Roman Holiday

The Bedell and Minnick Families (not Peck and Hepburn) took a four night vacation to Rome this past week. It was easily our longest and most touristy trip since moving to Italy. The week was filled with awe inspiring sites, great food, and a lot of fun. Unfortunately, it was also one of the hottest weeks of the year, and we were not prepared for the Roman climate. We heard that it reached 40 deg C, with high humidity....ugh. Despite the oppressive heat, the trip was wonderful. The children (Thomas, Grace, and Sam) all did great in the weather, which seemed to have more of an affect on the adults.

As a group, we rented an apartment near the Vatican. An apartment was easily the most comfortable and economical way to stay in Rome, and a much better choice than a hotel room. From there, we could walk to many sites, and easily reach a Metro stop.

We spent a lot of time visiting ancient ruins. One of the most impressive (of course) was the Colosseum. The size of the structure is overwhelming, although it takes a little imagination to 'see' its past glory. For ancient sites, we also visited the Roman Forum, Palatine Hill, the Teatro di Marcello. It's amazing to think that these sites have stood for two thousand years in the center of a vibrant and chaotic metropolis, and - despite varying states of ruin - are still impressive.

We also visited the Spanish Steps, Trevi Fountain, Piazza Navona (and countless other piazzas), and the Pantheon. Rome is so vast and interesting that it's tough to list all of the sites and experiences. One place of particular interest, though, was the Capuchin Crypt under Santa Maria della Concezione. Since seeing a photo of bones in the guidebook, this was one destination that Thomas could not wait to see (he's a five year old boy, after all). All at once, the crypt is eerily creepy, somewhat repulsive, and utterly fascinating.

Between our sightseeing excursions into various parts of the city, we regularly ducked into cafes and trattorias for some great roman food. Couldn't get enough of the Saltimbocca and the Spaghetti alla Carbonara. We also sampled some great wines. We hunted for some good restaurants, and tried to avoid the tourist-traps, but the food was generally much better than we expected.

On our last full day, we visited the Vatican Museums and St. Peter's Basilica. Both were utterly jaw-dropping. The museums are enormous and literally stuffed with art and historic artifacts. Despite being overcrowded, the Sistine Chapel was amazing as well. Easily the largest church that we've seen, we St. Peter's late in the day, when the sun was gently streaming into windows. It was less crowded at that time of the day.

There were only a few mishaps during the trip, including an attempted pick-pocketing episode in which the Minnicks nearly lost their camera. The train ride to an from Rome was comfortable, although plagued by delays (as could be expected). So, all in all, it was a nice trip.

Steve, Jess, and Grace Minnick are now returning to America, and we'll really enjoyed their visit. We enjoyed the opprotunity to seriously play at tourists during their stay. Now, though, we're ready to get back to our daily routine. Thomas is out of school for the summer, and we're looking forward to having a couple of (relatively) quiet weeks.

American Friends in Verona

Steve and Jess Minnick are two very close friends that we've known for many years. They're also the first visitors that we've had from the 'States (other ex-pats excluded). They flew in on Friday with their daughter, Grace. Since Grace is just a few months younger than Thomas, they're great playmates.

We had a great time visiting at our house, then drove to Verona on Saturday. Although we've visited this city a few times previously, it's still a very nice place to spend a full day. Also, it's on the drive to Venice, where the Minnicks will spend some of the upcoming week before staying with us at our home for a few days.


We had a great time in Verona, and visited a few sites that we hadn't seen previously. Particularly notable was the site of the Roman Theater. The ruins are fantastic, and you really get a mental image of how large the theater must have been during ancient times. Of course, we also walked throughout the city, visiting churches and having some amazingly good meals.


One of the interesting things about having visitors from the USA was to hear them talk about the culture shock. Specifically, Steve and Jess noted the overwhelming feeling of language isolation and the driving-style (which could be a blog-post in itself). Both of these are everyday things that we don't consider anymore, but were significant challenges when we first arrived in Italy.

Next weekend we're all off to Rome for a five day trip!

