Click your ruby slippers

It was a 27-hour day that took us from our beds at the Rome Marriott to our own beds in Pleasant View, Utah, but we made it without incident, accident or injury.

Our route took us from Rome to London - which was just a 2.5 hour flight. Then from London to New York, an additional 6.5 hours and boy did I make a GREAT seat selection on that flight. Tall boys with long legs got me to thinking about that row right behind the galley on the 747.... knee room, leg room, stand up room. I got lot's of points from the boys for that call.

Our New York to Salt Lake City leg was suppose to be 4.5 hours but turned into 5.5 due to the 'sit time' on the tarmac. I used some frequent flyer miles to upgrade to first class but we were too tired to even enjoy the attention from the stewardess or make special requests! Boy did I have some tired but very happy boys outside the SLC airport waiting for Scott to pull up!

We hit our own beds at about midnight Utah time, or 8 AM Italy time. Either time we were exhausted from the travel and malnourished from the lack of gelato.

I woke up the next morning in that super drowsy fog. You know the one. You wake up and aren't really sure where you are. I thought, 'Hey, I think this might be my own bed!' The fog clears just enough for the logical thought process that if I am in my own bed I must be in my own room! And if I am in my own room, that means the house is there too! Oh yeah! I mean, travel is great but I argue that home is greater.

Taking a cue from my (less than supportive) sister;

These things are good:

lever flush toilets

english

your own mattress

driving a car

not having to calculate exchange rates

reading from left to right

temperatures in the 90's

Just to name a few.

11 through 15

Here are a few stats for ya: we've slept in 14 hotels, flown over 20,000 miles, visited 32 cities/towns, been bused about 1,600 miles, used 5 different types of currency and eaten incalculable amounts of ice cream. (Starting Monday the budget and the diet will significantly tighten!)

This is the boys 3rd 'trip' to Rome and my 4th so we were DONE with the 'top 10 must see' sites. Today we focused on numbers 11 through 15 and managed to lose the crowds of tourists. I'll give you a little run down.

I let the boys sleep in late, as in closer to lunch than breakfast late. So first order of business was lunch. A Coke in Europe will rock you anywhere from 2 - 7 Euros. Ridiculous. And one thing that Europe does not believe in is free re-fills. So when we saw a restaurant that DID have free refills... we took a table!

It felt like being back in the States. Nacho's, Fajita's, Barbecue, steak. We succumbed to non-Italian food and didn't feel bad about it at all. The manager was from Boston and our waitress was from Texas. A little taste of home - which was really nice after 5 weeks.

There is a church called 'Saint Peter in Chains' not far from the Colosseum. (My Dad actually suggested it when I asked him for ideas of what we could do that we hadn't done before.) The church has two notable items that make it well worth a visit. Just under the alter they claim to have the actual chains that bound Peter before he was killed - we are skeptical. A painting on the ceiling tells the story.

The second notable item in the church (and the one who's authenticity is a fact) is a statue of Moses by Michelangelo. Moses is depicted with horns on his head based on a misinterpretation of scripture which Michelangelo was aware of but sculpted anyway.

The entire work was supposed to include 40 figures and be the tomb of Pope Julius, but after doing Moses Michelangelo got distracted with the Vatican and Sistine Chapel. It is assumed that students of the artist added the additional statues and Pope Julius was buried at St. Peter's.

Next we walked to the Jewish Ghetto. Jews have been in Rome for as long as Rome has been in Italy and have suffered for most of the time because of their religion. We were able to tour two synagogues and a museum dedicated to preservation of items from the ghetto. Because of a terrorist attack in 1992, photos are strictly forbidden and one woman was questioned and forced to show the guard her digital photos when he thought he saw her take one. I guess too much information could be gathered from photos posted to the internet for future attacks. This time I kept my camera in my bag! Their piazza had an interesting name:

The area was so pretty and nearly tourist free - except for us! (I wonder if people who live in Rome dislike the tourist crowds as much as we do?)

We crossed the river and wandered around the Trastevere neighborhood, also tourist free. It felt like a true snapshot of life in Rome. Crossing back over the bridge we visited Piazza Campo de' Fiori and a pizzeria that was a recommended local favorite. We picked up some slices and ate with the rest of the locals at the fountain.

We were making a big loop around all the famous sites of the city so on the way back to the hotel we passed through Piazza Navona and by the Pantheon just for a couple parting shots. The weather was fantastic - just like the whole day!

I have realized that there is one pretty big draw back to traveling with one small carryon; there is no space to pack any items you'd like to purchase. Which in the end could be a good thing.

