For the two of you that follow our blog, you may remember that Jonny went on an insane man's trip to hunt wolves in Mongolia last year. While the husbands were gone for 10 days, the wives plotted revenge. We decided to go Italy and Greece the next year, and make the husbands work from home so we wouldn't feel guilty about leaving the kids. I envisioned Jonny frazzled all week, barely surviving, calling me to say I have the hardest job in the world. Instead, he and the kids seemed to have a perfect week, all smiles and joy and rainbows. I'm now in the market for a high-paying career solving math problems (my best skill) so we can swap places and he can be a stay-at-home dad. Anyways, here are the highlights of our trip:
We started in Rome, and this was in the elevator going up to our hotel. It was an old one where you have to shut the doors for it to move. Rome was BEAUTIFUL, and I think my new favorite city. They've worked so hard to preserve their history and architecture, and so the buildings throughout the whole city are ancient. A local told us that in order to change anything to your house, including something that wouldn't affect the outside, like tearing down a wall between two rooms, you have to get the approval of everyone on your street.
This is the Pantheon. Just one of the tons of super old buildings that Rome has kept looking pristine.
We saw tons of these smart cars, and I'm wondering why these don't catch on in the States.
We went to the Vatican, saw the Sistine chapel, and the Swiss Guards.
The Colosseum
My favorite thing we did in Rome was go on a food tour. We got to explore the local neighborhoods away from so many tourists, and eat lots of cheese.
Next we traveled to the Almafi coast and stayed in one of these villas built into the cliff. The walk from the beach up to our place almost put me in labor, and Jonny had prepared me for this by laminating a list of hospitals in each place we were staying. The manager of the villa saw me at the end of this walk and was so alarmed, he insisted on driving us everywhere after that. Which reminds me. Italian men. All the stereotypes are true.
It's steeper than it looks.
This was a very good purchase. Not nerdy-looking at all.
We visited Herculaneum, which was covered in mud by the same volcano that covered Pompeii, and then was discovered recently. It was awesome. You feel like you've gone back in time 2000 years. Even some of the wood was the original.
These are the skeletons of the people waiting for boats to come and rescue them.
Next we went to Santorini, a Greek island. This was the view from our villa.
This was my best day. We took ATVs around the island. I hid while my friends rented them so that no one would say I was too pregnant. Unfortunately we went with the cheaper ones, thinking we wouldn't be driving very fast, but then they had a VERY rough time making it up the hills. At one point, ours just couldn't go anymore and I had to get out and walk. Next time, we're splurging.
The black beach in Santorini
Last, we went to Athens. This is the Parthenon. I loved seeing the historical sites, but I felt like it paled in comparison to Rome. They haven't been preserved nearly as well due to being attacked over and over. My opinion may have also been swayed by the fact that at this point in our trip, I could only stand or walk for about 3 minutes between sittings.
One really cool thing about the city is that in many places, there are glass floors so that you can see all the ruins under the new buildings.
Well, I guess this blog has now turned into a travel log, and I've probably lost my two followers, including family. I promise to at least start writing more about my kids in the future for the grandparents. The kids are fine. Crazy. Wondering when I can go out of town again because dad is soooo much more fun than me.