Category: Travel

Wine tweets: What I’ve been drinking*

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*Descriptions from a wine/beer lover who is really bad at talking about it

I’m not sure if this will be a regular feature.  We’ll have to see how it goes.  If I keep it up, I definitely need to do more in real time, as I have forgotten much about these poor bottles.  So with all of these glowing recommendations, here we go . . .

Reds

Reds

Up first, some chiantis.  The chianti on the left was legit.  Hands down favorite of this post.  James got this on his first visit to the wine store, where he consulted with a very helpful English-speaking wine enthusiast.  I have not yet been to the wine store because stroller.  And taking Henry into a store that specifically and deliberately sells glass bottles seems like a terrible idea.  If I had to pick one word for this one, it would be “mineraly.”  It wasn’t overly tannic, but you were scraping your tongue a little after each sip.  But in a good way.  #gobigred

The chanti in the middle I don’t recall specifics, but I think it was pretty good.  The word here would be “adequate,” but meant in the best possible way.  Here is a nice red that I would enjoy drinking with most things.

The chianti on the right, however, not so much.  I picked this one out at the grocery store.  This is wine that prompted James to suggest we only drink “classicos” from now on.  There just wasn’t a lot to it.  Although when we had it the next day with a nice weekend pizza lunch, it was much better.  I guess I just need to decant my crappy red wines more.  (snort) #pass

More reds

The valipolicella on the left was very nice.  If I recall, when selecting a wine that night, James asked what I wanted and I said “I want something that feels velvety in my mouf.”  I know.  Who says that?  But this one did fit the bill.  #smooth

The other two I do not have strong recollections of.  I believe they were Italian adequate.  And ooo . . . cool bottle decoration.  It’s like the hood ornament to your drinking experience.  #fancy

The lone white of this batch

Even though we arrived to excellent white wine sipping weather (read hot), I’ve just been craving the reds.  This was also Italian adequate.  More on the fruity and refreshing side.  This would be great to drink on its own.  #porchwine

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And one beer

James grabbed a pack (they come in 3s) of these beers at the grocery store.  I use the term beer loosely.  Not because it was bad, but because it really seemed more like lemonade.  In its defense, it was only like 2%.  #wouldbuyatthebeach

And that concludes this edition of wine tweets.  We’ll see if this feature returns.  If it doesn’t, it certainly won’t be because of a lack of subjects.  If this is a must for you, do let me know!

Places my sons’ junk has been

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I used to joke that I should start a tumblr with “places my son’s junk has been.”  Not with actual pictures of junk.  That would be all kinds of messed up.  But just the locations.  Stateside, I had a policy that if your (chain, family-oriented) restaurant did not have a changing table, we’d do a change in the restaurant.  On a bench if possible.  Always on a changing pad.  I’m looking at you Bojangles and Waffle House.  But Henry got to enjoy plenty of other al fresco changing venues.  Parks, rest areas, the National Mall.

I guess my tumblr would now be “places my sons’ junk has been.”  The trend is definitely continuing in Rome.  We’ve been hearing from people, guidebooks, the internets, etc. that Rome is not the most kid-friendly.  This doesn’t just mean a lack of sights for kids.  I’ve mentioned before that the double stroller is a challenge.  Whenever we get around to attempting public transit, that will be a challenge.  And I haven’t been able to find a restroom for me most places, much less a changing table.  (Just realized we will have to be WAY more strategic whenever Operation Potty Train commences.  Although I did see a kid drop trou at the Villa Borghese playground.  #OPTIONS.)

So this week’s “places my sons’ junk has been” is brought to you by Piazza della Repubblica.  Last weekend we went on another epic walkabout around the city.  Unlike last time, we ditched the double stroller at home.  I loaded Mac into the Lillebaby.  Thankfully, James is still able to wrangle Henry in the Deuter hiking pack.  And Henry did an impressive amount of walking.  Which would you choose: carrying a 16 lb child all the time or a 30 lb child half the time?  I’m stuck with the smaller one because I couldn’t even wear Henry in the Deuter 10 lbs ago.

Adventure ho!

Adventure ho!

