We woke up early on the morning of Sunday, February 5 and flew from Paris to Rome.
Rome was not immune to the cold snap across Europe. In fact, it snowed in Rome the day before we got there. It was the first substantial snowfall in nearly THIRTY YEARS. We sure timed it right, didn't we?? They did a pretty good job of clearing the streets and piazzas, but most of the hilly sidewalks were still snowy and frozen over. When you're doing a whole lot of walking and sightseeing, the snow and ice make things a little tricky! The worst news, though, was that the Colosseum and the Forum were closed due to the snow and ice. Here are a couple of news stories/videos about the crazy weather - here and here.
First up was St. Paul's Basilica...
We stopped for lunch at La Taverna dei Forum Imperiali. I can't remember now if that was in the Rick Steves book or if we read about it on Trip Advisor. Either way, the food there was amazing! We may or may not have eaten so much we ruined our appetites for dinner. Even all the walking that followed didn't make us hungry again!
Since the Colosseum and Forum were closed, I only got pictures of the outside. Bummer! That was really our plan for the whole afternoon was to see those two things, so we ended up just doing a ton of walking around. So disappointing!
We went to dinner at Ad Hoc, another Trip Advisor recommendation. It was wonderful. We were wishing the whole time that we were hungrier! You could tell they really took pride in their dishes. The meal took THREE hours. It was so nice to just sit down for that long, but I'm afraid I wasn't a very chatty date. I was pretty worn out from our day of walking Rome! (So much so that I even forgot to take a picture of our restaurant!)
We didn't expect dinner to take quite that long, and it was so cold that we decided not to do the full Rick Steves Rome night walk like we had planned. We walked to the Spanish Steps (which apparently is normally quite the hub, but no one was there in this cold) and to the Trevi Fountain. We threw our coins in and called it quits for this very full sightseeing day.
Rome Day 2 including the Vatican, some yummy pizza, and our stay at the Waldorf coming up next!
And here are the first few Europe posts in case you missed them: Europe by Instagram, Paris Day 1, and Paris Day 2
9 months in, 9 months out! You're getting to be such a big girl, and I don't know if I'm okay with that. Part of me is excited so that you can start playing with Kate, but I'm losing my little baby. We saw your pediatrician today, and she said that we needed to come back when you're one. I nearly lost it right then! My voice faltered as I told her we'd see her then.
Here's what you've been up to over the past month...
* You're pulling up on everything. You quickly crawl to things with height (the couch, LeapFrog table, toy box, play kitchen) and pop right up to them. You think you're a big girl like Kate.
* You just started cruising along the couch, and Gram reported that you stood unassisted the other day for a couple of seconds! You're going to be an early walker like your sister.
* Bottles are still a battle, but we got the blessing from the doctor today to go down to just 3 bottles a day now. Whew! One less wrestling match for the day.
* The burp cloths have not been retired yet; you still spit up.
* You are loving your solid foods! We still give you lots of purees, but we're starting to give you more food pieces too. You are doing great with all foods (no allergies!!), and you don't mind textures. You grabbed a cookie right out of my hand the other day and put it in your mouth.
* Your hair is sure growing! You already have way more hair than Kate did at a year (or even later)! It's so wispy, and there's this one little spot that always sticks straight out. While it's not as dark as it was when you were born, it's definitely not blonde. I'm eager to see what it decides to be!
* You want whatever Kate has. It's driving her crazy, and she has started yelling "NO!" at you when you even start coming towards her. We're working on sharing and taking turns.
* You're not clapping yet, but you love it when we clap your hands, and I can tell you're trying to put your hands together, too. You also love to pat your legs.
* You still suck your thumb or first finger when you're tired. I'm so glad you don't use a paci. (Remind me I said this when your teeth are crooked from the finger sucking.)
* You're babbling a little bit, but not a ton. You definitely don't have any words yet. Really, you like to squeal more than anything. It gets a great reaction from Kate who giggles every time you do it!
* We wake you up at 7 every morning for your first bottle. We don't get Kate out of her crib until 7:30, so that means a whole 30 minutes of time with just you! I love this time, and even when you're pushing away the bottle and climbing up me like a rock wall, it's still sweet cuddle time focused on you alone!
You're so special to us!
Love you,
Mama and Daddy
We started Paris day 2 by walking by the Louvre and the pyramid, but we skipped that museum since we've both been before. Instead, we went to the Orsay Museum. The works there date from the 1800s (I think) where the Louvre's collection stops. Unfortunately, no photography was allowed, so I only got a picture of the outside (bottom left). We saw the art of Monet, Degas, Renoir, Van Gogh, and on and on. For lunch we went to Les Deux Magots (I kept laughing at the name!), but it was a favorite spot of Hemingway's to sit and write.
