Postcards from Rome

On the "to do" list for our next trip. Get a better camera. Matthew took some breathtaking photos and here are a few to share. Beautiful!

Back to Reality ...

Here's an update since we've been home. Last week, Gracie woke up at 2:30 am two nights, then 3:50, 4:10, now she's at 5:30 am. She's been hitting the hay early too, which means Mom is also asleep by 8:30. Today, Sunday she seems back to normal. All in all, not a bad week. We missed our gelato fix so we went to an Italian Gelato place near our house on Saturday and indulged.

I posted a picture we took from our apartment balcony. On our last night in Italy, around sunset we saw a huge amount of small black birds, sort of swirling around our apartment. Doing all sorts of formations, sort of like a school of fish. More flew over head, we can hear their wings. David finally grabbed the video and we got a few minutes of this incredible sight. We couldn't get over this flock of birds and it wasn't until my mother said, oh, are you sure they were birds -- could they have been bats. Yes, come to think of it they were, they were tiny and very black. David snapped this picture of the giant winged bat, or monster...

Here are some reminders for myself for our next big trip.

1. Carry on. Take a small rolling carry-on, pack clothes and toiletries for all of us, in case of missed connection. This can also double as back up clothes for Gracie, or ourselves, for any mid-flight accidents or spills. Put it up in overhead and if we are lucky, never open it. This would've lessened the stress during that tight connection.

2. Purse carry on: Now that the clothes and emergency stuff is in the overhead, the carry on purse will fit under the seat in front of me which has important stuff such as snacks, lollipops and pepto.

3. Sippy cups. In order to reach said bag in front of me, I need to avoid spilling open containers filled with liquid that seem to multiply during the flight. Next time, remember to bring small thermos or water bottle for beverages for all of us. We had a sippy cup for Gracie on this flight and it was great and wished we had brought one for each of us.

4. I - Touch. Worth its weight in gold in keeping Gracie and therefore Mommy happy on plane.

5. Lollipops: Make sure we have a variety.

6. Packing. I think we packed fairly light, and I believe there was still stuff I could've left out, in terms of clothes for me.

7. Things I'm glad I brought: Gracie's air mattress, (came in handy for child proofing the apartment, as it turned out - Gracie ended up on a triple folded comforter on the floor). Zip Ties - (Gracie used them as a toy - she called them "fly catchers") Cotton Balls - (Gracie's favorite toy). Sample sized laundry detergent- (We could wash clothes right away).

8. Things I wish we had when we needed them: a few compact rain ponchos and a umbrella that lasts more than 5 minutes.

9. What people wear in Italy : Women - good leather shoes or boots, tight jeans, a smart, designer leather bag, and bring along a few scarves. If winter: elegant coat. Men: Tighter jeans then what you are used to, good leather shoes and a scarves as well. Cool sunglasses for both are a must. Be prepared to walk, walk, walk.

10. Resolution: Learn more Italian for next time. Ciao!

We are Home

It's 3:39 am Saturday, October 17th. We got home around 8pm Friday night. The flights were fine on the way home, with turbulence the last few hours before we landed in NYC. We had to circle the airport for about 45 minutes, so we thought we would miss our connection which was already tight being just over 2 hours. But we made it with minutes to spare after rushing through security and running to our gate. (Customs was fast, it was getting our luggage off the carousel that took FOREVER!). Gracie slept for a few hours on the flight from Rome to NYC, but immediately fell asleep when we got on the plane in NYC to home. It would've been a peaceful flight but we had a plane full of German/NYC tourists all excited to visit Las Vegas, and they were a bit rowdy. The flight was incredibly smooth, but the pilot put on the "seatbelts" sign on a few times, just to settle them down. Mom and Dad picked us up and had left us eggs, milk, bananas, bagels and cream cheese in the frig, a perfect snack to have upon arriving at home. (Toddler international travel tip #47 - Have your own capsule recovery team to feed you and watch your kid upon splash down.) When we came home we had the fire alarm chirping that we needed to change the battery in a very high part of the ceiling requiring the monster huge ladder and David was faced with doing that otherwise we would hear "chirp" all night. Gracie went to sleep around 10 pm, and the last thing I remember is her complaining that I was falling asleep as I was singing her "Jingle Bells" -- "MOM, finish the words! ." Anyway, she woke up again at 2:30 am. The chirping is gone so David must've gotten to it, or it just gave up. Grace is now playing with Thomas train set, and now making up a story, as I transcribe: "There once was a girl named Gracie. There was a dragon. There was a baby bird. All the birds were going to the beach. There was Gracie watching the duck. Then there was a mean dragon who was afraid of the duck. Then there were tiny birds..." I had a few hours sleep so I feel a bit human. I warned Mom and Dad that I will be dropping her off to their house at 6am ish, so we can get a few hours sleep. David is catching some zz's now. We had a very good trip. We are planning to return for another trip soon.

