St Peter's Basilica and odds & ends

Our last (half) day in Rome we headed back to Vatican City to visit St. Peter's Basilica. (We had been too worn out, cold, & wet the first day we were there.)

St. Peter's is the largest Christian church in the world. The current building was built in the 1600s (and funded by the selling of "indulgences,") but there has been a church here since the 400s. St. Peter's tomb is (supposedly) below the building. We saw it, but no photos allowed. Also, many popes have been buried below the basilica- the most recent being John Paul II.

Outside St. Peter's. Notice the "Pope TV," as we dubbed it, in the background. On Wednesdays, the Pope makes an appearance and waves to the crowds. We were glad it wasn't Weds., or the line would have been even longer to get in!

Inside the chapel. The altar is enormous!!!

Looking up into the dome.

Michaelangelo designed it- and again, it is the largest in the world.

After St. Peter's we went out for lunch and then headed to the airport for our return to Germany. We're glad we went to Rome, but we think once was enough for us. We're pretty worn out from all the big city trips we've taken - Paris, London, Warsaw, and Rome in the past 6 months!! Whew!! We're hoping to do some more laid back traveling in the next 6 months. ;)

Here are a few last snapshots from Rome...

Gelato was almost a daily event. Yummy.

Charlotte loved every fountain that we saw! I thought this one was pretty cool too.

Inside the Pantheon.

Capitol Hill.

Poser on Palatine Hill.

In front of Santa Maria Maggiore. (Half a block from the hotel.)

The living room of the apartment. Where Charlotte and Toby slept.

Ciao Roma!!!

Ostia Antica and Orvieto

Rome is amazing... but it is also crowded, dirty, and overwhelming. After a few days, we were ready to get out and do some more exploring. (It's true Becca- I confess I did sneak a picture of the Sistine Chapel- without the flash.)

First we headed to Ostia Antica, which was an ancient port city for Rome (on the Tiber river.) When the port moved, everyone up and left, making it like a ghost town with shops, restaurants, military barracks, theater, etc all left intact and basically undisturbed for 2000 years. We saw maybe 10 other tourists the entire day! It was a really nice change of pace.

Walking around the rubble. One of the best things about Ostia Antica was that very few places were off limits. We could walk around in almost all of structures in this whole ancient city.

Rob and Toby sitting in the theater.

Toby and I hanging out in a kitchen. As usual. ;) Although this was some sort of public space as well. We really had a relaxing day and felt a bit re-energized. (By this point, we had all come down with Toby's nasty cold and were suffering through it together.)

One of the trip highlights for Rob was talking in Italian with this rather old man on the train back from Ostia Antica. He remembered the American soldiers in Rome after WWII. He also invited us to his apartment for lunch- we thanked him for the offer, but declined.

Back at the hotel. This was our room the last 2 nights in Rome. The first few nights the hotel had bumped us to an apartment with 2 rooms. It was extremely basic (with no tub, etc) but the extra room was really nice for putting the kids to bed at night. (The first night in the apt., the closet door FELL OFF and beaned me in the back of the head!) All in one room, we didn't sleep nearly as well. (There was a twin bed on the opposite wall for Charlotte, and we brought the pack & play for Toby.) Yup, the tub & shower were right there.

The next morning we hopped a train to Orvieto. It's a hill town in Umbria. This is the Duomo, built in the 1300s. For a small town, it has a BIG church! But the church looks bigger than it is-- the front facade extends several feet on each side beyond the building, and the altar end of the church is more narrow than the entry- to make it appear longer.

One of the many gorgeous fews from Orvieto. We spent the day just walking, window shopping, and playing on the playground. We also popped in a chocolaterie (or two.)

The Etruscan Necropolis.

The Etruscans were before the Romans-- maybe 800 BC or so. Part of why we came to Orvieto was to tour the "underground city" that the Etruscans had dug into the rock foundation of the city. Sadly, the tunnels were closed the day we were there, because of it being Winter. I really wish they had posted that would be the case on their website that I checked beforehand! Oh well, it was a fun day anyway. :)

Rob attempting to climb the rock below the city.

We try to make sure Charlotte and Toby have fun on these trips too.

A view from the other side of this small city.

We really enjoyed seeing a different side of Italy, outside of Rome.

We rode back on the train that afternoon and watched a little bit of the Olympics at the hotel (on a station broadcasting in German oddly enough) and rested up for one last sightseeing outing before heading home.

There's no place like Rome

This past week we visited Rome, and some of the areas around it, to celebrate Valentine's Day (and the extra day off Rob had for President's Day.) Hang in there for a looong post (or two.)

We were so excited to eat a LOT of Italian food! After we checked in at the hotel, we went right out for dinner. (Eventually we also went out for Chinese and doner, just for a change of pace.)

We walked past the Hotel California-- Rob insisted on a picture, and I agreed as long as he didn't go in the door- because "you can check out any time you like, but you can never leave."

