All that free time and down time and easy time Mrs. Mynatt gave us yesterday was obviously in preparation for the marching orders that came this morning. Our call time in the salon was for 9:45 am for all the travelers who needed an ATM run with Mr. Mynatt who had ALREADY been out early to scope out the nearest one. He's not as directionally gifted as Mrs. Mynatt, but he does know how to find ATMs and Gelato stands!
Our first order of business for the day was a tour INTO the Colosseum unlike yesterdays "see it from a distance". There were scads and scads of visitors both old and young. Big Tour Bus groups sometimes just seem to clog every artery and surround us on both sides. But one skill this group has definitely acquired is the art of staying together. They act just like old pros now. Good! We give them time to walk around the entire interior of the Colosseum as long as they stay in groups. We designate a meeting point and time and they usually BEAT us back at every rondevous. This is definitely a skill, and we APPRECIATE their abilities.
You see that blue sky and tiny little wisp of a cloud up there over the Colosseum??? Well that's about all the shade we had all day long. Even during the ATM run this morning at 9:30 I could tell it was going to be a hot one. Unfortunately the Sistine Chapel was on the schedule today, too which meant all shoulders and knees had to be covered - NO SHORTS!!! Argghhhhh. So here I sit looking at myself in the mirror and admiring my new farmer's tan...you know, the kind where your head and neck and half your arms are beet red and the rest is white as snow??
Tomorrow is supposed to be hotter. I'm taking my umbrella with me. Of course I'm sure the guys are going to be looking at me and thinking "parasol" instead of umbrella. I'm sure I'll be the brunt of a few jokes, right?
From the Colosseum we headed over to the Mamertine Prison which is the supposed site where Peter (and others) were incarcerated in a gloomy underground cistern. Records indicate its construction dated back to the 7th Century BC. While Peter was there he actually converted the prisoners that were housed with him thus continuing the faith. This little obscure place is not heavily visited which means there are few signs (read NONE) and we usually go around the block a couple of times before we find it. Today was no exception, but at least it gave the travelers time to get a cold drink and gelato while Mrs. Mynatt and Ms. Ketchen scoped out the actual location. By the way, this is the 2nd cold water stop - the first cold drink stop was about 5 minutes before. Gelato is a great way to cool down and since these travelers seem to be hungry about every 15 minutes I'm glad they got their gelato "fix". We also learned that, "No, Logan, you can't pick up your dropped gelato from the pavement and put it back on your cone and continue eating." I'm telling you, these kids eat everything!
Eating like this sometimes gets interrupted when Mrs. Mynatt calls "time to go". So one option is just to stuff all the remaining gelato in your mouth at once and brace for the inevitable brainfreeze, right Jonathan!
Lunch at the elaborate 2-story Spanish Steps' McDonald's with chandeliers and bakery was on the schedule today, but we spent so long at the Mamertine Prison we didn't have time to do the planned walk so now we're heading to the Vittero Emanuele Monument because there's a taxi stand just across the road. Across the road may not mean much unless you're in downtown Roma with every road being the perfect racetrack for all those the italian sports car and vespa speed demons. If you'll remember an earlier post where I said the safest way to cross the street in Rome is to look for a nun and follow her across...well there were no nuns available at this moment. As I explained to the kids, in Rome you take a deep breath and just step out confidently in the cross walk and usually the drivers will all just somehow miraculously stop or swerve around you at the last possible moment. I don't know why or how, but it's an art you'll only see in Rome.
We finish up as soon as we figure out how to operate the automated trash receptacles in this state of the art McDonalds. But before we leave Logan rushes in with more breaking news that there are EVEN TVs mounted on each of the "facilities" in the boy's bathroom! Thank you Logan for pointing that out to all of us ;-) Now everyone vanishes to the loo to admire this grand installation.
Sorry, no loo pix to include ;-)
We had to visit the Spanish Steps just to say we had been there. They were just as I remembered from last time...covered in people "sitting" in the hot broiling sun. CHECK, mark THAT one off our list! Admittedly the view from the top is quite nice and Guyer and Cooper even got a chance to buy a squishy splat ball trinket from one of the hundreds of street vendors. I'm guessing Mrs. Mynatt will be LOVING those in a few days.
