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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