Over looking the Tiber River to the Vatican City in Italy

Rome… diverse in every way! Serenely beautiful, yet incredibly dirty. A place for the rich, yet so many gypsies and homeless abound. Crowded at every corner, yet able to walk down a side street and feel small and quaint. Needless to say it wouldn’t be my cup of tea for an extended period of time, but it was nice to see again, and more so, to visit with friends.

We arrived in Rome on a damp cold evening into the insanely busy Termini Station. We decided to jump into a cab instead of try to figure out where the metro was because they have recently renovated the train station and my brain wasn’t quite functioning at full volume after 24 hours of travel. We were ready to get there and relax, or fall over, whichever came first.

Our B & B, A Casa di Serena, was located across the hall from our friends. We got everyone situated and I was about to go out and walk aimlessly to try and find something for us to eat. When I opened the door Mitzi was there, giving us a warm welcome and invited us over for some food and wine. I could not have been more relieved! What a breath of fresh air!

Sofia & Stella

The Best of Friends: Since that first night Stella and their daughter Sofia became wonderful friends. I was in amazement at how well they got along! For the 3 days we were in Rome, those two were inseparable!

So What Did You Do in Rome? Not a whole lot of sightseeing, although we did do a fair amount of walking. We mainly just visited with friends, slept (or tried to), ate some food, meandered around a bit, ate some more, and enjoyed some great wine. A highlight though was the giant neighborhood indoor marketplace, with stalls and stalls of vendors! It looked like a farmers market on steroids with each vendor having a specialty – produce, meat, salumi, fish, etc. I really wish I had some pictures to post here, but I kept forgetting the camera at home.

If you toss a penny over your shoulder into the fountain, you’ll have a speedy return to Rome!

I kind of felt guilty not venturing out much in Rome. It wasn’t that we didn’t want to go sightseeing, it was more the transition before the long journey we are setting out on. I’m sure at some point we’ll return to Rome (we’ll have to because we threw our pennies into Trevi Fountain which means a speedy return to Rome) and take the kids around to learn about the history and special attractions, but to be honest, the family was just plain tired and needed to get situated and really wanted to just hang with some friends. Which leads me to…

A Whole New Experience: Jet lag with kids. What a different animal this is to tackle. Italy is 7 hours ahead of Central Texas. I thought Jill and I were doing well, but the kids didn’t transition as easily. Actually I take that back. Stella did great, but Romolo didn’t realize we changed time zones and was waking up at midnight or so from his “afternoon nap”. There were a few nights we just hung out in bed, chatting away until 2 or 3 am, when we were doing everything in our power not to nod off. I think Stella transitioned easier too because she had a friend to keep her going and motivate her. All in all, the kids were back to normal after about 6 days (after we left Rome).

A Special Thank You! Luca, Mitzi, and Sofia, Thank you so much for your hospitality and friendship. Thank you for welcoming us to Italy, opening your home and giving us a boost as we transitioned into traveling around this wonderful country. Grazie mille!