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We are having a great week in Rome. Our time has completely solidified our love of travel in the off-season. There is no one here, but locals. We even have our favorite restaurant and favorite dish at the Osteria in our neighborhood, Trastevere. We should probably leave soon because I have fallen in love with a cookie from the bakery across the street and it's shifting from a beautiful affair to an ugly, needy relationship quickly.
On Sunday, Anthony went to return the car. She has served us well. In the end we covered an amazing 15,077 km. That's the equivalent of 9,368 miles or starting in Los Angeles, CA heading to Key West, FL then to New York, NY to Seattle, WA, back to Los Angeles then to Denver. Even then you are still 35 miles short of our grand road trip! So there are just enough miles to make it to Castle Rock! That's a lot of family time. We did well. I slept a lot. There are tons of hideous photos taken by my family with my mouth hanging open, sound asleep. Nina won the award for the messiest. One day we found a bag with black banana goo at her feet. Celeste watched "The Vow" on her iPad about 15 times. And Anthony drove and drove.
The best news of all about the car return was there were no fines or fees for any of the dents and scrapes. Anthony didn't even bother to snap back on the side trim, that has been in the trunk since Austria, before he pulled into the return lot. What an amazing way to see the whole of Europe. We've loved all the little villages that we have been able to experience because of renting the car rather than just riding the rails. Wouldn't have done it any other way.
Our week in Rome has been full of fun. The girls avoided the car return and went to St. Peter's Square where the Pope gave his weekly blessing from the Papal Palace. That was exciting to be a part of. I don't know what it is about Nina, but she is always noticed. (No, not by the Pope, but by some crazy in the crowd.) Our experience was a little tarnished by this guy shouting at the man next to us and pointing at Nina for several minutes during the Pope's blessing. Finally a nun next to us, shushed him into silence. But he returned and had to be taken away by security. We never knew for sure what the problem was. He may have wanted the man to take his hat off, but it was freezing, and everyone had hats on and what that had to do with Nina we don't know!
We have seen Christmas markets and lights. We saw skinny Santa and his elves perform aerial stunts outside the Fendi store (video to come). There are stands selling roasted chestnuts on every corner. It's beginning to feel a lot like Christmas.
We have been to the Trevi Fountain, shopped on Via del Corso, Mass at St. Peter's Basilica, saw the tree and amazing lights on the Spanish Steps, Santa Maria in Trestavere, lunched in Campo de' Fiori, and toured the Vatican Museum. We are waiting for a package from home that contains our winter coats. We will hit the Colosseum, Forum, Pantheon, etc. after they arrive.
The day at the Vatican Museum was so leisurely. Donuts and coffee then hit the (almost) empty Sistine Chapel. We stayed forever enjoying our audio guides. Then we went for lunch (this is not a hamburger. yes it is. It's a hamburger with chicken inside.) Toured more of the museum then went back for a second round of the Sistine Chapel. This visit was amazing compared to the first time Anthony and I went 16 years ago. Last time we had a guide book and binoculars. This time, technology took the 500+ year old painting to new levels. Each panel appears on your iPod complete with descriptions and stories. You can zoom in on any little detail. Watching the kids get so much out of the painting was very special. Over lunch there was a lot of, "Did you hear this and did you know that?" They are getting to be quite the art experts.
We are very excited to be heading to London for Christmas and New Year's. We leave Friday evening. We have to make one quick stop at FedEx to ship home the stuff that we have accumulated that was stuffed in every nook and cranny of the car, but won't make the cut in our bags. Then we're off!
Amy
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Mackey Williams Possibly my fave blog post so far - and that's saying a lot considering what a big Nina fan I am! Well done, Amy!