The Smoly Adventures

This post has been a year in the making... more recent trips are forthcoming. 😀

Living in Europe affords the ability to do things that many would not normally consider. Take Thanksgiving for instance. Thanksgiving is a day of turkey trot 5Ks, bountiful meals, sports, family and friends. After arriving in Germany back in 2017, we made the decision that Thanksgiving would be a strategic travel opportunity for our family. 2017 took us to Disneyland Paris; in 2018, we set off for Rome!

Rome is a place that I've read about, studied, and dreamed about visiting. Few currently occupied and in-use cities can match its more than 2,700 years of existence. Including our travel days, we spent eight days in Rome and the surrounding areas. Yes, we could have done Rome in three or four days; but with young kids, having the extra days to spread things out allowed us to enjoy a more leisurely pace through the city.

Rome can be divided into three categories when planning an itinerary. Ancient Rome, Christian Rome, and Modern Rome.

Ancient Rome

Ancient Rome was the major draw for me--the Republic, the Senate, the Forum, the Punic Wars, the triumvirates, the caesars, the slow decline and fall of the Empire. This is the history that has held my fascination for most of my life. Driving on the shuttle from the Ciampino airport south of the city to our AirBnB,  I realize we're driving on the Via Appia; a few minutes later, we're driving next to, then through the Servian Wall. While many of the Republican and Empire sites have been sacked, carted off, or are otherwise in a state of ruin, large sections and locations are intact.

Our AirBnB was about 20 minute by street tram to the core of Ancient Rome. It was a two-bedroom apartment located right next to a tram, bus, and train station. While not located in the core of Rome, we managed to save money by staying further out.

First on the agenda was the Colosseum and the Forum. The Colosseum is enormous--pictures do not do it justice. It is a massive structure, and the fact that it was designed and constructed between AD 70-80 makes it even more impressive--reinforced by the fact that while covering a smaller footprint than modern stadiums, the Colosseum still sat 80,000 spectators at a time... the same as MetLife Stadium (home to the NY Giants and NY Jets). The best tip we can offer is to purchase your Colosseum tickets for a specific timeslot ahead of time to minimize your waiting. 

Between the Colosseum and the entrance to the Forum stands Constantine's Arch. Dedicated in AD 315, the arch is in pristine condition. Adjacent to these was the eastern entrance to the Forum complex. While the Colosseum and Constantine's Arch were impressive, the Forum was the beating heart of Ancient Rome. This is where the Republic was founded and run for over 700 years. Walking in the same place as many of the great Roman statesmen once did is something I'll not soon forget. South of the Forum proper sits the Palantine Hill imperial complex where every Caesar starting with Augustus made their residence.

On the Northeast corner of Piazza Venezia sits Trajan's Forum, Mercado and Column. Trajan's Column is especially impressive since it documents the campaign of the only person to have successfully conquer and pacify what we now know as the Middle East. Trajan himself stood and looked out over the Persian Gulf. 

The last bit of Ancient Rome for our trip was a day-trip out to Ostia Antica, the former port city of Rome. Ostia, was easily my favorite site visited. Yes, Trajan's Column, Titus' Arch were impressive to see, but Ostia gave you a better understanding of how the average Roman citizen lived. It is a fairly well preserved complex, with many buildings still featuring their original designs. The baths with their intricate in-laid tile mosaics; the other baths with their intact steam rooms and restrooms; and my personal favorite, the fully intact Roman tavern, complete with bar, kitchen and outdoor seating.

Christian Rome

Moving forward in history, Ancient Rome gave way to Christendom and the history of the Roman Catholic Church was on full display. The cathedrals were grand, ornate and incredible works of architecture. If I'm being honest, I was disappointed with St. Peter's Basilica (right). Yes, it was grand and ornate--as were nearly every church throughout Rome--yet, there was something distinctly out-of-place--lifeless is the word that comes to mind. The Vatican Museums were impressive for the wide array of artifacts that it housed, not only from the centuries of Christendom, but also from the Ancient Roman and Greek periods as well--seeing the School of Athens in-person was amazing! While the tour was okay, you pay for it (or the self-guided version) in order to gain access to the Sistine Chapel. Michelangelo was talented beyond words, and photos cannot do justice to seeing his work with your own eyes. One of the highlights of the many churches/cathedrals we visited was an intricately painted ceiling that when viewed by the mirror in the center of the floor, provided a captivating 3D effect.


 Modern Rome

Modernity has left its mark on this ancient capital. The Alter of the Fatherland dominates the Piazza Venezia and soars above the Forum, and Trajan's Column. Trevi Fountain was spectacular to see in person, as was the Spanish Steps. Just up the road from the Piazza del Popolo, was a Children's Museum that we spent an afternoon at. The boys loved this place! They had free run of the entire facility that was comprised of numerous hands-on activities for kids up through elementary school to engage with. Both boys loved the water-based activities.

