6/28/25

We arrived in Rome at about 12:30pm (Rome time). We had prebooked a shuttle to drop us off at our hotel, and we ended up four across in three seats for an hour. We were hot and tired and it made things extra exhausting.

We arrived at our hotel, Grand Plaza Rome, dropped our luggage, and took off exploring. Our hotel is beautiful and definitely has old Italy charm. We lucked out and have two connecting rooms. In Europe, it is very difficult to find hotel rooms that accommodate more than 2-3 people.

Our hotel is right in the main shopping district of Rome on Via del Corso. The street is lined with luxury shops, restaurants, and gelato shops. After a little bit of shopping, we had a bite to eat and some refreshing drinks. The kids were just thankful for ice cubes in their drinks. Today had a high of 99 degrees, so if we look hot and tired, it is because we are.

After lunch, we decided to walk to the Basilica Papale di Santa Maria Maggiore. This is the basilica that Pope Francis is buried in. When we got there, Mass was in session so we were not able to view the altar, which houses the Royal Crib. We did see Pope Francis’ tomb. Because this is a Jubilee year, the holy door was open. Since we were not necessarily planning on visiting a holy place today, we were not dressed appropriately. Thankfully, they had these “wraps” at the door, so we were still able to get in. I wish we had grabbed the audio for the guided tour because I think this church had so much more to offer than what we were able to see. Also, with mass going on while we were there, it was crowded and hard to get around. However, at this point, jet lag and heat were taking their toll on us. We left at around 6:45 and headed back to the hotel and took a nap.

After our nap, we headed out to find a bite to eat. It was around 8:30pm at this point. The area near our hotel is full of restaurants with servers beckoning you to try their menu. We picked one quickly and enjoyed it. Time for bed and ready for another hot day in Rome tomorrow! Ciao!