Around Here: Week 26 2023

 {June 25-July 1st}

This week was our big trip to Europe! I can't believe it was already here! I am so grateful for this special time and memories with Jack. 

Carly wrote this Summer Bucket List:
Waterpark Churros
Blizzard at DQ
Cousin time with both (sides of family)
Baskin Robbins (her new fav)
Beach Party at Grandma's House

So sad mama is leaving

Leaving to go on our trip was really hard.  Wyatt was a little emotional and Carly was extra sad. Twelve days is too long, she tells me. But we left Wyatt & Carly home with Logan and Josh drove Jack and I to Seattle to stay at the Ramada so we could wake up bright and early to catch the shuttle at be at the airport by 4:30am. 

I chose to bring Song of Achilles with me to read while on vacation because I heard it was really good. 

That night, Wyatt called me because Carly was crying and wanted to talk to me. Logan had put her to bed, but he doesn't exactly have a soft touch. So Carly was upset and needed comforting. Then she told me Logan had given her a whole melatonin (she normally takes a quarter) so she had 12 mg of melatonin. I was freaking out. 
Jack googled it and assured me she would be fine. 

The next morning I texted Logan to see how she was knowing Josh got home late (and I didn't want to wake him) and he was being such a stinker, telling me she was hyperventilating. That she was dying. That kid and his sarcastic sense of humor will be the death of me. 
Thankfully Jack was right and Carly was totally fine. 

When we arrived at the airport our flight had been canceled due to mechanical issues. Sigh. So before we even got started things were a bit rocky. Thankfully that gave us time to kind of all get to know each other. (For those who don't know, this trip was booked through EF Tours which is a group that runs trips with schools.  Jack's culinatry teacher at the middle school was our group leader and we signed him up after he talked about how cool it was. The trip was roughly $5,000 but we signed him up over a year ago (maybe closer to two years) and you can make monthly payments. Ours were less than $250/month.  For me to sign up was closer to $6,500 and my parents agreed to make those payments so I could go. What a gift!!! Our group had a total of 19. 7 adults and 12 students. Everyone was excellent, such good company.) 

They ended up getting our group onto three different flights after a lot of paperwork mishaps, but essentially Jack and I were on our own, flying from Seattle to Amsterdam and then Amsterdam to Rome.  The flight was long, ten hours, and thankfully we both slept quite a bit.  Once we landed we basically had to run through the entire (humongous) Amsterdam airport to make our flight to Rome. 

The indoor smoking room at the Amsterdam airport cracked me up! What the heck?!

I also laughed at the KFC in Amsterdam. 

But we were on our way, and so happy to not be stranded at the airport. Half our group didn't make flights and they were in Seattle an extra day and a half!!!

We landed in Rome and I got my period (of course!) but I am trying the menstural cup this time so I am not on the time constraint of a tampon. I like it a lot and am grateful for the extra time because the first two things I learned about Rome is that a) everyone smokes and b) toilets are nearly impossible to come by. 

We stopped by our hotel to drop our luggage and then hopped on a big tour bus to meet the other EF Tour groups (we were grouped with one from Arizona and one from California) in Rome for a restaurant. 

Peek the Spanish steps behind Jack

Loved the cobblestone streets!

Everything there was beautiful. The buildings are all so old and so stunning. But it felt like we hardly got a moment to take it all in. We were like run-walking everywhere. The smells were overpowering. A mix of either cigarette smoke, perfume or garbage.  I also couldn't believe how crazy the people drive and how people park wherever and however they want. Some people were parked on the medians between the streets and others were up on the sidewalk. Nuts!! Once we got to the restaurant it was too late to eat dinner, so we got gelato and took cold pizzas back to the hotel with us (where we didn't have microwaves) and crashed into bed. 

We woke up the next morning and had breakfast at the hotel which was eggs and croissants and fresh pineapple. Yum! 

Our hotel is very modern. All concrete and bright colors. It's very fun. 

Day two was going to start at the Vatican, so I wore my dress and new shoes and we set off. First we visited the gift shop. Then we walked through the Vatican museum and took in all the art before seeing the Sistine Chapel. (The Vatican Art will be in a post of its own after this one). 

This is us in St. Peter's Square.

This is sweet Madison. She was always messy and running behind so we lovingly called her "Hot Mess" during the trip. Haha! 

Burger King in Rome!

That is St. Peter's Basilica.  We didn't get to go in there this time because
The Pope was visiting. 

No photos are allowed in the Sistine Chapel. The art was amazing, obviously, but I was disappointed with both how crowded it was and how loud it was. I thought it would be like a religious experience, but instead it was like cattle being prodded along. 

