... I never updated after I got back from my trip.
Well, I'm back, safe and sound. It was a long trip back, and we were pretty tired, but everything's back to normal now. If anyone's interested in seeing any pictures, they're here: http://www.thefinn.net/gallery There's about 350 pictures...unfortunately our camera corrupted 170 pictures and they can't be opened. They were good pictures, too. If you look in the Vatican album, the last 5 pictures or so, that just looks like the top of a building...they're actually pictures of the Pope. He's in the open window, with the red flag underneath it. Yes, that's right... I was blessed by the Pope and didn't burst into flames or get struck by lightening... I must be doing something right. :) Unfortunately, as you can see, my camera doesn't have a zoom.
So life's been pretty normal since we got back. James brought back some European cold bugs and has managed to get the baby sick. So Quint has a really runny nose today...it's so bad that I can't keep up with it, so he's constantly covered in snot, or smearing it all over his face and hands... and the couch, and my clothes... There's nothing like getting a kiss from a kid with a runny nose. :) Poor guy woke up crying last night cuz he coudln't breath out of his nose.... I think his throat may have been sore too...oh, and he has molars coming in. So I gave him some motrin and he went back to sleep.
Anyway, yeah...like I said, not very interesting.
About Me
So, we didn't get up in time to meet the tour group of the Vatican..it started at 930 and we didn't get up until 915. No problem though.... we got there around 1030 and walked past the HUGE line.... I mean, it must have been at least a km long....a couple of thousand people in it. This line was just for the museum, with the Sistine chappel and such. So we walked past it, relieved that the line for St. Peter's Basillica wasn't even close to that, and walked around the church.
Compared to the elegance of Notre Dame, St. Peter's has a grandur that's unmatched.... it was almost to the point of being guady. There were so many huge and intricate marble statues, and mosaics in gold tile, and paintings, and of course the famous Dome designed by Michelangelo.... it was immense. In Notre Dame, you could feel the intense emotional history the church had.... hundreds of years of devoted followers, worshiping and preying, joy, sorrow...it was all wrapped up in the church. St. Peter's, however, was sterile, conservative, awe inspiring, but there was no real emotion attached to it...except in the one little corner they had marked off for private prayer. It was an amazing site to see, regardless.
After touring the treasury at St. Peter's we had intended on going to the museum only to see that it closed at 130, with the last visiters being let in at 1240... it was 1230 when we left the treasury. So, we decided to go see Trevi Fountain instead. We hopped on the subway, and walked to the fountain....really big, quite an impressive sculpture.... and we threw our coins in, to ensure our return to Rome, and had our picture taken.
By now it was about 230 ish.... what to do with the rest of the day? We decided to take the subway back in the direction of our hotel and look at Circus Maximus.... now, a really big oval field that used to be a stadium that fit 300,000 people. From there we headed next door to Palentine Hill, where the city of Rome, according to legend, was founded by the twin brothers Romulus and Remis (you know the story....abandoned in a river as infants by their evil father, they washed ashore only to be raised by a she-wolf who had lost her pups).
Anyway, Palentine hill is now a site of massive excavations containing palaces of various Emperors, as well as the temple of Cyble and remins of a 9th centure BC Iron Age village. So we got there at 328, only to discover the last visitors were let in at 330, so we quickly got our tickets and wandered around the ruins for an hour. After that we had late lunch from a pizza vendor and head back to our hotel.
Thoughts provoked by this trip....
Everwhere we've gone we've been whitness to beggers in many different forms.... claiming to be refugees who don't speak the language, old women shuffling or kneeling on the floor holding a cup, and the most heart breaking, women holding babies. I don't mind giving charity, when it isnt asked for.... but Im uncomfortable with beggers, mostly because 9 times out of 10, its just a scam. I pointed this out to my husband, how the women with babies hurt my heart, being the mother I am.... he said that they're probably gypsies...infact all the beggars we've seen probably have been gypsies....its an interesting thought.
That's enough for now. Tomorrow we'll be seeing the vatican museum, then heading to the airport to try to pass time until our flight leaves early Monday morning. So this'll be the last time I post anything in my blog. I'll write again once I'm home.
Thanks for reading!
Compared to the elegance of Notre Dame, St. Peter's has a grandur that's unmatched.... it was almost to the point of being guady. There were so many huge and intricate marble statues, and mosaics in gold tile, and paintings, and of course the famous Dome designed by Michelangelo.... it was immense. In Notre Dame, you could feel the intense emotional history the church had.... hundreds of years of devoted followers, worshiping and preying, joy, sorrow...it was all wrapped up in the church. St. Peter's, however, was sterile, conservative, awe inspiring, but there was no real emotion attached to it...except in the one little corner they had marked off for private prayer. It was an amazing site to see, regardless.
