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On Monday morning my family and I grabbed our packs and left for the airport to start our family vacation. We had a late afternoon flight so we ate early to have enough time to do the checking and boarding without hurry, with extra time to find our gate and even shop around. However, it wasn’t as easy as we initially thought.

Even thought we did the checking quick and without problems, once we got to our gate we realized our terminal was secluded from the shopping mall of the airport. My siblings and I tried to get to the shops we could see in the floors above but we were unsuccessful, we ended up in another checking finding out that that area belonged to U.S.A flights and we could not access it, so we ended up having to do the checking again.

When we thought that was it and all was left to do was wait for our time of departure, our gate number changed and we had to change terminals. Nonetheless, this wasn’t the last mishap we would face that evening since our flight suddenly had an one hour delay. When we only had fifteen minutes left to board the plane the gate number changed again and everyone had to run to the end of the terminal —even thought the airplane would’ve waited for us—.

Finally, after a two hour delay, we boarded our plane and took off for our destination, Rome.

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After landing and a 30 minute walk through the infinite Rome airport, we got to the bus that would take us to the main train station of the city: Termini.

To make a comparison it would be the equivalent of Madrid's Atocha station, a long-distance bus and train interchange with access to the city's subway and several shops around, in addition to the collection of taxis at the door.

We arrived late at night since the bus drive from the airport was an hour long, however the hotel was within a 5 minute-walking distance so we had some dinner and went to bed.

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Laocoön and His Sons (Gruppo del Laocoonte), by Hagesandrus, Polidorus and Athenodorus of Rhodes.

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Our first day in the city started with a cold caused by the airplane’s air condition that would last me the entire vacation. With a headache and a shore throat we went ahead on a trip to Vatican City with a guided tour into the Vatican Museum, where we learnt about the history, saw the different artworks —as shown in the picture, for example— and finally entered the Sistine Chapel, the most beautiful body of work I’ve seen in my entire life. I’m very glad photos weren’t allowed because they wouldn’t make any justice to how breathtaking it was to see it in real life.

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Then, after leaving the museum, we walked around Rome sightseeing the most common places, having pasta for lunch while trying not to pass out from the heat. We practically toured the entire city center, we were able to see the Bocca della Verità and then we ended up in the Trevi Fountain. It was really packed with tourists —a slightly redundant statement since we were also tourists— but it was a very beautiful sight regardless.

My siblings thought it would be bigger but I think it matches perfectly with what I had in mind, my parents were reminiscing the trip they made to Italy when they were younger comparing and explaining how much it had changed in the last 20 years. We then went to have some gelato like the average visitor.

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Piazza di Spagna, 1723-1725, Francesco De Sanctis and Alessandro Specchi.

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To finish our walking day we went to see the sun set at the top of the Spanish Steps, a stairway connecting two squares: the Holy See and the Spanish Square. Situated nearby the centre of the city, it has the function to connect the Bourbon Spanish Embassy and the Trinità dei Monti church. We then finished the day walking back to our hotel and having some dinner in our room.

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We started the morning with some quick breakfast before heading out to visit the Coliseum. It was within a 20 min walk from our hotel and since it was still early in the day the heat hadn’t kick in yet. The amphitheater was an impressive view from the outside that made you wonder about the ancient world, inside the building there was a museum dedicated to artifacts found in the excavation and a brief summary of the history of the place during the Roman Empire and the centuries that followed. Then, you could wonder around and go into the balconies to see the structure of the amphitheater, how the seats were placed to watch the show, how the playing arena was excavated to show what was under the ground and how the display made you imagine what was like to go see the show, to put their lives in danger in the arena and how it doesn’t exists anymore but the story has remained alive to this day and age.

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That evening our parents took us to the famous neighborhood known for its bohemian lifestyle, bars and restaurants, the vintage shops and the overall atmosphere of the place. I watched young people have fun and go out with their friends and though how fun it would be to live there —I guess I romanticize it because is in Rome, we have bohemian neighborhoods back at home—. The streets were filled with music, concerts in the piazza and small businesses with jewelry stalls, overall felt like an old place with a really alive life.

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Our last day in Rome started with our routine pf having breakfast close to the train station and then taking the metro —one of the only two existing lines—. We then went ahead to see the Bocca Della Verità (The Mouth of Truth) since the day before closed at 7 pm and weren’t able to make it. After also visiting the church the marble mask was in, we went back to the city centre and looked for another church famous for its painted ceiling: St Ignatius of Loyola church. As seen in the picture, the view was breathtaking, under the ceiling there was a mirror to take pictures and a long line behind it. We didn’t take the mirror picture but we spent 20 minutes looking up.

It was definitely one of my favorite sights of the trip.

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Basilica of St. Mary and the Martyrs, AD 609.

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Just walking down street from the church we had the famous Pantheon, a really impressive building that was a former Roman temple. It was bigger than I imagined and surely left a strong impression. Situated in Piazza della Rotonda, we were able to move quickly through the queue and enter the building.

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Once inside, the most impressive aspect was the open round ceiling that let the light in and probably the water whenever it rained. The structure of the round was also circular which I did not expect since the outside if very rectangular. Every wall was decorated with renaissance art, both paintings and sculptures. Reading the informative signs I found out how the Pantheon is used as a graveyard for very important people, I was able to see Raphael Sanzio’s tomb which shocked me to my core, two

important kings of Italy were also buried there —Vittorio Emanuele II and Umberto I— as well as recognized historic figures like Rousseau, Jean Moulin or Victor Hugo.

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Finally, our last day ended with a night walk around the city revisiting the historical sites but at nighttime. My sister and I wanted to see the Trevi Fountain and the Colosseum light up, so after dinner we headed there and came to the agreement that they were ten times more beautiful in the evening. After our dinner we said goodbye to Rome —after having some trouble catching a taxi back home and waiting almost an hour for a bus— and went back to our hotel room, packed our bags and got ready for our departure the next day, making the end of our vacation.