It was glorious!  We could walk anywhere!!  Up church steps, in between cars, around tourists!  The city was our oyster; we were limited only by our aching backs.  The weather was also gorgeous.  I think around 70 degrees when we set out and creeping up during the day.

Although I was eager to get to proper sightseeing, I was also eager to have my first cappuccino in Italy.  Only took three weeks.  We stopped at a Bar, where I made James order.  I still do a double take on the signs sometimes, but Bars are the casual places with pastries and sandwiches that are open early.  Loved the cappuccino.  Henry loved the pastries even more.

They sprinkled chocolate on top!

They sprinkled chocolate on top!

Mmmm...nutella croissant

Mmmm…nutella croissant

Our first stop was Santa Maria della Vittoria Church.  We went for Bernini’s Ecstasy of St. Teresa, which was on my radar from Angels and Demons (on sale for kindle!)–classy, I know–but were really impressed with the church itself.  [Angels and Demons is now a movie?  From 2009?? How did I miss this?  This was pre-kids.  I have no excuse.]  It was on the smaller side, but every inch was covered with marble, paintings, mosaics, and other precious objects.  I’d love to go back for mass; you just know it would be an intimate affair.  Hopefully without Nic Cage-haired Tom Hanks crashing in to catch a maniac.

Outside of Santa Maria della Vittoria and Moses Fountain

Outside of Santa Maria della Vittoria and Moses Fountain

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Bernini’s statue was very impressive.  The literature said he made the marble look like wax, which really is a good description.  So fluid.  So much movement.  I think I like Bernini even more than Michelangelo.  TV Show Idea:  Italian Sculptor Wars.  No?

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The Church of Santa Susanna is across the street.  There has been construction so we ogled the outside but didn’t go in.  This is home of the American Catholic Church in Rome so I’m sure we’ll be back.  Santa Susanna’s exterior boasts “a highly influential early Baroque design” and some pretty amazing FAQs on its website.

1. What is the Pope’s email address?

Everyone wants to talk directly to the pope. Unfortunately the population of the world is now over 6 billion people and the Holy Father is not capable of speaking to each person privately.Though Pope Benedict had an email address, so far Pope Francis has not listed his.

Santa Susanna

Santa Susanna

We headed down to Piazza della Repubblica, close to Termini train station.

Junk exposure took place over my left shoulder

Junk exposure took place over my left shoulder

But before the titular diaper change, we went to the Baths of Diocletian.  The baths were built between 298 and 306.  They have many other uses now–Michelangelo designed a church inside–but you can still see the exterior and infrastructure.  At the tallest point, they are seven stories high.

According to Wikipedia, the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History building was partially based on design elements from the Baths of Diocletian

According to Wikipedia, the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History building was partially based on design elements from the Baths of Diocletian.  I can see it.

Typical state of affairs around here

Typical state of affairs around here

Google auto-awesomed this one. I kind of love it.

Google auto-awesomed this one. I kind of love it.

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Lots of trompe l'oeil in here. Can you tell the bit to the left is just painted on?

Lots of trompe l’oeil in here. Can you tell the bit to the left (green columns) is just painted on?

We got to enjoy a few minutes of an organ concert inside the church.  Henry was enthralled.

I counted more than 70 stops on this bad boy.

I counted more than 70 stops on this bad boy.

After the diaper change, we picked up takeout pizza from Alice (Ah-lee-che), a delicious pizza chain here.  We enjoyed it in the Villa Borghese Park to the sound of a dude playing the mandolin.

Alice selfie

Alice selfie

Both kids crashed before we could make it back for official nap time, but it was a pretty nice day.

Ball so hard

Ball so hard

James put together this map ex post facto of our route.  I think it was only around three miles, but it felt longer.  I blame the toddler stop and go.  It isn’t just “mas running,” but you have to frequently reline up at the starting line.

Will try to update this when I find a way to make it look better

Will try to update this when I find a way to make it look better.  Blogger fail.

Are things different? Glad you asked.

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Are things different here?  Of course.  Plenty!  Let’s not even get into all the big life changes.  Or differences out and about town.  We’ll just start close to home.  Like literally.  These are a few of the main differences around the house.  Nothing shocking for those who have been to Europe.  And now to this hard-hitting bit of investigative journalism.

