ROME

This was our first trip on a train for me and the kids. Grant was pretty excited since he loves trains so much. When we arrived in Rome, we boarded a charter bus to see the Catacombs and the ruins of the Circus of Maxentius.
I laughed when we checked into our hotel room because there were four separate beds for all of us.
Here are the highlights of the trip since we saw so many sites:

Trevi Fountains: Legend says if you throw one coin over left shoulder, you will return to Rome; two coins thrown ensures true love; and three coins thrown ensures marriage. We all threw just one.
Pantheon: One interesting fact is that Brunelleschi studied this dome to figure out how to construct the Florence duomo.
Coliseum: I was so impressed with this building structure from so long ago-it was huge!
The Forum: This was the central area of Roman government.
Villa Borghese: There are museums, a theatre, park, a lake, and a zoo. We rented a fun bike to tour the beautiful area and the kids thoroughly enjoyed the day!
The Vatican:
I had no idea the Vatican was so enormous. This was a harder visit to really enjoy with two children. Laura enjoyed it for about an hour and Grant was totally off that day, so he was a challenge. I did enjoy the Sistine chapel although it was super duper crowded. We also visited St. Peter's Basilica. It has the largest interior of any Christian church in the world. It was beautiful!
Grant is definitely on his last legs at this point as he sits in the middle of the church!
Rome was so fascinating because you have this huge city bustling with taxis, people, cobbled roads, fountains with fresh drinking water and then ancient ruins.
I liked it a lot, but I will say that I enjoy the smaller city of Florence.