Thinking about home...

If I haven't mentioned it yet, it's raining outside. We are safe and dry in our room and I thought I'd take a min to share some thoughts I've had.

The other evening we decided to get some food from a little restaurant just down the street. We were going to get it to go, but the waiter talked us into just sitting down and eating it there. He was a friendly waiter, most of the people here have been pretty friendly. We were at a table that was right in the pathway as he went from table to table and he usually made a little comment as he went by. It became very clear that he was being a flirt and asked if I would share some wine with him later. I told him I wasn't interested and then said I didn't think my husband would be interested in that either, pointing to my ring. He chuckled and went about his business. The next time he came by he asked where my husband was. Without skipping a beat I put my hand to my heart and said "He's right here." With a couple of other short exchanges we ate our pizza and left as quickly as we could.

I have thought a lot about that conversation since then and just wanted to post  some of my feelings. My intention is  not to bring attention to the fact that some italian waiter that probably flirts with any woman that comes in tried to pick me up, but to share where my heart is. In every thing that we have done and every amazing thing we have seen, my heart is still at home. I think about my Superman and my amazing kids that are dealing with "normal life" back home constantly. I am constantly thinking "If Phil were here...." or "Ohh! (fill in any of my kid's names here)  would love that!"  My heart is so full of love for all of you at home and it's sad to me that the waiter doesn't have a heart full of family like I do.

This is the first time I have ever been out of the US other than when I was a little girl and we went to Canada to visit my grandparents. It has been so amazing to experience new things and meet new people. Seeing parts of the world that I never imagined I would see has changed me. I'm so excited for the time when I can go on another adventure with Phil by my side, or one of my other kids as my travel buddy! I am so excited to see the things we have planned to see, but I'm also so excited to come home and BE THERE in every sense of the word. I have seen the lives of a lot of people out here, and I would not want to trade with any of them. My life at home is not perfect, I'm convinced that there is no such thing. My life at home is perfect for me though, with all of it's up's and down's. Each of my children are so amazing and unique and simply perfectly mine! I love each one of you at home and while there is so much out in the world to discover and learn about, all I ever need is waiting at home for me. Thank you all for supporting me in this trip and encouraging me to go. We all know I would not have come if I didn't have full support and even nudging from all of  you. Thank you so much for loving me enough to let me do this knowing you are all supporting me the best that you can.

I miss you all, I love you all. Hang in there, before you know it we will all be back together and ready for the holidays! Woot!

We Love you!!

Rome, Wednesday! Happy Halloween!

After the amazing day we had yesterday, we had decided that despite the weather reports that it would be rainy all day today we were determined to go out and see some more amazing things today! We actually slept in a little bit, which was nice, and then it was shower time.

**Now, I have to first explain that I didn't come to Europe expecting luxury accommodations, I was prepared to go without the comforts I enjoy at home. In describing the events of today (that started with my shower) please make note that I am not complaining per say, just tellin it like it is! **

*back to our regularly scheduled post*

The bathroom here is just down the hall, and we only have to share it with a few girls staying in one of the other rooms in our hall, and we've never been on the same schedule so it hasn't been an issue at all-almost like having our own bathrooms! (there are 2 bathrooms in this hall) First thing I noticed going into the bathroom to shower was something...just let that be enough...that was all over the floor around the toilet. It was dry, and looked like someone had possibly attempted to clean it up. How nice of them. I had to shower. I just tried to not think about it, and tried to not step anywhere around it, which was impossible. I wore my socks until the very last second, and put them right back on again after my shower. But before I skip the shower part...You know how sometimes you are showering and someone flushes the toilet and you are suddenly in scalding hot water, and then shortly after it is cold water again? Yeah, that's what it's like the whole time you shower here, one extreme to the next from one min to the next! Hey, at least I got to shower, right?! My last point of interest (i'm just assuming someone might be interested in these unimportant details) is that I really miss having a washcloth, and a nice clean towel to dry off with after my shower. Using a sham-wow is handy and all, but it's a little stinky at this point, and not quite fluffy.

Enough about the shower.

After a quick stop at an ATM we headed over to the grocery store, which is so conveniently located just around the corner from our hostel! They make fresh sandwiches at their deli every morning and we have been picking up 2 sandwiches for our late breakfast/lunch and another 2 panini for later. We also pick up some cookies or something to snack on and some water. Generally we spend around 10 euros for all of it and that leaves us money to be able to eat something warm from one of the deli's around here at night when we get back. We've been able to eat for around 30 euros a day or sometimes less while we have been in Rome. If we were buying stuff from the food vendors or restaurants  it would be at least 20 euros a meal. One thing that is very different here is the food situation. First, drinks are insane. You pay 4 euros for a bottle of soda at a vendor, or 2 euros for water. We pay .30 for water and less than 1 euro for a soda at the grocery store. There is no such thing as a "free water" here, you pay at 2 euros for a bottle of water, even at a restaurant. The other thing is the sizes, especially drink sizes. I haven't seen a single 48 oz anything since I left home. We were so excited to have a hot chocolate while we were in Florence and when they gave it to me I almost laughed at them! It was maybe 4oz at most, not much bigger than a small Dixie cup. But then when I went to "drink" it I could tell why, It was more like hot pudding! It was almost as thick as pudding, but not quite and twice as chocolately as pudding. It was delicious, but I wouldn't have wanted any more than that tiny cup, and I've been craving a real cup of hot chocolate from home ever since!

