I'm on a roll. Churning out two posts in a night is a feat for me. I'm hoping to beat the procrastination bug and savour the simple joy of completing what I set out to accomplish. Who knows, it might be soon before yet another European adventure. Okay, maybe soon is wishful thinking. But never say never! I am such an optimist when it comes to my travel dreams!
It was a pleasant stroll along the streets of Rome and we returned to the hotel late at night. We were almost scammed by a cab driver who told us that the metro was no longer in service at that late hour. I vaguely remembered reading in some guidebook that the metro runs till much later. But I wasn't sure. Deciding to trust our instincts, we walked towards the nearest metro and asked around. Thankfully, it was still in service.
We really should learn to make it back to our hotel earlier but late nights and early mornings are the norm for us when we are on holiday. Yes, even with kids in tow. The kids have been great travel buddies, eager to wake up to conquer new places, always asking,"Where are we going next?" But I'm having a change of heart. I'm thinking we should slow down a little on our future trips. Age is catching up!
We had to get to St Peter's Basilica early as it was reputed for its long queues. True enough, a snaking long queue has formed around the massive square even though we got there around 9 plus.
Although ancient churches are not exactly child-friendly attractions, the kids had a good time, finding ways to entertain themselves and each other. I can't quite remember what E was doing here. I think he was intrigued with the ornate design of the gate or was it the height of the gate.
Our trip to the Vatican Museum was perfectly timed. It wasn't planned but it just happened that C slept in her pram throughout the entire visit. I wasn't prepared to deal with sleep-deprived tantrums in a very packed museum so I was really relieved. C woke up as we were exiting the museum, just in time for our next gelato fix.
E, on the other hand was surprisingly engaged throughout the visit. I think it helped that I got him to search for exhibits. It was like a treasure hunt of sorts - look at the photo of the exhibit in the guidebook and find the actual one in the museum. He even stopped to look at some paintings and looked like he was appreciating the details in the picture. That was very unlike my boy.
I was looking forward to the finale of the museum visit. The Sistine Chapel. But ... It was the same feeling I got throughout our stay in Rome - interesting but underwhelming. I think the fact that we were shoulder to shoulder with other toursits marred the experience at the Sistine Chapel.
We didn't opt for a guided tour of the museum as that was simply challenging with kids. What we had instead was me as the friendly "guide", reading out descriptions from the guidebook. Without it, the experience would certainly have been less interesting.
We had a quick dinner before boarding our night train to Munich. Or rather, that was the original plan. An unexpected turn of events led us somewhere else. More in the next post ....
Our trip to the Vatican Museum was perfectly timed. It wasn't planned but it just happened that C slept in her pram throughout the entire visit. I wasn't prepared to deal with sleep-deprived tantrums in a very packed museum so I was really relieved. C woke up as we were exiting the museum, just in time for our next gelato fix.
E, on the other hand was surprisingly engaged throughout the visit. I think it helped that I got him to search for exhibits. It was like a treasure hunt of sorts - look at the photo of the exhibit in the guidebook and find the actual one in the museum. He even stopped to look at some paintings and looked like he was appreciating the details in the picture. That was very unlike my boy.
I was looking forward to the finale of the museum visit. The Sistine Chapel. But ... It was the same feeling I got throughout our stay in Rome - interesting but underwhelming. I think the fact that we were shoulder to shoulder with other toursits marred the experience at the Sistine Chapel.
We didn't opt for a guided tour of the museum as that was simply challenging with kids. What we had instead was me as the friendly "guide", reading out descriptions from the guidebook. Without it, the experience would certainly have been less interesting.
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| Human jam. We were walking at snail's pace. |
We had a quick dinner before boarding our night train to Munich. Or rather, that was the original plan. An unexpected turn of events led us somewhere else. More in the next post ....
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