Snow Day

SNOW DAY!  

Winter in England has been pretty disappointing this year in terms of snow.. It has been cold, rainy and very dark but no snow at all!  Finally, in February, we got a couple of days of snow.  

Thomas and the horsey watching all the fun from the kitchen window.  

Looks like Mr "I Don't Like Snow" is having a little bit of fun. He said having our kids enjoy it so much made it a little magical again... but only a little :)

Daniel's first real memory of snow.. He was unsure about the snow but even more skeptical of gloves I tried to make him wear.  So, we braved the snow without gloves.  His hands were so cold and red by the end but he didn't even seem to notice he was having so much fun.

 Kids being kids.

My sweet pretty girl pooped out after hours of playing..

 Frosty is finally coming together.  I can honestly say, I've never seen a snowman this big in my entire life.  

They both tried really hard to push him over but no such luck.  Guess Northerners (Yanks, as I so fondly call him) know how to build big sturdy snowmen.

Um... this was one of those moments that had to be captured on camera.  This could have turned into a "Bryon sleeping on the couch kinda day" but luckily he thought better of it.

 My sweet baby boy, not such a baby anymore.

My favorite picture.   Peaceful.  Beautiful.  Sweet. 

Love this little guy more than I ever imagined I could.  

 Southview Cottage full of snow.  What a great few days of Winter we had and just as quickly as it arrived it disappeared.  Our first two Winters here we were so spoiled.  We had tons of snow and two white Christmas's.  This year was totally different, not even one day off work.  To those of you from the North, please remember, I am from North Carolina and snow is a rarity and one we celebrate.

 

 

 The final product.  One proud little girl.  Molly felt like the purple scarf Nana got me for Christmas was the perfect final touch.  I guess his was actually more of a she, lol but all snowmen have to be named Frosty, according to Molly

The kids were so attached to Frosty that we had to face their chairs to see him out our kitchen windows every meal until he melted.  We thought having him there was a neat idea so they could see during the day as we were in the kitchen, but we didn't think through the melting part.  It was pretty sad watching him slowly melt.  Should have thought of that part before putting him in such an obvious location, oops!

Vatican City and the Sistine Chapel

 The Tiber River.  We crossed this bridge to take us into Vatican City.  Vatican City is a landlocked sovereign city-state whose territory consists of a walled enclave within the city of Rome. It has an area of approximately 110 acres, and a population of just over 800. This makes Vatican City the smallest independent state in the world by both area and population.

 First view of the Vatican.  We didn't' realize how far the walk was to the main entrance, so we basically ran all the way from the bus stop to the entrance to avoid missing our tour.  I stopped on the way and asked a priest how to get to the museum.  He looked very shocked that I approached him.  Guess this southern baptist doesn't know any strangers: nun, priest or homeless

 Entry to the Vatican Museum.  The guys depicted on top are Michaelangeo and Raphael.  Once inside, you are no longer in Italy. 

Pictures inside of the Vatican

This is the famous picture of Mary that you see on a lot of Catholic memorabilia.  

Vatican City parking surrounded completely by the buildings of the Vatican.  

This little treasure snuck up on us.  We walked into the Pope's private waiting room and found "The School of Athens" on the wall, painted especially for the Pope by Michaelangelo.  Bryon had a copy of this painting on his wall in college and it's one of his favorites.  Really cool experience, I had to pull Bryon away to see the rest of the works in the Vatican.

Sistine Chapel.  The ceiling depicts stories from the Bible including the famous work of God reaching his hand out to man and the front wall is the work called "The Final Judgement" which was added after the rest of the Chapel was complete.

This little door is called the 'Jubilee Door".  According to the Catholic faith, this door opens every 25 years and faithful Catholics pilgrimage here to walk through the door so that their sins can be forgiven.  A lady on my trip was so excited to see the door, she was calculating how long she would have to wait to come through it.. I wanted to scream... YOU DON'T HAVE TO WAIT 25 YEARS TO HAVE YOUR SINS FORGIVEN AND IT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH A DOOR!!!!  Jesus Christ is the forgiver of sins and He does not need a door to do it.  