Random Thoughts

The legacy of the Roman Republic and Empire can be seen throughout the city. No matter where you are, you're likely to encounter some piece of antiquity. While walking to the Spanish Steps prior to taking the kids to the Children's museum, we walked through the Piazza del Popolo, in the center of which sits an Egyptian obelisk (right) that was brought back to the capital by Augustus.

The Castel Sant Angelo (below, right), which rises above the Tiber near the Vatican, while modified and expanded throughout the centuries, started out as the mausoleum of the emperor Hadrian. 

Walking back to Piazza Venezia from the Pantheon by way of Piazza Navona, we walked past the Largo di Torre Argentina (below, left), an ancient roman theater complex (a small one mind you), where Julius Caesar was assassinated.

Rome was a great trip for us, and one which we all returned from surprisingly well rested. We had six full days in Rome, and toward the end, it got to be long. As stated earlier, Rome can be done in 3-4 days, but they'll be long days. We enjoyed having the ability to take our time and not rush from place to place in an effort to see everything. 

Living 4000+ miles and an ocean away from our family back in the US, we decided to step out of our typical routines for Thanksgiving this past year.  Back in September, we jumped on incredible package deal (tip: constantly watch the park's website for these deals as they rotate throughout the year) and surprised the boys when we pulled into Disneyland Paris.

We stayed in the resort's Sequoia Lodge, which is a fairly good representation of the great national park lodges & hotels in the Rocky Mountains of Wyoming & Montana. The staff were attired in NPS ranger clothes (which I think was lost on most guests) and most everyone spoke multiple languages. The Sequoia is located on the resort's lake along with 2 of the 5 other hotels that are within a 20 minute walk to the parks--yes, just like Orlando and California, there are multiple parks; but more about this a little later on.

After getting settled into our room following the 4.5 hour drive into Chessy, France, we set off for our 15 minute walk to the Disneyland Park. We passed through the Disney Village (which has a Starbucks and a Five Guys!) and walked right into the park. The boys were in awe of the Christmas decorations that lined seemingly every square inch of usable space. Disney has always done a spectacular job in setting the scene during Christmas and the European influences were immediately apparent. Our first few hours in the park were low key.  We rode the Orbitron ride in Discoveryland (Tomorowland, but with a heavy dose of Jules Verne), took in the 25th Anniversary Parade during dinner on Main Street, and closed out our evening riding It's a Small World. 

Thanksgiving Day marked our second day at Disneyland, but first full day to experience the park(s).  Like the day prior, we limited ourselves to the main park, but would be a full day of character meets, rides, parades, and shows.  Many of the rides are carbon copies of their US counterparts so describing them isn't necessary. The Christmas Parade was one that Will thoroughly enjoyed: the decorations, characters costumed to match the season and of course Santa.  The first show that we took in was Mickey's Big Band Christmas in the theater over in Discoveryland.  At nearly 35 minutes long, it was filled with 40s era musical influences, singers, dancers and of course Mickey and friends. The second show was the main street square tree lighting and the end-of-the-day light/firework show projected on the castle. Without question, the highlight of the day was the three character meets: Mickey, Pluto and Chip and Dale.

 
Friday started off similarly to the day prior with character meets which would also come to our guiding quest when not enjoying the rides.  Donald, Santa Goofy, Eeyore, and Geppetto. Friday also saw us starting out in the main Disneyland park, but finally took us over to the Walt Disney Studios (WDS) park as well. WDS is a very close analog to the original MGM Studios in Orlando. The boys loved the Cars ride as well as the Aladdin flying carpets (think the Dumbo Ride)--though Will was a little bummed that he couldn't ride the Nemo-themed rollercoaster. While Janet and the boys got in line to meet Eeyore and Geppetto, I headed off and walked right onto the Rock&Roller Coaster and made it back to them in time for photos.

Saturday led off with dropping our belonging into the car before jumping in line for the boys to meet Mickey in our hotel lobby.  Each day, a different character was present and Sam was super-excited that it was Mickey. After dropping our room keys off at the front desk, we set off one last time for the Disneyland Park. Unsurprisingly, the size of the crowds in the parks increased each day, and while it wasn't quite up to summertime numbers, it was enough to convince us that any future visits will be from Monday through Thursday during the low seasons. So prior to our trip, a colleague of mine had visited and said I needed to go on "Hyperspace Mountain," a remake of the classic Space Mountain with you guessed it, Star Wars theme elements... eh, it was okay... more loops and barrel-rolls, with a couple of projections showing space battle sequences. I'll skip it next time. While I was waiting for a ridiculously long time Janet and the boys took in four more rides and we met up again on Main Street for some final shopping. 

Overall, it was a fantastic trip.  We definitely learned a lot that we'll apply on a future trip (likely prior to the conclusion of our assignment to Germany 30 months from now).






Trip Stats