Just Ice and Whiskey

Friday, September 2, 2022

Hop-On Hop-Off Day 1

02-Sept-22

I thought doing a Hop-On Hop-Off bus might be fun and something that KC would tolerate. We had....moderate success....

Our first stop is the Basilica Santa Maria Maggiore. Some part of it was built around 432 and was one of the first churches built in honor of the Virgin Mary.

What's a church dedicated to Mary without a statue of her on a column out front?

KC deigned to be in this photo. If you look in the shadow of the entry, you can see Max and myself.

Main interior looking toward the altar. Under the altar is the Crypt of the Nativity - supposedly it holds a piece of wood from the manger. The arch above the altar is from the original structure. The mosaics date to the 5th century.

Baptismal chapel

Dan thought it was interesting that the painting was incorporated into the sculpture.

There were several other painting/sculptures like this.

On either side of the basilica were confessionals.

Apparently each one is assigned to a specific priest and the languages in which they can hear confession. I saw one sign that offered Frysk (apparently a language of the Netherlands).

Vertical panorama!

This is the Sistine Chapel altar, but not that Sistine Chapel.

The ceiling was pretty neat. Fun Fact - the basilica is under the authority of the Vatican, not Italy.

Someone wasn't behaving so we had to leave. This is the view on your way out.

For more info check out the Wikipedia page: Santa Maria Maggiore

or the Vatican page: SM Maggiore

We wandered a few blocks away and had some kebab wraps for lunch.

Our next stop was the Colosseum!

Arch of Constantine - named after the emperor not the DC comics warlock/detective.

Wooo! Everyone is looking at the camera!

Apparently, the Colosseum has suffered fires, earthquakes, scavengers, and the general ravages of time.

There's Palatine Hill. (I definitely typed "Palpatine" the first time...)

Back to the bus!

Our bus stopped in front of the Wedding Cake aka la Altara della Patria. It's a big monument to Vittorio Emanuele II, first king of a unified Italy.

Some of us were pretty tired and not really fit to be in public spaces, so it's time to go home.

Tuesday, August 30, 2022

Random things from the day

30-Aug-22

Here is a collection of random things from today.

KC did the full monkey bars at the playground!

Anyone know what plant this is?

Some stained glass at the Embassy.

There's this app, Too Good To Go, that helps fight food waste. Basically hotels, restaurants, etc put up food they aren't allowed to try to sell the next day or is going to go bad soon and you can buy it for a discount. I think these were from a hotel breakfast and cost 3 euros.

Dan acquired a babysitter and we went out for our anniversary. Strawberry flare for the win.

Unfortunately, I didn't plan ahead, so this isn't THE anniversary photo, but it's a very nice view of Rome. The dome to my right on the skyline is St. Peter's and the flatter dome on the left (above the tan building, but before the trees) is the Pantheon.

Sunday, August 28, 2022

Little Adventures in the Heat

26-Aug-22

Today (26-Aug) we took the girls to Villa Borghese park to run around. We asked KC to stand by this statue that says "Byron" - her uncle's name. She responded with "FINE." And here's that photo.

KC had fun chasing around a little British boy wearing suspenders and a hat. He was very dapper. She also had fun chasing the pigeons.

We only saw a little bit of the park. It was very hot.

KC insisted on climbing this tree. Max is supervising, or looking for rocks to eat.

KC needs to work on her "picture face."

There's probably going to be a lot of "stand by this thing and smile please!"

We passed this logo on a port-a-potty. I'm not sure if it's an up-side-down heart because now it kind of looks like a butt, or testicles, or....what.....

First gelato! KC got fragola (strawberry) and Dan got pistachio and something.

I got Crema di Nonna Elisa which was sort of like a vanilla custard. Max got to try mine and KC's.

I think she's a fan.

27-Aug-22

Despite the heat, we decided we needed to get the girls out of the house, if only for a little bit.

So we took them to the Spanish Steps.

KC wanted to play in the fountain, but that's generally not allowed.

At least this one had a water spigot for filling bottles.

Spanish Steps! KC and I counted them on the way down (we started at the top). There are 135 steps.

Don't be fooled, Dan edited out the other people on the steps. They weren't empty.

In one photo attempt, Max was practicing her "Blue Steel" face ala Zoolander.

We're in Rome!

Later I snuck out to go acquire desserts for Dan and I after the girls went to bed. It was gorgeous out.

We've walked past this door on our street several times now, and I only just noticed it has a face.

BLAAAAAAAAAAARGH!

Friday, August 26, 2022

We're Back!!

26-Aug-22

Like everything these days, we're back! Thankfully we're continuing adventures and not a reboot.

Quick recap of what wasn't blogged - We did two tours in DC and gained two children.

After a very stressful and frustrating several months, we are back in Italy. This time with two kids!

Anyway, I don't intend for this blog to be as detailed as before since the kids make it difficult to dedicate as much time to it.

Better pack the important things first.

Funny story, the bag KC is in had all our important documents and passports and things in it and we left it behind. We had to call my dad to rush it to the airport. Ooops!