Today we set out on our first big group travel experience with the students. Our destination is Rome, Italy, which happens to be the place my parents took me when we went overseas for the first time in 1984. It’s also the place where my siblings spent a summer in the early 70s. And Jennifer spent a summer in Rome in college, playing at an opera festival. So Rome figures pretty strongly in both our histories.

Our first day was a mini-marathon. After arriving at the Rome airport, we were whisked away to our hotel near the Campo di Fiori and Jewish Quarter. After a quick bathroom break, the students and I set out to walk to the Magistral Palace of the Order of Malta, a place that not many get to visit, as it is only open for a few hours per week. Thanks to a contact through the University of Malta, we got a special, private tour. We all learned a lot and enjoyed some beautiful architecture, gardens, and views of St. Peter’s.

Day two centered on the Vatican Museums, which, as we were warned in advance, are actually about a mile away from St. Peter’s, so it takes longer to walk there than you’d think! A local guide helped us sort through four miles of exhibition space (we saw just a fraction of that, and the kids did not join us!), ending at the Sistine Chapel. We then had a visit to St. Peter’s, and we came at just the right time—the sun was shining through the west “window,” which is actually a thin, translucent, colored marble.

For the boys, the highlights so far are the bunk bed in our hotel room and the wonderful hotel breakfast, which must be the best I’ve ever had. Oh, and the wonderful gelato right across the street. Oh, and the souvenir shops on every corner. Oh, and the fact that they get to use the Ipad on the airplane.

The beautiful Magistral Palace of the Order of Malta in Rome

Our boys at the hotel

Just one of many panels you might miss on the ceiling of the Vatican Museums

The grandeur of St. Peter’s Basilica