Hello patient blog readers!
The new year has me thinking a lot of last year, of the resolutions I made, and other things that 2010 held! I’ve failed miserably at sharing my favorite week of 2010 and before I go back and recap the year {probably because it was followed by an illness that knocked me off my feet for an entire week!}, it’s only fair if I share about our trip to Italy in June. My very thoughtful and gracious sister sent me an email on May 5, 2010 and attached THIS to the blank email that was titled Happy Birthday! I was completely floored and thrilled and then I went on a mad search to secure my marriage certificate so I could get my passport as soon as possible!!
We had the most incredible week in Italy and it was all due in part to our very gracious, loving and helpful hosts: Erin & Pietro! Aren’t they so beautiful? I think they were going out to Bulgaria this night 
… we opted to stay home and recover from a day of exploring Rome!
We spent the first part of the week in Rome, exploring and recovering from jet lag and E had some sort of sore throat illness. Rome is INCREDIBLE, much larger than I thought, and the architecture and history are almost more than my little brain could handle. I could easily spend a week just in Rome, taking it all in. We did take a “touristy” bus ride which was well worth it and gave us a quick birds-eye view of Rome & Vatican City and we made a quick spin around The Colosseum! We spent a late afternoon at Hotel de Russie recapping the day over wine & tappas. I think it was Thursday that we hopped on a SUPER FAST train {after missing our first one and wishing that we spoke Italian} to Florence for the day where we walked the streets, explored gardens, and had afternoon tea at JK Place. The following day we packed up and headed to the coast in Tuscany for a wonderful, relaxing weekend at the beach with a few little day trips out to the Tuscan countryside.
We ate the most incredible Italian food: pasta, gelato {above was an assortment of gelato packed in fresh fruit & nuts}, pizza {oh the pizza from a hot, firey pizza oven, with wonderful crust and fresh toppings!}, delicious fresh seafood while at the coast, and the most delightful, fresh local olive oil… oh, and the wine served at the perfect temperature, which I can’t remember what it is but my husband fell over when I came home and wanted my red wine slightly chilled. I mean, if the Italian’s do it, you know there’s no other way to go! He’s still not convinced, I am! I’m afraid the food may have been my favorite part about the entire trip… pasta cooked al dente {like it should be} with the most simple of accompaniments {like Parmesan & cracked pepper}. And we learned, in Italy, they don’t cut their pasta… just twirl it up! I can’t tell you what a blessing it was to have Erin’s suggestions and maps. We had not prepared at all for our trip at all and completely counted on her for recommendations of what to see, what to eat, what to do, where to go, and where not to go!
Erin was our “mother hen” and always had a pot of tea for us whenever we needed it, vitamins, and sore throat aids! She is a precious friend of ours and went above and beyond to make sure we were comfortable not only in her home but also in Italy. I was so thankful to be able to see & spend time with their precious children too, because there’s no doubt I was missing the little rovers!
The entire week went by so fast, we packed SO much in and when it came time to leave, we weren’t quite ready {besides wanting to get back to the babies}. I took so many pictures that I can’t possibly post them all here so I’m going to embed a slide show below with some of my favorites. And the ones above are bothering me because they aren’t sharp, not sure what is going on with them… oh well! Below is the slide show of our entire trip {airport to airport} with camera phone shots mixed in too and if you’re not a slide show person you can look at the SET in Flickr! If you want to speed up the slide show you can click “FAST” under options at the top right hand corner.
Thank you, Sister, for taking me on the trip of a lifetime. Thank you, Erin, for making it the trip of a lifetime!!
