Dubai - day 1; The Big Bus Tour

Arriving in Dubai at 2am, we slept through most of our first day and started out only after noon! We took the Big Bus tour, embarking from right outside the hotel. Going through the major sights of Dubai, we were disappointed at the architecture of the Burj-Al-Arab. Though sleek and very modernistic, it felt like blocks of steel and glass rising out on the ocean horizon.

We hopped off at the Mall of Emirates to catch a late lunch/early dinner. Having read a lot about it, and expecting a kids play area, etc , we were again disappointed at the huge mall. It was a huge mall, a shoppers paradise; but not really offering any deals better than what I'd find here. More designers for me to go ga-ga over, but not the cost effectiveness to make me loosen my purse. There was the famous indoor ski-slope, but Sudha Parimala was content to look at the kids playing through the glass.

We ended up having lunch in the food court and waiting for over 2 hours for a cab to get back to the hotel !

Roma - day 4; onward to Dubai

Checking out of the hotel, we decided to walk down to the Colosseum/Forum again and hangout until lunchtime. To our pleasant surprise, we found the entire stretch of Fori Di Emperialli, the road leading to the Colosseum was closed to traffic. There were people everywhere, and Sudha Parimala ran amuck chasing dogs and pigeons and horse carriages.

She ran behind one dog but the little boy leading the dog with his mother turned and saying no, indicated that it would bite. Poor Sudha, she didn't understand why she couldn't go near the dog and pouted , as if to cry. But the joy of running unbridled in the street was far more than her disappointment over the dog.

We had lunch at a nearby place. Ordered a salad and pasta, and the salad was among the worst I've had and the pasta, among the best! Eating and managing Sudha Parimala was a challenge in itself.

A fast lunch later we were heading to the airport, conversing with the cabbie in the couple of words of Italian I'd learnt, onward to Dubai.

Having a free reign at the Fori Di Emperialli.

A few final shots at the Colosseum

There's the squirming baby again!

Roma - day 3; The Vatican Museums

Having "booked" our tickets through viator.com, we reached the Vatican entrances at 9.00am. After a short confusion (I stood in the wrong line for half an hour), we got in the museum bypassing the lines.

The Vatican museum, like The Louvre, is best described in pictures. So I am not even going to attempt it.

The Raphael Rooms
We stayed longer than planned in the Raphael rooms, as that was exactly where an over-tired Sudha Parimala decided to throw a tantrum. Nothing I did would make her go to sleep, I offered to nurse (she hadn't nursed since the minute we got on the first flight), but she pinched me instead. Finally, she gave up and went to sleep in my arms. I sat in the Raphael room, with the love of my life in my arms and surrounded by all the beautiful artwork. It was a moment of sheer peace.

The Sistine Chapel
All signs lead to the Sistine Chapel, and we finally followed one to enter into THE chapel. It was crowded and very difficult to move around and apt to bump into someone craning their neck. To me - the beauty/amazingness of Michaelangelo's art was purely artistic. I had read the biblical significance, but they did not really mean anything to me. But how could I not be blown away with the sheer scale of his work. Seen to be believed, read to be understood, Michaelangelo's masterpiece is simply that - a masterpiece. While the beauty of Raphael's work gave me a thoughtful smile, the Sistine Chapel gave me a 'wow'.

Leaving the Sistine Chapel, we made the mistake of not taking the back door that would've lead us directly into St. Peter's basilica. We instead climbed down stairs (all the time carrying a sleepy Sudha Parimala in the gogokidz), and rested for a bit in the pizzeria until she woke up. We exited the museums the same way we'd got in, finding pigeons again - to Sudha Parimala's delight!

St. Peter's Basilica
We went around all the way to the entrance of St. Peter's Basilica. The piazza of the Basilica is a huge open space. Again this was broken up by the nativity scene built in the front. We were by then so tired that we opted out of entering St. Peters (even though I very much wanted to), and instead spent the time enjoying the surroundings. I'm afraid I didn't really do justice to St. Peter's even from outside. Amidst recouping from a tiring museum walk and watching out for a now hyperactive toddler, all I managed to see of St. Peters was its huge columns and statues atop. A revisit to Rome is certainly needed, someday.

Returning, we sought to recreate our wonderful pizza dinner of the previous night, but the tired toddler would have none of it. She wouldn't eat any of the wonderful Formi pizza (cheese pizza) either, prefering to crash on my legs.

