Journey Across Italy- Day 2
Day 2- Tuesday December 20th
We made it to Italy! Per my last blog post, we arrived at about 11.30 am local time and quickly made our way through customs. Our airbnb hosts, Andrea and Deborah, had arranged a van pickup from the airport to our apartment located on the north west side of Rome, just outside Vatican City. This was the only non-hotel we stayed in and we did this for a few reasons; first, Rome was the city we would be in the longest and second, Christmas Day fell during this time so we wanted to be somewhere a bit more homey. We were careful to select a place that was properly licensed; its not unusual now for major cities to have limitations on how many short term rentals can exist in a certain area and we didn’t want to risk being summarily thrown out by the polizia for illegal habitation. Our airbnb had (and continues to have) its license number in the listing which made us feel more confident to begin with and our hosts were wonderful with communication and extra help (like the airport transfer).
The location was great, a very cute neighborhood with a grocery, pharmacy and wine store literally steps away plus several specialty food stores (pastry, butcher, charcuterie, etc) downstairs. The Metro was immediately across the street and the Vatican Museums only a 10 minute walk away. The apartment had 3 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms, a small kitchen and living area but a table big enough for 6. Our hosts were so warm and friendly, they met us at the apartment and checked our passports (per regulation) and gave us a map with some advice about public transportation, where to eat, how to see the sights, etc. By the time we chatted with them, settled in and freshened up it was about 2.30pm and time to go sightseeing.
We pulled out the map and made our way to the Vatican Museums entrance. The main entrance to Vatican City was about another 10-15 minutes further- a huge wall surrounds the city/county and access to St. Peters Square is limited to just a few streets. We stood in the square for a long time just taking it all in, walking around to understand the layout. The sun began to set and it got cold FAST, the kids weren’t really dressed for it and everyone was getting hungry and tired so we headed back to the airbnb for the night. Grandma and Grandpa stayed with the kids while Rebecca and I popped over to to the grocery store and got pasta for dinner. We hadn’t done much sightseeing but it felt good to be settled and prepared for the next day.
Airbnb where we stayed: St. Peter Holiday in Style
View from our Airbnb balcony. You can see the top of St. Peters Basilica just above the trees.
Steps up to the road leading to the Vatican Museums.
St. Peter’s Square, the line to get in.