But first.  Are you guys listening to this song?  Do you love it?  Is it huge back home?  I only wish it had come out a little earlier.  I feel like we didn’t really have a “song of the summer” this year, and I think this could have been a contender.

  1. Ceiling fan pulls.  Maybe this isn’t universal, but for ours, the light is on the shorter cord.  I am finally stopping trying to adjust the fan and plunging the room into darkness.
  2. Light switches.  So they look like this.  Also, for small rooms, like bathrooms, they are only on the outside.  I am finally stopping walking into the bathroom and immediately doing an about face to flip the light.

    More or less toddler tempting than back home? Trick question, it's a switch so . . .

    More or less toddler tempting than back home? Trick question, it’s a switch so . . .

  3. Trash.  There is no curbside pick-up.  And not just because I don’t have my own personal curb.  Our building doesn’t have a communal dumpster or anything.  There are bins randomly spaced on the street and you have to take care of business.  Why?  Some of this could be sheer numbers and logistics.  And many buildings are on little gated compounds, could be difficult to access.  Also, as explained during orientation, recycling is mandatory so have fun with that sorting.
  4. The outlets!!  European power is different.  This is known.  What surprised me is that there are a minimum of four different outlets in our unit.  What??  If I am using a European appliance in a European outlet, I should NOT need an adapter.
  5. European Toilet.  No surprise here, but we got the European special.  I’ll be on the lookout for even more exotic toilets.  I’ve always wanted to make a “Toilets of Europe” calendar.  This could be my big chance.  Family be warned:  when Christmas rolls around and you are excitedly opening your annual family calendar (just kidding, it won’t be wrapped), don’t expect to see a lovingly curated collection of family photos.  That’s right.  It just might be TOILETS.  Here’s January:

    Choose your own adventure! Big flush or small: you decide!

    Choose your own adventure! Big flush or small: you decide!

  6. Dryer.  Both our washer and dryer are European.  Because the dryer is not vented, it has this handy “vapor drawer.”  Basically it fills up with water and you have to dump it or the dryer will not dry anymore.  I learned this the hard way after about a week in when I thought it must be broken.  “James!!  I dried this load 3x and it isn’t getting any better! *&*^(&”  I am pretty excited to have a dryer.  I’ve been seeing lots and lots of drying racks on balconies.  (The balconies do seem to be getting more use.)  Our neighbors across the way actually have their washing machine on the balcony.  I guess sufficiently protected from the elements?  Just cutting out the middle man.
Dearie me, I have the vapors!

Dearie me, I have the vapors!

I’m sure there are others.  The windows and blinds deserve their own full post.  I’ll report back if I uncover more riveting differences.  Happy weekend, ya’ll!

House tour, courtesy of a toddler

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So James let Henry have a turn with the camera the other day.  The nice camera.  Now the kid is obsessed with “hitting the button.”  He tries to look through the viewfinder, but I’m not sure what he can actually see.  It’s pretty cute.  It would be even better if I wasn’t worried about him breaking the nice camera.

Yesterday he was insistent on more camera time.  After I had about 50 shots of the same thing, I decided to put him to work on a house tour we could share.  (A “keeping it real” tour though.  Nothing was cleaned so you would have the authentic experience.)  So without further adieu, the unedited work of my two year old:

This is our view when you walk in the front door.  The doors straight ahead lead to the balcony shown here.  Once the rest of our stuff arrives (our place is partially furnished), we’ll have a piece of furniture to collect purses, bags, and change.  For now all of that is going to the two desks on the left that I hope will be an office nook eventually.  I haven’t wanted to set it up yet because workers are coming Monday to bash in the wall in an attempt to fix water damage in the unit below.  The joys of apartment living!

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On the other side of the rando column, we have the connected living and dining room.  We do most of our eating in the kitchen so the dining room table is pushed to the wall.  I have done much furniture rearranging in this area.  Toddler-height photos may not do it justice, but note that there are really tall ceilings here.  Like 13 feet.  You know, in case we ever want that indoor trampoline.  (No one tell Henry about trampolines.)

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Then we have the hallway.  This slick marble floor is ideal for Thomas the Train riding, car zooming, and dangerous falls.  Not shown, but we have two closets off this hall.  One is sort of a linen closet.  The other used to be the laundry room, but is now a walk-in storage area.  They turned the third bathroom into the laundry room.  James was bummed.  I say yay for one less toilet to worry about needing cleaning!  There are also two built-in wardrobes.

