When in Rome: Part I

Last week we went to Rome and had a blast!  This Rome business is going to take me f.o.r.e.v.e.r. to do, so I think I'll stick with a picture timeline instead of trying to bore you with long essays... which still might happen.  I'm in an incomplete sentence mood today.  Don't judge.

Day before we left: 

• Got the heathens ready for a stay with our friends S&S.  They were so excited (the dogs).  A bus ride, new places to smell, new people to lick, and the possibility that these new people might offer them a t-bone steak or something of that nature.
• We had a great dinner with S&S and a successful drop-off.  The boys loved them!



"So, you iz sayin' I can't sweep in bed wiff dem?" 

• When we got home it was eerily quiet.  Rocco didn't follow me everywhere and there were no death battles on the bed or couches.  We didn't know what to do with ourselves, so we watched a movie and packed.   

Day 1: Tuesday

• Morning: Upon looking at our boarding passes, we realized our flight didn't leave until 2:50pm. Originally we thought it was at 8:00am.  Awesome.  How did that happen?
• 12:30 frantically re-packed because I wanted to take a backpack.  Easyjet only allows one piece of luggage (not an extra purse).  This means everything has to be crammed into a tiny suitcase. 
  "Oh my gosh!!!  We're gonna be late!!!  This suitcase won't close!!!"
• 1:00 caught bus to airport.  35 minute ride for 3 miles.  Efficiency.
• No one at the airport.  Sweet.  
• Decided Burger King was a fantastic idea.

• Whopper, cheeseburger, small fry, medium coke, small diet coke = $30.  
• Nope.  Not a very financially sound decision, but it was delicious.  Now you know why we never eat fast food here.
• Frantically undressed and organized security bins despite no one being in line.  There's got to be a more efficient way.  I hate feeling like I have to do this in under 8 seconds.
• Click this: .  Funny and true.
• Made it through security.
• Walked three miles to our gate.
• Easyjet announcement of boarding = swarm of people acting like they don't know how lines work.  Anxiety.  Again, I miss Southwest.  This was our second Easyjet flight.  Their boarding process is horrible.
• Here we go!

the Alps

A vacation in the middle of the week?  Let's celebrate.

Sunset on the Mediterranean as we landed

• Avoided a costly scam at the airport: "Ah, we take you to da ohtel for a 75 euro!  Dis is a cheap."  Nope.  We're not falling for it guys.  
• Called the hotel to see how much it SHOULD cost to get a cab.  35 euro.  
• Caught a cab.  If you've never had the privilege of being in an Italian cab, then you're missing out.  It was thrilling.  It's similar to a Nascar race... with a blindfolded driver... who is drinking whisky... talking on the phone... and trying to apply lipstick.  Here's a realistic drawing I did to portray the three of us in the back seat: 

• No we weren't holding hands as the picture might lead you to believe.  
• We made it.  Maybe in need of a fresh pair of underwear, but we lived

Our hotel: Sheraton Golf Parco de' Midici

Some Irish coffee while waiting for the shuttle to downtown

• Caught the giant shuttle bus to downtown.
• Got off with maps in hand.  Immediately lost.  Seriously.  I miss Phoenix roads.  When eight roads converge at one intersection, it's slightly confusing.  It's even harder when you can't see the 'Where's Waldo' street signs.  I consider myself a Magellan when it comes to maps.  I'm good, but not in Rome.  Or Venice.  Maybe just Italy in general.  
• ROME TIP: At crosswalks you don't wait for cars to stop.  They won't.  You make eye contact with the driver and walk out in front of them maintaining eye contact... even if they're going fast.  They stop.  Most of the time.       
• Had a couple hours to catch a few sights and dinner before we needed to head back.

Arch of Constantine and the Colosseum 

Arch of Constantine, Emperor of Rome in the early 300's.  

The Colosseum 

We saw all of these locks all over the place.  Not sure why.

The Colosseum. Finished in 80 AD.  So old.

For some mild entertainment:

• You're welcome.  "Oh would ya look at that!"
• The phrase "Look at that." was used no less than 74 times during our first day.  
• Got lost in some cute neighborhood looking for a place to eat.
• Found a really good restaurant (only locals seemed to be there) and had some amazing Italian food.  Yum.

• Managed to find the shuttle pick-up spot.  Back to the hotel!    

