We drove the short 90-minute drive from the stunning landscape of Orvieto into the bustling open-air museum of Rome. We parked our rental car at the train station and took 2 cabs to the flat that we rented, strategically located a 4-minute walk from Caden's Rome Architecture program.
The flat is on the 4th floor of the building in a fantastic location (via Arenula 53). I love the beautiful wooden doors to the buildings and the foyers that are large enough to hold a car.
The flat sleeps 5, but Caden's program starts tomorrow and Lily heads back to the US tomorrow too! So Gia has her own room and we get all get a taste of our future state once Caden heads to college and it will be just the three of us '_'
Master bedroom
Master bath
Living Room (after I moved the loveseat along he wall from blocking the terrace)
Bathroom #2
"Hallway" to the living room
Kitchen
Entryway with shelving for shoes and the fridge
Lily, Caden, Gia & I decided to head out to shop our last day together. To walk anywhere in Rome you pass jaw-droppingly beautiful architecture and bucket-list worthy monuments.
The girls "immersed" themselves and Brandy Melville and Caden and I tackled Zara for men. We found some dress shirts, pants, and t-shirts without logos. Always tough that the kid's packing for Italy happens once I am already here. Despite sending packing lists, Caden always manages to bring no less than 3 fleece lined sweatshirts—just in case it might snow! And he carefully selects t-shirts that have logos with alcohol references or stains '_' So thrilled to find some nice options for him so that he can look presentatable during the program (insert Caden's eye roll here). Once home we layed everything he owns out, and put together what was going with him for his program, and what was going in the pile of "do we even need to bring this back home"?
Later we headed out for dinner. We decided to head towards a touristy area by the Trevi Fountain since Lily was leaving early the next morning. We found a place with oysters that ended up being the size of my hand and inedible, with mediocre food to boot. But the people watching was great, along with the best-ever photo-bomb family pic I have ever seen :)
On our way to dinner. We pass this excavation site many times a day.
Dinner selfie
The oysters
Trevi Fountain
We asked a woman to take our photo after seeing the results of the above selfie and did not realize we were photo-bombed until the next day. Hysterical!
You can see the photo-bomber just over Corey's right shoulder.
Walking home, we happened across the 17-century elephant sculpture that Caden's art teacher asked him to draw for her, and that if he did, she would hang it in her home. My initial thought to this is to get in line :) But I think it was providential that we just happened across it. I haven't wandered past it in the days since!
As I was Googling the name of the statue, I read that the tip of its tusk has been broken off on a couple of occasions and repaired. The statue of the elephant holding an 18-foot-tall obelisk on its back was designed by Gian Lorenzo Bernini. He has designed many other famous works, including Apollo and Daphne and St. Peter's Square. He was commissioned to design a base for the obelisk by Pope Alexander VII after it was discovered on the grounds of a Dominican monastery.
Bernini chose the elephant because the animal "symbolized strength." The inscription on the sculpture's base reads, "Anyone who observed the sculpted images of Egyptian wisdom on the obelisk carried by the elephant, the strongest of beasts, realizes that it takes a strong mind to carry a solid wisdom."
The walk home. Loved having the whole crew together again for a few days!!!
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