Vacanza Romana

Vacanza Romana - Roman Holiday!

We made it to Rome this past Saturday. It's an easy 1-hour trip by high-speed train, perfect for a quick day visit! The plan was to hit the Colosseum first. Unfortunately, between a very tight train arrival time and a metro system (that we planned to take from Roma Termini station to the Colosseum) that was shut down for the day, we didn't make it. Luckily, Shane purchased an annual pass (can you imagine, annual passes to the Colosseum!) so we will be heading back soon enough. 

After a quick adjustment to our plans, we decided to just start walking and see where the day took us. We hopped on the open metro line and made it to Fontana di Trevi (Trevi Fountain) a little before 9am. There were plenty of people there, but it didn't feel unmanageable at all, and we were still able to take some great photos! It was also a nice place to sit down and plan out a little more of our day. The term "plan" is used loosely and we kept the day pretty spontaneous. I know this doesn't work for most people wanting to cram it all into a short visit, but it was still a fantastic day and we still saw A LOT. 

 

Some gorgeous sights between Trevi and the Pantheon

 

Following Trevi, we headed to the Pantheon. After a short wait in line for tickets (cash only, but kids under 18 are free!), we headed inside and took it all in. The dome is incredible and larger than any photo can convey. It would be fun to watch the sunlight move around throughout the day. Since the center of the dome is wide open to the air, there is a gentle slope to the center of the floor and subtle drain holes in a few places on the floor so when it rains, it doesn't puddle up! The nearly 2,000 year old engineering and design that went into everything is truly impressive. 

 

We stopped for a quick snack break at a cafe in the Piazza della Rotonda (where the Pantheon is located) and enjoyed cornetti (croissants) and cappuccino. Definitely paid tourist prices, but the view was nice and the kids needed to refuel. 

After that, we just enjoyed exploring, taking in all of the incredible architecture, wandering down side streets, and even finding an appropriately-named little cafe.

 

 

It means "Turtles"!!

Random archeological sites sprinkled throughout the modern city is the coolest thing to see and stumble upon! This one was an old theater compound. 

 

 

One of our favorite non-tourist things were ALL the drinking fountains. They can be found all over Rome, and are free-flowing with fresh, cold water. The fountains are fed from the aqueduct system running from the mountains! We were able to refill our water bottles as frequently as we wanted (and splash a little on ourselves to cool off). We knew about them before we went, so only brought 2 refillable bottles with us, but we had no idea how abundant and cold they would be! We had an app ready for finding them throughout the day (AceaWaidyWow), but only used it once to find a fountain right before getting back on the train at the end of the day. They were fun to find and use, and saved us from buying bottled water throughout the day (you know how we feel about single-use plastics). 

 
This was the prettiest fountain we came across. Many others were built coming out of walls and looked more like traditional fountains with basins, while others were simple posts coming up out of the ground on the sidewalk with a spout.

More random sight-seeing around the city. There are piazzas, statues, fountains and grand buildings EVERYWHERE!

 

 

Gelato break at Gelateria di Cerchi right next to Circo Massimo (Circus Maximus)

These were the small cone, 2 scoops (Italians EXPECT you to mix flavors, it's so fun) for €3 each.

We may not have stopped at the real Bocca della Verità (Mouth of Truth), but this replica at the gelato place was a fun substitute!

We stopped at Taverna Romana for a late lunch. It's located a few block north of the Foro Romano (Roman Forum) and Colosseo (Colosseum). We had to wait about 20 minutes for a table, but it was a nice quiet street and the food was delicious! We started with misto di formaggi e salumi (mixed cheese and salami), then the kids shared some carbonara and we both got a fresh cod, chick pea and tomato salad. It was the perfect meal for a hot day! The menu at the restaurant was small, but that's a good thing! Find places that focus on a few good dishes and have most or all of their menu in Italian. You're sure to get more authentic, less tourist-trap options. 

 

It's also worth mentioning that despite being peak tourist season, it never felt horribly crowded anywhere. Many places we wandered were nearly empty, and even the popular stops were easy to get around and didn't have crazy lines or crowds. That being said, 2025 is probably going to be a crazy time to visit. It's a jubilee year for Rome (happens every 25 years) and means special events and larger crowds. Many fountains, statues and other areas had barriers and scaffolding around them because of extra cleaning and restoration going on to prepare. 

Our post-lunch wanderings took us past the Roman Forum and over to the Colosseum. It had been a pretty long day at this point, and we were very hot, so we made the joint decision not to explore those areas this time. Had to get some photos outside of course! We will be back soon enough to check out more. We hopped a bus back to Roma Termini Station, grabbed another gelato treat while we waited for our train, and then enjoyed the ride home. 

 

Our train tickets cost us just over €100 round-trip, but we opted for the premium family tickets, which included some water and snacks each way. We left out of Napoli Afragola station, so there were no stops between there and Roma Termini. If you travel from downtown Naples and use Napoli Centrale, you would have the stop at Afragola before heading on to Rome. The train also continues farther north, so it's a great option if you're moving on to another city as well. 

I think the best moral of this trip was, it doesn't matter if you have nothing planned! We spent the day in Rome, saw tons of amazing things and ate plenty of delicious food. If you have things that are must-dos for you, give yourself plenty of time. Otherwise, you can absolutely enjoy Rome in a spontaneous way! 

