Day 6 (Sept. 6): Arrivederci Roma

{one of my favorite photos...p&j on the hillside in umbria}

On Saturday, we left Rome for greener pastures. We loved the city but were very eager to move on to the next part of our trip...our rental house in Umbria! Jeff picked up our rental car in the morning (surprisingly, a relatively easy process) while I finished packing up our bags. Negotiating the streets of Rome in a car was a bit tricky but actually was better than I had anticipated (less scary than when we picked up our car on our trip to Scotland and Jeff had to learn to drive on the left side of the street, on the right side of the car, very quickly). We hit the A1 and headed north severely in need of coffee. We stopped at the first Auto Grill along the way -- Italy's idea of a rest stop. I will do a longer post about coffee later -- so much to say! -- but suffice to say in this post that Jeff ordered two lattes but didn't say cafe latte. So what did we end up with? Two tall glasses of milk! Jeff never drinks milk straight-up, but we both downed our milks and left and stopped at the next Auto Grill along the way where we finally got us some coffee with our milk.

We arrived in San Terenziano before the time the house was available so we took a drive around and started soaking in the beautiful Umbrian landscape. And what a landscape it was. The area hadn't had rain for months (or so we were told) and the land was fairly parched but it was still amazing. Olive trees and grape vineyards everywhere we looked. Rolling hills, small towns, church steeples. Not a McDonald's in site. We had landed in heaven.

We returned to the house where we were let in by Karen, a British woman who lives in Umbria (lucky lady!) and works for the rental company. She showed us around the lovely house -- "Casetta Rosa" -- that wouold be our home for the next week. A whole week! It was decorated with tons of Umbrian pottery and also African artwork and crafts that were collected by the owner. It was everything we could have hoped for and more (well, except for air conditioning. Air conditioning would have been nice). My parents arrived shortly after we did and we spent the rest of the day getting settled into our new home for the week and enjoying our spectacular view.

{back of the house}

{view of the house from down the hill}

{the sun sets on our first night in umbria}

{little bench and table on the hillside below the house}

{daddy and phoebe}

{drumming on daddy's head}

{eskimo kiss}

{she's fussing but i still love this photo}

{dining al fresco}

Day 5 (Sept. 5): Nonni and Nonno Arrive

{phoebe & her nonni at the villa borghese}

On Friday, my parents arrived in Rome. We spent the morning getting ready for their arrival. I went to the grocery store (alone, maybe?) and picked up some essentials to prepare lunch for them. Jeff figured out, thanks to Google translator, how to tell the building's doorman that his wife's parents would be arriving and could he please show them upstairs. This man, who spoke no English, understood Jeff's Italian perfectly! (Oh and to think if he had not -- where my poor parents may have been led off to!) I happily chopped tomatoes, cheese, and other delicacies and laid them out on big white plates for us all to share. My parents arrived right on time and we sat down for a welcome lunch together, complete with proseco. After lunch, we took them to (where else?) San Crispino for gelato. My mom and I got the fig flavor and it was divine. Like a fresh fig plucked right from an Italian fig tree...yet somehow still distinctly gelato-ey tasting as well. De-licious.

{preparing the welcome lunch}

{fresh strawberries...small ones...the real deal}

{food laid out, lucy waiting}

{they're here...lucy confused a little}

{excellent smile, dad}

{very excited to have her grandparents in italy}

After that, my mom took a nap (or a rest anyway) at our apartment while my dad went to check into their hotel. I managed to get out for a little while on my own and I truly savored my walk around our neighborhood, getting to stop into shops and buy a few things unaccompanied by my littlest traveling companions. Later that afternoon (after a quick stop at my parents' hotel, during which Lucy decided the bidet was a "hand washer"), we all walked up to the Villa Borghese -- Rome's version of Central Park or Boston Common. It had actually been described to me as more Boston Common than Public Garden -- a very apt description and one that will make sense to my fellow Bostonians! It was actually our second visit there -- we had visited previously that week and were pleased to find a playground for Lucy (one of Rome's few) as well as an indoor playspace where she enjoyed bouncing around for a while. They even had a children's bookshop where I bought a beautifully illustrated book that I want to take apart and frame parts of for our new house. Not sure what I'll do with it exactly. Anyway, on this trip to the Borghese we sat down and had a light early dinner and even met an Italian family with a girl almost Lucy's age as well as a baby boy a bit younger than Phoebe. It was adorable to see Lucy play with her new Italian friend Ludovica and to talk to the mother, Bina. They live in Rome near the Borghese and operate a B&B.

