KTMusings

Everyone did great sleeping through the night (except me, I slept terribly ). Woke up to our alarm and the girls did pretty good getting moving for our earliest start yet. We walked about 5 min to a taxi stand and caught a cab right away. It took about 10 min to drive to the Colosseum, so we got to slowly make our way down to it and take some pictures before Francesca arrived at 9. We went right in and spent about an hour inside exploring the first and second levels.  Francesca brought the girls a box of candy that looked like a mini pizza, which of course delighted them. Jeff and I got to ask lots of questions today … the girls did better walking all on their own since we had taxied over and it was the first thing of the day, but nothing held their interest for long. After the colosseum, we walked across to the Roman Forum and spent another hour+ in there. The girls had the most fun hopping across the big stones they used to make the street (and I kept saying “wait, these are real...

Actually tried hard to reduce steps and give everyone some down time today, so not much to write about.  We went to bed late, but all slept through the night for the most part! Got up at 10 again … tomorrow is going to be a rude awakening (literally) when we have to set an alarm! Girls and Jeff ate a banana and then we walked to the bakery around the corner … I was a bit overwhelmed and just blindly pointed at a pastry - the small place was packed - they sold bread, pastries, pizza, and some pre-made pasta dishes - clearly a popular choice around here. We walked a few blocks and got the girls gelato. Abby’s promptly fell out of her cone and they replaced it for free - so kind.  We then walked up to Piazza Novanta and sat at a restaurant - the girls each got a mojito (their new fave!), I got a coffee, and Jeff got a calzone. We used their bathroom about 4 times - yeesh. Lauren really wanted to see the Trevi Fountain again, so we walked over, but it was closed - big bummer. We t...

Well, the goal today was fewer steps for the girls’ sake … and we failed.  We had a low key morning; everyone fell asleep for about 3 hours last night and then was up again. I was bad and was reading while everyone slept, and just as I finished my book, everyone woke up. Lauren has been great about putting music on her tablet and getting herself back to sleep. Abby not so much. So, everyone slept in again, got ready, had breakfast in the apartment , and we headed out about noon.  I really wanted to take a taxi, but Jeff insisted we could walk and stop for food along the way <insert eye roll>. We got as far as the river and stopped for gelato. Abby got strawberry and disliked it so she traded me for my coffee/whiskey cream - and ate all of mine!  We made it to a piazza near Vatican, stopped for more food for the girls, then put Jeff’s backpack in a locker and headed up to the Vatican gates. There was a sandwich shop across the street and Jeff and I split a sandwich. ...

Steps as in the 14,888 Lauren took today! Abby only wore her watch half the day.  And steps as in the Spanish Steps, which both girls walked all the way to the top of!  Backing up … we left our apt about 11, walked through Piazza Novana again, got a donut and a latte near there, and then walked up to the river. We walked along the river, found a cool water feature outside a small museum and sat there for a bit. Abby got her zen on (pic below). We then walked up Piazza de Popolo. The girls played by those fountains while Jeff found a place to buy sandwiches. We walked up a ton of stairs to get into Borghese gardens. We found a shady bench and sat. The 3 of us shared the sandwiches Jeff bought and Lauren had a PBJ. The girls had the most fun running around a small area collecting sticks and acorns (and assorted garbage 🙄) for their “house”.  We walked partway back down the hill to a public bathroom (I hate paying to use the bathroom - I’m not opposed to it, it’s just a pai...

Well, that was a long night. I crashed 8-11 as did Abby, then she was awake and hungry (she really hadn’t had dinner) so we sat in the kitchen while she ate a banana with peanut butter (we brought a giant jar with us!) and some Cheezits (whatever survived the flight). And talked, as only Abby can.  “Mommy, what’s that noise?” (A clock) “mommy, do you think the big clock across the street makes noise?” “Mommy, are those people I hear in our building?” (No, outside). “Mommy, it’s cool we’re on the top floor.” (We’re not) “mommy, are those bars on the ceiling (exposed beams) stuck in there good? I’m worried about them.” She laid with me after that, and tossed and turned for almost 3 hours. Lauren was better about waking up, restarting her music, getting a drink, and going back to sleep. We all slept soundly after 3am which makes sense. Lauren woke me up, I was guessing it was 8, but it was 10! Yikes.  Off to Borghese gardens for the day. 

We all managed to sleep for almost 4 hours, it was hard to get everyone moving, but we rallied. We are staying in an apartment on Via De Guibbonari, so we turned up that street and after a couple of blocks we were at Campo de Fiori. The girls were sooo excited to see their first Italian fountain! Lauren is *extremely* disappointed that no one throws coins in. That is a huge mom fail on my because I talked it up a ton and now it seems it’s not a thing? Hopefully they still do at Trevi Fountain?  We got our first gelato - Abby got mint chip and Lauren asked for crema/cream, which I was worried about so I also got mint chip and she and I ended up trading. So much ice cream. We wandered up to Piazza Navona and looked at the fountains there. We briefly walked through a church. Then found Curio Pompeia … which are some cool ruins where Julius Caesar was assassinated. And also is home to a bunch of cats, which the girls were delighted by! We spent a lot of time looking around there and fo...

We made it. Abby was the only one who slept (fitfully) on the plane. She fell asleep for about an hour before we landed and didn’t even wake up when I put her shoes and socks back on and picked her up to leave the plane. Jeff sweet talked them into two rows of 3, so we each had one girl and one extra seat!  We got the train from the airport to city center and then a taxi to within a couple of blocks of our rental house.  Girls are busy exploring while we unpack a bit. About to make everyone take a little rest before we go exploring … I know you’re supposed to stay awake, but this was also my second trans-Atlantic flight with kids and … well, I need everyone to fall asleep so the whining stops 😂