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Here is Bathroom #1.  First door on the left.  The shower is oh, so European.  And currently housing a vacuum cleaner.  Because why not.

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Down the hall, we have the kitchen wing.  It consists of random entryway, laundry room (which has a shower because of former bathroom fame), and then the fairly spacious kitchen.

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Here are two shots of the kitchen.  Besides child containment, it is nice to be able to close it off because of the heat.  We have an overhead fan, but that makes the burners flicker when you are actively cooking.  And we have a dishwasher!  This was an unexpected bonus, based on previous pics.  No garbage disposal and the shallowness of the sink generally soaks you when washing dishes, but I’d say a pretty decent kitchen.

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Here’s Henry’s room.  (Mac’s room not pictured because he was sleeping at the time.)  This is the smallest bedroom.  I’m hoping that this may be the guest room if the boys are ever able to share.  Although guests–consider yourselves warned–this room does not have an overhead fan.  We’re currently borrowing a neighbor’s fan while we work on a solution. [UPDATE: ceiling fan installed!]

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Here’s my room.  I know you can’t see much other than an unmade queen bed, but it has room for dressers and his/hers nightstands complete with lamps.  I gotta say, these feel like a luxury!

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And here’s our budding photographer in the most used bathroom.  On the left you can see the tub which has this weird accordion thing that you have to very carefully position to block water when you are showering.  But the bathroom has good storage, good water pressure, and very hot water (most of the time) so not complaining.

Don't mind me . . . just brushing my hair

Don’t mind me . . . just brushing my hair

I’m sure I’ll talk more on this later, but I really like it.  It felt like there was too much furniture before, but now things are redistributed, and it just feels like a lot of storage.  Which is great because I’m not sure where everything will go when the rest of our stuff shows up.

Single floor living is awesome with littles.  I don’t have to lug kids up and down stairs.  I don’t have to run up and down to check on them at nap time.  I don’t worry as much about Henry on his own.  I can generally hear him at most places wherever I am even if he isn’t in sight.

Single floor living is also awesome for laundry.  All three bedrooms are within 15 feet of the laundry room.  No more carting loads up and down two flights of stairs.  Given how much laundry there is, I cannot emphasize enough how fantastic this is.

I really like most of the use of space.  I’d call it open living with optional partitions.  The main area is nice and open, but I can close it off.  As I mentioned, I can close off the kitchen area.  Doors don’t mean much to Henry anymore, but I like having the option.  I might mind the placement of the kitchen if it wasn’t for the table back there.  But now it is really easy to cook and talk to Henry at the table.

And that’s our home. I’ll update again when the rest of our stuff arrives.  Henry was already asking to use the camera again . . .

Beautimous Balconies

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For being a mega huge city, Rome is surprisingly green.  Some of that is because of things like a good plant climate and really rich people who had enormous estates that are now parks.

But I have really been impressed by how much green the Romans squeeze into the cityscape.  They put trees and bushes between buildings.  Generally all the balconies are chock-full of plants.  Very beautimous, as my grandmother would say.

Here are few examples.  I can’t say these are the most beautimous or best in the city but they show a pretty representative sample of what I can see near our apartment. 

Here, I love the plants that “flow down” (I’m sure there is a more technical term) on this one.

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These you can see from our local playground.  The windows look boarded up but those are just the Roman shades.  I’ll post more on them later.  They are pretty cool.

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Note the built-in window boxes.

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And here is our little balcony.  Not the absolute worst, but we could definitely step it up in the greenery department.  I’m sure James will get on that next spring. 

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Maybe other cities to take a page from Rome on this?  According to an interesting trend report of the 2015 Ikea catalog, “In less than 20 years, 70% of the world’s population will live in cities.”  It seems there are straightforward steps you could take, like adding balconies and window boxes to new buildings.  The mentality here that you should take the time to add and care for plants would be trickier to duplicate.

