It has taken me quite awhile to write this blog. And I know when you read this you will think, you are an @$&!! Eileen. But the reason for the delay is that I do not have our nanny right now, so life is a bit rough. Four kids with a nanny is quite tiring. Four kids without a nanny is exhausting.
On Good Friday morning Jesy and I packed up the kids and left a snowy and cold Moscow and arrived in sunny and 70 degree Rome. Heaven. We spent the afternoon on the patio of our hotel while the kids played and Jesy and I had mojitos and snacks. And since we were in Italy we took the kids for a tasty dinner at McDonald's. The next morning we picked up my parents and drove to our villa north of Rome. It's always wonderful to see my parents, but it was especially lovely on this day because they got to meet John for the first time and it had been almost 8 months since we had left them in the US.
Easter Sunday was one of my favorite days in Italy. We found a small Catholic church in the town near our villa. We understood very little of the mass, but the wonderful part of being a Catholic is that the mass is always the same in any country. The little town rarely gets any tourists, so imagine the looks when we walked in with our four blonde children- who speak English and a bit of Russian. But it was a beautiful mass and the church was lovely.
On Monday we went to Palatine Hill, the Roman Forum, and the Colesseum. It was a beautiful day and the kids so enjoyed seeing all of the ruins. I also wanted to include a picture of how I looked at the beginning of our trip. Pretty normal looking at first, but my looks went downhill as the week wore on. Pushing that big stroller and carrying that yellow backpack around the streets of Rome and Pompeii was hard work. Many, many hills, cobblestone streets, and subway stairs.
The girls loved picking flowers at Palatine Hill and running around. We had a lovely view of St.Peter's from the Hill, and then after a lunch of pizza and pasta made our way over to the Colesseum. The Colesseum is IMPRESSIVE. And if you saw the movie "Gladiator", you can really imagine what went on here.
Tuesday was the fulfillment of a life-long dream- visiting Vatican City. We decided to do a tour of the Vatican, which was smart for two reasons. One- if you do a tour you do not have to wait outside the walls of the Vatican in the extremely long line. Long lines are not enjoyable with four small children. Two- our tour guide was very interesting, and we all learned alot, especially Colin. We each got a small radio and headset that was linked to our guide. We could always hear her, which was nice because Jesy and I could hang back with the girls and John if necessary and still hear the guide. Colin stayed with my Dad most of the time and he really listened to the guide and even asked some questions. It was fun to watch the two of them share the tour of the Vatican. And as always, I love the way that boy is interested in history- just like his mother!
Above is Colin with our guide (she is the lady holding the umbrella), and my Dad, Colin, and the girls with their headsets.
The artwork in the Vatican Museum is breathtaking, and there is so much of it. It made me a bit dizzy. There really are not words to describe the Sistine Chapel. I am glad that our guide went into detail about the Sistine Chapel while we were outside of it, that way when we got in we really knew what we were looking at and could just look and appreciate. I was most excited to go into St.Peter's Basilica and see the Pieta. I did get to see the Pieta, and all I can say is that Michelangelo really got it right- the love between a mother and child. I always had an appreciation for his sculpture, but now as a mother of sons I think it is so perfect. No matter what, Jesus was Mary's baby. And he died a horrible death. The look of love on her face is beautiful and I am so happy that I saw the Pieta in person. God was looking out for me, because it was after the Pieta that life really started to go down hill. The girls had been very good for the three hour tour of the Vatican, but the crowds in St.Peter's proved to be their breaking point. With a girl in each hand, this is what I heard throughout the Basilica- "I don't like this place." "I want to go home". "Get me out of this church". Over and over again. It was quite crowded in St.Peter's and the girls were getting hit in the face with backpacks, so I am sure God understands why they were upset. We finally made it outside to St.Peter's Square and of course the kids wanted to see the fountains. We were able to get our first family photo of the six of us, even though it was tough work getting John to look at the camera. (He was fascinated by the fountain.)
Our rental house was amazing and some of my favorite parts of the trip was just hanging around the house. The kids were so happy to play outside and take nice long walks. (A luxury we did not have during the Russian winter.) I have included pictures of the villa and our van below.
I also had to include this last picture of Jesy with Colin, Kathleen, and John strapped to his chest. One of the best parts of our international travel is that Jesy is WITH us. He works very long hours here in Moscow and travels often, so the kids and I really miss him. One afternoon in Italy Jesy and I were making lunch for the kids and I looked over at him and was just filled with joy over his presence. We were just making lunch, nothing exciting, but it was just so nice to be with him doing regular, routine chores.
On Thursday we took a day trip to Pompeii. Not only is Pompeii very interesting, but it's a great place for children to explore, climb, and run around. In other words, the perfect destination for my children. The people (actual people who were covered in ash when the volcano exploded and then their bodies were petrified) statues were a big hit with the kids. Colin was fascinated by them and was also very excited to be near a real volcano. (In case you did not know, Colin is highly interested in natural disasters. When the tornado alarms would go off in Iowa he was in his element.) I enjoyed Pompeii, but my mom and I got a real workout pushing the strollers over all of those cobblestone streets. Pompeii was partially destroyed and buried under ash in AD 79. What has survived is amazing and you would not believe how big it is. I was particularly surprised by the artwork that survived. And my favorite comment of the day was Amalie after she saw the naked statue of a man. "I just saw a small man with a small penis". Both girls thought this was very funny and Grandma and I got to hear it many times at the end of our day in Pompeii.
The above picture is Mt.Vesuvius, and the one above that is Colin with his temple. My mom and I spent some time relaxing in the sun with the kids while Jesy, my dad, and Amalie walked to the amphitheater in Pompeii. Colin decided to construct a temple, and was thrilled when another tourist walked by and took a picture of it.
My parents were very brave and volunteered to watch the kids one night so Jesy and I could go out on a date in Italy. We picked a local restaurant that had lots of delicious mushrooms on the menu. I don't know half the stuff we ordered, but it was all great. Our main meal was a dish of potatoes and mushrooms- something I would never order. It was soooo good. And after dinner Jesy and I shared a lemon sorbet, in this enourmous lemon!
We (Jesy) forgot our camera on Friday and did not get any pictures of the lovely small town and surrounding valleys. Thank goodness my mom had her camera, and if you are friends with her I am sure you saw some of her pictures. Thanks Mom, and thanks for keeping Kathleen happy.
Our trip to Italy was a long time in the making. During our marriage Jesy and I have had three trips planned to Rome, but each time we got pregnant and I was due about the same time as the trip. But I have to say that I am glad we waited- it was much better going with our four beautiful children and my mom and dad. I truly believe the best part of the trip was living like a local in our villa. Jesy and I are so much alike- after being in the house for about 5 minutes we looked at eachother and said "this is it. Exactly the kind of house and property we would love to own in the States". The house was wonderful- plenty of room for the kids and lots of living space. But it was really the grounds that did it for us- everything was so green, there was a pool, a soccer field, a covered porch, and even a cave! When we were leaving Colin told Jesy and I to really find a house like this in the US. We will try Colin, we will try.
This blog took a while to write, and thank goodness our nanny came back today. I now go back to tired and run-down Eileen, instead of the bedraggled mess that I have been for the past two weeks. What am I going to do this summer when there is no Jesy or Miss Olesea for a month? I am really going to consider bringing home a case of my coffee syrup!
Ciao!
