Part two of our Spring Break trip picked up right where we left off in Siena! Wednesday morning, we packed up the car and departed our hotel. Our ultimate destination was Rome, but we had a few stops planned along the way. The weather was still drizzly, but not pouring rain anymore.
Our first stop was about two hours south in Orvieto; another Italian hill town, but just over the border from Tuscany in Umbria. I plugged in a destination for parking near the center of town, but our route kept taking us through tiny roads for residents only; some of the roads, our car would not even fit down.
As we were about to give up and leave, we found a huge parking garage on the outskirts of town. Although it is towards the base of the hill Orvieto is located on, the garage is conveniently connected to the city via a series of elevators, escalators, and stairs.
When we finally made it into Orvieto, we did a quick walk around town.
After our walk, we went in search of lunch and found the cutest little osteria in an alley, just a few streets over from the church. We stopped to look at the menu outside, and the most adorable little old Italian man came running out to usher us in. We didn’t have much of a choice at that point but ended up very happy with our food and the atmosphere.
After lunch, we took the moving passageways back to the car in the garage and continued along our drive. The next stop was Civita di Bagnoreggio, which was another hour away. As we drove up into the mountains, we got a beautiful view of Orvieto from a distance; I made Matt pull over so I could get some pictures of it.
We finally made it to Civita, the drive-able base for Civita di Bagnoreggio and drove as far as we could. CdB is accessible only via a hike and pedestrian walkway. We parked the car and hiked a short distance out to the panoramic viewpoint.
It was so pretty! It started raining again though and I was hesitant to risk slipping and falling again, so we tabled the hike out to the town for another time.
We continued our drive all the way to Rome and got checked into our hotel by 7pm. We had dinner in a cute restaurant near the hotel and finished the night with wine and cards back in our room.
On our first full day in Rome, we woke up early as we had a tour of the Colosseum at 9:45am. We arrived in plenty of time to grab a coffee and a hot dog for Ryan before the tour started.
We met our guide just outside of the Colosseum and were given individual earpieces so that we could hear the guide, who was hooked up to a microphone. All of the guides were using this system and it was so cool as it meant no one had to yell and we wouldn’t overhear anyone else’s tour as we went through.
We entered the Colosseum through the Gladiator’s Gate where we had a great view down into the floor of the Colosseum. The tour guide explained how there used to be a wooden floor, which is now gone and what we were seeing was the basement below. Using many pictures she had brought along, she showed us how the floor could have been filled with sand for gladiator or animal fights, or filled with water for a sea-themed show. Originally, there was also a retractable awning over the entire Colosseum to protect spectators from the sun. It was made of the same material as sails from a boat and opened and closed using a similar system of ropes and pulleys.
The Colosseum was originally called the Flavian Amphitheater as the three emperors of the Flavian dynasty were the ones who funded its building with the treasure brought back from occupied Israel.
Our guide took us through a couple of other parts of the Colosseum, and a terrace overlooking the Roman Forum before exiting.
From there, we directly entered the Roman Forum, where our guide took us on a tour of the Forum and Palatine Hill. We saw all of the major highlights; Constantine’s Arch, Tito’s Arch, Flavian’s Palace, and the Palatine Stadium. From the Stadium, we could also look over into the remains of the Circus Maximus, the ancient racetrack.
The highlight within the Forum was the Belvedere Terrace, which overlooks all of Ancient Rome. When we arrived, the noon bells were ringing at all the nearby churches and we could take in the Forum, which was blooming for Spring.
Our tour ended at the Via dei Fori Imperiali, Rome’s grand avenue leading up to the Colosseum. We picked up some e-scooters and scooted over to the Pantheon. On the way, we stopped to take a look at the monument to Italy’s first King, Vittorio Emmanuele.
We continued over to the Pantheon, where first, we grabbed lunch in an amazing osteria where we had some of the best pasta of the trip. Then, we checked out the Pantheon from the outside. The line was so long to get in so I showed everyone some pictures on my phone of what the inside looks like, and we carried on.
We continued walking through Rome, all the way to the Trevi Fountain where it was SO crowded! Ryan and I made it up to the fountain’s edge and only he and I threw the traditional coins in over our shoulder, so I guess only he and I are guaranteed to return to Rome.
We grabbed some gelato and then continued our walk all the way to the Spanish Steps, and then on to Piazza del Popolo. At this point, we had walked over 30k steps and all needed a break. We hopped on the metro and headed back to the hotel for a much deserved nap. We ended up being so tired that when we woke up, we ordered fast food and had it delivered to the hotel so we didn’t have to get dressed and leave the rest of the night.
The next morning we were up SUPER early as we had a 7:45 am tour of the Vatican. The Sistine Chapel can only be viewed at certain times of day and since this was Good Friday, taking a tour at this time was one of the few opportunities we would have to get inside.
We met our guide just outside of Vatican City and were given the same individual earpieces as the day before at the Colosseum. Rome really knows what it’s doing to keep the noise level down with its tour groups!