From the Metro at the Spanish Steps we head to our "Big" destination for the day which are the Vatican Museums. With its collection of artifacts and tapestries and sculptures and priceless works of the great masters of painting it does remind one of the Louvre...to the boys' great dismay. But their parents have paid thousands of dollars, and the planners have put in countless hours to make sure you experience these things so why on earth would you come to Rome and not venture into the Vatican Museums??? This year we booked the absolute shortest student tour possible because we know from experience "too much of a good thing..." We had a fabulous tour guide, Valerie, who contained her explanations to the bare minimal so as to usher us into the Sistine Chapel as quickly as possible. The works of art are amazing and it seems every square inch of floor, walls, ceiling is covered in some sort of breath taking art. One of the boys even commented to me "This is CRAZY!" - I think that means he liked it :-)
Whew last tour of the day is over and time to head back to the hotel for dinner. Tonight's dinner is included with our hotel because of the graciousness of Robert Cioce, the owner of this family hotel. He even came and visited us personally and welcomed us back. You know, we stayed here on the previous Europe 2010 trip also. Mrs. Mynatt says when visiting Rome there is no reason to look anywhere else other than the Hotel Napoleon. They are on top of their game 100% of the time and no request is too large or too small. When we entered the dining room it looked like a table for a king's family, honestly! We had a three course meal, and the food was absolutely divine. They REALLY outdid themselves tonight. It was also a special dinner because your travelers even sang Happy Birthday and had secretly procured a card today and all had signed it...without me even knowing. Now how did THAT happen? Violet even made a sketch of the Colosseum on the inside front cover. Now I can say I have a real "Violet Mullins"!
Thanks again for sharing your precious young adults with us.
We had a fabulous day and saw some impressive monuments and museums of Rome and NO major catastrophes to report...other than Cooper's personal hair dryer that keeps tripping the breakers and shutting down the room's AC. Don't worry, I'm pretty sure John and Logan (his roommates) have a game of hide and no seek planned for that hairdryer.
Good night from Rome.
Our first order of business for the day was a tour INTO the Colosseum unlike yesterdays "see it from a distance". There were scads and scads of visitors both old and young. Big Tour Bus groups sometimes just seem to clog every artery and surround us on both sides. But one skill this group has definitely acquired is the art of staying together. They act just like old pros now. Good! We give them time to walk around the entire interior of the Colosseum as long as they stay in groups. We designate a meeting point and time and they usually BEAT us back at every rondevous. This is definitely a skill, and we APPRECIATE their abilities.
You see that blue sky and tiny little wisp of a cloud up there over the Colosseum??? Well that's about all the shade we had all day long. Even during the ATM run this morning at 9:30 I could tell it was going to be a hot one. Unfortunately the Sistine Chapel was on the schedule today, too which meant all shoulders and knees had to be covered - NO SHORTS!!! Argghhhhh. So here I sit looking at myself in the mirror and admiring my new farmer's tan...you know, the kind where your head and neck and half your arms are beet red and the rest is white as snow??
Tomorrow is supposed to be hotter. I'm taking my umbrella with me. Of course I'm sure the guys are going to be looking at me and thinking "parasol" instead of umbrella. I'm sure I'll be the brunt of a few jokes, right?
From the Colosseum we headed over to the Mamertine Prison which is the supposed site where Peter (and others) were incarcerated in a gloomy underground cistern. Records indicate its construction dated back to the 7th Century BC. While Peter was there he actually converted the prisoners that were housed with him thus continuing the faith. This little obscure place is not heavily visited which means there are few signs (read NONE) and we usually go around the block a couple of times before we find it. Today was no exception, but at least it gave the travelers time to get a cold drink and gelato while Mrs. Mynatt and Ms. Ketchen scoped out the actual location. By the way, this is the 2nd cold water stop - the first cold drink stop was about 5 minutes before. Gelato is a great way to cool down and since these travelers seem to be hungry about every 15 minutes I'm glad they got their gelato "fix". We also learned that, "No, Logan, you can't pick up your dropped gelato from the pavement and put it back on your cone and continue eating." I'm telling you, these kids eat everything!
