 6am we awoke to Hadden screaming downstairs. He fell out of bed and bumped his head and sprained his thumb. As he'd never had a sprain before, he was mortified. That, of course, woke up Clara and we only recovered by watching Toy Story 3 in the mom/dad bed all together. After all that, we had breakfast and were off to Ostia Antica by bus/train combo. Total one-way price: 1 Euro. Not bad.

Got there and had to stand in line to buy tickets behind about 50 people, which took forever since they only had one ticket seller and she wasn't lightening quick. You get a discount if you are and EU citizen. The guy in front of me was. I counted: it took her 9 stamps to properly stamp his ticket and whatever else she was stamping. We're not dealing with the Swiss here. Ostia Antica was wonderful. A full Roman town (actually taken over by the Romans around 400 BC) still there. Or mostly still there. The kids enjoyed climbing on and around the ruins and we enjoyed looking at them. Highlights were the mostly-there teatro (theater...if you couldn't guess), the 2-story apartment buildings (insulae), the tavern, the forum and the forum baths - including potties.


Spent most of the day there then slogged back via train/bus. Clara went to sleep within 1 minute of the train leaving and Hadden dozed off too for the 30 minute ride. Upon returning home Yvonne took a nap too. This was your standard "full day" for the Muench family. Steve took lots of pictures of the roads, masonry, concrete, arches and even tried to photograph the sewer. Leslie took pictures of mosaics, brick patterns, colors and other frilly artsy things. Everyone took pictures of the potties. I'm not sure why we tell kids "no potty talk" since it's clear we still enjoy the snickering silliness of potties later in life. Instead of "poop" or "pee" we now say "I have to take (or "go see") a Piazza del Poopalo (or Peealo)" after the very famous Piazza del Popolo. Before you groan at me, I think Yvonne came up with that one.

The slow line to get in. Most of the day there was no line.

Entering the site with the necropolis on the left.

More or less, a "welcome to Ostia" sign. Steve liked it as sort of a highway sign.

Auntie Leslie thought it was cool because of the font. "If you see a 'C' let me know I need a picture of one for Cole."
Karl, please, show that boy some more construction equipment, sports, dinosaurs, etc. 

Baths of Neptune. Floor mosaic is nearly in tact. That's 'Tune riding his chariot and 4 horses.

The theater. Hadden ditched us outside, sneaked inside, climbed up to the very top and sat down to enjoy the view and his perch. We found him. 

Insulae in Ostia. Apartments were quite small back then.

Something both I and Leslie can appreciate - arches (lined up artistically).

The kids and Yvonne play in a tavern. The bar is still there along with the menu on the wall.
The kids were serving all sorts of food.

The town stretches out for quite a distance in all directions. We did not see the whole thing. After a while a busted building is a busted building (I must cite Mike McClurkan for the "busted building" reference).

"Take a picture of ME daddy!"

Still some marble left on these steps. If it's buried under a bunch of silt it's a little harder to plunder.

Playing on the Roman potties. 

More potties. They didn't want to get off. Only later did I learn that there was a  "keep out" sign outside the toilet area of the Forum Baths. Oh well, we're Americans.

Steve takes a picture with...a road (groan). 

The train to Ostia Antica was brightly decorated with graffiti.

San Clemente and Ristorante Ulpia
Today it rained quite hard in the early morning hours (got some of my laundry drying on the rack wet again - yes, there are no dryers here). We had a late breakfast and went to do a quick tour of San Clemente Basilica (near the Colosseum). It's a church built on top of a church on top of a Roman house. So you descend deeper and deeper into the church until you end up in a room with an underground spring flowing into a channel. Clara loved going down with me looking for the water. Hadden, on the other hand, wanted water and Yvonne had to take him outside to get some. They didn't allow pictures so you don't get any here.

 After this we took the bus back to Trajan's market area, got lost for a bit, then found Ristorante Ulpia. It overlooks Trajan's market, so from that point it can't be beat. HOWEVER, being in that position allows it to serve sucky food for high prices. I asked not to be shown the final bill because it was insulting. The cheese plate (13 Euros) consisted of cheese you could find in your local Safeway - and not even smoked Gouda! That's bad anywhere for a cheese plate, but in Italy? There are literally thousands of fantastic cheese within four blocks of anywhere in Rome. In Rome you have to try harder to find shit cheese than good cheese (except cheddar, which nobody has). I imagine they scoured the city looking for the crappiest cheese possible. "Would you like dessert?" Nope. You took all our money and I'd rather each the diesel exhaust stuck to Trajan's column. I think Clara made out - she slept through lunch.

Related photos at:

• http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.2586883031653.150921.1241871608&type=1
• http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.2586934952951.150923.1241871608&type=1

Buenosera,

Steve

Take a Bath

Went to the Baths of Caracalla today with Auntie Leslie. We tend to call these trips "adventures" in an attempt to market them to the kids. I'm not sure we're successful. Anyway, 2 buses later we were at the baths. Glory be, there was virtually nobody there! And it's not like we get to these places first thing in the morning. I think we got to the baths today just before 11 a.m. We are not early tourists. The Baths are further south than the coliseum so they tend to be only on the back pages of most tour books. Anyway, these baths were HUGE with plenty of open space for the kids to run around. An ideal setting.

Despite my attempts to interest the kids in an 1800 year-old bath house, they were more interested in playing "cowboy (with guns)" on an OLD roman column that had fallen over centuries ago. Actually, they were really "cooking" various things and serving them up on the column. Like most of the fun things they've done (outside of gelato, perhaps) they really didn't have to be in Rome to do it.

Baths were spectacular and very, very big. You can still see some of the floor mosaics but all the art work is either lost forever of carted off to various museums around Italy and Europe. Given the sunny, not-too-hot day (it was perhaps 70F) this is one trip we may do again. The kids ate 5 oranges while Yvonne and I were touring the "inside" of the baths (don't worry, Leslie was watching them). Once we were all toured out, we did out typical late Roman lunch and ate at something like 1:45pm. Nice little restaurant recommended by the "Rome with Kids" book that is our traveling bible. Hadden had 2/3 of a pizza Margharita. We also had another healthy Roman treat - fried rice balls. Mmmm.

Baths of Caracalla. The Cauldarium was kind of in the center of this picture.

Rather than tour the baths, the kids play "cowboy-chef" on an old column.

"Kids, don't you want to see the amazing baths and mosaics?"

Back wall of the swimming pool. Statues were in all the niches. Water cascaded down from pipes just beneath each statue, there were giant columns where the vertical light brick is now. Pretty much a Roman adult water park here.

More mosaics from the walls.

Frigidarium at the baths. This is the place where the cold pools are (frigid). It's a huge room called a  basilica, (long rectangular room). Churches built basilicas because they were long and rectangular in shape.

Once done, then back on the 117 (another tiny electric bus), transfer to the 116 near Piazza Spagna and then home. A couple of observations on Roman buses:

• The 117 goes all day every day until midnight - except from 3pm to 7pm on Saturday...which is when we were there. Why? Not sure, but the reason was in Italian on the bus stop sign...I think. Just when we figured this out the 117 showed up at 3:07 pm. My guess is that it was the 2:54 pm .bus showing up late. Whatever. We're on. 
• The 116 bus whizzed past our stop despite the "stop requested" button being pressed. Not sure why, but the driver was strangely rocking out to some music in the cab. Got off on the other side of the river and walked back. Normally the 116 just circles back around...but not on Saturday. On Saturday, it goes on a different route. 
• There is ALWAYS the odd exception or rule in Rome. And it will bite you in the ass. For instance, it's illegal to turn on your heat before November 1st. 

Ciao ciao,

Steve