Houston, We have Goldfish!

Disclaimer: Lots of pictures and a little rambling/venting enclosed...


Dusty, Jackie, and Mallory



Yes, I know, this isn't a picture of Josh and I, nor is it a picture of perfect strangers we let hold our child in front of the Pantheon. No, these are our Heroes, Dusty and Jackie, friends of ours that we met up with in Rome while they were honeymooning! I call them our heroes, because shortly before their trip over, I sent Jackie a Facebook message requesting the immediate smuggling of Goldfish crackers into Italy for our little Rendevous in Rome! Mallory had still not gone a day without asking for them. Upon our meeting Jackie presented us with not one, but TWO bags of Goldfish which I tried to hide, but Mallory promptly sniffed out and insisted on having. Jackie got the best picture of Mallory holding her bag of goldfish in a loving embrace. I'm sure when she returns from Rome she will post it on Facebook and tag me for all to see. It was a great picture! Anyway, Mallory then ate Goldfish for lunch AND dinner and really not much of anything else! Despite our efforts to ration out the goldfish, we are down 1 bag already, but have yet to crack open the second bag! Thanks Jackie and Dusty!

Our first stop in Rome, was the Roman Forum. Let me start by saying,I can't say this was the most pleasant tourist experience I have had, but we are certainly all smiles for this picture aren't we!? We stood in a long line to get tickets, then stood in another line to get the audio tour guide. The couple next to us was told they were all out of audio guides while we were given 2 audio guides. They became very irate and then we hurried off with our audio guides. We get into the Roman Forum and Josh's audio guide is on the fritz, so he goes back to get another one while I wait and my scalp burns in the sun. It is making my blood pressure go up



Mallory posing with some Roman Ruins

just writing about this! A small confession to make...I do NOT enjoy museums and wandering around aimlessly without reason. The audio guide was of no help to me and a complete bore. So by the time I got through 3 different things and still not knowing where I was supposed to be or what I was looking at. I was about done. We will be going back, but most definitely with a tour guide who can keep my attention. We learned our lesson and made sure to the best of our ability that we had a guided tour with whatever we did. We wasted so much time standing in line at the Roman Forum we didn't get to use our double entrance ticket to go inside the Colosseum. I certainly didn't want to go and wander aimlessly once more! So we just decided we would come back and do them right the next time. We made the most of our short stay at the Roman Forum and got some pictures of Mallory. And after standing in the super hot sun for a little too long, it was time for a Gelato break!





Mallory hilariously sticking her finger up the horse's nose!

We headed over to the Colosseum for a quick look and a few pictures. We definitely can't wait to come back A) when it is a little cooler and B) when we can do it right with a tour guide. It really is a grand sight to be seen and to imagine what it was used for is just mind blowing.  You'll see Mallory in a super cool and stealth Back Pack. We purchased this in Milan knowing ahead of time that Rome is not the most stroller friendly city. It was a great investment. She did great in it and found it to be quite fun to ride on Daddy's back all day. Daddy found it quite exhausting and HOT, but he survived and we couldn't have done it any other way.





Outside the Colosseum and Mallory in her "Pack Pack"

 

The Colosseum!

Our Hotel offered a shuttle that drops you off and picks you up in the city, so after visiting the Colosseum we made our way back to our pick up site via Taxi and made a quick stop at Piazza Navona where Mallory cooled off in the fountain, much to the enjoyment of those around us! The water was very cold and refreshing and she managed to soak herself completely.



Who needs a bath when you have a fountain!?
And after walking around and playing in the dirt in the Roman Forum, Mallory decided to check out the remainder of the Roman Ruins that ended up between her toes!

After our long day out and about in Rome, it was back to the hotel to cool off with a little swim and a snooze!

Day 2 had a little more planning involved once we realized that "I" needed a tour guide in order to enjoy myself. We realized that our Vatican tour tickets we bought did not come with a tour, but that we could upgrade to a tour if we got there early. We got there early, but the tour was booked. I usually would say OK and walk away, but I was not about to feel like I just wasted another set of entrance fees to not enjoy myself. So I pushed a little harder and flashed our precious Mallory passed out in her back pack (the Italians can't refuse a "belissima bambina" and asked if we could be put on a waiting list. She told us to come back in an hour which was plenty of time to people watch in the partially air conditioned Museum entrance and let Mallory sleep a little longer. We came back a little before she told us to, so we could stare her down and IT WORKED, we got on the tour, a few minutes late, but we still got on the tour!!! Boy am I glad we did, I would have NEVER enjoyed it nearly as much or learned anything. The Vatican Museum is HUGE. Even with the tour we didn't see it all. But we did get to see the Sistine Chapel and I manged to squeak out a few pictures too. I just happened to be standing under one of the most well known scenes painted on the Sistine Chapel....soooo You are welcome! Enjoy!

Mallory passed out in the Back Pack

God giving life to Adam (Sistine Chapel)



My little lady in Rome!

We also managed to see the Pantheon on our last day in Rome when we met up with our friends Dusty and Jackie.

We will most definitely be returning to Rome to see the sights again. I knew 3 days was certainly not enough, but we certainly enjoyed our time there and I don't think we will forget where we celebrated our 5th Anniversary anytime soon. The Marriott where we stayed even helped us celebrate with a complimentary Anniversay Cake! How sweet. I should have taken a before and after picture of this thing...The 'after' picture wouldn't have been that interesting, just an empty plate! :)

Baby Update:
 Baby is doing well as far as I can tell. Moving alot and kicking up a storm. Mallory is getting more interested in my growing belly. The other day she woke up from her nap and instead of saying "Mama, where are you?" She said, "Mama, I want to see the baby" I have an ultrasond coming up on Tuesday, so it should certainly be an interesting experience. I have spoken with one English speaking doctor who seems awesome! I am very excited to meet her mid-July at my first appt. Here you call the doctor directly to make an appt, and she has called me right back and even called me to answer some questions I had sent her in an e-mail. She has a lot of ex-pats as patients and is familiar with our regular concerns. She just seemed very accomdating regardless of whether or not we choose her as our doctor. We are very much looking forward to seeing the baby on Tuesday and hopefully getting a confirmation that we are having a girl! I still have my suspicions and am not completely convinced we are having a girl until I can see it with my own eyes on the ultrasound.
Tastefully Simple Update:
I hit my sales goal of $500 for the month of June, so thank you to those of you that placed orders, or who are thinking about placing orders! July is a new month, so get those orders in early! My team had record breaking sales of $7,453 and I couldn't be more proud of them! I am still looking for catalog hosts for July, November, and December, and for all Catalog hosts, an extra $10 worth of Free Products right off the bat is in it for you! Please let me know which month your prefer! It is easier than you think! Thank you for your continued support. I appreciate you. www.tastefullysimple.com/web/lhunking

Until next time.....Ciao!