Lets see.. I think left off at going to Rome tomorrow on my trip update. We've done so much touring on this trip, its all become sort of a blend, so I'll try.
We stayed a Suite Roma 55 August 2 to 4.. which btw is only 6 months old, and shows 10/10 like a brand new show home. We had a one bedroom apartment with a kitchen and dinette, and everything in there was perfect when checking in. I recommend this place in a heart beat anyone visiting Rome. The rate worked out pretty decent at less around 125 euros per night.
Prior to arriving in Rome we visited Academia and Uffizzi (I think this is what its called) in Florence. We purchased a tour to these places on Viator. We ended up being late for the Academia so no group tour, but we caught up to them for the afternoon at the Uffizzi gallery. We did spend a couple hours at Academia, and Michael Angelo's statue of David was work of art.
On August 3rd in Rome, With a E Benz we decided to park downtown Rome on advice from the front desk. We took a cab to the Colosseum for 7 euros and purchased a 1 hour and 15 minute group tour onsite. The line was not very long, but the general admission line was stretched, probably a 2 hour long waiting line. I highly recommend the live tour guide for the 1 euro (than the audio tour) more each. You can ask questions of the guide and the the information communicated by the live tour guide is excellent. You receive an audio amplification device that allows you to hear every word. Apparently, the Colosseum went through some renos since my wife was last there. There are many exhibits, and a elevator which aids mobility.. a second floor circling the entire coliseum. We also toured quickly the Palentines and the Forum which was no extra charge with the ticket. In addition, the ticket you purchase at the Colosseum is good for 2 days.
As the schedule was tight, we caught a cab for 25 euros to the front steps of the Vatican Museum where we checked in to our tour with Dark Rome, who hosted the tour of the Vatican for us. The cafe accross from the Vatican Museum was extremely reasonable, and excellent food. We ordered from a quick serve buffet where it was then prepared professionally and warmed up. The salads were excellent as well. The family was well fed, while we waited the half hour before the tour entered into the Vatican. The Vatican tour, Raphael Rooms, Sistine Chapel and St. Peter's Basilica was a 3 and half hour tour. So very important to fully energized especially a long hot tour of the Colosseum, Palentines and Forum. This tour was one of the highlight tours in our visit this trip. We were impressed with Michael Angelo's work of the Sistine Chapel, and since St. Peter's Basilica was the largest church in the world, obviously of the 7 or so Domes we visited on this trip, St. Peter's was the highlight.
Next Day, we checked out around 5 am so we could meet our next tour in Florence.. A day trip to Siena and San Gimigianano. We thought this was going to be hole in the wall trip, but Tuscany was a pleasant surprise. We learned that Siena and Florence back in the days competed for Stature. We ate at locally recommended lunch with the guide so that was nice. We visited Siena's Dome (not as large as Florence, but certainly more beautiful), the World's oldest bank, local races with 4 competing groups within Siena, visiting a museum, and shopping before meeting with the group to travel to San Gimigianano.. there we visited their museum which had a mini replica of the town, apparently undergoing historic restorations. Much of the time was spent looking around the town and having some ice cream for the kids.
On August 5th we visited Milan and met with another guided tour with bus.. We visited Milan's opera house and museum, central shopping locations, Dome, prior to the highlighted visiting Leonardo da Vinci's Last Supper. At the Last Supper, only 25 people are allowed admission at any one time for a period of 15 minutes. Tickets I recall are sold out far in advance so its important to get your tickets otherwise you may not be able to gain entry. The most amazing aspect of the last supper was the art survived a WWII bomb that destroyed a wall within the room. Almost a supernatural event. The painting is slowly fading so its' not as vibrant as it could be, although a 20 year recent restoration has done wonders for the painting. Last Supper is not Fresco, so the dyes of Leonardo's pain is slowly fading off of the art.
After the tour we drove 9 hours back to Paris and checked in for a night.. we attended DLP the next day prior to catching the Eurostar back to the London for the Olympics (August 7th). The first day in London was reserved exclusively for collecting tickets at Will Call Cosport at Westminster College. After collecting the tickets we headed off to Hyde Park to experience some of the Olympic activity. There were games setup for the kids, 4 large TV screens and a concert all going simultaneously. Lots of food options.
Underground, overground transportation was not busy.. many volunteers around to give directions.. very easy to navigate while the Olympics is going on.
Our first Olympic Event was Athletics on August 8th, at Olympic Park.. We watched Usain Bolt run the 200M heat. Other events included the decathlon high jump and 800 m, women's 800 m heats, preliminary javelin, gold medal women's long jump, gold medal 100M hurdles, gold medal 400M hurdles and gold medal mens 100m hurdles. It was amazing to watch Britney Reese jump over 7 meters to eventually capture the gold. Felix capturing her first hurdles' gold was a highlight as well that evening.
August 9th, we watched the quarters and semis of Taekwondo 57kg women's and men's 68kg. We watch live Jade Jones upset the undefeated Taipei competitor. We chose the semis as opposed to the finals, because of the 3 and half hours worth of matches.. to watch the journey of the competitors. After it was all said and done, we knew who were competing in the evening finals for the medals.. which pretty much would have been done in an hour, and the tickets more costly obviously.
August 10th, we attended the Synchonized Team Swimming and cheered on the Canadian Women's team. The Aquatics Centre swimming venue I learned is an architectural marvel while watching a documentary on LH business class to Frankfurt. So it was just pure coincidence that we had tickets to the venue. It was amazing to watch live the synchronized teams final. Its so much different than watching it all on TV. We could make out heads or tails how the teams were judged.. but in the end, it was great to watch the world class swimmers perform after working so hard.
August 11th, we attended the gold medal match Women's Volleyball at Earl's Court.. US vs Brazil. US cleaned house on the first set, and we thought a sweep was possible because of US's excellent record.. But then the Brazilian fans and the volleyball team came alive and the atmosphere became electric.. Perhaps a taste of what's to come at the next Olympics in 2016? Brazil would end up winning the next 3 sets decisively against a US jaggernaut.
August 12th, last minute tickets for the US men's basketball gold medal match became available and I was going to pull the trigger.. but that would only leave us a few hours to get the kids settled before the Closing Ceremonies so we opted not to take in the event. OOHHHHHH! I wanted to see that basketball game so bad, with Lebron James and the stacked US team. That's one of my sports wish fantasies.. but the reality was that I've got a family, and to go pick up tickets at Cosport Will Call the next day early morning after the late night we just had with Volleyball, would not be fair for the kids. As described in the my earlier post, the Closing Ceremonies was electric and so different to what's seen on TV. We sat above the opening where athletes and performers were entering and exiting. We had a great view of the entire stadium.. The Led lights did not bother us as it was flashing over our shoulders.. From a distance the lights are mesmerizing with its many patterns. So much going on, with the musicians and shows..
I missed so much detail to what we actually experienced on our trip.. Will continue with the balance of the trip here next time..