Anyway, back to our day....

Feeling all bundled up and prepared for the forcast of rain, we headed out to our bus stop where we would be on our way to the Pantheon. At this point the weather wasn't too bad, but we chose to sit in the bottom of the bus rather than the top deck. Good choice. It started raining a bit more on our way over. We got to our stop, and got off. It was chilly and rainy...but we were prepared and determined to have a great day! Everything we have seen in Rome so far has been pretty obvious and really easy to find, sorta hard to miss the Coliseum. The Pantheon was more tucked into the city and we had to walk a ways from where the bus dropped us off. I have no idea why there were no signs that we saw that lead you to it, but there wasn't. We, along with many other tourists, trudged through the streets pulling out our maps and changing directions regularly. All the while, the rain continued, and even got worse. After what seemed like a mile or two--which I know it wasn't--we turned a corner and there it was! Woot!

The Pantheon was great! The outside is round (except for the front) and looks quite old and primitive with bricks and concrete. The front is really amazing with great big columns and detailed archways. After being pleasantly suprised that we could get in free we stepped into the building and could immediately appreciate it's beauty. You instantly are drawn to look up at it's amazing dome with a giant hole in the middle. There is a grid of squares that are notched out of the dome, to help ease the weight of the dome from crushing in on itself. From what I understand it is the largest brick dome  ever built. It's so amazing to me that so long ago they could design and build such a structure that would be able to stand for so long! All around the inside were areas set back in with different sculptures and paintings all depicting one religious scene, or person or another. The pantheon was the first temple built  that the general public could go to worship. I was really glad to have been there, and it was the highlight of the day for sure!

After the Pantheon we weaved our way through the streets in the increasingly cold and incessant rain. We tried our best to enjoy the journey, after all we were in Rome! Tromping through puddles and avoiding being run over by cars whizzing by was not..I repeat..WAS NOT the highlight of the day. We finally found the Trevi fountain. I wish I could say it was amazing and go on to tell you how great it was to sit and enjoy it. It was raining a lot. It was a really cool fountain, and the sculptures were truly great. DId I mention that it was raining? A lot? Yeah, we took some pictures, and of course we stood with our backs to the fountain and both tossed in our coins at the same time. That means that we will both be back here some day. I hope it won't be raining that day!

Anxious to find somewhere dry we decided that we just needed to find our bus stop and get back to the hostel. We thought that would be the easy part of the day...we were wrong. Once again dodging puddles, avoiding being hit in the face by someone's umbrella, and trying to keep my purse under my jacket so it would keep dry, we trudged. Up one street, over another pull out the map and try to figure out where we were. Asking directions...more than once, and finally we found the stop! Yay! no. We waited there in the pouring, cold rain. Multiple other busses came, but not ours. Hoards of people tromping past us, getting on busses and going into warm restaurants where they sat in dry seats and ate warm food. Yeah, this was not a great part of the day. We were soaked, and cold and getting hungry, and no bus. We waited for probably 30-40 min and finally decided something must have happened to the bus and since we knew the way we decided to just walk. Through the rain. After walking for about 10-15 min we noticed our bus pull up beside us! We quickly ran over to it while others were getting off, and got on! Somehow the timing was just perfect that we happened to get to that stop right when the bus did! Yay! We found some seats in the back, they were wet, but at that point it didn't seem to matter. It didn't matter until the first right turn when a heavy flow of water from the top deck poured right down my backside! Great! We laughed it off and moved over a seat and watched as each time the bus turned the seat I was sitting in filled up with water! Did I mention it had been raining? Just checking. I  mentioned to Ashley that this is the type of day that you just stay inside, sit by a fireplace and do something relaxing, with a cup of hot-chi cho-chi (hot chocolate) . This was not the kind of day to go sightseeing in.

We ended the day picking up a couple of pieces of (real) italian pizza (to go) from the pizza shop across the street from our hostel. We have our wet clothes strewn all about our room and have changed into dry pj's and are comfy under our warm blankets in our room. The forecast for tomorrow is supposed to be better. It will be our last day here, so we are hoping for some sun, or at least not any rain. Did I mention it rained today?

 This is the tomb of the famous artist Raphael located in the Pantheon.

 The front of the Pantheon...

 Wet Ashley at the Trevi Fountain

 It really is beautiful, we are hoping to go back tomorrow night and see it all lit up!

 Soakin' wet and trying to keep my purse dry under my jacket!

 MMMMMM! Tomato and cheese pizza and Tuna pizza! Best pizza ever here in Italy! Can't wait for our new and improved homemade pizza nights at home! ;)

Rome Tuesday...The Sistine Chapel!