WWF

I think the leisure part of this adventure has caught up with us. I gave the boys an 8:30 wakeup call today so we could catch our train and they said it was way too early. I tried to remind them about the 1:30 AM wakeup call for our hike up Sinai but they weren't buying it.

Which brings me to reason #51 and #52 for a small carry-on - overhead and aisle space on Italian trains.

I have to disclose one thing though - I too learned the hard way. I have lugged an oversized, heavily laden suitcase filled with unnecessary items around before. I think I strained by biceps, triceps, back, leg, neck and brain. I learned my lesson. I listened to a wise travel guru who counseled; "When preparing for a trip, lay out everything you plan to take on your bed. Then take 1/2 the clothes and twice the money." That is why he's the guru.

Oh! There was fighting today. Not between my 3 travel weary boys but between some Italian women on the Metro from Roma Termini to the stop near our hotel. I am pretty sure the teenage Italian girls were drunk, high or both. Regardless they were VERY loud and EXCEPTIONALLY crude. So some slightly older Italian ladies let the teenagers know that they did not consider then to be nice teenage girls. This was accomplished by swearing at them (Dave said the swears are pretty much the same in Spanish) and making hand gestures that I clearly understood. Let's just say it's a universal symbol. It was a little hard to take it seriously as one of the ladies that was telling off the teenagers was nursing her baby. As he was strapped in front of her. In a baby sling. While one side of her chest was hanging out. Welcome to Italy!

You may have heard me commenting that European hotels are not known to have the most comfortable beds. First, they are small and second, you can determine the spring count just by laying on it. ANYWAY, I've been really looking forward to our 14th hotel because I kind of know what to expect with Marriott - and I was NOT disappointed! Ahhh.

I think the legend of a guaranteed return to Rome if you throw a coin into the Trevi fountain is more than a legend. I've thrown a coin in three times. This is my fourth visit. Your advice; should I throw in another?

Unlike last time we were here (early on a Sunday morning) the streets were very crowded today at the big tourist sites so we chose to go to the Villa Borghese; a beautiful, spacious park on the northern side of Rome. We found the tranquility quite enjoyable.

They have these hilarious rickety, jarring four person bike/cart things that you can rent and ride all over the park. As everyone has to pedal as one person steers and brakes, they test the ability of your family to work together. The paths for the pedestrians and the paths for the bikes aren't really clearly distinguishable - or at least that is what we claim. In 2007 we participated in the same activity and lost one of Daniel's flip flops. He spent the rest of the afternoon with one shoe until we could find a replacement pair at one of the stores. We were on the lookout for it.

On the way back to the hotel I found (okay, I looked for) a gelato store that I haven't patronized before (fortunately there are thousands!) and tried the biscuit and chocolate. It was pretty good, but so far the best gelato we've had was in Milan at 'Chocolat'. However, the taste testing comparison is far from over.

The twilight

We chose to spend our last morning in Florence at the Accademia museum. I pre-booked this event as well and got us to the right place at the right time! Seeing the line when we arrived, I felt pretty clever. Thanks Dad!

Near the entry hall of the museum stands Michelangelo's 'David'. He dominates the space. (Photos are strictly prohibited.) Don't know what it is about him that is so wonderful... he just is. Supposedly Michelangelo finished him in 1504 from a block of marble that two other sculptures had abandoned. He was positioned outside the door of the current Accademia and immediately became the symbol of Florentines. David's quiet and courageous victory over Goliath resonated with the status of Florence which at that time was surrounded by enemies.

There was a lot of other 'stuff' at the museum, priceless and notable works but it is all quickly forgotten when you view David. After a quick lunch we wandered and watched street artists make chalk replicas on the asphalt. We checked in on them again before dinner and the progress was evident but the work was still not complete.

They were making a TON of money as tourists passed and dropped Euro's in little baskets they had put out. We figured they probably got between 3 to 5 Euro a minute. Now that aint bad. Maybe we ought to look for a chalk supply store - our gelato habit is getting expensive.

The Ponte de Vecchio was beautiful in the last light of day and the boys learned the legend of the locks on the Arno. The story goes that if you write your name along with the name of your lover on a lock, attach it near the Arno and throw the key in the river, you'll never breakup. Looks like a lot of people hope for the best!

Shopping in Florence is just as impressive as it is in Milan. Our hotel is on a dangerous block, it houses Gucci, Prada, Tiffany's, Armani, Loius Vuitton, Roberto Cavalli; just to name a few. Don't know how some of this stuff sells though... denim shorts with fur cuffs, peep toe boots and fur dresses. Anyone?