The weather was beautiful and in the 60s already. We sat on park benches and our guide gave us a 30 minute background lesson on Vatican City, the Vatican Museums, the Sistine Chapel, and Michelangelo. It was actually really interesting. After the lesson, we crossed over into Vatican City and entered the museums at our designated time.
First, we entered the Papal Palace onto a Terrace overlooking St. Peters’ Dome. It was a great spot for some pictures.
Our guide took us through the numerous galleries, hallways, and rooms filled with priceless art. The Popes were big art collectors which has led to them having such an immense collection. My favorites, besides the Sistine Chapel, were the Gallery of Maps and the Raphael Rooms.
I already love maps as it is, but the Gallery of Maps has detailed painted maps of every region of Italy, and its major cities. All of this was capped with the most beautiful painted ceiling.
I did not even know what the Raphael Rooms were prior to visiting, but it turns out Pope Julius II hired Raphael to paint his apartments. My favorite piece inside the Rooms was the School of Athens. The guide pointed out how Raphael included a self portrait of himself in the painting. His supposed girlfriend is also in the painting, looking out from the other side. Lastly, Raphael included a portrait of his good friend, Michelangelo, in the painting; he is in the center. As a tribute to an inside joke had between them, he painted him with his boots on.
After the Raphael Rooms, we finally entered the Sistine Chapel. No pictures are allowed in the Chapel but it was amazing! Thanks to the small lesson we were given at the beginning of the tour, we had a much more thorough understanding of what we were looking at. The Sistine Chapel is actually a “quiet space” and only whispering is allowed so our guide would not have been able to give us the background information there regardless.
We were given about 20 minutes to take in the Sistine Chapel and then re-joined our guide for the remainder of the tour. We exited the Vatican museums and entered St. Peter’s Square, which was packed with people. It was Good Friday and St. Peter’s Basilica was closing early due to Good Friday mass being held there that night. There must have been thousands of people in the entrance line. Luckily, our access to the Vatican Museums meant that we could skip the line and enter right away.
As we walked towards the entrance, we were able to see how St. Peter’s Square was being set up for the Mass. The final palms were being hung around the balcony as we entered.
We spent about 30 minutes walking around St. Peter’s Basilica. We saw most of the major highlights including La Pieta by Michelangelo, St. Peter’s Chair, and the statue of Longinus.
After we exited the Basilica, we visited the Vatican post office. We bought some postcards, wrote quick notes, and mailed them to a couple of people, including ourselves, so that we could collect the rare Vatican post stamp.
Afterwards, we walked out of Vatican City and back into Italy, where we stopped at a small restaurant for lunch and had some amazing pasta.
Our final stop in Rome was to walk across the Vittorio Emmanuel Bridge and view the Castello Saint Angelo. The bridge was super crowded so we didn’t stay long. That gave us enough time to take a short walk around the grounds before grabbing a taxi and heading back to the hotel.
We made it back to the hotel by our check out time of 2pm, grabbed our bags and headed back out on the road. Our destination was the micro country of San Marino, on Italy’s east coast, about a four hour drive away.
As we departed Rome, we noticed a thick haze settling in and realized it was the Saharan dust cloud we had heard about on the news. Strong winds kicked the dust up into the atmosphere so high, it was transported across the Mediterranean Sea and into Europe. Southern Europe was getting it the worst and it seemed like we were right in the middle of it. Where rain had disrupted our views before, now we were wishing for the rain to come back and wash the dust away.
We finally made it to San Marino, which is perched high up on a mountain. We checked into our hotel and walked to a restaurant down the street for a late dinner. Here, we found inflation has not yet arrived in San Marino. Prices were still at pre-COVID levels. Aperol Spritzes were only €5 and Brooklyn ordered a 200g steak, which was only €20. We had an amazing meal for less than €65 and the waiter refused our tip! Amazing.
As we walked back to the hotel, we started getting blown around by high winds. We ran the rest of the way, where the hotel workers were standing by the doors to let everyone back in. The hotel closed all the shutters down tight and we listened to the heavy wind gusts all night.
The next morning, it was still pretty hazy. We had breakfast at the hotel and then packed up. We made the drive to the very top of San Marino where its old town and three iconic castles are located. We walked around the town center, taking pictures and doing some shopping. We did try to check out the views from the terraces but sadly, we could not see very far due to the dusty haze.
We noticed that San Marino was incredibly clean. It seemed like all of the residents were in a constant state of sweeping sidewalks and wiping windows. The old town itself is really small so we were able to walk the whole thing in about an hour. If we had more time we could’ve entered any of the three castles.
Our next stop was Bologna; the final major stop on our Italian road trip. After almost a week of art and history related activities, it was finally Ryan’s turn to pick the activities; naturally they were centered around cars.
First up there was the Lamborghini factory and museum. The museum was so small; it was just two large rooms plus a simulator. We were able to see the whole thing in about 30 minutes. Ryan and I took turns in the simulator after the museum. It was actually really hard to drive; I did embarrassingly bad but Ryan was pretty good. The factory tours were currently not running so it was a very short visit.
