More of our Roman Adventures...

As stated before, there is just so much to see in Rome!!! We have been busy trying to fit as much in as possible before we move out of Italy and into France.

This week we took the kids (Nico and Isabella) out to a museum (Musei Capitolini) and the zoo.



We continued the toe-biting tradition started by Emma and Anna (just to get scale), and saw some pretty awesome statues and exhibits, including the original tribute to Marcus Aurelius (think Gladiator).



The zoo was fun, especially since we seemed to arrive at feeding time, and Jane thought that the swimming bear was the cutest thing ever.





One of our favourite things so far has been the Galleria Borghese. The Borghese family is one of the oldest families in Rome, and have been major patrons of the arts for a long time, most specifically through the Renaissance period. The Villa Borghese is a show room for paintings, sculptures, mosaics (of gladiators, mostly), and all things amazing. Not being able to take pictures we can't really display them for you here, but the Bernini sculptures were just something else - our appreciation for sculpture has reached another level.



We have also visited St Peters Basilica, and the Colosseum this week. The day we went to St Peters was wet and rainy, but the inside was enjoyable, and also opulent and enormous.



True to Jane's theory, we paid money to walk up a lot of steps. This wasn't nearly as bad as walking down the steps however, as they were slippery, wet and narrow, and generally considered (by Jane and Cam) to be life threatening. But we got through it, and will live to climb more steps (and probably pay for the privelege). And it was worth it - even on a wet and rainy day the view was great.



The Colosseum was another higlight, helped by the fact that we visited it in the late afternoon when the light was just perfect.







Even though it's been pillaged and mined for materials to make other buildings in Rome, it is still pretty amazing. As are some of the stories about the things that used to happen there (think of a huge model of a whale opening it's jaws to release 50 bears - which were then probably killed. By Gladiators).



The other important event of this week, was of course, Jane's birthday. Cam took her to a lovely night of opera in an old church. Also he gave her a beautiful Venetian glass necklace. On Sunday, there was a birthday lunch, courtesy of Peter and Tanya, as well as some lovely gifts. We really appreciate their hospitality and generosity.