Roman Forum, Trevi Fountain and Pantheon

 

The Roman Forum.  Of all the sites in Rome, this was the one Bryon was most looking forward to.  The forum was the center of ancient Rome's public life.  It was also where the government buildings were located.  Our guide had a picture of what it would have looked like back then which really brought the random assortment of stones to life.  

It was interesting seeing all the ancient ruins amongst the current modern buildings.  You can walk down most streets in Rome and happen upon an ancient ruin.  We were very impressed with how well Rome has maintained it's ruins and how they have been assimilated into the city that has developed around it.

Another shot of the Roman Forum.  Most of the forum is worn down like this.  There is one building that is well kept so we asked the guide why that building is in such better condition than everything else.  She said the buildings that have been well preserved (that building, the Pantheon) have been taken over by the church and the church has maintained them through the years.  Too bad the church didn't take over all of it!  We might have an intact Forum today!

 

 Beautiful shot that Bryon took of the sun creating shadows over the forum. 

 It's crazy thinking how old these things are.  Knowing the forum was the center of activity back then, it was really neat imagining people walking through this arch chatting about their afternoon, complaining of a backache from the day's work, talking about the latest fashion that such and such was wearing.  Who would have guessed it would still be standing with people walking through it's archway today.

Bryon pushing over the stones in the Forum.  My macho man :)

  Me at the Trevi Fountain.  The Trevi Fountain is one of the most well known fountains in the world.  Legend says, your supposed to throw a penny over your shoulder to ensure that you will return to Rome.  If you throw two pennies, you will return to Rome and find love there.  So, we just threw one :)

 

Ice cream outside of the Trevi Fountain.. 

Bryon in front of the Pantheon.  This was by far the most fantastic building we saw.  To think it has been preserved this incredibly over all these years!  Inside the Pantheon is also the tomb of the famous painter, Raphael.  One neat thing I learned is there is an oculus (open hole) in the roof of the Pantheon, so when it rains, water comes into the building and exits through a draining system they had to build. 

Rome Part 1

 Day 7&8- ROME!

One of the fantastic benefits to traveling with grandparents, is that little adventures like Bryon and my trip to Rome get to happen.  Grandparents want quality time with the grandkids and parents want quality time together, it's a win win situation! 

So, Bryon and I jumped on the fast train in Florence and made it to Rome in 1.5 hours.  I found a quaint little room right in the middle of an adorable pedestrian district in Rome from one of my favorite travel websites www.secretplaces.com, and off we went on our adventure!

Another back alley down from our hotel.  We found out when we arrived that the pedestrian district that we stayed in was like #6 on the things you must see/do in Rome.  It was the area that took you away from the hussle of the city and gave you the authentic Roman cultural feel.  Who knew!

The entryway to our hotel.  Quaint and perfect.

 This quaint little fountain and piazza were right outside of our hotel.  Lots of little shops, bistros, and starving Italian musicians playing really excellent music in the main part of the Piazza.  

 Notice on the fountain the letters SPQR, meaning Senatus Populusque Romanus or "The Senate and People of Rome". Why is this important?  Well gladiators used to have this tattooed on their upper arm and it was all I could do to convince Bryon not to get this tattooed on his arm.  My handsome gladiator.  I told this to our Classical Rome tour guide (who had 3 Phd's and was one of the archaeologists who helped to excavate part of the Roman Forum) and her response was.. "Nice, there aren't many men like that around anymore"  Hands off lady, he's mine! :)

 My handsome man completely in Heaven in Rome.  Of all the places in Europe to visit, this was the top of Bryon's list.   For those who don't know, Bryon studied history at Penn State and has a special love for two periods in history, Ancient Rome and the Revolutionary War.  Nice checking things off of your bucket list!