The next morning we were up and ready to stand in line at The Vatican. It was surprisingly cold and wet! All those people in blue hats are Croatian tourists. They loved Toby and Charlotte.

After we made it in, it started to snow! A lot!! Charlotte was the only one of us who was excited about that, and ran out in the courtyard for a quick snack of real Italian ice.

The Vatican is MASSIVE.

This is Rob in the map room. All of those paintings on the wall are big, historic maps. And Rob loves a good map. ;)

Overstim, overstim, overstim!!!

This is the Room of the Immaculate Conception. Huh.

Michaelangelo's famous ceiling in the Sistine Chapel. :D

With two little kids in tow (and Toby fighting a cold) we went out to eat and to bed early after the Vatican and headed out again in the morning to see some Roman ruins. This is one view of The Forum. This was kinda the center of Roman politics and everybody had their own temple for hanging out with their peeps. Now it's a mess of ruins and fun for tourists.

Family photo in front of the Colosseum.

Back to the Forum-- this is on the opposite side of the previous picture.

We did a TON of walking in Rome.

Charlotte posed as a Roman statue on a pedestal. Notice the mud all over her leg and shoe... why is mud sooo irresistible to kids? AT least the weather was nicer on this day!

Inside the Colosseum.

After the Colosseum, we hiked off to the Pantheon. And we grabbed some french fries at McDonald's to keep the kids from passing out.

Walking (or shuffling) down the crowded, narrow streets of Rome to the famous Trevi fountain.

Kisses in romantical Rome. ;)

They say if you throw a coin into the fountain, it guarantees a return trip to Rome. (We decided not to toss a coin!)

Rob and Toby on the Spanish Steps- just before dusk. This was our last stop for the day and we were all exhausted.

Charlotte was super excited to get her face painted by a street artist before we headed off to dinner. And we were all excited to go eat and get tucked into bed before heading out for another busy day.

Hump Day!

Today marks 18 months since we arrived in Germany!

So, that is half way through our three year commitment!

Woo-hoo!!!!

(If you hurry, you still have time to plan a visit.)

Allen's progress

I've already posted this on Facebook and commented on it on YouTube... but I am so blown away by Allen's determination & hard work.

(A few miracles along the way haven't hurt either.)

You're amazing Twerp! Keep it up! :)

Did I mention it's been snowing?

This winter has been CRAZY for snow! Last winter, we hardly had any, and this winter it flurries, at least a little bit, most days. We've been having some fun getting the kids out to play, but I have to admit that I am way over winter right now. I am ready for some warmth and sunshine BIG TIME. (Hopefully we'll have some nice weather when we visit Rome in a few weeks.)

So here are a few pictures of us enjoying the snow- and a few of us going stir-crazy as well. ;)

Toby sledding with Daddy down the hill at the playground.

Mommy, Charlotte, & Toby (in the middle) coming down.

(Next year I think we need to get a sled that fits adult-size bums a bit better.)

Some days we get a little snow... some days we get a LOT, but there has been snow on the ground almost continuously for about 6 weeks now.

I've been doing yoga a lot lately- Toby's got mad yoga skillz. ;)

At first he was afraid of the vacuum,

but now he insists on having a turn every time I use it.

Did I mention 'stir-crazy?' (lol)

And last, but not least, Charlotte moved up from Nursery into Primary at the beginning of January. Here she is with Anton having lunch at her first Primary activity. She is having a HARD time with this adjustment-- she has to sit still much longer, and she misses her Nursery teacher. Thankfully, her good friend Anton is with her (and Sandro too) and while they may be the 3 rowdiest Sunbeams EVER, at least she is getting used to it. AND they have a fantastic teacher.

Charlotte-isms

I've had a few recent requests to share some more of the wisdom of our three year old Yoda. Enjoy. ;)

"Boys and girls are different... because of the pee-pees."

"You are naughty because you don't go to work. You don't have a job."

(While pretending to be Santa- to me.)

"Are you ready to be nice again?"

(To me again- as she is getting out of time-out.)

"These are your choices."

(Anytime she disagrees with us. Yes, I know where she gets this.)

"Mommies get together to talk... without kids? That's weird."

(As I'm leaving for book club.)

"I was a baby, but now I'm growed up. But I'm still growing. I'm going to be taller than Daddy."

(Gee, I hope not.)

oh shoot!

We've been having lots of fun shooting pictures of the kids with the new Sony Cybershot camera, and getting used to some of the features. Here are some of my favorites since Christmas.

Big shoes to fill.

"Cheeeeeese!"

The weather has been very cold lately,

Toby all bundled up in the car.

Charlotte is obsessed with eating snow. This day, she first smashed it on the glass door to the patio and then ate it off. Lovely.

Sweet Snow White and Little Polar.

Toby climbed up in the chair with his favorite Froggy and "Lisa," that he hauled down from the loft, and snuggled in with a blanket all by himself.

(He loves taking care of baby dolls.)

16 months old and irresistible.

Building towers is a new favorite pastime around here.

We have enough mega blocks to build a tower as tall as Rob! :)