Last night we got back from a six day trip to Rome, Pompei and Sorrento. Kids finished school last Wednesday, we went to theater on Thursday to celebrate, lots of playdates, sleepovers for Sam and sleeping in...and three days later we were in Rome.
We arrived with a sick Sam. Sometimes it's hard to know when Sam is sick and when Sam needs time away from the family, and here we weren't so sure, but for the day of arrival and the next day, they stayed in bed all day and they ultimately perked up the next day (still with a cough and stuffiness for the rest of the trip), so I think it was actual sick. The four of us all went for a walk in Villa Borghese - a super beautiful park right near our hotel. We didn't have a proper lunch, and it was 6, so we figured we would just get dinner. Oops. Restaurants in Rome open at 7 for dinner. We decided to go for gelato first and then find dinner, but we found one restaurant on the way that actually was open, and a couple walked by and recommended it while we were deciding what to do. First pasta and pizza. YUM. Then amazing gelato.
Actual day one we took a taxi over to Trastevere - a fun area to walk around, on the other side of the river (leaving Sam for the day). We walked all around, and explored and then met our guide, Bruno, for a kids scavenger hunt around many major attractions in the center of Rome. It was a competition - each kid had a parent, but parents weren't allowed to answer anything. Kids had to find pieces in sculptures or fountains, take pictures of specific characters or find something else they were looking for. The guide was GREAT with kids, and they loved it. And we saw a lot. Then gelato then home to clean up for dinner. We had a great dinner (with Sam!) at a restaurant near our hotel. More pizza for the kids and everything else for us. Just in case god is reading, I won't post what I ate. God wouldn't be impressed.
Next day we met our Colosseum guide at the Arch of Constantine. She jumped right in with WAAAAY too much information for WAAAY too much time. We asked for a bit less detail and to move faster. She said, "it's normal that the kids aren't interested." But our kids were SO excited about the Colosseum. We had read books with scenes in the Colosseum. Elie is obsessed with Roman (and Greek) mythology and history. Koby and Sam have loads of interest in it too and have read a lot. They were SO excited about it. She was awful. We tried to tell her again and again to give a bit less detail, talk to the kids and move around, but it failed. We tried a bit in the forum, but we were all so sick of hearing her talk in the SUPER sun heat, so we left. Major disappointment. We decided to find lunch and then we went to the Great Synagogue and Jewish Museum. It was fascinating. The history of Jews in Rome is intense - they were in a ghetto from 1555 until 1870!! THEN the holocaust. Not fun. But the synagogue, which was built in the early 1900s was unbelievable. We particularly loved the "pride" ceiling. Boys and Matt took a taxi back to the hotel to chill, and I walked and got amazing gelato on the way. Another great dinner near the hotel and a short walk to digest a bit.
The next day we had a slow morning and walked to the train station and found our high speed train to Naples. All was great until the 1 hour ten minute ride turned into 2.5 hours, but we survived - no idea why we were stopped. In Naples, we left our bags at the train station and headed out to see the Duomo. It was amazing. Next stop was the National Archaeological Museum. Oops - I guess because this wasn't a major highlight for us, I didn't check in advance. It was closed on Tuesdays. I called the pizza restaurant where we had reservations for later in the evening and asked if we could come earlier. No problem. We had just had lunch, but we had pizza for dessert. It was indeed delicious. Back to the train station to grab our bags and we tried to get an uber or taxi to the airport to pick up a rental car. It kept saying it was coming in a few minutes, and it kept getting to be more and more. After about 20 minutes, we canceled (for 5 euros! What kind of crap is that that we have to pay for that!?) and boarded the insanely crowded bus to the airport. We got our car and headed to Sorrento. Lots of tunnels. Beautiful coast views. We were so excited that our hotel in Sorrento had a pool. We told the kids they could swim right when we got there. It was bright. It was 8pm. Pool was closed. Bummer after bummer. We went for a simple dinner.
The next morning we found a train in Sorrento and headed to Pompei. Holy cool. It was amazing to see this HUGE city almost totally intact after 2,000 years. TRULY amazing. Streets after streets - in a grid. Food restaurants. Entrances to houses. Decorations on the walls. Mosaics on the floor. FULL buildings still there. It was so super hot, but this was so super cool. We may have parentally faux pas'ed when we went to the brothel and we had to explain it (at least a bit). Oy. But overall, it was a really neat experience. The whole afternoon we swam in the pool and then went for (super overpriced and fine) dinner and gelato in Sorrento.
We had planned to drive the Amalfi coast the next day, but the hotel manager was like, "oh - you don't want to do that. It's terrible driving. Take the bus or the ferry." Matt wasn't into that. The kids weren't interested. Matt wasn't interested in seeing the coast. Only I was. I decided it was selfish to put everyone through that, so we decided to have a local adventure in the morning - we walked to this old Roman ruins site that is also a kind of swimming hole. We didn't realize that once you get there and descend the stairs into the spot, there is nowhere to change or put stuff down, so we went down and then back up again to sort ourselves out and then we went back down to swim. It was beautiful - but SUUUUPER crowded. Then we spent the afternoon at the pool. Dinner was fine.
The next day was our last day in Italy. I told Matt I would really regret it if we didn't drive the Amalfi coast - we were THERE. So off we went. I had done enough research to know that there would not be parking. But I am a confident city driver, so I figured I could handle the driving and we wouldn't stop. We had our expectations set. For the first 30 minutes we were basically in a cloud. We couldn't see the mountains or the water. What a waste. After about 45 minutes, when we arrived in Positano, Elie puked. Matt got the dad of the year award as he was ready with a plastic bag and got it right in front of him just in time. We pulled over, blocking a store entrance - sorry for them, but tough luck - put Elie in the front seat (no one cares here in Europe), dispersed mint gum to all and got back in the car. We made it all the way to Amalfi, and yes, it was beautiful, but to be honest, the pictures were more beautiful, and there was no way to get a FEELING of being there, because there's nowhere to park, and it was just a lot of slow, windy driving. We turned into the mountains and headed to Caserta where there is a beautiful and huge palace. After being in the car for 3.5 hours, we got out and found an amazing meal in Caserta and then decided not to spend the 30 euros to go inside the palace grounds for ten minutes before we had to head to the airport and just looked from the outside. Then we were off to the airport.
I don't want to sound like a spoiled brat when I say we just didn't enjoy this trip that much. YES - it was beautiful places. YES - the food was truly good. And YES we are so lucky/privileged to be able to fly to Italy for a week. But there were SOOOOO many people everywhere. It was soooooo hot. There were so many disappointments. It wasn't our best. But I'm glad we went to Rome and Pompei, and we learned a few things.
If we want kids to enjoy, kid focused activities are a must. Kids tour. Pool. Ice cream. Less culture, architecture, walking. Also I'm heading off the beaten path - other than a few more places. Happy to have gone. Happy it's done. Sorry if that sounds spoiled.