Next we stumbled upon this chocolate shop, and like a magnet force, I was drawn in. There was gold leaf on our little trio of desserts, and the hot chocolate was so thick I didn't think there was even any milk in it. That's why they give you such a tiny cup, I guess. Powerful stuff!
Next we went to Notre Dame. I loved the pictures I got in here. It was so fun to look for interesting light and try to capture it. The architecture was just amazing.
We ducked into a couple of shops. First we stopped in the L'Arche de Noe ("Noah's Ark") toy store to get some gifts for the girls. We got a little stuffed rabbit and mouse with French writing on their clothes. And I had to take a picture of Sophie the giraffe in her homeland. :) We also visited the Shakespeare and Company book shop (an American owned place).
We stopped in a neighborhood bar for a coffee while we waited for the dinner hour. We loved the atmosphere of the place - the girl behind the bar was so sweet as a little boy kept riding his scooter back behind the counter. Too funny!
Dinner was another restaurant listed in the Rick Steves book. It was very good, but I liked the first night's meal better.
It was another very full, fun day.
Next up... Rome!
Posting pictures from our trip is going to take me a while. I took more than 2000! It takes time to cull, edit, and prepare them for blogging, so I'll just post them in groups as I finish them.
If you just want to see pictures, scroll right on down. If you're interested in my photography thoughts, read on!
It's no surprise that one of the most exciting parts of the trip for me was the photography aspect. I knew I needed a wide-angle lens to be able to capture sprawling landscapes and tall buildings, so I rented a Nikon 14-24mm f/2.8 lens. I also wanted to be able to have something that could get in a little closer for detail shots and for pictures of us, so I also rented the Tamron 28-75mm f/2.8 mid-range zoom. I went with the off-brand because it was cheaper than renting the Nikon (my bill added up fast for a 10 day rental), and I was curious to try the Tamron to see how sharp of a lens it was. (A mid-range zoom would be a nice lens to have for my arsenal, but the Nikon version costs about $1800 while the Tamron is just about $500, so I thought I should give it a test run!) Finally, I rented a Lowepro SlingShot 200 camera backpack. It was perfect. Even with a heavy camera and multiple lenses tucked inside, I barely felt anything on my back throughout most of the trip.
With the wide-angle zoom lens, mid-range zoom lens, my 50, 35, Holga film camera, and iPhone, I was ready for almost anything! Turned out that the wide-angle stayed on my camera for 95% of the trip. It wasn't easy (or safe) to stop and change lenses, and the wide-angle helped me to capture a larger view without having to stand too far back.
You know that most of my photography is portrait work. When it comes to using a wide angle lens and capturing architecture and landscapes, I really don't know much. I definitely learned as I was going! Here are the thoughts I jotted down when we were there:
After I uploaded my pictures and started editing, I quickly saw a few mistakes I made with the wide-angle lens. First off, you have to be directly centered (I mean dead on centered) in front of a building or for architecture shots that you want lined up. It's not something that can be straightened later if you're angled even slightly. Of course, there were other times that I meant to be angled, and that was fine. I was just disappointed on a few where I wanted symmetry and didn't get it straight. The other thing I dealt with was the lens distortion you get at such wide angles. For instance, while I really like shot of the clouds and the sky with the tiny Eiffel Tower in the bottom left, the tower looks like it's leaning! Not much you can do about that I guess.
Okay, enough chit chat... on to the pictures!
First up is Paris!
I arrived in Paris around 10am on February 3. It was COLD. After a little nap to help ease the jet lag, Nick and I set out to the Arc de Triomphe first. Nick almost always stays at the Hotel Ceramic when he's in Paris, and it's just a stone's throw from the Arc. It was quite a hike to the top, and the black and white picture is of Nick climbing the spiral staircase. Obviously, I didn't take time to fix my settings, but I liked it for the spooky feel! Below that you'll see the pictures I took from the top of the Arc.
After the Arc de Triomphe, we took the metro over to the Eiffel Tower. The sky was dull and gray by this point.
We walked around for a bit, and as the sun went down it got unbearably cold! We ducked inside a corner bar to bide our time until the restaurant opened. Dinner was a Rick Steves recommendation, and it was divine! We walked back by the Eiffel Tower all lit up (we had just missed the sparkles) and called it a night!
Nick had the day off yesterday, so we took advantage of the nice weather and walked to the park. And my camera goes where I go...
Inside the tunnel...
Caroline kept eating the grass and leaves. Doesn't taste so good, huh?
