We just returned from a whirlwind trip to Rome (isn't it amazing that we can go to Rome for the weekend?!!). It was a weekend of extreme highs and lows.The Good:
-Beautiful weather
-Apartment in a great location one block from Piazza Navona
-Watching Noah and Adam join in an afternoon soccer game
-Celebrating Rosh Hashana in Rome
-The Pantheon, The Colosseum, The Trevi Fountain
-Being able to walk every where or use public transportation
-The food
-Being surrounded by so much history
-Finally starting to be able to get around with our very elementary Italian
The Bad:-Missing our flight because we forgot to bring the kids' passports with us to the airport. Adam had to drive home and get them. Not a good start.
-PMS does not make a good traveling companion.
-Noah hurt his foot halfway through the weekend so he and Camille had an on-going battle for the stroller or Daddy's shoulders
-I cracked and swallowed my back molar today (our last day) so we spent most of the day trying to figure out how to get back on an earlier flight only to discover it wasn't possible and spent four hours waiting around the airport for our originally scheduled flight
-Dealing with dental pain and two cranky children is not fun. My yoga and Bradley training came in very handy today.
-We had a moment of panic when we thought we had taken the train to the wrong airport (note for the future and for anyone else planning a trip to Rome: the airport has two names Leonardo DaVinci and Fiumicino)
The Funny:-Camille somehow inhaled a piece of spaghetti during one of our meals. Not sure how that happened. She complained a bit about some pain in her nose, but nothing was detected until several hours later when she "blessed you" (her word for sneezing). We were all shocked and a bit horrified to watch a long piece of spaghetti come flying out of her nostril.
-We visited more toy stores this weekend than most people every visit in their entire lifetimes. Seriously, there seemed to be one on every corner.
-We didn't see any stray cats in Rome. All of the childrens' books we have been reading about Rome mention stray cats.
-While going through security today at the airport, one of the guards starting tickling Noah. Noah couldn't figure it out. He thought it was one of us until the guard started giggling himself. Can you imagine security personnel in the States even cracking a smile much less tickling and teasing a six year old boy?
-A sure sign that we are now living in Italy: on our return flight this evening the video clips that were shown during the flight were all runway shows highlighting the Italian fashions for this fall.
-As we pulled into our driveway this evening, there was a collective sigh and feeling of happiness that we were finally back "home". Funny how one weekend in Rome can suddenly make us feel so at home in Sicily. Always good to travel and always good to return home.
Headed to bed now because the movers are coming tomorrow with all of our belongings and I have an early morning appointment with the dentist.
Ah, the tooth! The day before vacation this year, I cracked a molar and had to have it extracted. Now I get to have $4000 of dental work over 4 months to replace it. I hope your outcome is better.
Tara B.
Oh my... so much good, bad and funny in this post! Good luck with your tooth, first of all... that sounds simply horrible, and I hope you get it fixed soon. Second of all, I cracked up to see that your daughter has her own word for sneezing. Mine calls it "choo-ing." Which can be confusing for others to hear and try to put into context. :)
Amazing experiences you are having!!
I laughed out loud reading about the spaghetti flying out of Camille's nose. Hope the visit to the dentist and the incoming household goods are as painless as possible. Can't wait to hear what the new fashion trends are! See you soon!
You would think the spagetti would have burned her nose. Sorry about your molar. Yuck! Despite all the bad things that happened, I can't believe you were able to see so much in such a short amount of time. Hope all your stuff arrives safely.
what a great story! I hope your teeth feel better soon. How we miss Rome....
Glad to hear about your trip! sorry about the molar! eeek. Hilarious about the noodle. She may not come away with any actual memories of her visit there, but she'll always have a great story!
Oops, I never made it with my suggestions, sorry (sounds like you did very well without them)! I can confirm that there are many, many stray cats in Rome, fed by the many, many ladies who'll bring leftovers and leave them right in the streets (not nice in summertime). We even had stray cats on our roof, and couldn't eat on our balcony because they'd immediately come out and aggressively demand some food!
It's nice that you already feel at home in Sicily.
PS I never realized that the name of the airport could be confusing, it's technically "Leonardo da vinci", and Fiumicino is just the location, but somehow it's always referred to as Fiumicino airport!
Welcome back! Sounds like quite an adventure--
We'll be in your area tomorrow (Tues.), so give me a call if you need a break from unpacking!
I had the same thought about the cats of Venice. Where were they?? I saw a few but nothing like I had anticipated. Funny how we get such things in our heads!! As for Rome, they used to have the cat sanctuary in the ruins (ahh can't recall name right now!) but when I was there in May I saw it had been moved. I was shocked as it had been there for YEARS! Ciao, K
HI,
I was sure that the bad news would include a pick pocketing incident. So happy for you to hear that it was not :) Happy Travels!
Oh my gosh. there are serious good bad and funny in this blog. Wow. I hope everything has worked out and you are safe and sound at home.
but on the other hand . . . ROME!!!!
so happy to find your blog, Lucia....... I look forward to reading more, "listening" to your interpretation of living life Sigonella style! good luck with the unpacking and let me know if the kids need a new environment to play in!
Wow - what a trip! Well told. :)
when we were in rome every tourist site had cats, though we did hit most of them at night, when someone had left out containers of food for them, so that might be why they appeared
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