After touring the treasury at St. Peter's we had intended on going to the museum only to see that it closed at 130, with the last visiters being let in at 1240... it was 1230 when we left the treasury. So, we decided to go see Trevi Fountain instead. We hopped on the subway, and walked to the fountain....really big, quite an impressive sculpture.... and we threw our coins in, to ensure our return to Rome, and had our picture taken.
By now it was about 230 ish.... what to do with the rest of the day? We decided to take the subway back in the direction of our hotel and look at Circus Maximus.... now, a really big oval field that used to be a stadium that fit 300,000 people. From there we headed next door to Palentine Hill, where the city of Rome, according to legend, was founded by the twin brothers Romulus and Remis (you know the story....abandoned in a river as infants by their evil father, they washed ashore only to be raised by a she-wolf who had lost her pups).
Anyway, Palentine hill is now a site of massive excavations containing palaces of various Emperors, as well as the temple of Cyble and remins of a 9th centure BC Iron Age village. So we got there at 328, only to discover the last visitors were let in at 330, so we quickly got our tickets and wandered around the ruins for an hour. After that we had late lunch from a pizza vendor and head back to our hotel.
Thoughts provoked by this trip....
Everwhere we've gone we've been whitness to beggers in many different forms.... claiming to be refugees who don't speak the language, old women shuffling or kneeling on the floor holding a cup, and the most heart breaking, women holding babies. I don't mind giving charity, when it isnt asked for.... but Im uncomfortable with beggers, mostly because 9 times out of 10, its just a scam. I pointed this out to my husband, how the women with babies hurt my heart, being the mother I am.... he said that they're probably gypsies...infact all the beggars we've seen probably have been gypsies....its an interesting thought.
That's enough for now. Tomorrow we'll be seeing the vatican museum, then heading to the airport to try to pass time until our flight leaves early Monday morning. So this'll be the last time I post anything in my blog. I'll write again once I'm home.
Thanks for reading!
Well, now that I have some time to sit down (and free internet usage in the hotel room), I can expand a little more on the trip.
Venice was very interesting. We arrived on my birthday (the 8th), which also happened to be the last day of Carivale so there were tons of people in elaborate costumes and masks, and tourists in funny hats, masks and with their faces painted. I took the first opportunity to have my face painted, and later on in the night, after a nap rubbed it off on my pillow, I bought myself a mask to wear. I couldnt convice James to do anything like that, though.... I even threatened to throw him in the canal and he still wouldnt.
St. Marks square was....well, squarey. hehe. It had hoards of people in it because of Carnival, and even more pidgeons. I bought some corn to feed them, despite James's objections that they ruin the art, so you shouldnt feed them. I have a classic picture of my arms covered with at least 10 birds. One even landed on my head, but theres no picture of that....James said it was disaster waiting to happen so he shooed it away..
The basillica was impressive...very elaborate mosaics but it paled in comparison to Notre Dame. We didnt bother going into the Doge's Palace. Walking around Venice was quite time consuming... we got lost a couple of times, and we walked for a really long time. The buildings are so close together there that you never feel the sun, it only touches the tops of the buildings.
So after Venice, we took a train to Rome. We missed the train we intended on taking, because James forgot his passport in the hotel room and he had to run back and get it. We only got in 1 hour later than we intended though. Our first view of Rome after leaving the train station was of the Collesium. Its really and impressive site. What I found most interesting, however, is that the reason its missing so much is because parts of it were plundered and used to build St. Pauls Cathedral. We learned about that on the tour we took today.
Last night, however, we had an amazing, although really expensive, meal. The waiter, Ricardo, was really friendly. He gave me a poster, with a drawing of the Collesium, and bought James and I a free glass of a dessert wine. He also gave me big hugs when he learned it was my birthday 2 days ago.
Today we took tours (as I mentioned) of the Collesium and the Forum, the ancient center of Rome. We hope to take a tour of the Vatican tomorrow, if we can get there in time... it starts at 930am.
I wish I had pictures to share right now, but for some reason we cant download them off of the camera. Thats starting to become a problem because we only have enough room on the card for about 100 more pictures. Weve already taken around 420 pictures! I imagine tomorrow well take at least 100 pictures at the Cathedral alone.
That's it for now,
Chao!
Venice was very interesting. We arrived on my birthday (the 8th), which also happened to be the last day of Carivale so there were tons of people in elaborate costumes and masks, and tourists in funny hats, masks and with their faces painted. I took the first opportunity to have my face painted, and later on in the night, after a nap rubbed it off on my pillow, I bought myself a mask to wear. I couldnt convice James to do anything like that, though.... I even threatened to throw him in the canal and he still wouldnt.
