Friday, July 26, 2013

Family & Rome

     I am writing to you from a hot, stale living room.  It is officially summer, and someone did not notify the Italians because even this morning (as I was buying fruit from the weekly market) I saw hoards of pant-wearing people.  Despite all this, the weekend has arrived and today Stephen and I are having friends over for dinner.  After cleaning the apartment and lugging home huge bags of groceries in this heat, everything is ready for tonight, and I thought I would finally put up pictures from the last two weeks!

     Time certainly has flown by since Stephen and I have had the pleasure of hosting his mother and brother for a week and a half.  It was so nice having family around, and it prompted a visit to Rome.  This would be my second visit to the Eternal City, but everyone else's first time seeing such beautiful sights as the Colosseo and the Vatican.





     My favorite part of Rome is the Roman ruins that sit next to the colosseum.  We took a tour through Palatine Hill, the home of the emperor, and the Roman Forum with all the standing buildings of the ancient city.  



     While most of these sights I had seen before, we got to visit Piazza Navona which is currently a square sitting on top of an ancient stadium.  We also went to the Spanish Steps which are tremendously forgettable, that was until I learned that this is the widest staircase in Europe!  If you were wondering, the world's longest staircase is not very far away, in Switzerland.  Not only that, but it is extremely close to Interlaken--one of the places I have been dying to visit!



     While Rome was a whirlwind, things did not stop when we got home!  We were great hosts while they were here--as you can see, it is always a party in our house!



     It was a great trip and a wonderful week with family!  This weekend's agenda: nothing.