At dinner we thought we'd mix things up a bit. They boys tried Italian cheesecake. Not INSTEAD of gelato, mind you. In ADDITION to gelato. Don't be ridiculous.

Pigs and Palaces

We are in hotel #13 of our ‘Super Trip’ (as David has dubbed it) so I thought I’d relax for a few minutes and take advantage of these cute little foot washers they have in Italy. I filled it with warm water, rolled up my pajamas and soaked my feet. They even have these special little soft towels just for your feet, which is very thoughtful. I felt like a new woman.

Biking through London was so much fun that I signed us up for a cruise through Florence. The bikes were pretty hilarious and David’s rattled so badly that he spent half of the tour jimmy rigging a fix for it.

We had a very knowledgeable tour guide that shared all the inside information about Florence with us; and she should know. She’s from California. We pedaled by the Piazza Santa Maria Novella, the Petit Palace, and the church of Saint John the Baptist, the Florence Duomo… She even treated us to two scoops.

In 1993 a law was passed preventing mafia members from having as many family visits whilst they served prison time so as payback they set off a car bomb just outside the Uffizi. The scar is still on the building where the blast occurred killing two and destroying over 300 works of art.

We biked past the Ponte Vecchio and through the ancient streets of Florence.

After our high intensity workout on the bikes, we popped into a corner grocery store and bought some sandwiches, sodas, chips and cookies. Behind the Petit Palace are the Boboli Gardens, which was our destination for a picnic. The view from the highest part of the park was fantastic. We toured the buildings and then made our way back to the center of town.

The Duomo! We paid our 8 Euro each and climbed the 468 steps to the top of the dome. Again, the view was stunning!

The Duomo was built with the colors of the Italian flag; red, (pink) white and green marble to signify the unification of Italy. However, I guess the pink marble that is from Sienna is a thorn in the side of Florentines. Sienna and Florence have been and still are fierce rivals.

Wandering through the streets we came to the Central Market, which looked very much like the old city of Jerusalem.

Just as many cities, Florence has a good luck charm with a legend. Here it happens to be a wild boar. You must rub his nose and toss a coin in the drain if you’d like to come back to Florence. A nearby plaque informs visitors that this particular wild boar was inspiration to a particular story written by Hans Christen Andersen.

Another loss

As much as I've nagged the boys about double and triple checking their hotel rooms before we check out so as they don't leave any of their possessions behind, you'd think I'd be a better example. But in all fairness, I was in a panic when we checked out so my toothbrush got overlooked. And it was my favorite pink one.

(My panic reads on the boys faces as we leave Monterosso through the tunnels to La Spezia.)

I misread our train tickets and left Monterosso for La Spezia about 30 minutes too late. No big deal except I'd pre-booked and paid for our connection from La Spezia to Pisa. And like a ripple effect, I'd pre-booked and paid for our Leaning Tower tour for 11:40. That would have give us a bit of a buffer so that when we'd arrive in Pisa we'd have time to check our luggage at the train station, get to the tower, pick up our pre-booked tickets and get in line.

(The boys try to exude positivity to help lower my pulse rate.)

We were about an hour behind but after moving very quickly, checking our luggage and race walking, we JUST made our Tower of Pisa tour. We literally jumped into the back of the group as they let us up the Tower steps! Whew. I felt I could finally relax!

(The relief reads on my face as we climb the tower!)

If you get motion sick, you may need Dramamine to climb the Leaning Tower. The stairs go up in a spiral pattern and you lean to the left on one side and the right on the other. It's the strangest phenomenon. You can go all the way to the top and get a fantastic view of Pisa. The Tower is so tilted it's incredible that they still let people up it, it looks like its going to topple at any moment! The boys peered over the edge and this time, refrained from spitting. (It's a guy thing.)

Of course we took the obligatory 'trick' photos:

After wandering around the 'Field of Miracles' we found a great restaurant where we could dine alfresco and enjoy an ice cold drink! We had four lasagnas all around!

And by now you know what makes lasagna better:

We wandered the streets of Pisa and got a look at the Arno.

I took a photo just to aggravate my sister:

Daniel demonstrated reason #47 for small suitcases at the steps of Pisa Centrale station:

We arrived in Florence and found the Albergotto Hotel without much trouble. It's five blocks from the Florence Santa Maria Novella train station and also has one of those cool foot washers:

Our hotel is three blocks from the Ponte Vecchio. The boys are pro's at the 'get together so I can take a photo' pose:

We had some calzones and then found something that looked interesting:

It's a sickness, really. Do they have GA? Like AA but for Gelato Anonymous?