Janiculum, Trastevere and finally, Pizza!

Today we went for a long walk. We started off, heading across the river, from the traffic bridge from Victor Emmanuael Road, but we came upon a car accident. A car had run into several pedestrians on the bridge and the car had slammed into the concrete pillars. We saw two people on the ground, and a crowd around the injured. It must have just happened. We immediately turned around. All around us sirens were blaring as ambulances tried to get to the site. It looked as if the people on the ground were not moving and there were people around trying to help them. We figured it was best to not to try going through the crowd so we went the opposite direction and headed to Janiculum hill. (We checked later online and found this photo, 4 people were injured. They were still working on getting the car off the bridge when we returned 4 hours later - traffic was a mess. Travel Tip #1 - never drive in Rome).

It wasn't long before we came to the first part of the hill and began walking towards the top. The walking was easy with Gracie in the carrier on my back instead of her in the stroller. It didn't take long to begin climbing in altitude and you could turn around and see much of Rome. The day was cool also and perfect for walking. We came to a hill with a huge building and gate. On the building was the sign "North American College", we knew we were heading in the right direction because our friend said the college was near the Janiculum Hill. There was very little sidewalk and all I could think of was seeing the people on the ground at the accident and how fast people were driving up and down the hill.

We continued walking and came to a fantastic view of the city. I took a few photos and we took a chance for a short break. Gracie then saw a small beach ball with Bugs Bunny on it at a vendor's stand and had to have it. She asked nicely so we bought it for her. We forged on and had to climb a few steps before coming to another great view of Rome and an old lighthouse. A few photos and a sort rest and we were on our way again and after a few short minutes we reached the top. At the top was a huge statue of Garibaldi and there were several snack stands and it looked as if someone was filming a movie. We found out from an English family you can walk down the other side of Janiculum hill. I bought a couple of paninis and waters and we sat down for a picnic. A short time later we were heading down Janiculum Hill and came upon of all things, a comic book shop. I made a couple of purchases, Batman in Italian and off we went. About half an hour later we arrived at the souvenir shop near our apartment and purchased several items. Arriving back at the apartment around 5 pm, Gracie watched her cartoons, Marie relaxed and I had a couple of cigars.

At 6:30 pm we headed out to the Le MonteCarlo where we had delicious pizza and Gnocchi Pomodoro. Gracie fell asleep before the food arrived and slept in Marie's arms as we ate and drank Nastro Azzuro Birra, the national Beer of Italy. Gracie woke up as we were leaving in a pretty foul mood and didn't even want to go for gelato. So we headed back to the apartment where Marie made Gracie pasta. We are packing as I type, getting ready to head out early tomorrow morning. We won't arrive in Vegas until 8 pm., a very long day.

Trevi Fountain, Pantheon and the Catacombes of Priscilla - Plus, trying to dine at a "locals only" restaurant.