{using the "hand washer"}

{off like a shot at the villa borghese}

{playing with nonno at a fountain in the Borghese}

This reminds me of my observations about children in Rome. I really found it to be true what I had heard about Italy's declining population -- there are so few babies there. It is just not like your typical American city that teems with babies. I saw very few babies, and even fewer babies in carriers -- most were either in strollers or being carried. So I was a bit of a curiosity, walking around with my cherubic blond Phoebe firmly attached to my body in the Ergo carrier 24/7! This is not to say that Romans don't like babies -- they love them. They practically dipped Phoebe in chocolate and ate her for breakfast they loved her so much. Men, women, young, old...even the gruffest looking of men would fawn all over her. Maybe it has something to do with her big blue eyes or maybe it's the dimple in her left cheek when she flashes her ample smile...but really I think it's just that Italians love children. Heck, they seem to love everyone...which is why Italy is like heaven on earth. But I digress.

After our visit to the park, we took a walk down the Via Veneto before heading back to our apartment (and my parents to their hotel). We started to pack up our things because the following day, we were off to Umbria. Stay tuned for that...I have photos that you won't want to miss!

Day Four (Sept 4): Phoebe Gets Her Catholic On

{baptizing phoebe at st. peter's...does it count? it does in my book.}

We knew that Rome would not be a typically "easy" city to be in with children -- we read that over and over. Undeterred, we went anyway. But we did take the advice of many to limit our activities. So instead of trying to see all of Rome, I decided on a few key things I really wanted to see. Jeff and I had both been to Rome before, but I hadn't been since high school and I really wanted to re-visit some places with adult eyes. The Vatican was on my must-visit list. We knew that a visit to the Vatican Museum/Sistine Chapel would not be possible -- no way could we wait in line for tickets and then trudge through miles of rooms of artwork with the hopes that we could actually enjoy the serenity of the chapel without one or both girls in meltdown mode. So we opted for the cliff notes version -- but the most important thing -- a visit to St. Peter's Basilica.

I was glad that I read in advance that they adhere strictly to the dress code for women -- no exposed shoulders. I had been wearing tank tops every day and so on our visit day I wore a short-sleeve shirt instead. I even had little jackets for the girls! The line to get in was not too bad and once inside I was so glad we decided to visit. The Pieta is truly breathtaking, as is the rest of the church. Lucy loved the patterned floor and had a lot of fun pointing out the "stars" on it -- and lying down on them. Jeff took some amazing photographs of light streaming in through the windows. God's presence was very clear to us there!

We have not baptized Phoebe yet -- we intend to soon, hopefully. But in the meantime, I went ahead and baptized herself right there in a font at St. Peter's. If that doesn't count for something, then I don't know what does. Jeff and Lucy watched, so maybe that makes them her unofficial Godparents!

