Week 2 and 3 - Roma!

(NOTE - despite many efforts to enlarge all my shots on here, figuring out photos in blogger on an iPad is just beyond me.  And beyond Dino and Jake.  Some enlarge.  Some don't.  I give up.  Sorry for the small shots!!!)

12 days in Rome!

It was crowded - like, there are no words for the sheer numbers - beautiful,
insanely old, and so, SO hot.

We flew from Palermo to Rome on July 4th.  We are loving the carry on only decision with our luggage.  We have more than enough stuff...like 2 of my t-shirts have never been worn...and it is so great to have each kid responsible for their own items.

We have seen some amazing things.

Here are a few favourites of mine.

The Pantheon was stunning. It made me cry.

As with everything I have loved, I wish there were a few thousand less people 

experiencing things along with me, but hey, that seems selfish.

St. Peter's Basilica was breathtaking.  

We saw the dome first, 

climbing many stairs up a teensy, and excessively hot staircase.

But the view of Michaelangelo's work was worth it.

I cried again.  The sheer beauty of this massive dome which 

was totally done to glorify God was overwhelming.

And the view from the outside was fantastic.

We had a guided tour of the Colesseum, Forum and Palatine Hill which was money well spent.  It was cheaper to do a private tour - big cheer for large families - so we had our guide all to ourselves.  She was lovely and gave us some great 

history and answered our questions and was lots of fun for the kids.

I was also a big fan of our day in the park with the segweys.  They are so much fun and the park was really lovely and had a lot of shade which I have grown to appreciate very much.

So much of the history here I find fascinating.  The kids...not so much...but for me, imagining a society that dreams up bath houses and then decorates them with such detail and forethought...well, it's hard not to feel like kindred spirits. 

  

The metro has been very convenient, yet terrifying during rush hour.  Cate and I spent one ride completely and utterly squished inside a big crowd.  

It was weird and awkward. 

I'm sorry to say that flea markets are not what I expected.  There's no cool vintage junk...just new, cheap crap that is pushed on you by crazy aggressive salesmen.

The traffic is crazy although less so than Palermo.  

There seem to be laws here and, you know, lanes. 

We've enjoyed all the cutie cars!

There is a garbage problem in Rome that is a bit perplexing when you take into account all the amazing things that have been invented and created here.  You'd think a bit of garbage wouldn't stump them so completely.

But this is a normal sight on the street.

We had a really lovely time meeting Dino's family.  We spent the afternoon with them at a gorgeous beach which was not crowded and it was also not boiling hot! 

Double bonus.

It's been great to just hang out.  Go with the flow.  See how other people live.

And have adventures.  

We don't really have timelines or agendas so when the google map says follow this trail to the Catacombs and the trail seems to lead through a farmers field...we can say, sure!

I've enjoyed watching this kid work out as we walk places.  He's always doing curls or squats or some sort of wacky exercise.

These two take great care of each other,

and these two have played together so nicely.

We've had some days of doing nothing at all except stare at our screens.  Big yay to Netflix but now we must say good-bye.  We are headed to a small village north of Florence tomorrow with no wifi.  Pray my kids suddenly become readers!!