This morning, we slept in longer than we expected, so we didn't head out until around noon. The Catacombes were closed from noon to 2:30, so after breakfast, we went down to the taxi stop at the Piazza Chiesa Nouva and took a cab to the Trevi fountain. It is either 1/2 hour walk from the apartment, or a 20 minute cab ride. With all the crazy, narrow streets, it takes a while to get anywhere. But we made it, and it is an amazing sight, sort of an incredible fountain stuffed behind a building in a small piazza, surrounded by Pizza shops and stores. And alot of tourists. Gracie and I threw a coin in for good luck. Gracie had pizza and pear juice. We then took out the map and decided to walk back toward our apartment, toward the Piazza Navona. Carefully following the map, we stumbled upon the Pantheon, now a church. It also holds the coffin of the painter Raphael. Incredible. Its huge and surrounded by outdoor eating places. By this time, it was around 2:30, so we grabbed a cab and headed to the Catacombes di Priscilla, a few miles away. Gracie fell asleep in the cab, but we soon arrived at the church, which is run by Benedictine nuns. A small nun behind a desk asked if we speak English (In Italian) and another told us to catch up with an English speaking tour. So we ended up trotting down a maze of underground caves, dark and a bit scary, until we caught up with the group. These catacombes have some of the oldest known pictures of Madonna and Child and still had graves from 1875 years years ago. Gracie woke up and she thought it was pretty neat and asking if there were bears in the cave. After the tour, we asked the guide to call us a cab, and the nun cooed over Gracie, and also warned us to be careful of the buses, which have many pick pockets.

We then made it home, rested a bit, ate all the rest of the salami, and more cheese, tomatoes; made pasta for Gracie. Matthew came over and we decided to get something to eat. We all dressed up nicely - men in Jackets, I in a skirt and Gracie in a dress - so we looked pretty spiffy for Americans. We had three restuarants in mind. Tre Archi, Montevecchio and Osteria del Pegno. I had been looking for Tre Archi for several days, which I heard was a great "locals' place, and we found it again, and we read the menu posted outside and said great. We opened the door and it was half filled and the room stopped talking. We didn't see anyone to seat us, so we headed to a table. (Mind you we looked nice and didn't say a word in English. ) The owner approached us and said "reserved", Matthew said basically, OK in Italian and we turned and left. We then noticed a sign that said something like "locale climatize", like "local climate." We thought it meant "locals only", so we thought they didn't want us, . So basically we thought were kicked out for being tourists. I guess if they don't know you they don't want you then. But the next day, Matthew called us, from the airport, saying that the sign was just meaning it was climate controlled, not locals only. (So maybe they did require reservations, or it could've been we had Gracie (it looked nice, but not fancy), or maybe it was locals only. But its a good story and we're sticking to it. )

Anyway, being all dressed up and hungry, we trooped over to Montevecchio, (Recommended by Rick Steves) and got instantly seated by a cordial host. We had fried anchovies, fried Italian "tempura", a bottle of great wine, pasta with tuna and the guys had leg of lamb. We topped it off with a shared Tiramisu. Yum. Off we went to Gelateria de Teatro. Our 3rd trip. We then headed off to show Matthew the Piazza Navona, in a roundabout way. (It's easy to get lost, you have to backtrack to a place you know, then go from there). Matthew is leaving tomorrow, so we walked over to the cab stop at Chiesa Nouva -- said our goodbyes. Tomorrow David wants to walk over to Janiculum, for the views. We may get Pizza for lunch, but probably will end up packing. We also sent a message to our rental agent, asking him to confirm return car service, but he sent a curt email back telling us to contact Alina. Nice. More on our apartment agency after we get back. The apartment is fine, and its a fantastic location, and incredible views . But we will go with a more friendly rental service next time - and an apartment that has an elevator.

Heavenly Food At Cul De Sac

St. Peters Basilica with a Wiggly 3 year old

I forgot to add is that our day started out with Alina showing up at 8 am at the apartment. She apparently rang the bell but since we were asleep, I startled her, and myself when I turned the corner because I heard a key in the lock. I yelped, she was on the stairs. She was returning our 430 dollar security deposit, saying she won't be seeing us when we leave. She didn't even inspect the apartment, so I guess we are OK. I think we scared the *** out of each other. So with that awakening, I was up for the morning.

