Italy: part three, Rome.

We managed a better nights sleep in Florence, and woke quite early eager to get on with our day, we knew we had to be at the train station by 1pm, so we decided to give our legs a rest and use the your bus again, this time taking the 2 hour trip. Whilst the longer tour went past a few places we had seen it also covered many other places and went up the hills. 

Giving us some stunning views at every turn, we stopped a while at the top in a beautiful village, I think it was called Fiesole, gorgeous place. 

A 5 minute walk through streets we were now familiar with and we were picking up our bags from the hotel, the walk to the station made me make a mental note that we needed to have packed lighter, however everything we had taken we'd used (apart from the suitcase with clothes for the second half of our holiday adventure). Ancient roads, crazy taxi drivers and bad mannered Italians made it hard work but once in the station we had a light lunch and drinks. I'm falling in love with Aubergine and courgette with olive oil. C doesn't know what to eat at a lunch time, as at home she tends to keep it simple with home made tortilla with cucumber (something I've not seen at all here).  

A little treat for us on the train as I'd booked premium class, leather seats, electric blinds, quieter carriage, it was rather lovely, a gypsy lady saw me with the kids and helped us get the suitcases into the train, I knew I shouldn't let her but to be honest, there were 4 steps, 3 children, 3 suitcases and we now have 2 rucksacks full of stuff we didn't come to Italy with, so I was grateful for her help, five euros didn't make her happy, so I told her that targeting a single mum was never gonna make her rich, I'm sure she cursed me lol. 

The train ride was relaxing; vineyards, farms, mountains, rivers, 3 sheep (yep the whole journey I saw 3 sheep) and lots of tunnels, a huge portion of the journey was in tunnels. 

Once in Rome we took a taxi to the hotel,   Marble floors and stairs, metal ratings and an ancient lift already gave us a good vibe, the hotels we've stayed in have been more like small apartments with breakfast rooms, this hotel had a front desk, however it's only manned when they are expecting guests, the staff are lovely, really helpful and the owner even asked the boys to take his card, in case of an emergency they could ring him and he would help them. I thought this was a lovely touch. Our room is lovely, simple, clean (beds a little springy but ok) and a large shower. We wanted to explore Rome but we were tired, so had an hour laid relaxing. 

Once refreshed we went for a walk, it seems everywhere we go there's restoration work, within 10 minutes from the hotel we could see the colloseum, sheesh it's bloody enormous. I'd not expected it to take my breath away. 

We bought a couple of bottles of water and sat in the shade, looking and talking and our new favourite past time of people watching. Within a minute we'd been approached by 6 street sellers 'only one euro' 'half price' 'water, water', you name it they sold it; scarves, ornaments, sun parasols, African wooden stuff, bottled water, jewellery, sunglasses, hats and these blooming awful kids squeaky toys, if I said no they asked the children, one man trying to see if the boys had money in their pockets, if after saying no twice I realised I needed to not be so polite, although after saying no six times one seller was not taking no as an answer, he started to push things into the children's hands, so I waved my walking stick in his face and said no rather loudly and this time he got the message. The kids thought it was hilarious as did a few of the other street sellers who clapped me. We even ended up with a bit if banter with one water seller, laughing that we all reckoned B would make a better salesman that him. 

We walked around the front entrance of the colloseum, seeing the large queues made us grateful that we had a tour booked already. 

Temperatures were now heading towards 30degrees and we were getting hungry so we decided to eat local to the hotel, in fact we went just next door.  Nothing fancy, we are pizza and burgers and pasta. And headed to bed. 

Today has been jam packed, we struggled to wake up, although knowing we had to meet our tour guide at 9am we knew we couldn't stay in bed. A quick breakfast and a taxi to Piazzo de Popollo to meet Chiara our guide for the day. She was lovely with the kids, ensuring they knew what we were doing and that their seatbelts on the golf buggy were secure. Being in a golf buggy on Rome's busy roads was one heck of an experience, the kids sat rear facing loved people waving and smiling at them. Our first stop  was Trevi Fountain, again bigger and more spectacular than I'd imagined, unfortunately yesterday the area had been fenced off as they're doing restoration work and building a bridge across the water. Chiara told us how the fountain was erected once the Roman baths no longer needed the water coming in on the aqueduct, the fountain being the end of the line so to speak. 

We saw so many places, I forget the order now, we visited the Circus Maximus where the chariot races took place, overlooked by the palace, in Audrey Hepburn style we put our hands in the mouth if truth. 

We listened as Chiara explained a little of Italy's history, using us as different eras. I, of course was the ancient period, M being the period of the church, B being the kings and C being post war and the change to being independent. A lovely way to remember a countries history. We saw the balcony (actually stood under it) where the king told the people that they were now at war. We saw so many places I've no idea what the huge white building is nearby, but it has a statues of a dude on a horse, Chiara showed us a picture of people say inside the horse, it's that big! 