{in line at st. peter's}

{dancing...always dancing!}

{not up for posing, i suppose}

{holding her daddy's hand on the way in to the basilica}

{lucy outside st. peter's}

{lulu & her daddy before entering the church}

{the breathtaking Pieta}

{the alter}

{light streaming in up above}

{more light}

{beautiful}

{what kind of sister game is this?}

{classy, luce. wicked classy.}

{takes her shoes off EVERYWHERE}

After our visit to the Vatican, we decided to take a taxi to the Trastevere neighborhood. Trastevere is sometimes referred to as the "real" Rome -- or the Rome where you go to see real Romans and not tourists. Of course, now that the word is out, plenty of tourists make their way to Trastevere to seek out the place without the tourists! Our destination there was a pastry shop that I read about that specializes in Sacher Torte. Sacher Torte is my favorite cake in the whole wide world and for my 35th birthday it was my heart's desire. So my other heart's desire (i.e., Jeff) called every bakery in Boston (or so he says) but, alas, no Sacher Torte. So you can imagine my glee when our guidebook mentions this little bakery in Trastevere that specializes in it. I got my birthday wish after all! We had the taxi take us right to the shop where no one spoke a lick of English (love it!). We got two pieces of cake to go and ate them out on the piazza while the kids slept (cake in peace...ahhhh!!). We then made a quick trip inside the church there, Santa Maria in Trastevere, before getting a cab back home. We would have loved to have spent more time in Trastevere and I would definitely consider renting an apartment there next time. If you want to read a fantastic book about an American's experience living there for a year with his wife and baby twin boys, read Four Seasons in Rome by Anthony Doerr. I read it on our trip and loved it -- it captures the essence of the American-in-Rome experience so eloquently. It's an easy read and just beautifully done.

{pastry shop in trastevere}

{lucy out cold = cake enjoyed by mom and dad}

{and she's awake}

{smiling in the piazza}

Rome Sweet Home

{lucy peeking out the window}

Our apartment in Rome was a true haven from the heat and commotion of the city. There were so many things to love about it. It was in a great location -- on Via Francesco Crispi, which is right near the Spanish Steps, the Trevi Fountain, the Villa Borghese, the Via Veneto, and also several subway stops. It was fairly big and decorated really nicely -- it actually had the very same dining room table and chairs that I want to get from Ikea, so it was fun to be able to give them a "test run." I fell in love with the yellow plaster walls and tall ceilings and the big windows that opened up to a view of the rooftops of Rome and the top of the Il Messaggero (newspaper) headquarters. I also found the building's lobby and hallways amazing...entirely marble. Granted, this made it feel very cold and a bit austere, but impressive nonetheless.

The best part about our place was that it actually cost less than your average decent hotel room in Rome. Not that it was cheap, but hotels are so expensive that this was a bargain in comparison. And we saved some money by eating some meals at home...well, not really, but in theory we could have! We rented from Rome Sweet Home -- I definitely recommend it.

Oh and the really best part about our place was its proximity to the best gelato in Rome, which means the best in the whole world -- at San Crispino. The freshest flavors you can imagine. They don't even have cones because they feel they would take away from the flavor...I agree. I think we went there three times, maybe four. I can't even recommend one flavor over another because they were all spectacular. When in Rome, go go GO to San Crispino!

{kitchen}

{dining area}

{living room}

{bedroom}

{view at night...part of the il messaggero sign, illuminated in blue}

{daytime view}

{some of those were our windows...not sure which!}

{building facade}

Day Three (Sept. 3): The Caesar Shuffle

{lounging at the forum}

We did the "Caesar Shuffle" on Wednesday...as in, the Forum & the Coliseum. We skipped the Circus Maximus because I read it's not all that impressive and we needed to keep our visits to places short and sweet. I am SO grateful to the Lonely Planet guide for suggesting that we buy our Coliseum tickets at the Forum. It is a combined ticket, so one ticket gets you into both the Forum and the Coliseum. And the line at the Forum is sooooooooo much shorter than at the Coliseum. Seriously, if you are thinking of ever going to Rome, write down this tip now and be sure to follow it later. You'll be glad you did!

{lucy at the forum}

{exploring the ruins with daddy...an ancient jail cell, perhaps?}

{phoebe happily went along for the ride}

{lucy clowned it up, as always}

{leave it to lucy to find a flower to pick amongst 2,000 year old ruins}

{an italian mama giving her babies a drink from the fountain}

{washing her flower...gotta get the ancient off it, i suppose}

{at the coliseum...so that's a thumbs up from me, and a thumbs down from lucy}

{that's phoebers asleep in the backpack!}

Up next...Rome Sweet Home .