Rome, Snow and Giving Thanks

We were all excited to get back to Rome. We knew this time we were going to be a little more relaxed and not be in such a hurry to see so many sites because we had seen to so many on our way through the first time. It was nice to just walk up and down the streets and stop in the shops and to eat gelato at 10 am. :)

  The Italians know how to make desserts look pretty! My mouth was always watering whenever I looked into a display of desserts.

Everything looked good and had everything not been so darn expensive I would have loved to try them all. We did try every gelato flavor though at this little shop and found that we loved the mint, creme caramel, chocolate and melon. So good!

 Like I mentioned we stopped more often to take in all of Roma. There were several shops with pastas I've never even imagined before, clock shops, hat and scarf shops and of course cheese!

 All this walking was to get us to the Trevi Fountain, we loved it so much the first time we decided to go again. It is absolutely beautiful, so breathtaking and I wish we had it in our front yard so I could swim in it! haha! As you can tell it was a little rainy so we bought ourselves some umbrellas and were shielded from the rain....that day.

 We also revisited the Piazza Navona, my parents hadn't been there so we were able to see all of the art, purchase some art and see the beautiful buildings and fountains. My only regret was that I hadn't bought the CD from the guy who was playing the guitar the first time we visited, because he wasn't there the second. BUMMER!

 While doing some more wandering we stumbled upon a market selling flowers, pasta, t-shirts and more. So fun to see all of this and be in such a beautiful city.

 We stopped to get out of the rain and to have us some delicious Italian cuisine. Leah had the gnocci's and I had the pasta with tomato sauce. I liked Leah's more than my own and whenever I snatched some off of her plate I got a yelled at, but it was worth it, it had something like four different cheeses in the sauce.

 Later, we wandered to the Bocca della Verita or Mouth of Truth, I've seen this place so many times in movies it was a little weird to be sticking my mouth in the same hole that Marissa Tome, Robert Downey Jr., Gregory Peck and Audrey Hepburgn had. As you can see that the adults have some problems, but Leah came out alright!

 We wandered along side the river and saw all of the beautiful, massive bridges that take you back and forth across the river. The fall colors were beautiful!

 The Colosseum for the second time was just as grand. We keep catching it at different parts of the day which make for neat pictures each and every time.

The next day Andrew and I decided that we would leave the girls with Grandma and Grandpa and go see the Vatican. Or as Andrew would say Vadican in Itly. :) (see Only You)

 As we were walking from the Metro to the Vatican central we kept getting stopped by people trying to get us to buy the tour passes, then they were telling us that the church was closed today and if we paid them 50 euro that they could get us in. We didn't believe them until we heard it from like ten more people. We arrived at the Vatican center and saw a huge line of people trying to get into the Bascilica, we asked someone and sure enough the church was closed, we didn't find out until later but it was closed because the Pope was in there appointing 80 new Cardinals. Kind of cool! Anyway we decided to go check out the Vatican Museums instead and we waited in line for about an hour since everyone was there instead of at the Bascilica.

The Vatican Museums originated as a group of sculptures collected by Pope Julius II (1503-1513) and placed in what today is the “Cortile Ottagono” within the museum complex. The popes were among the first sovereigns who opened the art collections of their palaces to the public thus promoting knowledge of art history and culture. As seen today, the Vatican Museums are a complex of different pontifical museums and galleries that began under the patronage of the popes Clement XIV (1769-1774) and Pius VI (1775-1799).

 All of these ornate hallways, rooms and ceilings led us to the Sistine Chapel. We were pretty overwhelmed by the time we got to the Chapel that the image of God touching man was not quite as impressive had it been the first thing we had seen, oh well it was still beautiful. We couldn't take pictures, though most were, so I don't have any but we did buy a puzzle depicting the entire Sistine Chapel ceiling. Can't wait until Christmas to do that one!

Afterwards we decided to go back to the Basilica to take some pictures, and soon found out that the ceremony was over and that they were allowing tourists into the Bascilica. Yay! So we hopped in line again to go through security and I took some pictures of the Vatican circle while we waited.

I just keep realizing that my pictures do these places absolutely no justice. Think big and then times it by one hundred, that's how big this place and all sites are in Rome. Just HUGE!

 The marble statues were very impressive but I must admit, the Catholic church kind of creeps me out. Their decor is kind of morbid. A lot of skeletons and there was one 20 foot carving of a Pope that looked like he was raised from the dead and about to reach out and snatch me up. Still it was very neat to kind of see and learn a little bit more about the Catholic church and see their beautiful, interesting Cathedrals.

Later that night, we decided to go to Mom and Dad's favorite place, Florian's, for dinner. I can see why they liked it so much, very good food!

 You can see dad with his Hawaiian pizza and then went back the following night and then I had the Hawaiian Pizza and I don't know if it was just that I was starving by the time we got there but that was one of the best Hawaiian pizza's I've ever had. Prochiutto, good Mozerella cheese, parmesan cheese and their amazing crust, oh and extra pineapple!

 The second time we went there Andrew and I decided we would try some of their desserts from their display case. All but the one in the ramican had some sort of alcohol in it, hoping it had all been cooked out besides the taste we ate them all up. We decided that the one in the ramican was our favorite, I think I remember the waiter saying that it had Ricotta cheese in it. It was very smooth and creamy and had a berry sauce on top. We decided that the Italians like their cake a little dry unfortunately. That's okay at least we got the chance to try true Italian desserts. Kind of fun!

Well it was time to say goodbye to Rome, it was a sad day but also a happy one because we knew we were going home. We missed Idaho, all of us, especially my parents since they hadn't been home in 5 months. If you didn't see the post below this one it explains our trip home up until this point.

 Yes, we came home to a major record breaking snow blizzard! We ended up having to stay at the Ashton Inn because our roads were closed and drifted over. The next morning my dad was determined to get us home so he called a friend to give him a snowmachine ride to the house to get a tractor. We met him in Marysville to get pulled home but instead got stuck several times and to not embarass, anyone let's just say that thank goodness my dad was there to save the day. We were glad to be home finally and out of the cold. While Andrew and Dad unloaded the luggage and did some snowblowing the girls stayed inside and made hot chocolate. Well deserved after our adventures.

It was kind of crazy to come home and be thrown into a blizzard and then to have to prepare a Thanksgiving day feast. Fortunately we had gone to Walmart and picked up a few things before leaving Idaho Falls but we were still missing some so on Wednesday, since the roads were still closed, Andrew  and I had to make a snowmachine trip into town to the store. We weren't the only ones who had to make the trip via snowmachine and Dave's Market was packed with locals and several travelers trying to get up to Island park. Even I-20 was closed so everyone was kind of stranded if you didn't have a snowmachine.

Despite the crazy weather we had a wonderful Thanksgiving. Full of delicious food and family. We had way more food than we needed but isn't that theme of Thanksgiving dinner, stuff yourself and wait a few hours and stuff yourself more. Fortunately we only had one stuffing yesterday and then we called it a day.

This Thanksgiving I have had time to think about all that I am thankful for, I think this time more than ever I am grateful to be an American and most specifically a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. I love this country and it's rules, it's laws, it's building codes and traffic laws. You don't miss it until you realize you are completely with out it. I am thankful that I had the opportunity to see two other parts of the world. It was a small glimpse into this wonderful world around us. I am thankful to Andrew and that we love each other and want to make each other happy. I am thankful for my children, that they are sweet, beautiful and healthy. I am thankful for friends and for the rest of my family that help shape me to who I am. This month of November 2010 will never be forgotten and I hope I can reflect on it often to remember the blessings I've been given.