We Wanna Go Home! (Fri July 27)

We made a feeble attempt at seeing a few sights today, but our hearts just weren't in it.  The 90+ degrees also sap your strength.  We stopped by a church just down the street that contains Bernini's famous St. Therese in Ecstasy, it was covered with about 50 years of dust and diesel exhaust, which was a bit disappointing.  Then we wandered down to another Bernini fountain, Triton, and then went through the crypt of the Capuchin friars (artistically arranged bones--kind of weird).  We made one last stop at the National Museum of Rome:  It's a bunch of old statues without heads or arms...we turned to each other and said "who cares" and headed to McDonald's across the street for lunch.

McDonald's was fine, but we are ready to get to some place where every meal doesn't require effort.  Where we know what is on the menu, where they have A/C, where the cashier understands what we want, and where ice and ketchup are available, and included.

Triton Fountain

National Museum of Rome

More old stuff....yawn

Ornate 2000 year old sarcophagus with amazing marble carving....seen it.

Modern chariot races around a busy Roman plaza

Tired of trying new things?  McDonald's is everywhere and will gladly attenuate your cultural experience.

Outside the Diocletian Baths.  They were really, really big.

Back in the hotel, sheltering from the hot afternoon sun.

Boys engaging in their favorite activity.

We've had a great trip and have expanded our horizons in many ways.  We've learned to communicate and cooperate better as a family.  We've gained an appreciation for foreign people, places and languages.  We've seen some great art, astounding architecture, and amazing landscape.  And now we are ready to go home.  We are ready for mundane living for a while: laundry, grocery shopping, school, work and church.

We've run out of things to do for now, at least that we want to do.  The boys would like a park, but after 2000 years of urbanization, such things are rare in Rome and even if they weren't, it's too hot to enjoy the outdoors at this point.  We talked about taking the train down to the Mediterranean Coast, which is only a few stops beyond Ostia Antica, but nobody wanted to make the effort and the last thing we want to do now is deal with another crowd.  We are planning on sheltering in the hotel this afternoon and  hope to venture out for an early dinner.  Next, we are off to the airport at 6AM tomorrow for a long day of flying, but we are glad to do it.  Ciao!