K turned 17 on Monday. She received a expensive gift this year. Surgery on her knee! What a gift! She wanted to get it over as quick as possible to not only go to young women camp, but also be ready for running again. It all went well, and the doc took out a foreign body that should have dissolved when she was a baby, and then smoothed the cartilage in her joints. We hope this was what was causing the pain when she ran, but will not know for sure until she can run again.
On Tuesday, G and I celebrated 19 years! Wow, how did that happen so quickly? Let's do it again! G, I love you. You are just perfect for me.
Good Things:
1. K
2. G
3. Sealing it all together
Friday, May 22, 2009
The rest of the story
On Wednesday, we went to Vatican City. We went to the museum, St. Peters cathedral, and of course the Sistine Chapel. Both the cathedral, and the paintings in the chapel were amazing. I can't even imagine the time it would take to do something like that. Truly amazing! We spent most of the day there, but saved some time for Castle St. Angelo. After visiting it a few years ago, I just knew D would love it. He did. We explored it and imagined how things would have been so long ago when you were fighting to protect the castle.
Thursday we took the train to Perugia. It was a very long train ride because it was not an express train. However, I think it was worth it. It is a very old city. To get to the center of the old square, you travel through a castle on an escalator. We didn't really do anything there, just wander the old narrow streets, and take a look at the Utruscan Arch, which used to circle the entire city.
Friday we finished our trip with visiting the Borghese Gardens. This is a very large park in the city. We rented a little carriage type bike, and enjoyed riding around looking at the park. We also went to the "birthday cake" or Victor Emmanuel Monument. The tomb of the unknown soldier, and the eternal flame. We took an elevator to the top of the building, and had an amazing view of the entire city. It was fun to point out all the places we had been. This building also has a military museum which D loved, and was featuring an art show that was really fun, modern stuff. We also finished up any souvenir shopping, had gelato a few more times and called it a day.
The whole trip was so much fun. I hope the kids will always remember it, and appreciate the memory.
Thursday we took the train to Perugia. It was a very long train ride because it was not an express train. However, I think it was worth it. It is a very old city. To get to the center of the old square, you travel through a castle on an escalator. We didn't really do anything there, just wander the old narrow streets, and take a look at the Utruscan Arch, which used to circle the entire city.
Friday we finished our trip with visiting the Borghese Gardens. This is a very large park in the city. We rented a little carriage type bike, and enjoyed riding around looking at the park. We also went to the "birthday cake" or Victor Emmanuel Monument. The tomb of the unknown soldier, and the eternal flame. We took an elevator to the top of the building, and had an amazing view of the entire city. It was fun to point out all the places we had been. This building also has a military museum which D loved, and was featuring an art show that was really fun, modern stuff. We also finished up any souvenir shopping, had gelato a few more times and called it a day.
The whole trip was so much fun. I hope the kids will always remember it, and appreciate the memory.
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
Our Trip to Rome
This picture is taken from the balcony of the apartment we stayed in. You can see the Coliseum to the far left. We were about two blocks from it, and walked by it every day. I will try to put a slide show on, but you know of my technology difficulties, so I will do my best. It would take forever to tell you about each picture, so I won't. But if you are interested further, come visit us, and we can tell you everything we saw. But here is a brief overview of what we did and saw.
Friday we took a city tour on a bus to get the lay out of the city and try to stay awake for as long as we could to do our best with the jet lag. We also did a little walking around the Coliseum.
Saturday we got up early to catch a train to Florence. There we met Elena, her sister Allesandra, and her boyfriend. Elena was sixteen when G served his mission there. They have somewhat stayed in touch with each other, and it was fun to finally meet someone I had heard about for so long. They showed us the city, baptistry, bell tower, (we did not go in, the line was very long, and we didn't have much time) Ponte Vecchio, the bronze pig, and the fake statue of David, (we did not go into the museum where the real one was)and the open market. We had lots of fun shopping, and ventured into the food part of the market. That was something we will probably never see again, at least not in America. Although the smell was horrendous, I found it fascinating to see all the meats, fish, poultry, etc, hanging, and ready for sale. D was thrilled to see all kinds of fish, and rabbits, among other things that were not recognizable. I always love the open market, just so much fun to me. We had a nice lunch with them, and saw some old pictures she brought along, and got to know her a little bit. This was one of my favorite days.
Sunday the jet lag kind of caught us and we slept until after ten. Happy Easter! We went to the Coliseum, the Forum, and looked at lots and lots of ruins. It is amazing that things from so long ago are still around. We are just not used to seeing things so old, our country is so young compared to what we saw.
Monday we finished seeing ruins on Palantine Hill. We also went to some churches, including the Pantheon, and wandered the city. We found that many places, including churches and museums, are closed on Mondays until 4 or 5. But lots of people were enjoying the day and watching people as many do for entertainment. I think we went to Trevi Fountain, the Spanish Steps, and Piazza Navona, but it was very crowded, so we just kept on walking.
Tuesday the J family went to Florence. So it was just our family. We went to many churches and saw not only the amazing architecture, but also the art. D wants to know, how does the Pantheon have a hole, but doesn't get rain in. I am sure we will be doing some studying and thinking to figure that out. We also went to the church with "the mouth of truth," walked along the river, and went to the Trastavere part of town. We ended our day with a walk along the Circus Maximus. Stay tuned for the rest of the adventure when I get around to it.
Good Things:
1. Memories
2. Capturing them for the future
3. Being able to include the kids
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