Roma

Oy, took long enough to get the pictures off the camera (technical difficulties). Gavriella and my trip to Rome was lovely. I loved being with my girl and having a special day. I would’ve LOVED to have spent more time at the museum, but we were on a strict run-through-the-museum schedule. I did see a few things I studied in college, To see them with my own eyes was utterly amazing. Now all I have to do is go downtown to see all the Greek art and go to Paris to see the Winged Victory of Samothrace and I will be a happy happy girl.



My gorgeous Gavriella waiting patiently for 2 hours to get into the museum.



St. Peter’s spires



St. Peter’s square. The people gathering were there for a mass celebrating the beatification of some saints. This was taken about 2 hours before mass started.



I studied this in college. I don’t remember the name, but I know it was originally made in bronze by the Greeks. The Romans copied it in marble, and then melted down the bronze.



This is Laocoon and His Sons. Again, I studied it in college. It was always one of my favorites, even though it is rather violent.



This is the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. It’s blurry because we couldn’t use a flash. And it’s crooked because we weren’t supposed to take pictures period, so I had to be stealth…along with the 200 other people who were flagrantly taking pictures.

As we were leaving I spotted these 2 cars.



Let’s face it, I took the pic for Sam. But! If you notice the dumpsters in front of them, they do NOT have garbage overflowing out of them. Unlike here:









































This is actually a good garbage day. Normally the whole concrete area is covered in garbage and is several feet high. Oh well.

Phineas and Ferb

O'Bryen’s watching this hilarious show called Phineas and Ferb. I think it’s from the Disney channel, but we watch it on the AFN family channel here. It’s 2 brothers who are always having these huge adventures and their older sister is always trying to expose them to their parents, thus, getting them in trouble. But of course she always fails. They have a pet duck-billed platypus who is actually a secret agent who always disappears and saves the world. He has a nemesis Dr. somethingorother. But the best part is it’s chock full of tiny little jokes for the moms and dads who will be watching it with their kids. I secretly get very excited when it comes on.

Haircut

Well I got my hair cut today, finally! It had been probably close to a year I think. Maybe not that long, but still pretty long. Anyway, it was in Pinetamare, which is about 30 minutes away. The people who own the place are a family (father, mother, son) who lived in Rhode Island for many years before moving back to Italy. So their English is great and they understand you when you say “I don’t want bangs”. They have a lot of American clients, two of which are O'Bryen and Gavriella’s teachers. He put a lot of layers in, which is good, but was dangerously starting to look like a mullet. So I convinced him to cut it shorter in the back and it looks much better. And all for 25euro, which is fantastic.

Since it was out in town, I had to drive my big ol’ van. I’m getting much better with my Italian driving. But having the van does have its complications. Chris has dinged it up a bit at work trying to fit in the ridiculously small parking spaces. And I’ve had to drive on curbs to avoid hitting parked cars. But thankfully we have been expecting this, so it’s not as such a big deal as it would be in the States.

One chapter ends, another begins

We sold the house. It became official last Tuesday at 11pm our current time. And although I am very very happy to have sold it, I’m a bit sad as well. Now we have nothing physical that ties us to Omaha. Sometimes I think maybe we should’ve just rented it, but then I think of the economy and people losing their jobs. Friends of ours here have their house in Texas rented and the tenants just lost their job. So what if that would’ve happened in our case too? It’s all right. I’m a firm believer that everything happens for a reason, so I am at peace with our decision. So now we don’t have a house hanging over our heads, it’s time to travel! This summer will probably be spent galavanting around Italy, mainly Rome and Florence. Then we’re hoping (very tentative at this point) to go to England in October.

We’re having trouble getting the pictures of Rome off the camera. Once we do, I’ll put them up.

New kicks

Siobhan and O'Bryen needed sandals for the summer, so I ordered some from Target. But at Target, if you spend $50, you get free shipping, so I had to get some more things too (and it was all actually needed). So they came in and both girls loved their new sandals. Siobhan didn’t want to take them off when going to bed, and only relented when we let them be right on the floor beneath her bed. She then put them on immediately upon waking the next day. But anyway, I ordered her some shorts, that turns out didn’t fit. So they I went to the exchange the other day and got her some that happened to come with a belt. Boy does she love that belt! She tried threading it herself several times. She did look very cute in her new clothes. I bought some new clothes for myself since last year at this time I was postpartum and my clothes are thus too big. 3 pairs of capris and a blouse. Chris bought Gavriella a new pair of sneakers that she can just slide her foot into and not lace. She loves them. So all the girls got new stuff and the boys got bupkis.

The weather has gotten warmer, thankfully. Up until last week, it had been raining and in the 50s and 60s. We’ve been about 10º warmer this week. Having lots of big windows and glass doors helps a lot since we can’t turn on the air conditioning yet. At night I close the shutters nearly all the way, but leave a window open so some cool air comes in. It works fine, but the stench from Veusvius comes in too. Now for those who don’t know, Vesuvius is constantly emitting sulfur fumes due to it being an active volcano. So at night, the stench of sulphur is pretty strong. But once day breaks, it gets burned off, so you don’t smell it anymore (OK, sometimes you do, but that’s when it’s cloudy and overcast, never when it’s sunny). It’s just a weird thing to have to get used to.