Dead on my feet...

Our day began with food... The perfect beginning to any day...

We slept in, then went to the open air market at Campo de Fiori.
We bought pastry, fresh berries, and fresh pasta and veggies for tomorrow.

After taking our food back to the apartment, we went sight seeing.

Our tour of the city began right outside our door. We are literally neighbors with the Portico d'Ottavia. Just past Ottavia is Teatro di Marcello. With only a hop, skip, and a jump, we were in the Colosseum and the Forum. We lucked onto a very knowledgeable tour guide and for 12 EU each, our afternoon was very well spent. We took a little time for a photo op at the Colosseum here...

Then, this Gladiator challenged The Mister. But we didn't want to humiliate Gladiator Man, so we decided it was time to move on...

This evening, we decided to meet with friends for dinner. We walked to Piazza Navona where we found a little cafe table from which we could people-watch. We located ourselves right in front of Bernini's Four Rivers Fountain. We enjoyed another lively evening of pasta, pizza, and conversation. While taking in the excitement of the Piazza. Later, we walked back to our apartment to relax for a while. We're having so much fun getting to know new people and discovering new things about this city.

Tomorrow we are going to Appian Way to enjoy the scenery and to visit the catacombs. Afterward, I would like to wander through Trastevere. But we'll just have to wait and see what tomorrow brings...

Roma!

First things first... The Boy didn't like the little Italian automobile that we picked out for him. How about this Ducati instead? You like???


We arrived in Rome, Italy today. It was a quick flight, during which I took a much needed nap. It was quite an adventure getting to our apartment in the Jewish Ghetto area of the historic district. First, public transportation is striking, so everyone is on the streets in private cars or in taxis. There was a lot of traffic. Our second obstacle is the fact that nobody seems to speak English. And as you know, my Italian lessons didn't really prepare me for conversing with any semblance of intelligence. Our driver was very nice, and avoided traffic accidents while trying to figure out exactly what we were trying to ask him.

We arrived at our apartment only to find it locked and empty. It took some phone calls and a helpful neighbor to get someone here with the key. Grazie, Shopkeeper Man--I'll come buy trinkets and postcards from you tomorrow! And thank you Veronica--thanks for bringing the keys! Palazzo dei Fabii is on a cute street with loads of charming people and trattoria.


The next little quirk in our day was when Veronica left. She closed the doors (yep, plural) as well as the gates (again, plural) and then we realized that we didn't know how to get out! For a while there, I was pretty sure we were going to spend the following few days locked in this apartment. But after some messing around with the locks and a set of keys, I figured out how to get us released from our (potential) Roman prison.

We were meeting friends for dinner tonight and decided to walk to their hotel. The "helpful" polizia pointed us in exactly the wrong direction. Our half mile walk took us about one and a half miles. But we saw a lot of cool stuff and stopped for gelato along the way. An evening with friends, a pizza,some pasta and some gelato, it wasn't a wasted effort after all!

It's our last day in Greece

Our party tonight was amazing! It was held at a private house on the beach. The house was beautiful, and open all across the back to take advantage of the views of the water and the cool breezes. There was a live DJ and dancing. And after watching some of the dancing, I've decided that there was also an (over) abundance of drinking!

The food was incredible. The evening was beautiful. We couldn't have asked for a better way to end our time in Greece.

As we were leaving, we discovered that the house next door may have had a party to outdo ours. There were Porches, Ferraris, Lexus', BMWs, Mercedes... I wonder who the host for that party was!

Lots of excitement! Some of it good...

Isn't it always the case... Before we left, I told my mom she shouldn't have any ER-requiring incidents. With Max's disastrous dissolving stitches, we've met our quarterly quota for medical attention. But I was wrong...

First I got a text that said,

Mom, I think I might have broken some ribs. What should I do?

While that was bad, I figured that it was something that could be managed. And I was right. A few x-rays later, and we have discovered severely bruised ribs, but nothing broken.

Late last night the newest message was,

The kids are fine. The deer is dead. And the Volvo is resting in the garage.

I'm sure glad to know that we're not the only ones having an exciting time!

On a lighter note, I hope everyone will be happy to hear that we're doing well. Greece is still fun, although we've reconsidered bestowing Best Smelling upon the whole of Greece. After a little more time seeing other parts of the country, we've decided that maybe only Athens deserves the title.

We went on a yacht to Aegina Island today. Onboard ship, we watched some Greek dancing, and then we were encouraged (forcefully) to join them. Have you ever tried dancing on a yacht? Let's just say that it wasn't only the drinking crew that was having issues! I wouldn't go so far as to say it was fun, exactly, but it did provide moments of comic relief!

We rode scooters around the island on a photo scavenger hunt. It was fun, and we got to see quite a bit of the island. We even saw some wildlife--although our friends weren't so excited that their food could very recently have been classified as wildlife! We were served fish for lunch--head (including eyeballs) still firmly attached... And the open air fish market could have been a big factor in Greece losing it's Best Smelling title. All I can say is eeew. And have you smelled octopus that is sitting out on an 80* afternoon? yikes!


We did visit the temple of Aphaia. It was in a beautiful setting, surrounded by the Aegean Sea. The blue waters and green hillsides contrasted impressively against the pale columns. These ancient buildings are truly an incredible sight.


But in case you think this is strictly an educational excursion--please be assured... We are finding a little time to relax!


And to The Boy--don't worry too much about the Volvo. We've already found your replacement... How do you feel about swapping for another European car? I found something cute and it's made by little car company called Lamborghini... What do you think of it?

Yeah. I thought you'd like it!