This was Thanksgiving week for all U.S. transplants, and we took advantage of that by doing too much traveling and too much eating. Sandwiched around two turkey dinners, one in Montespertoli on Thursday and one here in Florence on Saturday, we took a day trip Friday to Rome to visit with some family who was there and to see the new Ara Pacis Museum. Firstly - Rome as a day trip from Florence with kids can be a little too much - it is only 1.5 to 2 hours on the train (if there are no delays!), but there is the getting to the station and back, the walking around while there, and the cost of the tickets. We seem to have gone for much less in the past, but this trip set us back 44 € a head - which at today's exchange is pretty steep for a one day excursion (we flew to Paris last spring for less). Next time, we will spend at least a couple of days there and squeeze some more in. There are so many things to see in Rome, and the Ara Pacis Museum is one of the newest. I was interested in both the altar itself and to see the new building by Richard Meier that has caused such a fuss in the Eternal City. I found the Ara Pacis amazingly inspiring. It is such an enormous and beautiful piece of antiquity - a truly stunning piece of history and art. So, I came back from Rome and started up a new website for it - please check it out when you get a chance: Ara Pacis Museum