A bumpy ride, which the kids found hilarious, found us in a quiet car park, surrounded by churches, she told the kids she had a secret to show them, she pointed at huge wooden green doors and said to look through the keyhole. A direct view through a tree lined garden, with the centre point being st Peters. Unfortunately taking a photo was pretty impossible as the sun was shining too bright. 

The Pantheon was so amazing, again quite breathtaking, 

Amazing to see such a building in great condition, Chiara explained the changes the buildings decor had undergone throughout the centuries, showed the kids what happens when it rains through the hole in the roof, the tombs of the kings, and how the Margherita pizza got it's name. 

A stop for gelato and a bumpy ride through the streets we were at the end of our 3 hours. We were dropped near our hotel and Colloseum area and agreed to meet in 2 hours time for our afternoon tour. 

A small bite to eat and a lay down for an hour in the hotel was all we needed to revitalise.  A short stroll to the colloseum we met Chiarra and she took us inside the Colloseum. Or as it should be called the Flavian Ampitheatre. Omg!!! The place is spectacularly stunningly bloody amazing. 

We leaned how all the holes in the marble (yep the majority of it is but in marble!) were caused by people chiselling out the marble to get to the metal pins used to hold the blocks together. 

We had private access to the arena floor, walking out the way the gladiators would have gone before us. Stepping out into what would have been filled with 50,000 people, looking around imagining what the atmosphere would have been like. There were only 9 of us allowed into this area, us and one other family with their guide. It was something really quite special. 

Special access for us to the underground section had the kids excited, they were encouraged to stand on the floor lights, blocking out the light to show how dark it would have been, we saw the mechanisms for the lifts and trap doors, the tunnels the animals were brought through, the 'waiting rooms' for the lunch time executions, which were usually in the form of plays, where the main character was killed, and in fact was killed for real as he was a criminal. 

The mornings were filled with animal fights, chickens pitted against lions, crocodiles against bears etc. In the afternoons the people would have been there all day, having eaten, played games, even had their hair done whilst sat surrounded by marble, the afternoons were the exciting part, the gladiators would fight. By now the kids were getting tired but Chiarra was amazing. She kept them enthralled with the stories. We then travelled by special access lift to the first floor, open to the public, and walked a quarter of the way around to a set of stairs, at this point Chiarra offered to take the children up to the third level as I was not able to go up those stairs and no lift was available. 

The kids learnt more about gladiators and loved every minute. 

You see those people on the floor level? That's where we stood. 

Two and a half hours and C was struggling so we agreed to not take the last half hour/hour tour through the forum area (if we have the energy we have the tickets and can go tomorrow). 

We said our good byes and we found some shade and a seat, although the seat was in fact a marble column fallen from the colloseum during the earthquake which caused the upper layers to collapse around half of the elliptical shape. 

My friend the street seller that wouldn't take no for an answer started to approach me, realised it was me, scowled and walked away, only to be followed by another that would not take no as an answer so again I waggled my stick in his face and suggested that the policeman behind him might be interested in where he'd stolen his merchandise from. His face was a picture as he realised I wasn't kidding about the policeman and he ran, alerting the other sellers who also ran. Much to the amusement of others sitting in the shade with us. 

After a shower and a fresh dress and mascara we headed to dinner, keeping it light with a little Spagetti Pomodorro, we were entertained by a guy playing the accordion, although again they should think twice before expecting a mum with there kids to be able to offer more than a euro or two as a tip. 

Before bed we walked to the end of the road and along some ruins. The area looks so different at night, less people, less traffic, less heat, a pleasant stroll. 

And now bed. The kids are snoring, I won't be far behind them.  No alarms to wake us tomorrow. I'll update soon on what else we get up to. 

Italy : part two

A full day in Italy, our hotel Katti House has the hardest beds ever, so I didn't sleep well at all, I awoke to the gentle hum of the market stalls being set up and fresh food being delivered to the restaurants. The kids were snoring away and it was nearly 9am so I thought it best to wake them as we had a busy day planned. 

A ten minute walk and we were at the Duomo, Florence's Cathedral. An absolutely stunning building, inside and out, today it was open so we ventured inside after queuing for less than ten minutes, the painted ceiling of the dome was amazing. 

B enjoys taking photos so we have loads, I'll upload them once we're home. 

We spent half an hour having a look around and then headed out into the sun,  it was only 10am and already 25degrees. We decided to cheat a little and hop on a tour bus, however finding the stops was difficult, it turns out the main bus tours don't go near the main places, so we headed towards the train station bus stops, stopping for Gellato and drinks first. We opted for the one hour tour, which travelled across the river and up the hill, I've never seen views like it and I'm afraid my phone pictures do not do it justice, B's photos are way better. 

Another Ice cream sat looking out over the city before getting the bus back, we decided we'd walk to our next destination, the Accademia gallery. Stopping at the Mercanto market again for more pizza and Gellato, we have decided it's one of our favourite places to eat. A steady stroll and a minor detour down the wrong street we arrived for our allotted time slot, I have to say we were not overly impressed by the art work, some of it was no better than C's and she's 6! But the David was stunning, he's got huge... now come on my mind isn't that dirty.... feet and hands, seriously huge! 

