Introduction
This article recounts Jett’s experiences on Day 3 of his first European trip. To view the Day 2 activities, click here.
Day 3 – Exploring Rome, Including the Colosseum, the Roman Forum, the Pantheon, and the Vatican
Day 3 was a day of great cultural, historical, and architectural significance for Jett. February 2, 2025, was a monumental day for us. Being in Rome is always special, and this trip on this day did not disappoint.
We started our Roman exploration by reuniting with our friend Chiara early in the morning. Chiara Antonelli (search for her on Facebook as Chiara Antonelli Tourist Guide) is our tour guide while in Rome. Chiara is an art historian who is equally versed in architecture, politics, historical personalities, culture, languages, and humor. During our 2022 trip to Rome, Chiara brought 2000 years of history to life for us with her voice, characters, passion, and encyclopedic knowledge base.
For this reason, we asked Chiara to give us another tour with content and historical highlights that would be interesting for 13-year-old Jett. This meant that we spent the morning of day three touring the Colosseum and the Roman Forum. We dealt with larger crowds than usual because the first Sunday of every month is free entry to the Roman historical sites.
Jett surprised Chiara on several occasions with his keen intellect, strong listening skills, and impressive historical knowledge. Some of that was due to his sixth-grade studies of Latin and the other excellent classes he took in middle school.
Once the tour was over, Toni and I took Jett out for lunch, and we completed a walking tour that included the Pantheon and the Trevi Fountain. After having some fabulous desserts (Jett’s favorite is tiramisu), we headed to the Vatican to explore this splendid locale. I think Jett was impressed and surprised by the magnificence of the Vatican. I could write a thousand words or more on what the Vatican means to me, but I’ll let the pictures tell the story differently.
