July 29th

Another amazing adventure in exotic places (AAIEP) traveling in planes trains and automobiles – and a lot on foot.  Yet there are some realistic-not so exotic-observations and experiences that I don’t necessarily write about on here.  I believe there is a movement attacking “the myths of social media” and how life is being presented as perfect, amazing, exciting and wonderful. It sets everybody up for depression that their lives are not that perfect, amazing and exciting and most of it is a mocked-up sham. I think I am a part of that movement…  And yet I read through and I am contributing to some of the mocked-up sham (although I don’t photoshop any photos anymore), and I am not putting it out there for the public to ravage but even if my future grandkids (fingers crossed they will appear at some point) are reading this stuff – there’s a truth to be told here – it’s not all breathtaking, inspiring and amazing.  It’s long flights and nearly missing our connections, grumpy whining teenagers who bug each other and us, gross food (sometimes), rude stinky crowds and long lines, hotels that aren’t what they advertise, jet lag, worrying we are going to be kicked out of hotels because of fighting siblings, dirty sticky hands and feet, sweaty stinky dirty clothes, no bathrooms, disgusting bathrooms, impatience with each other, airlines that have their computers go down and multiple worries at home – and I’m not even scratching the surface.  There’s a hair-thin balance between being ungrateful for our many AAIEP’s by whining and presenting our life as perfect, exciting, wonderful and amazing.  I’m not sure how to find that balance.. but I make my best effort.  I read once that as a mom, I should record the little things because they will always remember the big things like dances, recitals, graduations and big trips and it makes me wonder if I should be paying more attention and allowing the little things to write about more often.. than creating grand adventures.  I do wish I had done that writing when my kids were younger and getting through some of those days was a grand adventure.  Ok Now I am just starting to blather – so here’s the details of another AAIEP beginning with Rome:

Poor Lelu had to live through groundhog day with a new cast of characters once we showed up to pick her up.  The Vatican, the pantheon, the coliseum, circus maximus, Michaelangelo, Bernini, etc. At least the Roman Forum was a new sight for her.  For the twins it was all new but kind of lost on their 14 year old sense of curiousity about ancient things.

This was our breakfast view from our hotel and we had this crippled seagull friend that watched and waited every day and was very healthy for its efforts. It was an awesome view because we were up on a little hill, but we had to walk up that little hill each day and night after traipsing through Rome and it was 90 degrees with 90% humidity.

the Pantheon

That little Michaelangelo Christus hidden in the back of a little chapel near the pantheon.
The coliseum –  they built it in nine years and Barcelona hasn’t finished their Sagrada de Familia in over 100? – something’s not quite right over there. 

The forum

the VaticanOur fun, slightly hyper, multi-lingual polish guide Catarina telling us about the purple stone bath behind them: the stone came from the African desert and they can’t find anymore of it. I don’t know why but I was surprised that the Vatican had a bust of Socrates. Aristotle wrote about Socrates having a “snubnose” (making fun of him they think) and it kind of looks like he’s got a snub nose. Where but the Vatican would you find monks with bright yellow backpacks?They’ve had swiss guards for centuries and they still do.  There are also multiple armed guards, x-ray machines and metal detectors going in.  Our guide told us (after our tour) they receive terrorist threats daily and are on what’s called red alert.  

The summer before B and I met, he spent 3 months in Europe and told me about an ice cream place in Rome that he went to 3 times a day because the ice cream (gelato) was so delicious.  He wanted to go back and buy the recipe and open something here. When we went 4 years ago, we couldn’t find it. But 28 years later we found it! (thanks tripadvisor) And we went there every day we were in Rome and it’s still as delicious as he remembered.  If in Rome – find Giolitti for gelato.The Trevi Fountain…The Spanish steps are closed and being cleaned or something.Italy Part 2 – the Amalfi Coast. We drove down with a guide named Paulo.  He took us to this local grocery store with a mini restaurant in the back where the locals go and we got served the best Italian food of the entire trip.  We ate in a town called Positano and stopped in Sorrento – both of which were beautiful very crowded with tourists beach towns and then we turned off the main road.

First off – I wish we’d stayed there the entire time. We were only there for two days. Secondly it is as beautiful or more so than the photos represent.  We stayed in a tiny little isolated town up the mountain about 15 minutes from the coast called Ravello and we loved it.  I’ll let the photos speak for themselves: