Day 8 - Resting in Rome

The kids have been looking forward to today - knowing that they could sleep in!  I have been looking forward to it as well, and could hardly stay in bed past 5am knowing that the sun was rising and I was missing it! I spent the next 2 hours walking around quiet streets and drinking my coffee while watching the sun rise over the Colosseum and Forum, a gladiator ride to work on his Vespa, and the line form to get in ... Roma waking up. 

Our apartment is in the orange building, right across from the Colosseum

The sun rising over Rome's ancient Forum

View from the hill next to the Colosseum, near the Parco del Colle Oppio.  Look for the staircase right of the metro station.

Sleeping in meant that we didn't leave the apartment until noon. Our only agenda was to see the sights:  Spanish Steps, Trevi Fountain, Pantheon, and Piazza Navona. We explored at a leisurely pace, and made sure it involved a large scoop of gelato!  It was crowded and hot, but the cold water from the nasoni (water fountains) rejuvenated us. We found some quiet, pretty pedestrian streets and Jeremy asked why couldn't they all be like that!

Make sure you negotiate a price first, or the gladiators will charge you 5 euro for each person in the picture!

Mmmm...Giolitti gelato is the best!

Eating Giolitti gelato

There are over 2,500 nasoni (drinking fountains) in Roma!

First selfie of the trip - Webbers on the Spanish Steps

Trevi Fountain - the most famous fountain in the world - is under renovation for a year

Returning home after our "3" hour - or maybe 7 hour - walkabout

Kate knows where the Brandy Melville stores are, and could hardly wait to visit one today!  At checkout, after the sales lady told Kate no they don't have any stickers, the lady suddenly thrusts a mug at Kate - giving it to her for free. "That was really nice of her," Kate exclaimed excitedly!  I don't think her day could get any better: "Mmmm...I'm happy," she said. 

Jeremy likes shopping too - at the souvenir stores. We each had something we were looking for, so the shops worked well in our plan. 

Buying artwork at the Piazza Navona

Chris bought sunglasses

Our wish came true at the Pantheon - we watched it rain through the large opening in the dome (the oculus), and then drain through the floor. Unprepared to sightsee in the rain, we waited it out for 20 minutes under the portico, sitting in a pow wow circle. 

Chris and I tried to capture the rain, the tiny specks, on film

Jeremy commented today that he is sick of the sirens. They remind me of Berlin's song "Riding on the Metro". I replied that I won't get tired of hearing sounds that we can't hear at home!

It was a nice day. We like it here, and have settled into our groove. 

Logistics:

- The first Sunday of every month is free at the Colosseum and Forum - so we avoided it like the plague. The line started at 6:30 - 2 hours before it opened!

- I had read that photos with the gladiators were €5 each. Nope, they wanted €5 for each person in the picture. We compromised but I wish we didn't let them force Greg into the picture because he is a much better photographer. 

- Rome's metro is quite easy because there are only 2 lines. Cheap too, only €1.50. 

- Giolotti (near the Pantheon) is the most famous gelato shop in Rome. Pay the cashier 1st and then go order your cone. 

Day 6 - Travel day to Rome

Today we took all day just to get to Rome. Having a 30 minute flight delay was nothing compared to what was waiting for us when we landed: a 1 1/2 hour wait to get through customs (European citizens got through with a one minute wait). Apparently they had a fire in the Fuimicino terminal 3 a few weeks ago, and it must have killed all but 4 of the customs staff: 3 to man the European booths and one to man the rest of us. So an angry mob of easily 300 people stood not moving, desperate to get out. "Help" one man yelled, crying out for all of us. 

Somehow we finally made it out of customs, and our driver took us to our apartment - where we will be for the next 5 nights. It is nothing fancy, but big enough to get lost ... "Where is the kitchen again?" both Jeremy and Greg asked. We are on the 5th floor in a building with no lift - 83 stairs up for us. Inside we have even more stairs - 3 spiral staircases up to the bedrooms. Already Jeremy cannot bear the walk from his bedroom down the stairs, then up the other stairs to the 2nd bathroom, then back down and up again to get to his room.

There are 3 sets of spiral staircases inside the apartment

The crowning glory of our apartment is its location. We are literally across the street from the Colosseum!

The view out our apartment door

We call this our patio - where we enjoy our wine

As soon as we arrived, we dropped our luggage and headed straight for gelato - our lunch at 5:30. I gulped my down so fast!  Chris' melted faster than he could eat it. It is 90 degrees here - yay, no more jackets!!

Next we picked up a few groceries and had our first home-cooked meal of the trip. It was interesting making it in the tiny kitchen with about 6'x2' of moving space, and hardly any counters. Of course making dinner also meant cleaning our first heap of dirty dishes of the trip...maybe we should continue eating out! And finally tending to a heap of dirty laundry.  The clothes are supposed to hang outside to dry but I won't be doing that because I don't know how to get it when I drop it down 5 floors below.

Cooking dinner in the kitchen

Day 7 - Naples and Pompeii

Today we went out of the way. It was a long day trip that required us to get up the earliest yet - 6:00am, which technically felt like 5am because our bodies were still on Great Britain time.

Our smooth, high speed train left the Roma Termini station at 7:30 - traveling at 160mph to get us to Napoli in just over an hour.  The train experience was new and disorienting to Kate, who asked, "When do we land?"  And as we got off commented, "I liked that!"

Kate's first ride on a high-speed train

Spoiled in the "premium coach" which serves drinks and snacks

Getting of the train, I warned the kids to be especially careful of pickpockets here. Our guide for the day, Giuseppe, greets us on the platform. As if he heard me, he tells us how tourists don't come to Napoli because they think it is not safe. We spend the next few hours discovering how friendly and welcoming the city is ... I am glad we came!

Napoli, the port city founded by the Greek just a few 2500 years ago, is unlike any Italian city we will visit. The "streets" are small and narrow. This is where pizza began. 

A simple yet ingenious way to avoid climbing up and down all those stairs!

We walked the street lined with Nativity shops. Napoli is famous for its nativity scenes, and there is one in every church - but hardly the nativity scene I was expecting!  They had some Mary, Joseph, and baby Jesus figurines, but the majority were traditional village people (like a butcher), and even famous people (Obama).  We got to go inside a workshop where the figurines cost $500-1000 each... Crazy! It felt so odd, fake and cheapening to see something that in my head should be entirely religious!

Nativity figurines

Giuseppe said that all the cruise ship passengers do one thing in Napoli:  see the Veiled Christ. He took us there. I can't describe it better than this, and it is the most amazing piece of sculpture I have ever seen:

0. "Carved in 1753 by Giuseppe Sanmartino, it shows the figure of Christ lying under what looks like a piece of the thinnest of fabrics. The facial features are clearly visible, as are the body and even the crucifixion wounds, but the entire body is covered by the delicate folds of a cloth. The visual effect is truly stunning." 

I purchased a postcard since photography is not allowed

As lunchtime approached, Giuseppe asked, "Do your kids like pizza?"  Is he serious?!  When he discovered that the pizza restaurant didn't open for 30 more minutes, he said, "Here are our choices - we can visit more churches..." - NO we had already been to 4 which was 3 too many! I was beginning to grow concerned that he would take us to all 600 churches in Napoli! 

For many years I have been waiting to try original, real Napoli pizza. Misled by the price, about $3 each, we ordered 5 - 1 for each of us.  (I got Buffalo mozzarella, called "white gold", so it cost a little more.). Out comes 5 huge pizza pans - about 3 times more than we can eat - the best pizza we have ever eaten, particularly for the price!

Giuseppe instantly took a liking to Jeremy, and used our time together to teach him as many life lessons as he could.  He had all sorts of expectations for Jeremy, especially that he will be very successful.  "You must make your mom happy."(He is a smart man!) "Your mom didn't take you to Europe to spend time with her but to become cultured and interesting."  "When you are with a woman, never say what you think."

We took the bus from Napoli to Pompeii, which I don't think I could've figure out how to do by myself - or at least I wouldn't have wanted to. As it turns out, the bus was great! There is no traffic on Saturday so it was quicker than the train.  But what I didn't know - until later when I got on the local regional train - was how dirty, crowded, bumpy and loud the train would be, making the smooth, empty, air-conditioned bus ride (which was actually a nice coach) even better! On the bus ride, while we were all napping, Giuseppe found Jeremy 3 wives!

Arriving to Pompeii with our full bellies and its intense sun (though refreshing afternoon breeze) is when we started losing steam. But Giuseppe literally came to life, with animated descriptions of everything we were seeing! "Ok fam-i-ly" he said over and over again as he whisked us off to the next place to see. 

Pompeii's forum with Vesuvius in the background

I can't imagine curling up in a ball to die!

I am baffled that although it was a long day, with the exception of a sudden outburst from Kate (during the city tour - she could not understand our guide), no one complained all day!

Distance walked: 10.7 miles

Logistics

- Our guide was Giuseppe Galano. Contact him at info@visitpompeii.it (www.visitpompeii.it)

- At Pompeii, to receive free tickets under 18, you must show ID with a date of birth

- I didn't know when I created our itinerary that there are no cruise ships here on Saturdays. On Sundays there are four - which means 20,000 people will be invading Pompeii tomorrow!

- Giuseppe carried an umbrella around all day. He said it rains in Pompeii every afternoon. He was right. 

Leaving England

Laughing out loud that Greg and I coincidentally had the same exact thought: "Good riddance". However, it only applies to the "wrong" side of the road. It makes me feel like an idiot. I know I should be looking the other direction for cars, but when I try, my brain can't process what I am seeing.  As Greg puts it: "My righty tighty lefty loosey just goes out the window." Jeremy quickly adds, "Me too dad. When you say left I look right."

What I will miss most, as we continue our travels, is the English. I ask a question, they answer the question, and I comprehend it. Often it turns into a friendly conversation - my interaction this morning left me emotional, I was so touched by the man's friendliness!

Chris liked the weather - "having mist on your face all the time, and no blinding sun."  He also prefers roundabouts to intersections. 

Kate thought people smoked too much, making it hard for her to breath. But she liked their accent!

Jeremy preferred the quaintness of Warwick (and will correct you to say "War-ick"). He felt London was similar to every other big city he has been to. 

Logistics

- We flew out of London City Airport, which is the closest one to the city. It was perfect because of the time it saved - being close and small. Careful when you book your flight - check the airport (London's Stansted is an hour away) and make sure you compare which airlines include free baggage check or carry on allowance. 

On our way out we flew over the Thames Barrier and Greenwich

Day 5 - Shakespeare Globe, Windsor Castle, Stonehenge

Morning view of Big Ben and Parliament from next to our hotel

Our long day began with visiting Shakespeare's Globe Theater.  Kate actually enjoyed the Globe, particularly the tour inside the theater. Seeing the actual stage was pretty neat (--Jeremy, who spent the year studying Shakespeare) and it was more interesting learning about it there than at school (--Chris). Fun fact: fermented urine was used as a stain remover (during Elizabethan time). 

Inside Shakespeare's Globe Theater

Crossing over the Millennium Bridge

Greg is a glutton for punishment - he did not have enough of driving on the wrong side of the road (and going "out of the way"). But this time he changed it up a bit - not only did he drive through the city of London (twice), he did it with a stick- shift!!  Did he reach for his seatbelt on the left side again? Yup. But it gets more entertaining ... He reached to his right side for the gear shift!  Nope, try again!  After we survived driving out of the city, and he started breathing again, Greg made one simple comment:  "I didn't like that." 

A funny sign on our way out of the city

Windsor Castle was something I figured we did not need to prioritize - my 2nd visit helped me decide that. However, to a 12-year old, seeing a real queen's castle is pretty appealing. So I worked a visit into our itinerary. As it turns out, I didn't need to bother. Kate was bored. Other than knowing it is the queen's home, visiting the castle has nothing to do with the queen and everything to do with the castle's history. So I can see why Kate was disappointed. Greg enjoyed it, though. Jeremy wasn't disappointed at all - he just didn't go. (Someone would rather be in a pub than a palace.)

"Posing" with the guard at Windsor Castle

We had one last sight to see before leaving England. After Windsor we drove to Stonehenge for a "private access" tour that allows 30 people to leave the pathway and go right into the circle of rocks. It was quite high on Chris' wish list, so we made it happen. I could make an AmEx "priceless" ad from his visit: rental car/gas $160, tickets $210, watching his enjoyment of experiencing Stonehenge...priceless.  He had an overpowering sensation to climb the rocks like he does in Yosemite - but respectfully wouldn't even pretend to touch one. He likes to capture what he enjoys like I do - on film - and he made circles taking endless pictures. (Visitors with bright pink jackets should be banned access, and will be promptly photoshopped out of all photos.). I will always remember and cherish our hour there - how we freely laughed and played  together as a family.

Private Access off the path and up to the stones

Diversion (aka "detour") - we are now entirely too familiar with the meaning of this word, as we saw it no short of 15 times on our way home - adding an hour to our 90 minute drive.  Greg, and the GPS, do not handle diversions well. His advice to driving in London: Don't!  In all seriousness, I was relieved and proud to see Greg - who has come so far after all he has been through - as the confident excellent driver I know him to be. 

What an odd sensation to go from being the pedestrian to watching the crazy tourists run unexpectedly and sporadically across the streets. One lady, assumably drunk, screamed as she realized how close she was to getting hit. It was sobering to see how foolish they are!

I finally crawled into bed at our last stop - an airport hotel - at 1:30am. Tomorrow morning (well technically today) we fly to Rome.

Logistics

- I wish the logistics of Stonehenge worked out better. It took them longer than usual to release the tickets (they were busy deciding to double the ticket price) so I got a less than desirable day/time to work with. It took us no less than 7 hours to experience Stonehenge. 

- Since we had a manual car rental and were driving it through the city of London, we added an extra $45 of insurance to bring the deductible down to nearly $0. 

- The "London Congestion charge" is a fee to drive through the center of London. We narrowly avoided it by 1 street on our way out of town, and again on our way back due to our late arrival. If you are driving near London, look up the zone, times, and fees. 

Day 4 - One Perfect Day in London

Today was a great day!  We started with the Tower of London. I will apologize now ... When I get input from the peanut gallery, they use their limited vocabulary. When they like it, I get a "pretty cool"  comment. The Tower of London was unanimously pretty cool!  I personally feel it is the absolute do-not-miss of London. The guys took their time in the White Tower, so I had to chuckle when the Beefeater said it has "all the boys toys - take your time guys." During our tour, Greg learned that not only do the 37 Beefeaters live inside the tower, but their doctor does as well. 

Minding the Gap on the way to Tower of London

At the Tower Bridge, waiting for the Tower of London to open

Admiring the "modern" toilet in the Tower of London

We moved onto our next experience of London - riding a double decker bus. It is an odd sensation to ride in the front seats of the second level. As Chris put it, it felt like we were crushing all the cars because they completely disappear beneath you as you get near them. 

Jeremy gave us bad juju today. He didn't want to go on the 3 hour walking tour of London. We show up at the tour starting point and voilà...no tour!  The company had changed its starting time for the summer, which actually was a gift. Of course Jeremy was happy, and so was I - now we could relax our pace, and go to the British Museum! 

I really wanted the kids to see - at least get a taste of - the British Museum. It does an amazing job of capturing artifacts from each civilization in time.  When we got there, Kate saved the day - trip even. I had "home" made ~7 various audio tours of different places we will be visiting over the next month. The British museum was our 1st one. I *thought* I had added the playlists to everyone's phones but the playlists were all empty :'(  Panic!! Quickly Kate announces, "They are under voice memos!" In summary, it was absolutely worth a visit. "If I had more energy, I would have liked to stay longer." --Jeremy "They should have more seats."--Kate

Elgin Marbles from the Parthenon

Next was the realization of the likely reason Kate was so bored yesterday ... her only reason for visiting London is to visit Brandy Melville!   

Brandy Melville is all Kate needs to be happy ... Very happy.

For dinner we had to sample pub food: bangers and mash, meat pie, and fish and chips. It was ...pub food, with beer as its saving grace.  

Our evening stroll took us through Trafalgar Square, the Horse Guards Parade (staged for the Trooping of the Colors), Buckingham Palace, Westminster Abbey, Parliament, and Big Ben.

Horse Guards Parade set up for the Queen's birthday celebration

Buckingham Palace

Jeremy's British alias is John Paddington (for free internet access) 

Distance Walked: 12.25 miles

I Wish I Knew:

- At the Tower of London, they don't open the ticket booths until they open the tower, so unless you have pre-purchased or have the London pass, you will have to wait in a couple lines before you can get in, after opening time. 

- Technically here I should say that I wish I knew Sandemans free walking tours changed their times for summer, but my last tour here with them was so disappointing, and us missing this one was so beneficial ... I can't say I wish I knew. 

Day 3 - Harry Potter and Imperial War

We left a drizzly Warwick this morning to head back towards London to Warner Brothers Studios - where they filmed all 8 Harry Potter movies. We made a grand entrance to the empty parking lot - not realizing when the sign pointed right it meant we were supposed to drive left around the roundabout. Oops. The nice parking attendant made sure to point out the mistake. We were the first tour of the morning - admittance is by reservation only. Reviews call the studios the highlight of a trip, yet we had a particular 12 year old who was bored immediately - really not sure why, but she carried the bored theme for the entire day (probably jet lag?).  Although I wouldn't go as far as saying a studio of really cool leftover sets is the highlight of a trip to London, the rest of us liked our tour.  Jeremy thought the green screen "fly a car/ broom stick" was gay but the creature/animatronics department was exceptionally cool (did you know Hagrid's head was often a fake/animatronic?)!  The studios did a good job of describing all the scenes and props that were still there. I couldn't believe how tiny/skinny Hermoine's Yule Ball dress was!

Standing at the gates to Hogwarts

Crossing the infamous Hogwarts bridge

Flying the Weasley's car

Butterbeer is only served in 2 places worldwide

For lunch, Greg partook in his only UK mission: to have fish and chips. Mmmm...greasy!

Next we returned our rental car completely unscratched - though us with a few more grey hairs. Then we took the very long tube ride into London.  We are staying across from Big Ben immediately next to the London Eye - a great location!

When we set out to explore London, I must say I did an awesome job for setting up the classic scene from European Vacation, as I got us stuck in a circular area with only one pedestrian exit ..."Look kids - Big Ben! Parliament!", I exclaimed as we walked around the loop twice!

We hit the nearby Imperial War Museum, which is quite well-done. We esp liked the WWI exhibit. At that point, we started running out of steam, and officially had the tired feet that come with touring Europe!

For dinner, rather than go to China Town for authentic food as planned, we opted for the convenient noodle bar right across the street. 

Logistics:

- We are staying 2 nights here at Premier Inn County Hall, all 5 of us in 1 room (it is by far our most expensive hotel room). Chris chose the short straw but has the nicest sister in the world who gave up her bed to crawl in next to me ... thanks?

Day 2 - Warwick Castle

As we sit in traffic on our 90 minute drive to Warwick Castle, Greg can't believe we are going so far for only one day.  "So this is an out-of-the-way trip?"  Oh dear, we are in for some trouble if he thinks 90 minutes is "out of the way."  I'd say the UK is not exactly on our way to anywhere!

The plan for today, other than driving out of the way, was to wander around Warwick Castle at our leisure - nothing too vigorous in case of jet lag, and nothing we couldn't miss in case of a canceled flight. 

The castle had 3 kid votes for "pretty cool". Chris decided he wouldn't want to live there because it was too big. Jeremy liked the 2 shows: launching the trebuchet (18 meters tall) and birds of flight. I think a bird show sounds fairly dull but having eagles and the world's largest vulture (9 foot wingspan) fly right over your head - it is pretty impressive!

Beautiful peacocks in the garden of the castle!

Afterwards we had to have English tea. It was fun!  But I am still baffled how they can eat sandwiches, scones and cakes right before dinner!

Ask for input for the blog, and this is what you get:  Don't follow mom. We found the library.  Twice. 

Today features Kate's comments:

Ok I think I'm tired. I just put my sock on over my sock. 

I love the way she talks! (--the lady at the front desk)

She's creepy! I'm not getting any closer to her!  (--the wax figure at the castle).

I would die if I lived here... It's freezing!

They have weird plugs here. (--the electrical socket)

Well it's not your first taste of beer - it's your first legal taste. 

Logistics:

- Our hotel, Warwick Arms is awesome!  We are all in one room (includes a bunk bed), right next to the castle, only costs $120, and includes free breakfast and parking. 

Personal Joke:
- They have "shavers" here!  (Not razors)

Day 1: Getting to London

I can't tell you how fearful I am right now - an emotion I have gone to great detail to ignore. The last time we set out for a journey of a lifetime, within the first 10 minutes Greg announced, "Trip's over. We're not going." This trip is a life-long dream for me. Will it start the same way as the last?

Deep breaths. 

We ran out of our home - for the last time for 2 1/2 months - in a flurry of tense chaos. Jeremy had taken off for some last minute goodbyes to friends, and got stuck across town with a car that wouldn't start - delaying us 23 minutes. Kate, who has been sick all week, had a stomach ache.  A voice from the backseat asks, "Would you be mad if I tell you I have to pee?"

More deep breaths. 

Magically we made it past the first 10 minutes of our journey. And then another 10 more. Listening to the kids getting along in the backseat - a rarity  - I start to relax. 

Riding SFO's sky train 

At airport security, 3 of the 5 of us were TSA pre. Awesome. What is the point of that?!  Oddly, they make a fuss over it if you try to go through regular security with TSA pre - "we have to inform you." It's ok, we are choosing to stay together.

After a brief layover in Toronto, we arrive in London, our first destination. We immediately rent a car. Greg manages to get into the "right" side of the car - it's a good start!  But then he reaches to his left for the seatbelt. Nope, try again!  It is definitely weird to drive on the left side of the road.  Kate said it was confusing. Jeremy quickly decided there are entirely too many roundabouts. But all that really matters is what the driver, Greg, thinks:  "It's not easy." He is already wondering how hard it would be to convert them to drive on the "correct" side of the road. Arriving in the dark didn't help the situation, and it was nerve racking how close to the curb he drove. Fortunately our brand new rental car came with one scratch right where we need it to be - on the left rim - so they won't notice when we add more. 

As I finally crawl into bed at the end of our long travel day, I am beyond relieved to realize:  our trip has started without a hitch!

Logistics:

- We got a one-way car rental to drive to SFO - a whopping $37 through Greg's work. 

- Next to Switzerland, England (the UK) is the most expensive country on our trip. Most hotel rooms in London sleep 2 people, so we obviously need at least 2 rooms. Our 1st night we are staying near the airport at Premier Inn in Slough. Shockingly, it is the cheapest hotel of our entire trip: $120 total for 2 rooms!

I Wish I knew:

- Air Canada is strict about the size of carry-ons. Kate is the only one with a suitcase (the rest of us have packs). We were forced to check her bag at the gate. 

- My credit card covers the CDL waiver on our car rental.  However, Sixt requires the credit card to be in the same name as the driver. I wish I knew - to avoid the added extra fees I would have brought a different credit card to cover our insurance (Greg's AmEx).