There were 2 lines. One line was to buy the new iPhone5, which was very short when we arrived. The second was to browse the store and of course that was the longer line.

We had thought that the crowd was small, until we each took turns to see that it was actually very long.

Our girls did a great job of behaving. Valentina even had Space Bubu to keep her company. (her eye looks funky because she has a mosquito bite on the top)

To get the crowd excited, there were several Apple employees outside welcoming everyone and answering questions.

Once the store officially opened, I spotted someone on the roof checking out the action!

And those that didn’t stand in line, watched from across the street to take photos. Most of course used an Apple product.

We arrived at 9:40 and were the last ones in line. By 10:30 there were lots more people behind us. (ps.. why does that guy look angry?)

This is the LARGEST Apple Store in Italy and the second to actually be located in the city center. The first Apple Store located in the city center is in Bologna.

As we progressed in line, we were able to finally see a little bit of the interior. It’s really nice.

At one point, I had to leave the line and run to the pharmacy to buy some food for Elisabetta and then to a cafe for a snack for Valentina. We honestly thought we would be done by 11:30… and we were wrong. She slept most of the time we waiting and woke up around 11am. She didn’t cry or make a noise the entire time. She was a good girl and waited patiently until noon which is when she had her lunch.

A shipment arrived only an hour after opening. Not sure what it was but I read that there were 1500 iPhone 5’s available to purchase on opening day.

After standing in line for almost 2 hours.. it was finally our turn to go in and be apart of the excitement.

… and we also happen to be among the first 1000 people which meant we got a free t-shirt!!

I’ll just skip commentary for now and let you just browse the pictures. I took over 200… crazy much?!?!

The bloggers were in a corner already doing their jobs. I tried to log on to Twitter and FB but the network was jammed!!

Valentina really enjoyed looking out the window to see all of the people that were still in line.

This store is accessible for those in wheelchairs and parents with strollers so it was great to be able to use an elevator to access the 2nd floor. In a corner, there’s a table marked ‘bimbi’… kids. Someone was very happy!

Especially when she saw this Peppa Pig app! She sat a played with the iPad and didn’t say a word..

At this point, we had to leave because it was lunch time for Elisabetta and Valentina was starting to have one of her tantrums. She DID NOT want to leave.