Saturday, October 1
Good point.
So, we ventured into Rome today. Despite the fact that, as the crow flies, we're around an hour away, it took the train almost two hours for us to get there. No worries. Neil had papers to grade, Alex had DS games to play, Eleni had her toy dolls and dogs to play with, and I had an Italian test to study for...
Somewhere in between Viterbo and Rome, I tried to explain to Eleni why Rome was such an important place to visit. I told her about the she-wolf saving Romulus and Remus and how they settled here and then Romulus killed Remus (insert Eleni's question in title). Rome expanded and took over many other people's territory. "What did they do to the people that lived there before?" They made them slaves or killed them (insert Eleni's question). There were many famous leaders from Rome; we'll see the places where they walked around. One of them was Julius Caesar, but he was killed (insert Eleni's question). One of Romans' favorite pastimes was going to the Colosseum. "What did they do there?" (you know where this is going).
So, in honor of the bloodbath of history, we took the metro straight to the Colosseum. One of my favorite memories of the day was seeing the kids' faces when we got out on the street and saw what Alex demanded I take a photo of:
After Neil gave them a lesson on the four varieties of columns, we walked around the building for a while. Alex, "Just think how old this is! Think of all the people that were here before!" 
Aside from the Colosseum, we had no goals for the day. So, we wandered around a bit, bought a picnic lunch and then found a spot on the Esquiline Hill, near Trajan's Baths, to eat it. Alex and Eleni were far more interested in two pigeons they named Tom and Charlie. You can see Tom here.
I won't go into details about our trip to Rome. You've read the story and you've seen the photos before. I really enjoyed not having a plan and just drifting from one monument to another. Trajan's baths
Trees on the Esquiline Hill
Stairs leading up (and down) the Esquiline hill. OK, we didn't have a plan, but we were so close, why not see San Pietro in Vincoli? I'd never been there before and everyone was sweet and humored me by trying to find it. It turned out to be a challenging side street adventure; we did get our exercise on these stairs!
San Pietro's is famous for Michelangelo's Moses statue (Pope Julius II's tomb) and the chains that bound St. Peter (insert Eleni's question again). Unfortunately, by the time we found it, it was peak siesta time and the church was locked. We sat outside and watched the "here's another disappointed tourist" who also finally found the church, but had to turn away like us. Another day.
Right after I took this photo in front of the Victor Emmanuel Monument, the police came and asked us to move.
Gelato shops surround the Trevi fountain
What was your favorite part of the day? Eleni's answer was that she loved the splat balls (our name for the omnipresent, cheap, disgusting, plastic balls that splat against mats). Seriously?
Where is Waldo? Can you find Alex, Eleni and Neil in this photo on the Spanish Steps? Yes, a wedding party took photos here, too.
Six hours of walking around Rome. It was a perfect day for me; I loved every minute of the randomness of it.
However, I will not include the trip home as part of my enthusiasm. It was not as glamorous or as exciting as our trip there. Exhausted and hungry, the kids never really settled into anything resembling quiet. Eleni, "If I can't do any whining, what can I do?"
Sigh. And, no splat ball to show for her trudging along either. But, at least she was happy that there was no killing today! Goodness...
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