One thing I will say about the Lamborghini Museum is that the bathrooms were so old and kind of dirty! You would think that a place selling such high-end cars would have a lot nice facilities. It was kind of funny.
After we had visited the gift shop at Lamborghini, we had lunch across the street at the Test Drive Café. As the name implies, the café offers test drives of Lamborghinis starting at about thousand euros. We did not sign up for a test drive but got to watch other people trying out the cars.
Because we had finished up at the Lamborghini Museum so early, we had some extra time so we drove into Modena. Modena is the birth place of Enzo Ferrari, and as we entered the city, we saw signs for the Enzo Ferrari House and Museum and decided to visit.
The museum at the Enzo Ferrari house was a little bigger than the Lamborghini Museum, but not by much. We were able to see his original office, and the converted warehouse it is attached to, which now housed some classic Ferrari models.
In a second, modern building, was a display of more modern Ferrari models in a room designed to look like a large show room. Every thirty minutes, a short, but really interesting video on Enzo Ferrari’s life was played to those on the showroom floor.
Overall, it was an unexpected nice way to spend the afternoon. When we were done, I had Matt give me a driving tour of Modena, which took us down many restricted streets and which I’m sure will lead to some interesting traffic tickets. Modena seemed extremely lively with lots of bars and restaurants and tons of people just milling about on the streets. It seemed like a cool place to come back and visit.
Finally, we made our way to Bologna, where we were staying our final two nights. Bologna is a favorite city for me. We visited in 2018 with my parents and sister and we really enjoyed the good food and lively atmosphere. It’s a university town so has a very young feel while not being too touristy.
We got checked in and then went in search of dinner, which ended up being at an Irish pub around the corner. The kids love pub food and the “cozy” pub atmosphere, although this one was a little more of the college pub style-haha!
Sunday was the last full day of our trip and Easter. After breakfast, we left Bologna for the morning to go to Maranello, where the headquarters of Ferrari is. I was expecting it to be a quiet day due to it being Easter and was surprised to find it packed and a long line at the entrance. Luckily, Matt had taken care of getting us timed tickets so we could walk right in.
This museum was about the same size as the Enzo Ferrari House Museum and a similar format. It did not take long to view all of the exhibits of cars and trophies. When we were done with the museum, we headed to the simulator, where all four of us took turns; Ryan even got to go twice. My skill level was a little better than the day before, but not by much 😉.
After the simulator, we had lunch at a German Biergarten themed restaurant, right next door to Ferrari. After a good lunch, we went back to the hotel for a much needed nap. Daylight Savings Time started in Europe the evening prior, so we had lost an hour of sleep.
After our nap, we went on a walk around the old town. Again, because it was Easter, I had expected things to be on the quieter side and many stores and restaurants to be closed. I know they were in Germany. So I was so surprised to find everything open and the streets busy and crowded with people walking around and meeting up with friends.
We were also surprised as we walked through the old town to see that Bologna’s famous towers were fenced off; you could walk right up to them when we visited before.
A quick Google research revealed that the one tower, The Garisenda, is now leaning further than the Leaning Tower in Pisa is, and is continuing to lean further and further at a rapid rate. You can see in the picture, some sides have been blocked off with shipping containers. This is to try and protect surrounding buildings as the tower could fall at any time.
Luckily, the city of Bologna has a plan to use the exact same steel girders and pylons used to steady the Leaning Tower in Pisa, on the Garisenda. The system just has to be modified for a square building since the tower in Pisa is round. Hopefully, they will be able to save the tower this year and we can walk by them again in the future.
After our walk through the medieval town center, we visited the Lego store (of course) and Matt and I had an aperitif in a cafe while the kids hung out at the hotel. We also took a few minutes to recreate a cute picture we have of Ryan on the breakfast terrace of the hotel from 2018. You could say he’s changed a little bit since then.
Finally, we had dinner, and played one more game of cards to finish up our wine
Monday morning, we got up pretty early and were packed and in the car by 7am. It was a long drive home and with traffic we were not home until about 5pm. We had just enough time to get a couple of loads of clothes washed, grab the dogs from the kennel, and try to get some rest before heading back to work and school on Tuesday.
It was a great trip! Despite moving around so much, it felt much more manageable when we stayed in each place for two nights (with the exception of San Marino). I also loved the guided tours we took. We normally do not book tours, because… well, I’m cheap-haha! But the tour guides really did add so much more to the experience. Instead of walking around aimlessly, they gave us enough knowledge to know what we were looking at, as well as get us through quickly without missing any highlights. One thing that was not so great was the lack of laundry facilities. We had so much to catch up on when we got home, next time we will definitely make sure to book something with a washer on one of our next trips!
As far as favorites, it’s hard to pick just one place. We all enjoyed ourselves for the entirety of the trip, with the exception of Ryan who enjoyed Bologna far more than anywhere else. 😊
Gilcrests Abroad 