One Month in Italy: Part 2

After enjoying Tuscany, we spent a few days in Assisi, birthplace of St. Francis. He founded the Franciscan Order in 1208.

Like many towns in the Umbria region, Assisi was built on a hill for protection from invaders.

Into Assisi's narrow and steep passageways.

The Basilica of San Francesco d'Assisi.

The view from the Basilica.

We stayed in the village of Santa Maria degli Angeli, at the foot of the hill. The view from our little hotel room let us admire Assisi.

A very enjoyable evening out in a restaurant, with a helpful and friendly Italian waiter. Between his recommendations and our interpretation of the menu, we ended up with a delicious meal of gourmet noodles and tender steak. And tiramisu for dessert!

Italian is wonderfully easy and fun, especially already knowing French and Spanish. We were often able to understand enough Italian to follow along with the important things. (Important things being mostly food, numbers, and directions.) Many words are identical to Spanish, while others were more similar to French ("domani" for tomorrow and "formaggio" for cheese, for example).

On our first night when we arrived in Rome, I spoke Spanish to purchase Sim cards for our phones. The man behind the counter answered me in Italian with something that would translate like, "Honey, you are in Italy. Why are you speaking Spanish?" I responded - in Spanish - that I didn't know Italian, and he seemed to think that was a valid reason. A few minutes later, when another English-speaking tourist was asking him a question, he even enlisted my help to translate the question into Spanish and his answer from Italian back into English.

We loved this fountain in Santa Maria degli Angeli. The kids loved running around the edge, which inevitably led to ...

falling in. But Sebby quickly cheered up when we stripped off his clothes, and he went dashing down the cobblestone in just a diaper.

We spent a day enjoying the outdoors. We found a nice walking trail that Misha loved.

It must be the South Dakotan in me - I had to take a shot of these beautiful bales outside of Assisi.

City Mouse

Then, it was off to the city! We hopped a train and arrived in Rome, where we located the great little apartment we had rented one block from the river and two blocks from the Campo de Fiori. The famous Campo was a busy market by day and a fun restaurant/bar/street-artist scene by night.

Campo de Fiori by day ...

... and by night.

Our apartment was in such a perfect location that we could walk to practically everything. We never needed to take a taxi. We enjoyed stretching our legs and being outside. Even better, so much to see was simply free and open, from sculptures and ruins to fountains and bridges. Our first thought was that we wished we had booked more than 9 days in Rome. But in the end, like before, it proved enough time. While we eventually grew tired of the crowds, we reveled in the beautiful anonymity of a big city.

Rome is a feast for the senses. Here's a sampler platter:

Trevi Fountain - you can't really tell, but this square was packed shoulder-to-shoulder!

I adore cities with rivers running through them.

Piazza Navona

The Colosseum, of course! It was not far to walk to, so we worked it into our outings many times. One of those times, we paid the entrance fee and stood in the horribly long line to see the inside. It was worth it!

Playing gladiators

Mmm... formaggio.

The Capitoline Museum, noted for its sculptures.

Inside the Capitoline.

A favorite activity - chasing pigeons in the park.

Gelato ... another favorite activity!

Two little monkeys in the Rome Zoo. Well, actually one of them isn't really a monkey - it's a lemur. :)

This just ends up happening sometimes when one is eating ice cream!

Good thing there are always fountains around to wash off in.

The Vatican

St. Peter's Basilica

Inside St. Peter's

Inside the Sistine Chapel, part of the Vatican Museum

The one and only

The Piazza del Popolo

Relaxing in our Rome apartment

The boys loved the little loft area.

Mimes everywhere! This one is in Piazza Navona.

The famous mythical symbol of Romulus and Remus suckled by a wolf.

The gravel pathway Circus Maximus, once a chariot racing arena, is directly behind us, with the Palatino ruins behind that.

The winged chariot racers atop the Monument to Vittorio Emanuele II silhouetted against the sky.

Grandma Kate and Sebby at the Roman Forum.

Josh strikes a philosophical pose at the Forum.

Enough of being a tourist! Time to head back to South Dakota.