I find it interesting that, although there are scores of lovely balconies, I see very few people actually enjoying them.  At least so far.  This surprised me.  I thought there would be lots of people out enjoying a glass of vino.  Last night though I heard laughter around 10:00 pm.  Now that people are back from their August vacations, I’ll have to pay more attention.  Or maybe I’ve just been looking at the wrong time of day.

Weekend Recap

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Happy September, ya’ll!  The long weekend was much appreciated as we continue to settle in.

Saturday

We went to the pool at the Ambassador’s residence.  You have to request a spot in advance and this was the last weekend it was available so I was glad to get in.

The pool was surprisingly cold considering it was about 90 degrees out.  I think this was, in part, because the pool was so deep.  The shallow end was around 5′ and it dropped off pretty quickly.  Pool is always more challenging now that it is man-to-man with no breaks, but Henry had a great time.  We really need to work on some kind of swim classes for him.  Because of the depth, I spent most of the time bobbing with Mac over on the steps.

The grounds were beautiful.  Looking forward to returning for parties.

Take out pizza for lunch that was pretty tasty.

Sunday

In the morning we went on an epic walk.  Down to the top of the Spanish steps, to an overlook of Piazza del Popolo, and back through the Villa Borghese park.  Apparently it was only about three miles, but it felt much longer given the stroller and toddler detours.

Overlook – James says it is a famous one.  Probably has a name that I forgot.

Sunday evening we returned to Ristorante Rossini.  The experience was only so-so, mostly because of limited kid cooperation.  James had spaghetti amatriciana.  I had a salad with bresaola, after I majorly hosed the pronunciation of it.  We had a prosciutto and fig starter.  Henry is pretty obsessed with cured meats now.

Monday

It rained most of the day and was colder so we stayed indoors.  James did venture out for a trip to the grocery store where he was yelled at for trying to use a seat-less stroller as a grocery cart in the store.  We went on a walk in the evening, but cut it short because of more rain.  After the kids were asleep, we did watch a little of Veep Season 3.  Definitely enjoying it so far.  I keep waiting for it to get over-the-top cringy where I feel bad (think British Office), but not yet.

Learn Italian. I’m on it.

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I had one of those experiences at the grocery store today that is re-motivating me to work on my (currently very limited) Italian.  It started in produce.  I grabbed a cantaloupe because I picked up some prosciutto earlier in the week and thought we’d enjoy them together.  How Italian!

I weighed the melon and got a sticker.  This is a big difference between European (at least German and Italian) grocery stores and those back home.  I learned this the hard way, my first trip to a Germany grocery store when the clerk yelled at me for not doing it.  Even though that was over 10 years ago, I have since been hyper-vigilant on always weighing my produce.

We make it to check out.  Henry refuses to relinquish the melon.  No biggie.  I peel it off and hand the guy the sticker.  But I can tell right away there is an issue.  He tells me it is the wrong sticker.  This is for the bigger melon, not the little one.  He says he’ll wait while I go fix it.

Everything the clerk said was in Italian.  I may have missed some nuances, but I’m pretty sure I got it.  Context clues helped greatly on this one.  But I am hopeful that comprehension is not completely hopeless.

But I couldn’t think of a single word in Italian to respond.  Some of it was the “deer in headlights” aspect of it.  But a lot of it was just my lack of Italian.  I have thought of a few things to say after the fact, but not too many.

I’m not beating myself up over it, but I’d like to do better next time.  And so back to Duolingo I go.  And then other Italian courses.  And hopefully lining up a tutor before too long.  Italian language prep fell by the wayside around the time Mac was born.  Now, I’m on it.

And on the 7th day there was internet

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And it was good.  This was an unexpected plus.  We were scheduled for install next Tuesday, but the guy called because he happened to be in the neighborhood today.  Score!  This is not something I thought would happen here.  It definitely came in handy when we indulged in a few youtube videos right before James got home.  Henry is growing fond of Winnie the “Poop.”

We also received our air freight shipment today.  (The 700 lbs mentioned here.)  We had a 1-2 week window so this was also prompt.  Henry was so excited to see his toys that we didn’t make it outside this afternoon.  James is incredibly excited about the arrival of the mattress topper and nice sheets.  A bottle of Dreft exploded, but not too many casualties found as of yet.