Yes, little old me, in the Sistine Chapel! Getting into the actual chapel you get to go through the Vatican Museum filled with  art and artifacts from Ancient Rome as well as a wing from ancient Egypt. It was again a great thing to be able to take pictures! There is soooo much to see, and again I felt very uneducated as I looked at so many things that I really had no understanding of. Although I didn't know it's background or history, I do have an appreciation for it's place in history. Some of these things date back to 2000 BC! I just can't get over that! After wandering through the museum for quite some time and trying to make our way through the sea of guided tours that seemed to be following us we found our way to the chapel. All of these years I have seen the painting..yes, THE painting we all connect to the Sistine chapel and Michelangelo. I have always pictured it huge and majestic in a room that would be more like the room I saw in the Basilica. This room was very different than I had imagined. Beautiful and full of color and artistry, but smaller and les majestic than I had thought it would be. The actual picture of God's finger reaching out earnestly to the relaxed finger of Adam was in the center of the ceiling, and it was beautiful, but it was not nearly as big or as much as a focal point in the room than I thought it would be. We found a spot on the side of the room to sit and we just sat and took it all in for a while. The paintings were full of meaning and emotion. Different scenes in the bible were depicted as well as a huge painting on one wall of the final judgement. It was a lot to take in and try to connect with as hundreds of people filled the room with barely much room to move. The room is supposed to be sacred and silence is encouraged, but with that many tourists, all speaking different languages, as well as tour guides directing their tours it was hardly silent. I don't mean to be negative, and It wasn't a negative experience, I'm just trying to give you an accurate idea of what it was like. The lighting was very dim and the few pictures I did take are not the best, but you get an idea of how it looked. Overall, it was amazing to be there, in THAT room. I to thought of how Michelangelo was so discouraged and even frustrated at being asked to paint this work, it wasn't what he wanted to be doing, not what he wanted to be known for, and now so many come every day to admire and to be in the room where he worked. I wonder how he feels about that now. I wonder if he still is upset? I thought about how sometimes I get frustrated about the things I am spending my time doing when I'm sure I'm meant to do something else. I think if we all can find peace with what we are given to do, to create, and just enjoy the journey more we will have more peace, and have more joy and our journey will bring us exactly where we are meant to go.

 Carcophagus of Constantina...

 One of the amazing mosaic floors...

 Sculpted barrel ceiling, I just can't even imagine the work these ceilings took!

 These are fragments from an ancient tomb made of limestone. Dates to the 26 Dynasty (664-525 B.C.)!!!

 Various pots from Syria-Palestine from 2000 B.C. to 394 A.D.!!!

 Another amazing ceiling...

 Really wish I knew more about this one...

 There is a crusifix in the back with a broken statue on the floor in the foreground...

 In the actual Sistine Chapel, this is the painting of the Final Judgement done by Michelangelo...

 The whole ceiling...well, what I could fit in the lense... 

 The really cool walkway as you exit the Chapel and Museums...looking down.

 Looking up...

Rome Tuesday...The Vatican/St. Peter's Basilica

I have started typing this post about 5 times now, words are hard to come by when you are trying to describe the kind of experience we had today. I've decided to break it down to 2 posts. First will be about the Basilica, and the next will be the Sistine Chapel. I can hardly believe I am actually writing about MY experience there. This is not the kind of thing I ever imagined I would be writing about, this is the kind of thing other people get to do.

Coming up on the Vatican City was beautiful and majestic. With the tall buildings and huge columns lining the side of the square in front of the Basilica it was just awesome, literally. I've got a bit of a stiff neck from all the looking up I did today, but it was well worth it. There was quite a long line to get in today, lots of tourists out since it was raining yesterday and will be again tomorrow. The line was surprisingly fast and before we knew it we were  at the front of the line. We had expected to pay to get in, but we were happy to find out that entrance into the Basilica was free! To say that I was impressed with the Basilica would be an understatement. I just could not get over all of the details. From the massive columns with their ornate corinthian capitals to the amazing mosaic floors and everything in between it was simply awesome in the true sense of the word. The sculptures and intricate carvings that covered the ceilings were beautiful and full of symbolism and feeling. I felt unintelligent to be looking at so many important figures and not know who most of them were, but I could definitely feel of the importance of the lives they lived to be honored in such beautiful ways. I could not stop admiring the ceilings with their mosaic murals that were full of color and expression. The time that it must have taken to create them is mind blowing. And then there was the inside of the domes that I was loving from the outside! WOW! Layer upon layer of ceilings. Through archways, and up to skylights high above me my eyes had so much to feast on, and I loved all of it! Ashley and I were both happy that we were allowed to take pictures here as well. The other places we have been so far that were like this did not allow pictures. We commented on how they were not focused on making money off of this building, it's purpose was clear and was not tarnished by man's need to make a buck. We even commented on how the people that worked there had a different feel about them than in the rest of the city and other places we have been. They were kind and I felt comfortable looking them in the eye. My narrative of this building and all that it holds can not do it justice, neither can pictures, but I will stop with the words and let you see a little of what we saw...

 The sculpture below is done by Michelangelo. It is probably one of my favorite things I've seen to this point.

 Phil, This one is for you. Look like a familiar pose? ;)

 From the floor looking up into one of the domes. The murals are all done in mosaic. It just goes on and on...