Ciao for now! Finchè la prossima volta (until next time)!

Avventure d'Estate

Summer Adventures!

Well, despite our best efforts (which apparently aren't very good) it's been a month since the last blog update. So here we go!

Shane was due for a work trip to Sigonella, Sicily at the end of June. That unfortunately was postponed, so no trips for the whole family just yet. He will be going in August, before school starts, but is scheduled to be working nearly every waking moment, so there isn't much point in going with him. 

Instead, we've been exploring around the immediate Naples area, getting together with friends, and meeting new faces. 

First up was a visit to one of the few workshops still making traditional copper goods, Porritiello Rame e Acciaio. It sits at the base of Mt Vesuvius and ships to other gift shops and retailers all over Italy. While they do have some machines for initially shaping the copper and buffing and finishing it at the end, the majority of the work is entirely by hand. They make pots, pans, oil dispensers and drainers, sugar/coffee/flour canisters, bowls, coffee pots, decorative containers, and just about any custom item you can want. 

We watched them make a pan, and even though initially shaping the copper was done using a machine, the man still used his hands and body weight to work and bend the metal into place. The machine was almost more like using a pottery wheel to make sure the final shape was even. He then took it and added all of the dimples on the outside, turning and hammering everything himself. Next, the pan gets a layer of tin added to the inside by melting and rubbing it on like a thin layer of oil, dunking in a water bath to set it, and drying it thoroughly in a giant bin of sawdust. 

Our next adventure took us to la Reggia di Caserta, or the Royal Palace of Caserta. The palace was built in the mid-late 1700s for the ruling family of Naples (Italy wasn't a unified country yet and had many smaller monarchies). It is the largest former royal residence in the world, and its grounds span 47,000 square meters. We walked it end to end, it's definitely BIG. 

This was taken from almost the very back of the property looking toward the palace waaaaay in the distance. We logged A LOT of steps that day.

Before we get to the absolute grandeur of the palace, I must also mention (because what kind of Star Wars fans would we be if I didn't) that the palace was used for filming all of the scenes in Episodes 1-3 that take place inside the Palace of Naboo. So of course, we had some fun enjoying living out some Star Wars dreams as well!

The architecture, sculptures, art and finishes throughout the palace were breathtaking. There are very few words for just how stunning it all is. Many details of the design were modeled after the Palace at Versailles, and the sheer volume of marble used to build the majority of the palace is astounding. Interestingly enough, though, the floors in many of the chambers and side rooms were made of terra cotta tiles and painted to look like marble! 

The columns inside this chapel had extensive gouging and damage from bombing during World War II. It was decided to leave the damage as a reminder, like a penance for Italy's involvement with the Nazis. 

Every surface in the palace is finished and detailed, down to textured silk wallpaper and gilding on EVERYTHING. There were murals in every room, every ceiling had master-level paintings, mostly featuring figures from Greek/Roman mythology or relevant moments of the royal family. 

A bathtub fit for royalty, complete with hot and cold taps!

The royal nursery

This is a good example of the faux marble, actually terra cotta, floors.

                                                 Wild 24 hour clock!

There was also a full theater complete with royal boxes, and a private altar where the King could receive the Pope.

And let's throw in some unbelievable Italian glass chandeliers for good measure.

After seeing every centimeter inside that we could, we headed outside to explore the grounds. There is a series of pools, waterfalls and fountains that stretches nearly the entire back length of the property, with statues lining all the main areas and even going off into side sections (that we did not get to that day). 

Not there yet

Almost there

Last fountain and waterfall!

For Fourth of July, we enjoyed a free concert by Andy Grammer (!!!) and fireworks at Carney Park, the US's recreational park here in Naples that is inside an extinct volcano crater. We had the best time, and the kids are still talking about it almost a month later.

If you know us at all, you know sea turtles and conservation have been a huge part of our lives, especially Sara's, for a long time. It was hard moving away from the program and the people that have been so important for many, many years. But the universe has a way of putting you in the right place, and Sara has found the sea turtle people here in Naples! The language barrier makes it incredibly difficult to express all of the knowledge and expertise she has in the field, but she's finding her footing and gearing up for hatchings to begin this week! The program is managed by the Anton Dohrn Zoological Station (very much like a Dauphin Island Sea Lab of Naples) and sees only Loggerhead (Caretta caretta) sea turtles. 

Round out July with juicing lots of lemons, lots of swim time and just living la dolce vita. We've made friends with a family that lives just a couple of streets over so the kids are loving having friends so close again. 

Now that we are settled into our home for the next few years, planning has begun for trips to Rome, Paris, London, and other European adventures, so look forward to that in future posts. We're also ready to start seeing familiar faces and having guests come stay! La Casa di Johnson is open for business! 

And on a fun side note, our current favorite band to listen to is The Kolors. They're an Italian group with some really fun music, so go look them up and give them a listen!! (Our favorites are Un Ragazzo Una Ragazza and Karma) Audrey loves the songs, but they also get stuck in her head, so Olle loves playing them just to be annoying. Ah, classic sibling antics. 

Ok, that's really it for now. Until next time!!