PS: The pants/hat she is wearing - all done by me, "Autumn" Purewool longies. :)

The one place in the Vatican museums where she ran around free.

Yes, we have one picture on each day of our travels where she is squirming to get out of our hands.

Admiring the wolf/dog
Yes, she was intent on learning a bit of "culture" too. Snatching the audio guide from dad's hands, she listened to info on a lot of exhibits (we think).

Tired out, sitting in the piazza, until a cop asked us not to sit there.

With the magnificent St. Peters Basilica in the background
The obelisk in front of St. Peters that is from ancient days in Egypt, placed there by architectural design of Bernini.

Roma - day 2; Colosseum and The Forum Romanum

After a tiring night with Sudha Parimala bouncing on the bed until 2 am (yawn... ), we finally left at 11am.

Our destination - The Colosseum and The Forum Romanum, both just minutes away from our hotel.

We walked down Fori di Emperiali until we came to the Colosseum. We decided to buy tickets at the Palatine Hill, just around the corner from the Colosseum. Instead of dragging the gogoKidz all around the "corner", I decided to wait while Guru went to get tickets. Sudha Parimala entertained herself chasing pigeons. But it took so long for Guru to bring the tickets that maybe it would've been the same time for us to stand in line and buy them at the Colosseum instead.

The Colosseum
We stood in the long line to get in, not really admiring the architecture, we were too busy entertaining a toddler who did NOT like being strapped in the carseat while there was all these lovely nooks and corners to explore! The entrance to the Colosseum opened up into the first level. At first, even I - a total imaginative history buff, was a bit startled at the ruins. All we could see was ruins all around and a labyrinth of ruined walls on the ground. From that level, the Colosseum did not feel all that colossal!

Once we went to the next level, everything fell into the picture! One small part of the stage was reconstructed - including the marble seats where the Emperor and the Vestal Virgins sat. I could admire the huge structure and the labyrinths underneath got their meaning and I could see the entire structure as a huge sports stadium.

Kind of a pity actually, that the mighty Roman Empire had to show-off their mightiness through barbaric games. And also kind of expected, as isn't that what the victorious do - rub their victories in the face of the defeated?

The Forum Romanum
Anyway, once we were out of the the Colosseum, we headed to the Forum. Out of the many Forums in Rome, this one was the main Forum - the main area which was THE hang out of ancient Roman. To our dismay we found the path between The Colosseum and The Forum to be paved with huge stones, not the smaller cobblestones that we had somehow learned to negotiate with the gogoKidz! Expecting only the entrance to be that way, we lifted the now sleeping Sudha Parimala along with the gogoKidz to the first arch. My hopes were dashed when I saw most of the area of the Forum paved with similar stones. And with a sleeping baby, there was no way we could lift the heavy contraption all around.

Guru offered to stay back near the entrance and let me go alone (I think he was happy to stay back, he said he had "seen it all" just from the view from the entrance). Very guiltily, I think I enjoyed that sojourn most! I walked along the Forum roads (some of the stones survive from the days of the Emperors), drinking in the ruins - imagining myself in a togo among the wonderful buildings of my imagination. The Temple of Saturn had me in awe, standing underneath the ruins and seeing the huge pillars rise above. The house of the Vestal Virgins brought a smile - what an unlucky honour to be chosen. I could see Mark Anthony give his "Friends Romans Countrymen" speech at Caesar's funeral. THIS was Caesar's Rome, THIS was the ancient Rome in all its glory that I had so longed to see.
Yes, I have an over-imaginative imagination. :)

After a leisurely stroll, often backtracking to see something I'd missed, I returned to find a Guru who was at the end of his patience trying to get Sudha Parimala out of the nearby water fountain. He had had enough and looked forward to his Siesta. Needless to say, the Italian Siesta was his favourite part of the trip.

The Pantheon
Eager to see the one surviving structure from ancient Rome, we set out for the Pantheon. But .. from the minute we entered it, Sudha Parimala hated it. She was uber-cranky, not having a nap and refused to have anything to do with it. To make things worse, she would shriek at the top of her voice and the Pantheon's dome made it sound all the more louder! We stayed just long enough to pay homage to Rafael's tomb. The evening service started in there and we literally ran out to stop Sudha Parimala from embarrasing us!

