This is NOT the bathroom

We are finding that children are making our travels more interesting in many ways. The kids add their perspectives to things, and often make us take detours from the usual sites we would check out if they weren't along. I've been inside more businesses simply to see if they have a bathroom during one of our many "emergencies." Luckily a kid bouncing on one foot grabbing their pants and dancing around is a universal symbol, and kind store owners simply point us in the direction of the nearest facilities.

We thought we were heading down the stairs of the main Cathedral in Florence to the restrooms. It turned out that there was an additional museum under the main sanctuary of the church. We weren't sure what was being displayed inside, as all of the signs were in Italian. But, it was going to cost less than our first lunch in Italy for us all to go in, so we decided to check it out.

It turns out that when they were refurbishing the church, a Roman village was found below the Cathedral. As it turns out, underneath many roads and buildings in current day Italy, there are more ruins waiting to be found. There were intricately designed tile pathways, columns, and sarcophogies. The walls were adorned with fresco paintings. You could walk along the actual pathways that Ancient Romans had used to get from place to place. We had found a mini-Rome without the traffic! And, no, my son did not wet his pants. It turns out his need to go had only been perpetuated by boredom from his mom wanting to look at all of the paintings inside of the church. Good diversion tactic.

Ciao' for now!