Toothless Thomas

All Thomas wants for summer is his two front teeth!
(He's having trouble saying 'S's and eating pizzia!)

Basketball and Baby Food

We finally had a beautiful weekend in northern Italy (no rain!). We didn't take a trip this week, since John had A LOT of yard work to do. Plus, we're preparing for our first visitors from the 'States. We have some good friends coming next week, and we've planned a few weeks of travel (including a five day trip to Rome).

But, we did have an interesting week. Thomas is really enjoying his extracurricular basketball. He's not an All-Star (by any means), but he sure has a lot of fun.

Also, here's something that we thought some of you would find interesting. Sammy is now eating mostly baby food and cereal. He loves the fruits and vegetables, but we've also discovered that there are some notable cultural differences in other baby food flavors. We took a photo of some of the interesting flavors that we bought. We had never seen fish flavored baby food (trout, haddock, sea bass). They also have ostrich, veal, and rabbit. Not shown in the picture, you can also get prosciutto crudo and horse. Of course, several years ago in the USA, when we were buying baby food for Thomas, one of his favorites was Yankee Pot Roast. We doubt that we'll find that flavor in Italy.

Sammy: "You're going to feed me what?!?"

Adventures in Florence

After our short (and wet) trip to Pisa, we drove to Florence, where we had dinner on Friday night. On the advice of the hotel staff, we went to a fantastic restaurant. We enjoyed a great Tuscan meal, and truly gorged ourselves (John had a 2 inch thick Bistecca alla Fiorentina). Before dinner, we walked along the Ponte Vecchio at sunset and marveled in the history and ambiance.

On Saturday, we spent all morning in the Uffizi museum. The amount of Renaissance masterpieces that are stored in this museum is truly staggering. It was almost like looking through an art history textbook. Thomas got a bit of an education, given all of the nudity and gore depicted in much of the art. The collection is indescribably vast.

We really enjoyed the Piazza della Signoria, although the crowds were a little thick. The sun had finally broken through, and the rains of the past few weeks were now completely gone. The sculptures and statues in the famous square, combined with the returning sun, really set the mood.

We eventually journeyed up to the Duomo, where we gawked at the famous and enormous dome. The inside of the cathedral was a bit of a let-down, being fairly sparse and underwhelming. The outside, the dome, and the overall ambiance, however, were fantastic. John and Thomas hiked up to the top of the Campanile (the wait for the dome was several hours). The views from the top of this bell tower were fantastic, and we met a lot of friendly and adventurous tourists on the climb.

Naturally, when we got tired, we lingered at Florentine cafes and soaked up the views (unfortunately most of the views are of tired, sweaty tourists). The food is excellent, probably the best food that we've had on one of our tourists trips except for Parma.

We visited a number of differnet churches, the Palazzo Pitti, the Boboli Gardens, countless famous piazzas, and other areas. The Academia museum, where we saw Michelangelo's David, was also amazing. The statue literally takes your breath away.

All in all, we spent about two and one-quarter days in Florence. We really enjoyed the city, and hope to get back for more, along with a side-trip to the Tuscan countryside. Plus...we're now hopefull that the rain is finally finished for a while!

Downpours in Pisa

On Thursday of last week we started one of several trips that we'll be taking this month. After work and school, the whole Bedell family drove south to Genova, and along the coast, down to Pisa. We took a hotel for the night and tried to stay dry.
The weather on the drive, as well as much of Friday, was heavy rain. Accompanied by a occasionally driving wind, it didn't make the travel pleasant. Still, we were happy to be back on the road.

On Friday we visited the famous Campo dei Miracoli, home to the iconic Leaning Tower. Eventually, the sun did break through, and we were awed by the intricacy of the architecture. We visited the Baptistery, the Duomo, and the Camposanto. Also, Ann climbed to the top of the Leaning Tower. The place was overwhelmed with tourists. There were more Americans than we've ever seen in Italy, including our trip last year to Venice. Still, it was nice to be in a crowd of visitors, and to simply enjoy being in such a famous place. We're glad that this was the start of our short trip to this area.
Later that day, drove east, heading to Florence.