St. Marks square was....well, squarey. hehe. It had hoards of people in it because of Carnival, and even more pidgeons. I bought some corn to feed them, despite James's objections that they ruin the art, so you shouldnt feed them. I have a classic picture of my arms covered with at least 10 birds. One even landed on my head, but theres no picture of that....James said it was disaster waiting to happen so he shooed it away..
The basillica was impressive...very elaborate mosaics but it paled in comparison to Notre Dame. We didnt bother going into the Doge's Palace. Walking around Venice was quite time consuming... we got lost a couple of times, and we walked for a really long time. The buildings are so close together there that you never feel the sun, it only touches the tops of the buildings.
So after Venice, we took a train to Rome. We missed the train we intended on taking, because James forgot his passport in the hotel room and he had to run back and get it. We only got in 1 hour later than we intended though. Our first view of Rome after leaving the train station was of the Collesium. Its really and impressive site. What I found most interesting, however, is that the reason its missing so much is because parts of it were plundered and used to build St. Pauls Cathedral. We learned about that on the tour we took today.
Last night, however, we had an amazing, although really expensive, meal. The waiter, Ricardo, was really friendly. He gave me a poster, with a drawing of the Collesium, and bought James and I a free glass of a dessert wine. He also gave me big hugs when he learned it was my birthday 2 days ago.
Today we took tours (as I mentioned) of the Collesium and the Forum, the ancient center of Rome. We hope to take a tour of the Vatican tomorrow, if we can get there in time... it starts at 930am.
I wish I had pictures to share right now, but for some reason we cant download them off of the camera. Thats starting to become a problem because we only have enough room on the card for about 100 more pictures. Weve already taken around 420 pictures! I imagine tomorrow well take at least 100 pictures at the Cathedral alone.
That's it for now,
Chao!
Well, this is the first chance Ive had to get into an internet cafe....the last few days have been go go go, to try to get everything done on time. Oh, and Im currently in Venice using an Italian keyboard so if anything looks weird, thats why....its also why Im not using any apostrophies.... I cant find it.
So, anyway.... the trip got off to a bit of a rockey start. The plane leaving Calgary was 2 hours late, so we missed our connection to Amsterdam in Frankfurt. We had to wait 4 hours in Frankfurt for the next plane, so we didnt get into Amsterdam in time to do much.... we walked throught the redlight district, and then walked through the city a bit on our way to the train the next day, and took some pictures of the amazing architecture.
And then we were on to Paris. It truely was a wonderful place to visit.... I cant believe that it was never on my list of places to go. We tried to go to the Catacombs but they were closed (doh!). Notre Dame was...awe inspiring. It actually brought tears to my eyes. I lit a candle (for 2 euros) infront of this amazing Christ on the Cross) the whole church was just.... wow, thats all I can say. We took close to 100 pictures there...only to find that our camera was being screwy and it wont read half of the pictures we took. Hopefully we can get them with the computer.
After Notre Dame we went to the Eifel Tower. On the way there we had some really good crepes filled with ham and cheese from a street vendor, and then desert, a crepe with Nutella in it. The Eifel Tower is HUGE. Pictures just dont do any justice to its scale. It was dark by the time we got there and it was all lit up. We took the elevator up to the top and took some pictures, and called home.
The next day (yesterday) we spent about 4 hours walking around the Louvre. Amazing art! Just amazing! And then we went to the Arc de Triumph, and took the elevator up to the top and walked the 289 stairs back down. By that time our feet were so sore we were both limping.
We spent last night on our train to Venice, 12 hours so my feet dont hurt too bad, but my muscles are pretty sore.
Unfortunately I dont have time to write any more or post any pictures, cuz we only have enough change for 1/2 hour on the computer.
So I hope everyone at home and on MW is doing well, and Ill write again when I have the time.
Arrivederci!!
So, anyway.... the trip got off to a bit of a rockey start. The plane leaving Calgary was 2 hours late, so we missed our connection to Amsterdam in Frankfurt. We had to wait 4 hours in Frankfurt for the next plane, so we didnt get into Amsterdam in time to do much.... we walked throught the redlight district, and then walked through the city a bit on our way to the train the next day, and took some pictures of the amazing architecture.
And then we were on to Paris. It truely was a wonderful place to visit.... I cant believe that it was never on my list of places to go. We tried to go to the Catacombs but they were closed (doh!). Notre Dame was...awe inspiring. It actually brought tears to my eyes. I lit a candle (for 2 euros) infront of this amazing Christ on the Cross) the whole church was just.... wow, thats all I can say. We took close to 100 pictures there...only to find that our camera was being screwy and it wont read half of the pictures we took. Hopefully we can get them with the computer.
