Rome

Our trip to Rome was amazing!  Out of all the places in Europe we've wanted to go, Rome was at the top of the list.  And it certainly didn't disappoint.  We were a little worried about taking the kids with us, since we knew we would be walking a lot and sometimes a short trip into Copenhagen wears them out.  But, they were absolutely amazing.  We walked around 7 miles every day and they never complained.  Only on the last day did Noah tell us he was a tired of walking and had to be carried for a while.  It was actually such a neat experience to get to be there with our kids.  To get to share with them these amazing sites and wonderful history.

During our trip, we took over 2000 pictures.  So, I've decided to separate each day into it's own blog post, mostly with pictures.  But, I just thought I'd write here briefly about some of my thoughts about our trip. So, here it goes:
 - It's hard traveling with kids.  But our kids are awesome and we are already talking about where we are going next.

 - It's hard finding food when traveling with kids.  They are always hungry. I think we did a pretty good job of keeping tummies filled.  And although we had a couple of good meals, I'm pretty sure we didn't really experience any great Italian food.  When it's evening time, everyone's tired and hungry, you tend to go for what is closest.  Probably not always the best.  But, the gelato, oh, the gelato.  I'd go back to Italy just for that.

 - On the first day of sightseeing, the street vendors are kind of fun, something different, unique, but by the 3rd day, they are just the most annoying things ever.  And by the 4th and 5th day, you kind of want to just give them a hard shove, to get them out of your face.  Or maybe step on their crappy sunglasses they've laid down right in the middle of the Spanish Steps.  So annoying...
 - If you give your camera to the kids, you'll end up with over 2000 photos, many containing various finger parts.  
 - As far as big cities go, I've been to London and Copenhagen, so I don't have too much experience in big cities.  Rome seemed so much larger, more crowded, dirties, noisier, busier...  The smell of urine was so strong in places, I wanted to gag, groups of homeless people were found in many areas, the beggars were like the plague.  After finding out that many of the beggars are part of a group that go around and dress up and beg for money, I was a little disgusted by that.  But, what was really sad was the amount of people we saw begging for money that had severe physical deformities.  It's was really sad and eye-opening.
 - We thought the Metro's in Copenhagen were crowded, well, we were wrong.  I've never seen so many people crowded into such a small space. 

 - I really enjoyed visiting Rome, but I wouldn't want to live there.  I'd go back to visit again though.  It actually made me feel very grateful that we live in Denmark.  Things here are so much cleaner and smaller and less crowded.  Yet, we still get to enjoy the "big city" feel.
 - Going to Rome was Amazing!  And did I mention the Gelato?