Today we walked over to St. Peters Basilica di Pietro, over the Ponte San Angelo Bridge, with the angels overlooking the Tiber River. We step out of our apartment walk a few short blocks, go over the bridge to Castel San Angelo then turn left and walk down the Via Della Conciliazone --heading right into St. Peters Square. We knew we couldn't bring a stroller into St. Peters so we walked or carried Gracie. She really likes St. Peters square -- it's filled with pigeons which she likes to chase. So, St. Peters -- Impressive is an understatement. It is beyond amazing and huge, the statues of St. Peters, A Pope preserved under glass, and of course the Pieta by Michaelangleo. We could've spent the whole day there. Gracie was very wiggly and wanted a lollipop, so we stayed as long as we could. (We also ran into the couple from Canada we chatted with in the cafe near the colesseum yesterday when we fled the rain). When we left, we saw Swiss Guard, who try to stand at attention, but spend most of their time answering questions from tourists and telling them they cannot pose for pictures with them.

After a stop at the Vatican gift shop, and a few souveiner shops for that long awaited lollipop - where we also scored apple juice "Mela suca", we (ahem, I was) were determined to go to one of the restuarants I had "mapped" for lunch. So we headed to Piazza Navona to Cul De Sac. (We tried getting there the other day, too crowded). It was after 3pm, and worried they were not serving, but they sat us down anyway, and we had olives, cheese, Broccoli and Pasta with Pecorini cheese, Rolladi (Braciole), "Meatballs" with mashed potatoes. The "meatballs" were patties, not round. Delicious! David had his new favorite beer, "Nasturo Azzuro", and I had a Pinot Gris. A wonderful meal, the "best so far" in Rome. (Cul De Sac is one of those places that get rave reviews in Rome). Gracie had great time leaning over into the street and feeding Piegons. Anyway, we headed back, and found ourselves in a Di Per Di, very close to our apartment. (We had been going to the Di Per Di, across the busy street) this was even closer, and bigger. They have Cherrios! As we were shopping for milk, salami, water, and Nasturo Azzuro, a young priest said Hello ya'all. I said, OK, with that accent - where are YOU from. (Thinking this would be the 5th person from Oklahoma we met here, but no, the young Deacon (not priest- yet) is from Tyler, Texas and his 4th year of seminary here in Rome. He is a Deacon now, and will soon be a priest. He looks like he could be say, 22 years old, at the most. So we chatted a long time, and he walked with us back toward our apartment, and we were very very close to the the apartment (We had been turning the opposite way all this time, missing this section of the neighborhood). As Matthew said, its way easy to get lost around here, so you sort of stick to the roads you know -- you may never get out. So its taken us around 5 days, but were are beginning to figure things out.

At home, we collapsed, ate more cookies, ate more cheese, took a nap, Gracie watched her cartoons (switching now to Disney in English), and is now having graham crackers and milk. She has lined up all the fruit, 2 tangerines, 2 pears, 2 apples and one banana and is counting them over and over. After we rest from all this eating, we might take an evening stroll over to St. Peters and San Angelo Bridge, check out the view at night. I don't think we'll go out to eat again today, but there's always gelato. (By the way, we have been carrying Gracie through all the streets of Rome and burning off lots of calories -- so we don't think we'll gain too much weight on this trip. UPDATE: Nah, we stayed in tonight, skipped Gelato and working munching down all the groceries we've been buying. Gracie loves this cartoon in Italian called La familia Barrabara or something like that. She sings the theme song. We watched "Dora" in Italian (who teaches English, not Spanish, in the Italian version), so I learned Ponte was bridge and Barca was boat today. Tomorrow: Catacombes di Priscilla (cab ride) and Trevi Fountain, which Matthew says "Don't Miss", then dinner with Matthew. That's the plan at least.