After Notre Dame we went to the Eifel Tower. On the way there we had some really good crepes filled with ham and cheese from a street vendor, and then desert, a crepe with Nutella in it. The Eifel Tower is HUGE. Pictures just dont do any justice to its scale. It was dark by the time we got there and it was all lit up. We took the elevator up to the top and took some pictures, and called home.
The next day (yesterday) we spent about 4 hours walking around the Louvre. Amazing art! Just amazing! And then we went to the Arc de Triumph, and took the elevator up to the top and walked the 289 stairs back down. By that time our feet were so sore we were both limping.
We spent last night on our train to Venice, 12 hours so my feet dont hurt too bad, but my muscles are pretty sore.
Unfortunately I dont have time to write any more or post any pictures, cuz we only have enough change for 1/2 hour on the computer.
So I hope everyone at home and on MW is doing well, and Ill write again when I have the time.
Arrivederci!!
Woo! How time flies! I hadn't realized how much time had gone by since my last post... I guess life just hasn't been interesting enough to post about.
To answer the question in my comments, no, no one here got the flu. I guess those flu shots really work. :)
Okay, so I'm just gonna skip over the last few months, cuz I don't really remember what's happened in all that time....
We've really just been planning for our vacation, which we leave for tomorrow night. Well, we're going to my parent's place tonight, cuz they're babysitting the baby, then tomorrow we get on the plane.
I know! 10 whole days with out my sweet heart!
He terrified me today. I came upstairs and closed the doors to all the rooms, but his bedroom, so he could play, then went to make his lunch. It got really quiet, and I was finished his lunch so I called him, heard nothing. Then I went to look for him and couldn't find him anywhere. I look under his bed, in closets, behind the couch. It was like he just up and disappeared. By this time I'm yelling for him, on the verge of panic and tears...images of strangers coming into my house and taking him flash through my mind... I check to make sure the front door is still locked, it is. Then I open the bathroom door and there he was. Playing with a bath toy. Happy. Somehow he managed to open the bathroom door, and close it behind him. I picked him up and held him tight and tried not to cry.... my heart was beating so fast.... meanwhile he's wiggling like he's saying, "moooommm....put me down....." It was such a horrible feeling.
I'm gonna miss him alot when we're gone.
So, what about your vacation, you ask? Well, we're taking 10 days to take a train through Europe, spending a few days at Amsterdam, Paris, Venice and Rome. I'm looking forward to Rome the most...the history there is just staggering. Our hotel is right behind the Coliseum...it'll be sooo cool.
Our plane leaves tomorrow night, and it'll take 9 hours to get there....landing in Frankfurt and changing planes before going on to Amsterdam.
So, keep reading my blog for updates... I hope to update for each city, and include some pictures as well.
Those of you reading from MW, a big "Hi" to you. :)
To answer the question in my comments, no, no one here got the flu. I guess those flu shots really work. :)
Okay, so I'm just gonna skip over the last few months, cuz I don't really remember what's happened in all that time....
We've really just been planning for our vacation, which we leave for tomorrow night. Well, we're going to my parent's place tonight, cuz they're babysitting the baby, then tomorrow we get on the plane.
I know! 10 whole days with out my sweet heart!
He terrified me today. I came upstairs and closed the doors to all the rooms, but his bedroom, so he could play, then went to make his lunch. It got really quiet, and I was finished his lunch so I called him, heard nothing. Then I went to look for him and couldn't find him anywhere. I look under his bed, in closets, behind the couch. It was like he just up and disappeared. By this time I'm yelling for him, on the verge of panic and tears...images of strangers coming into my house and taking him flash through my mind... I check to make sure the front door is still locked, it is. Then I open the bathroom door and there he was. Playing with a bath toy. Happy. Somehow he managed to open the bathroom door, and close it behind him. I picked him up and held him tight and tried not to cry.... my heart was beating so fast.... meanwhile he's wiggling like he's saying, "moooommm....put me down....." It was such a horrible feeling.
I'm gonna miss him alot when we're gone.
So, what about your vacation, you ask? Well, we're taking 10 days to take a train through Europe, spending a few days at Amsterdam, Paris, Venice and Rome. I'm looking forward to Rome the most...the history there is just staggering. Our hotel is right behind the Coliseum...it'll be sooo cool.
Our plane leaves tomorrow night, and it'll take 9 hours to get there....landing in Frankfurt and changing planes before going on to Amsterdam.
So, keep reading my blog for updates... I hope to update for each city, and include some pictures as well.
Those of you reading from MW, a big "Hi" to you. :)
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