And that's all for today!  You'll just have to check back tomorrow for day 2 of our trip.  Hahahahah.... (crazy witch laugh). 

Adam said he was going to do a blog on Rome.  I'm telling you, so he'll actually have to do it now.   

The next round of pictures are ones in daylight.  Ooooooo....

Au revoir!

Streets of water in Venice.

This past weekend we went to Venice, or Venezia as the locals call it.  This was our first 'big' trip since our move.  Our friends Scott & Nikki, whom we met through our church in Phoenix, were doing a European excursion, so we decided to meet up with them.  It was an amazing weekend and we're so glad we got the chance to go.  Here are the highlights of the trip since I'm not in the mood to write complete coherent sentences:

Day 1

• Left Geneva at 6:00am Friday morning... 6 hour drive which included beautiful scenery of the French and Italian Alps, paying $70 to go through the Mont Blanc tunnel amongst other tolls ($120 total), countless villages surrounding incredibly old castles, us practicing Italian phrases with our most obnoxious accent, and the experience of driving amongst Italians (something we were warned about)
• Arrived at our charming 38-room hotel outside of Venice: The Park Hotel Villa Vicini 
• Popped a bottle of wine open, packed our backpack and headed to the bus stop, which was labeled with nothing more than a scrappy piece of paper detailing some 'possible' times.  We were hoping we were getting on the right one...
• Luckily the bus took us right to the historic (canals) part of Venice!  Yay! 
• Got lost immediately.  I'm fairly certain that no one, except locals, knew where they were at any given point. 
• Met Nikki & Scott at 3:00 in St. Mark's Square.  Yay for reunions!
• Got lost again.
• Lunch at an Italian restaurant we couldn't find again if our life depended on it.  Pasta & wine. :)
• Gelato at GROM, the best 'gelateria' apparently.  Amazing!
• Gondola ride.  Amazing, best way to see the city, and we talked our guy into singing. 
• St. Mark's Basilica, Rialto bridge, Murano glass shops, random neighborhood streets with cute houses, more wine, sunset on the water
• Blisters on my feet from making a poor choice in footwear... huge blisters.  Huge.
• Bus stopped running, had to find train station, wait 45 minutes for train, more wine from the backpack, feet close to bleeding, train stopped in our town, no buses, walked a mile and a half back to hotel, passed prostitutes, feared for life and/or proposition from 'ladies of the night', made it back to hotel, cried (jk), showered on tip toes because of the blisters, cried some more, burned shoes, passed out.

Day 2

• Woke up pumped to go back to tour, but then realized my feet resembled large Italian sausages
• Quick cry over pain, sucked it up and tip-toed to breakfast at hotel, Adam had fourths
• Limped to bus stop, caught bus to Venice, immediately lost again
• Met Scott & Nikki, limped around the city to sight see
• Grocery store to buy wine, water, bandaids, disinfectant, and to see if they sold sedatives... so much pain.  I'm fairly certain they were close to sitting me on a bench and leaving me.  I would have done it. 
• Lunch at an Asian cafe... I know.  It's quite embarasssing.  It was cheap and they had pizza.  Cafe Ginseng had some amazing spicy sausage pizza.  Plus, we didn't realize it was an Asian cafe until it was too late. 
• Water taxi (crammed with people) to Lido Island for the beach
• Gelato stop.  Amazing.
• European beach (Adriatic Sea) with plenty of inappropriate swimwear choices.  Rather not talk about it.  Nightmares.
• Wine break. 
• Made it back to the water taxi and said farewell to Nikki & Scott.  :(  Such a great time to catch up. 
• Went back to the hotel by bus this time!  Yay!
• Patio relaxation with cheese, wine, crackers, and chocolate.  Awesome.
• Watched a couple wash their car with the hotel hose and a hand towel from their room.  Wierd. 
• Went to a local bar next to the hotel to check it out, tried a local beer, got a giant salad, and talked with the bartender for a while.  There was also a sketchy meeting in the back of the bar, which made us think of 'The Godfather'... got the heck out of there. 
• Rather not mention the blister situation.  Got some sleep after a great day! 

Day 3

• Breakfast, packed up, headed out for Milan (see Milan blog) .  Such a wonderful trip!                     

More about Venice.                     See our pictures.