After a bribe of some Gelato and acting all sorts silly, we finally bundled her into the carseat and set out for Piazza Navona.

Piazza Navona
Piazza Navona and THE Bernini's fountain that I was dying to see (being fueled more by descriptions in Dan Brown's Angels and Demons). There was also a Christmas market there that I was sure Sudha Parimala would enjoy. Unfortunately, by the time we got there, the tired no-nap baby had fallen asleep. And my long awaited fountain - was being renovated and all covered up :( My disappointment was compounded on realizing that the fountain was the only Bernini that I'd actively included in my itenary. We weren't visiting any other churches (nothing religious - only didn't fancy repeating the Pantheon visit with a cranky toddler), and even though the Vatican museum does house a lot of Berninis, it wasn't the same.
And the Christmas market - actually made the Piazza feel very tacky. I went there expecting an open place where people sat in cafes and watched kids run around, but instead found a little fairground with people walking around stalls.

The most amazing Pizza ever!
Sudha Parimala was still asleep, and my disappointment over the Piazza Navona got us going to dinner early - at a little pizza place near the hotel. It was the most amazing pizza ever!! Oven pizza and the toppings were so different from the American pizzas. It was the most enjoyed meal in Rome and Sudha Parimala slept all through! And continued to sleep when we returned to the hotel and transfered her into the bed ... and not a peep until she woke up in the morning at 8am! A good night's sleep from 4.30pm - 8am! Unheard of !!!

The Colosseum

Inside the Pantheon - Trying to desperately stop her from screaming. And that's my new travel diaper bag - Posh Baby Ultimate(PBU), Love it!

Piazza Navona - Bernini's fountain and obelisk, all covered up

Roma - day 1; The loss of the Ergo, Trevi Fountain and Oven Pizza

After an ear infection diagnosis, and forgetting the all important Ergo, and enduring a temper tantrum on the flight (she was totally bewildered about the new place and why we were not letting her walk around), We reached Rome in the morning and not wanting to repeat our misadventures in Paris, took a cab to our hotel. The hotel was located 2 blocks from 'Fori di Imperialli', the main street leading to the Colloseum and the Forum. Our room was ready on arrival and all 3 of us collapsed gratefully. Waking up, we feasted on the Chapathi I'd made from home and decided to go in search of a baby carrier similar to the Ergo.

We used the carseat + gogokidz combination as a stroller and dragged it uphill and downhill - all over the cobblestoned roads. She had a bumpy ride, but seemed to enjoy it. We went down to a store on Via Nationale, but they were out of baby carriers. After I had moaned enough about the loss, we decided to walk down to Trevi fountain. We again dragged the carseat + gogokidz combination uphill and downhill - all over the cobblestoned roads, navigating the map until we found the Trevi fountain.

Trevi Fountain
We knew we were in the vicinity of the fountain, but were startled nevertheless when the small (and cobblestoned) road suddenly opened up into a crowded and noisy piazza. It looked like the entire city was there that night! Having the "stroller", we were not free to walk around as we pleased. So we took turns at walking down to the fountain. Sudha Parimala, of course enjoyed the fountain and would dive from our arms to wet her hands. Ideally, we would've liked to enjoy the fountain more and stayed there longer, but it was just too crowded.

We left the Trevi after a sampling of the tasty gelato and tried to make our way back. Our map lead us the the Victor Emmanuel monument and then ... lost us! We had to backtrack our steps quite a few times before we found the correct little road leading to Fori Di Imperialli'. En route to our hotel, I took the opportunity to look down on the ruins of the Forum Romanum and felt goosebumps. I was going to finally explore and walk in Caesar's Rome the next day. We decided to go to a nearby Indian restaraunt for dinner where met an Australian couple with whom we had an enjoyable discussion on the boxing day cricket match that was being played at Melbourne. But since Sudha Parimala was getting rather too boisterous, decided to bring the food back with us rather than risk her throwing food on the other people at the hotel.

That night was rough - with us feeling sleepy, but Sudha Parimala wanting to explore and play because of the different time zones.

The Trevi Fountain

The Victor Emmanuel monument and a sleeping baby - after we'd "just" missed our road and ended up walking an extra 30 minutes.

Sipping Lassi at an Indian restraunt at dinner.