Eating like this sometimes gets interrupted when Mrs. Mynatt calls "time to go". So one option is just to stuff all the remaining gelato in your mouth at once and brace for the inevitable brainfreeze, right Jonathan!
Lunch at the elaborate 2-story Spanish Steps' McDonald's with chandeliers and bakery was on the schedule today, but we spent so long at the Mamertine Prison we didn't have time to do the planned walk so now we're heading to the Vittero Emanuele Monument because there's a taxi stand just across the road. Across the road may not mean much unless you're in downtown Roma with every road being the perfect racetrack for all those the italian sports car and vespa speed demons. If you'll remember an earlier post where I said the safest way to cross the street in Rome is to look for a nun and follow her across...well there were no nuns available at this moment. As I explained to the kids, in Rome you take a deep breath and just step out confidently in the cross walk and usually the drivers will all just somehow miraculously stop or swerve around you at the last possible moment. I don't know why or how, but it's an art you'll only see in Rome.
We finish up as soon as we figure out how to operate the automated trash receptacles in this state of the art McDonalds. But before we leave Logan rushes in with more breaking news that there are EVEN TVs mounted on each of the "facilities" in the boy's bathroom! Thank you Logan for pointing that out to all of us ;-) Now everyone vanishes to the loo to admire this grand installation.
Sorry, no loo pix to include ;-)
We had to visit the Spanish Steps just to say we had been there. They were just as I remembered from last time...covered in people "sitting" in the hot broiling sun. CHECK, mark THAT one off our list! Admittedly the view from the top is quite nice and Guyer and Cooper even got a chance to buy a squishy splat ball trinket from one of the hundreds of street vendors. I'm guessing Mrs. Mynatt will be LOVING those in a few days.
From the Metro at the Spanish Steps we head to our "Big" destination for the day which are the Vatican Museums. With its collection of artifacts and tapestries and sculptures and priceless works of the great masters of painting it does remind one of the Louvre...to the boys' great dismay. But their parents have paid thousands of dollars, and the planners have put in countless hours to make sure you experience these things so why on earth would you come to Rome and not venture into the Vatican Museums??? This year we booked the absolute shortest student tour possible because we know from experience "too much of a good thing..." We had a fabulous tour guide, Valerie, who contained her explanations to the bare minimal so as to usher us into the Sistine Chapel as quickly as possible. The works of art are amazing and it seems every square inch of floor, walls, ceiling is covered in some sort of breath taking art. One of the boys even commented to me "This is CRAZY!" - I think that means he liked it :-)
Thanks again for sharing your precious young adults with us.
We had a fabulous day and saw some impressive monuments and museums of Rome and NO major catastrophes to report...other than Cooper's personal hair dryer that keeps tripping the breakers and shutting down the room's AC. Don't worry, I'm pretty sure John and Logan (his roommates) have a game of hide and no seek planned for that hairdryer.
Good night from Rome.
Thank you, Mr. Tim, for such great commentary! It sounds like you are having a lot of laughs and we are very entertained from reading them. Happy, happy birthday to you! Thank you for sharing it with our kids. Wishing you lots more laughs tomm. Sweet dreams!
ReplyDeleteHappy Birthday Mr. Mynatt! Thanks for sharing it with our kiddos. I wish I had been with you all today-you saw some of my favorites:) take it all in...
ReplyDeleteAnother good day. Thanks for the update. We miss you guys!
ReplyDeleteAh... Angie's "time to go"! Comes so suddenly, even if you just got your food at the Spanish Steps McD's because you were standing in line at the Western Union for and hour and a half. Sorry, a little bitterness from '08 coming out. :) Looks like a great time, and LOTS of food. Need the calories for all the walking!
ReplyDeleteCooper and his hair dryer... Drives our whole family crazy. Lol.
ReplyDeleteI don't think any of us can thank you enough for allowing our kids to experience Europe. You are all huge blessings.