So still need to get an Italian bank account, cell phones, and many other things.  But progress has been made.  And I’ll drink to that.  (Chianti from the fancy wine store this evening.)  W00t!

Out and about town . . . by myself . . . with kids!

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So I’ve made it to James’s work 2x now, once by myself!  Observations in no particular order:

  • Stroller = woof.  I’ve seen a few, but there are not many about.  After bumping up and down 50 curbs per trip, I will have the upper body of a body builder before we leave.
  • It would really suck to be handicapped here.
  • People here look really put together.  Generally nice solid pieces with a deliberate accessory.
  • Some of the outfits are pretty wild though.
  • Men do not seem to wear hats.  James is accustomed to wearing a baseball cap daily.  He wanted to find a trendier, Italian equivalent.  But based on preliminary observation, Italian men do not wear hats.
  • Henry’s most often said word is now “moto.”
  • Many Italians pass us by without a glance, but many other are excited to see the bambini.  I’ve heard that Italians really love blonde children.
  • I still heart gelato.
  • Everyone keeps saying to just wait until the whole city returns in September.  So far it has been very manageable.  I guess we’ll see . . .
  • Hope for the best, prepare for the worst has paid off.  It looks like our air freight will be here one week after our departure.  Our internet should be set up less than a week after the request.  And we have temporary internet and a cell phone; both an unexpected and welcome bonus.

At home:

  • The kids are still messed up from jet lag.
  • We had our first meal out at Taverna Rossini.  Henry, for no apparent reason, received his own ball of dough that the waiter was keen to see him react to.
  • I’m continuing to rearrange the furniture.  Unpacking continues.
  • I need to do more grocery shopping.
  • I’ll be happier when I’m a little more well-rested.  Mac is getting up at least 3x/night.  This wouldn’t be so bad, but it takes me forever to fall back asleep.

Goals for the coming week:

  • See a traditional Italian sight.
  • Run at least once next week.
  • Finish unpacking.

Everything is awesome!

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While not sleeping on the plane, I did have a chance to catch up on some movies I’ve missed.  I watched Divergent, after just finishing the book last month.  I thought it did a good job.  And the guy is hot.

I also watched the Lego Movie.  I wasn’t as blown away, but it was cute.  And everything is awesome is crazy catchy.  I defy you to watch this and not get it stuck in your head for hours.

But—other than jet lag—things are pretty awesome here!  It does not feel real.  We were fairly quiet on the drive from the airport, just soaking it in.  Different trees.  Ruins.  Rome.

I love our place, and I think we will be happy here.  The location seems great.  We have good space.  Good water pressure.  The welcome kit is amazing.  We heard horror stories of only receiving three plates, a mug, and sandpaper sheets.  But we have sheets, towels, and an almost fully-stocked kitchen.  There are even carpets we didn’t know about.

If anything, there is too much here.  I wish we had packed less.  When our sea freight gets here (in October?), things could get interesting.  This is small, but no garbage disposal.  I need to figure out how this works.  Obviously no chunks of food, but is it going to back up if wash sauce on plates down the drain?

Jet lag with kids is no joke.  After we arrived at our place, around 1100 local, we all ended up crashing for several hours.  Everyone went to bed on time, but both kids were up a few hours later.  After several fruitless attempts to induce more sleep, I gave up and hung out with them a few hours, before putting them back to bed.

Nap times were more on schedule today.  I am cautiously optimistic that we’ll be close to normal in a few days.

Our awesome sponsor did some initial grocery shopping.  We did a little more, at the conveniently located supermarket a few blocks away, and—other than our gelato—have been eating at home.  First trip to a restaurant could be tomorrow.

I am trying to remember that all things take time.  We did just get here.  Eventually, our things will be unpacked.  I’ll lose some more baby weight.  Italian women seem impossibly thin.  So far, I’ve seen moms in backless tops and shorty shorts.  And I’ll work on Italian.  In my sleep deprived haze, these things just seem impossible.

But things are gorgeous.  Right now, all of the flora-filled balconies are enchanting.  I’m really excited.  Even if it doesn’t feel real yet, this feels good.

Non-seq:  Just finished Robert Galbraith aka J.K. Rowlings second Cormoran Strike mystery.  Loved it.  Not sure why I am only just now realizing that I really like mysteries.