Afer the Vatican we went to the colloseum. Its size and scope is unbelievable. It will be in a post of its own as well. 

Everything is beautiful. Even bathroom floors. Ha!

Story time: After seeing the Vatican and the Colloseum, we were given a little free time before dinner on the streets of Rome. A large group of us chose to sit down in a restaurant to get drinks and gelato. Well, Jack ordered a virgin Pina Colada, but they either didn't hear the virgin part or assumed Jack was 16 (the drinking age in Rome) and they brought him a real Pina Colada. By the time we got to dinner, he was so happy, chatty and laughing. Haha. Oh gosh I love that kid. 

Trevi Fountain
(One regret was not taking the time to go throw a coin in!)

St. Peter's Basilica on the Tiber River

I remember being worried about keeping up. 
First full day in Rome and we walked almost 19,000 steps.
I'd say I kept up just fine!

I startled myself looking on Find My iPhone to see I was almost 6,000 miles away from home!

I was so homesick every night in our first hotel (three nights). Foreign TV didn't help.  Everything made me feel so far away from home. The concrete, the foreign shows, the distance from my family, not to mention the time difference (I was ten hours ahead of my husband and kids at home). Texting with my mom, dad and sister helped, and so did calling Josh. But I cried pretty much everyday. Guess I'm a bit of a homebody. 

Even on vacation my mom duties never die. Laundry in the sink is no joke. Especiallly Jack's man-sized clothes.  Wringing stuff out is the hardest part for sure. 

Coming home to shower after each hot, sweaty day-excursion was a highlight of every day. I've never been an evening showerer, but on this trip I totally was a night showerer and I fell asleep with wet hair every night. 

The kids loved these chairs. I didn't dare sit in one as they spun all the way around!

We also visited Pompeii which will be a post on its own. That was probably my very favorite tour!

Finally it was farewell to Rome and hello to Greece!!! We were all so relieved when our flight wasn't canceled and we all made it on board!

It was absolutely bizarre in Athens to not be able to read any signs for anything. It was better in Rome because I know a lot of Latin and Spanish words and Rome's language is built on a lot of Spanish and Latin words. But in Greece it was totally different.

The hotel room, though, was amazing!! I loved it so much!

Our first night out we went to a Greek restaurant and it was amazing.
This real Greek salad was incredible!

I also loved the tzatziki (we all did!) which is like a hummus/ranch dip (it's nothing like that, but that's the best description I can come up with) and oh it was delicious!

This is Kristine. She was two of the girls' grandma and was so kind!

This is Mrs. Dagnon (Stephanie) and she was Jack's culinary teacher. She is so much fun and she also has identical mirror twin sons! Behind her is our guide Guiseppe. He was sharp and not overly sweet. It was a struggle to feel comfortable with him. 

We also had gyros (my first time) and it was incredible. They were SO good!!!

More laundry.

And more laundry.

Best thing I bought in Rome? This hand held fan. 
It was SO hot everywhere we went!!!

Our first full day in Athens I was sick. Headache, congestion and a bad cough. I decided  not to go to the Acropolis (it was supposed to be 114 degrees out that day) and Jack, who was also not feeling well, stayed back at the hotel as well. Poor kiddo. 
In the morning I went out and found a local grocery store to get us some food and water. I was hoping for some medicine as well, but no luck. 

That morning I found Paw Patrol on TV and it was in German. Haha! It was so crazy! After Jack slept a while, we set out in search of an open pharmacy (I learned that a green plus means pharmacy!). We found two closed and one open, but it didn't have any cold medicine. I felt so upset. 

When our friends came back from the Acropolis, Cheri (one of the moms) came to check on me and found me crying in my room. I just hated that I didn't have medicine to help Jack or I feel better. 

Thank goodness for Cheri's planning and generosity, she had medicine she brought me PLUS a flonase nasal spray that was so helpful. I was overcome by her kindness. Truly. 

By that evening, I was in better spirits and felt capable of joining the group for the Greek night they had planned for us with traditional Greek food and dancing and even some plate breaking. 

The kids were so fun, getting up to join the dances and participating in everything. The only bummer was the food was mediocre and we didn't get to break any plates!!! 

Makayla was kind enough to share her Acropolis pics with me since I didn't make it there:

I was always happy to get an update from home on how everyone was doing. I was particularly blown away by how quickly Wyatt's injuries were healing! And I was thrilled to hear that after taking Wyatt & Logan to the orthopedic surgeon that Wyatt's elbow was not broken and Logan was released to do all normal activities. Yay!!!

***

Me on vacation overseas without my family. Hah!