Family trip to Rome

My favorite thing to see in Rome was the Vatican. To be fair, I should have the Vatican as its own destination because it is a sovereign nation, but most people link it with Rome. The Vatican has so much history and acquired wealth that it shouldn't be missed. Even if you are not a religious person, it is worth the trip.

The other must see are: the Coliseum, Trevi Fountain, and the Pantheon.

Quick Tips:

DO NOT drive in Rome. The only exceptions to this are if you are an experienced demolition derby driver or you do not value your life or limbs. Leave the driving to the experienced drives behind the wheels of taxis, buses, or shuttles. There will be a more detailed account in another section.

Best Way To Get Around:

The best way to get around are your own two feet. There are a number of attractions in the center of town that can be reached by foot. Most people decide to stay in a hotel near Termini Station (main rail terminal) in the center of town. From Termini Station, you can get on one of the many buses. There are also only two different Metro lines that travels around Rome. Between these two modes of transportation, you can get just about anywhere.

Hotel Pineta Palace

The hotel is located about 3 miles N-NW of the Vatican. Some rooms have a view of the dome on St. Peter's. The hotel is located in a residential area away from all the hustle and bustle of the center of town. It is geared toward businesspersons. The hotel has six fairly large meeting rooms with plenty of audio/video equipment for presentations. There is also a restaurant, bar and outdoor patio area to eat and relax.

For our stay, we requested and were provided with a baby crib. They had a free continental breakfast with the usual meats, cheese, bread, and juices. They had regular coffee but also had some espresso machines to make some decent cappuccinos. You could buy food at the bar, things like pizza, chicken salad sandwiches, and chicken nuggets but they are a bit pricey. The restaurant would be the best bet because they offered some decent three-course meals. The hotel offers a shuttle service to two different places: one to the Vatican and the other to a place within walking distance from the center of town. They charge 3 € for each round trip ticket. The only problem with the shuttle is the last pick up is 8pm. Most restaurants downtown don't start serving dinner until 7pm. That means you would have to catch a cab back to the hotel or use the buses. A cab ride would range from 15-20 € from downtown. Overall, our stay was very pleasant. We only had problems with the man at the front desk. He was obviously busy due to the number of people checking in that day and was a bit rude to us and everyone else that morning. He was better by that afternoon. Our flight got into Rome at 8:30am and we were at the hotel by 9:30am but check in was not until 12pm. They do not have the setup to hold more than a couple of bags some we couldn't explore the area and come back. We ended up sitting in the lobby for a few hours until our room was ready. Not too big a deal.

Massive! The amount of antiquities housed in that one area is amazing. I'll start with the basics. The museum is open from 8:45am to 3:45pm. The last persons are allowed in at 2:20pm. When you get to the museum, you'll see the line stretching around the street and probably to the front of the Vatican itself. That is normal, and it should only take about half an hour to get inside. They usually have between 4-6 metal detectors going. We were also surprised to know that we could take our baby's stroller inside. We had to check it in when we went inside St. Peter's. Photography is allowed in the museum in certain sections. You are not allowed to use flash photography near the artwork or tapestries, and no photos at all in the Sistine Chapel.

The major sections the museum has are: Egyptian & Assyrian art, Greek & Roman art, Etruscan & Italic art, early Christian & medieval art, 15th-19th century art, and modern religious art. Have a plan of attack before going because it is really easy to get turned around and end up missing what was on your list.

Just as all roads led to Rome, all halls led to the Sistine Chapel. It is the last section in the museum before the exit. If time permits, see everything you want to before hitting the chapel. We were on a time crunch and wanted to make sure we saw the Sistine Chapel. We were then going to loop back around to see whatever else we could see before time ran out, but were forced to exit. The museum is set up mostly as a one-way journey, so see everything you can before moving on. There are guards all over the place and they will instruct you to keep moving, more so if a particular area is getting too crowded.

Beware of the SCOOTERS, they are everywhere!!! The preferred method of transportation is the scooter. Once you are there, you will see why. Everyone from teens to senior citizens ride scooters. With limited road space and even less parking, scooters have their advantages. The downfall is the potential of getting runover by bigger, faster vehicles. The real danger is the ability to "white line" through traffic. This basically means any two-wheeled vehicle can go around cars waiting at traffic lights; riding over the light lines, but the cars like to do this too. It seems like everyone is trying to get to the front of the line at the same time.