Wednesday, May 6, 2009

Roma, part 1

We’ve been in Rome for a couple of days now, and it’s been really fantastic. I thought I would miss being on the ship, but I really haven’t. Oddly, I’ve barely thought about the cruise since we’ve been here. In some ways, it’s been more fun and relaxing to be here than it was on the ship. Of course, we’re staying at a very nice hotel in one of our favorite cities in the world, right in the middle of our favorite area. What’s not to love about that?

Michelle met us here Monday morning, and it’s been fun showing her around. She’s gone off and done things on her own, and will be keeping Carter for us for a few hours every day to allow us to go off and do things on our own. This is her first time in Rome, and she’s really enjoying it.



We’re staying in a hotel on Via Giulia, which is a beautiful street celebrating its 500th anniversary this year. Here is Carter having a sip of water with the street in the background.



The stroller does pretty well on cobblestones, but it makes for a bumpy ride for Carter. Sometimes we put him in it, and sometimes he rides in the carrier and the stroller is used to carry our bags. Rome isn’t very easy to navigate with a stroller, so the carrier is usually just easier.



Here we are in Piazza Navona, by the Four Rivers Fountain.



Rome is full of amazing things, and there are surprises around every corner. We were just wandering around and found this beautiful little street, one that we have been looking for for 15 years – the last time we stumbled upon it. The picture doesn’t do it justice!



The hotel is lovely, and we have a veranda with a great view. It’s a great place for Carter to play and for us to hang out with a glass of wine. ;-)





We brought a portable high chair with us, thinking we’d need it on the cruise, but really didn’t. It has been a lifesaver here, though! This is the Italian idea of a high chair:



Note that it’s basically a bar stool. There’s no way to keep your toddler from climbing out, or slipping out, for that matter. Carter does fine in it for short periods of time, like 15 minutes while he’s actually eating. Here he’s enjoying some pizza for lunch.



Once he’s done eating, or just takes a break from eating, it becomes an issue, though. So for those long, multi-course dinners, we take the portable high chair with us. It’s totally worth the hassle of carrying it around. (It folds up small enough to fit into a shopping bag.) He has his own little tray, and he’s safely strapped in, and it makes a huge difference. He’s good for at least an hour in this chair, which allows us to have long, leisurely Italian dinners. Here he’s having some pasta at a trattoria we ate at the first night.



We can also use it on the floor in the room. Here he was having a snack of some soft Italian cheese, which he LOVED. He was trying to lick it out of the container.



We’ve done a lot of sightseeing too. Mostly we’re just visiting favorite spots and taking pictures of Carter in front of them. Here are some of the places we’ve been.

At the Arch of Constantine:


At the Spanish Steps:


At Trevi Fountain:






Here is a little video of Carter with Michelle at Trevi Fountain. He really wanted to get in!



At the Pantheon:


At the Colosseum:




At the Forum:






With Daddy at a restaurant for lunch:


Here is a short video where you can hear Carter saying “wow”.



All this sightseeing really tires a baby out:





When this trip is over, I’ll write a post about how I think the experience has affected Carter. We’ve seen a big change in him in the last couple of weeks, but I think I need to reflect on it more before I can quantify it. It’s been so amazing, though, to watch him learn and grow and soak it all in. It’s been amazingly easy to travel with him, so much easier than I even expected. It’s really encouraging us to think about traveling with him even more!

Here’s one more cute picture and video. It rained yesterday afternoon, so we took naps and then hung out and waited for the rain to stop. What do you do on a rainy afternoon in Rome? You blow bubbles!



Or you learn a new skill, like how to turn the water off and on in the bidet:



I’ll post more in a couple of days! Ciao!

1 comment:

Debby said...

I love hearing Carter saying "wow"...how sweet. I am glad that Carter is doing so well traveling. I love the pictures of Rome...Love you, Mom/Nana