 Bryon looking down on the Circus Maximus.  The CM was an ancient Roman chariot racing stadium and a mass entertainment venue.  It was the first and largest stadium in Rome and brought out even more people than the Colosseum. It's now a public park and the day we were there, the taxi drivers were all on strike and gathered just beyond where we were standing. Good thing we didn't need a taxi while we were there.  I think I only saw 1 running the entire two days

Ready, set, go!!  You really could imagine chariot races here.  The outline of the track was still visible.  If we weren't so rushed to see all of Rome in 24 hours, Bryon no doubt would have run the whole thing.

 Next stop on our Classical tour of Rome.  The Colosseum!  This was our favorite place to get to as it was labeled "Colosseo" on the Underground, so even though we understood nothing else on the signs, we could get to Colosseum and go from there :)  This is Bryon's "Penn State" picture from Rome that can now join the ranks of Timbucktu, Ethiopia, London, Paris, Bosnia, you name it. 

 Inside of the Colosseum.  It is such an impressive building until you really stop and think of the many lives that were taken here just for the fun of it.  A couple of interesting facts, the reason the building was so preserved is that the Pope declared it  a holy site due to the many martyrs who died here and every Good Friday the Pope leads a procession to the amphitheater.

 The arch right outside of the Colosseum. Hard to believe these buildings have been standing since 72AD.  I wonder how many buildings build today could last that many years.. hmm.. Anything built by Hoke Enterprises would for sure stand the test of time :)

Tuscany

Day 4-6- Tuscany!!

 After departing Venice, we made our way southwest towards the beautiful region of Tuscany.  It was about a 3 hour drive and was surprisingly painless!  My dad was pretty much an expert Italian driver at this point so we all just sat back, relaxed and enjoyed the views.  

And yes, we stayed in the CASTLE shown above.  This was totally a God thing.  I came upon the website for this castle and was like, seriously, is it possible for us to stay there?!?!  I called them and they said their private house just outside of the castle was available for a party of our size, so we booked this insanely nice place the night before and got a steller low season deal!  It was perfect for us because we were all able to stay together, vs separate hotel rooms.  The Castle was a beautiful 20 minute drive from Florence and was located right in the middle of acres of quiet Tuscan vineyards. 

Proportion check.. Molly, the door, Molly, the door. 

 Because it is Winter, there were only a few other guests in the entire castle, so it felt like we had the place to ourselves. 

 Tuscany in the Winter

-- not much different than Tuscany in the summer, lol

This is my, 'Ahh, I'm content now" face :)

Our Tuscan home away from home.  Because everything is so old, heating wasn't the best, so we kept this cozy fire going the whole time (no problem for me:)).   You can't help but make memories and tell great stories snuggled by a fireplace when there is no TV to distract you.  Those are the times we look back on years from now and thank God for!.

  I had to put this picture in here because it was a very traumatic experience and must be shared.  One evening while taking a bath, Daniel decided to throw his best friend "Bobo" in the  shower, thus soaking him.  For those of you who don't know "Bobo", Daniel does not sleep without him, EVER.  Thus the problem, wet monkey, no dryer.. So, Grandpa decides he will "hang" Bobo by the fire LIKE THIS for him to dry!  I'm sure you can imagine how traumatized Daniel was when he saw Bobo in this state near the hot fire.  He did finally calm down and had to go to sleep that night without Bobo.. Never again I tell you.

 Inside of the castle was an area with lemon and lime trees growing.  I love how you see this in so many Mediterranean countries. 

And of course, Molly and Daniel, running inside the Castle in Tuscany

 

Having an absolute blast.

 My sweet boy.  That smile melts me completely :)

 And our final picture, Bryon eating more crazy food.  This was some concoction of scampi, muscles and crab with who knows what else in there.  He just likes seeing me squirm.