An hour in the gallery, the kids most impressed with a musical instrument section and the plaster cast statues, our feet were starting to protest in the heat, also my mobility wasn't great due to uneven roads and paths, so we grabbed a taxi back to the room. 

I've packed the cases already and we've just been out to dinner, 2 doors from the hotel (owned by the same family), it turns out tomato soup here is not a liquid, it's cooked tomatoes and basil smushed up, tasty but not a texture C and B liked, so an extra bowl of pasta ordered and the kids were all happy. M is in his element with pizzas and pasta galore everywhere. 

A gentle walk to find gelato (again!) and it's starting to get dark, quite a few dodgy street sellers hanging around so we didn't stay out too long. 

Everywhere we look there are gelato shops, each with an array of flavours, B has finally just found a mint flavour so he's happy. M has gelato overloaded and even some of the chocolate is too strong for him! I'm loving the sorbets. And C is taking the gelato steady as she has a dairy intolerance, luckily, touch wood, she's had no problems yet. 

Tomorrow we have a couple of hours before catching the train to Rome. 

I'm hoping for a better nights sleep tonight, as it's looking like temperatures around 29 degrees tomorrow and the rest of the week in Rome. 

Italy: one mum and three kids. Part one.

I spent weeks panicking that I'd forget to pack something, that I'd forget something important, not book a hotel properly, the list of to stress about things was endless. 2 weeks on holiday, at least 1100 miles from home on my own with my 13 year old aspie, 10 year old son and 6 year old daughter. A dream holiday that we won, making all my hard work and late nights feel so worth it when something amazing like this happens. 

So we get in the taxi outside the house, my neighbour hugs and kisses me like she's never gonna see me again, within 20 minutes M felt sick, he closed his eyes and slept the whole journey, luckily his aspie brain allows him to shut down when he's worried. We spent the night in Premier Inn in Manchester and we didn't sleep a wink. C fell out of bed,which she found funny. B snored and I laid there staring at a green light on the ceiling. 5am couldn't come soon enough. Up we got and headed to the airport. 

At the airport we bypassed all the queues cos of M not being able to stand in queues for any length of time we were allowed special access. We were nice and relaxed and excited to get to Italy. Boarding the plane the staff at Jet2.com couldn't be more helpful, asking if I needed anything to just press the call button. They kept checking in on us throughout the flight,  because this was our first flight I had no idea how we'd be, I get travel sick and so does M so we'd both had travel sickness pills, little did I realise that 15 minutes into the flight B would turn green and spend the next 2 hours being sick. The poor kid looked awful and I felt dreadful that he was sat with 2 strangers as I'd had to sit with M and C. But the guy at his side was lovely to him. 

We landed and B perked up, we grabbed a taxi, the 5 minute journey to our hotel. The b&b Tuscany Gallery in Pisa, our host Michele was awesome, he had so much time for us, telling us where to go and what to see, also where to eat. We dropped our bags in the rooms, 2 bedrooms and a bathroom, we also had a balcony where we could see the mountains over the houses. We were soon wandering through the newer town, bombed in the war due to it's proximity to the airport, over the river and into the old town, stopping for slices of pizza, the kids even trying fried palenta. Ten minutes later stopping for gelato, sitting outside in the sunshine watching the world go by.  

A steady twenty more minutes found us at the leaning tower of Pisa and boy does that thing lean! We took photos and wandered around it but we were exhausted so grabbed a taxi back to the hotel where we freshened up and headed around the corner to the recommend restaurant, whilst the food was delicious, the waitress had no smile or time for the children, however the chef though The kids with their blonde hair were gorgeous and kept telling them. 

I was awake early and packed our stuff up, I had to wake the kids up from deep sleep to go and get breakfast, Michele was full of more information about the area and his baking was delicious. We left for a wander around a local market, buying some little handmade gifts for my dad and neighbour. 

We grabbed our cases and checked out, Michele telling us where and what to do in Florence, we walked the 5 minutes to the station and caught the train, we decided to cheat and get a taxi even though the station was close by. 

Up 3 flights of stairs to our room, traditional Italian decor overlooking a bustling street of restaurants and shops, our hostess Katti Maria and hotel Katti was lovely, ensuring we had help to carry the bags, and settling into the room. 

We headed straight out, towards the market area, and into the Mercato Centrale, the most amazing indoor food hall/market, we watched as our pizzas were made and cooked in the fire ovens, we sat and ate more gelato and drank too many fizzy drinks. 

Fully refreshed and fed we headed out into a rather warm 26degrees, around the piazzas and streets, to the Duomo, we took photos from outside and decided we were shattered so headed back towards the hotel, grabbing a few snacks to eat later. 

An amazing couple of days, my children are being brilliant, so much so that Michele commented on how my boys are not boys, they are men! He thought it was amazing how helpful they were and how polite all 3 were. 

We're winding down now ready for more adventures tomorrow.