A Weekend of Wine <3

So it was Mom’s 47th Birthday! And what better way to celebrate than a weekend getaway to a French Winery! So on Sunday morning we headed down to Colmar, France for an afternoon in la Petite Venise… We grabbed some delicious flam-kuchen for lunch… Took a gorgeous boat ride down the river (although it was no comparison to punting in Oxford, of course)… And Drayton and Carolyn managed to give Mom a small heart-attack when they ran 45 minutes late to meet us, because they were too busy eating pizza… Typical. Haha :)

Later that evening we headed onward to a little village on the Rue de Vin (Wine Road) to spend the night at a local winery… This was      our (Drayton, Carolyn, Mom and my) second time in Alsace, France but it was definitely an exciting first for Aunt Laura, Uncle Donald, and the cousins! :) The grapes were in full bloom and what had started out as a slightly rainy afternoon, ended with a beautiful sunset! We got a great wine-tasting from a rather cute French man… Julia, Katherine, and I enjoyed wandering about the vineyards and “snail-hunting” (an activity reminiscent of years past when Gams would pay us by the bucket-full of snails on the farm! Haha)!

Later we had an AMAZING French meal at this little restaurant down the street… The menu definitely challenged our pathetic knowledge of French, but to be honest I knew all the French I need to: le vin and escargot! YUM! Escargot is a testament to the power of butter. Because anything soaked in enough butter and broiled is absolutely  to die for! And of course, to finish it off, Mom got her birthday creme brulee for desert!

With Love from Alsace, France… <3 Mary Elizabeth

Bon Jovi in Germany! :D

Super excited!!! :D … For lots of brautwurst and beer!

…And awkward, hilarious moments…

…And great friends…

…And inspirational messages…

 

‎"We weren't born to follow, Come on and get up off your knees. When life is a bitter pill to swallow, You gotta hold on to what you believe; Believe that the sun will shine tomorrow, And that your saints and sinners bleed. We weren't born to follow, You gotta stand up for what you believe."

And the man himself, Bon Jovi!!! :D

With Love from Germany… <3 Mary Elizabeth

Rome, Italy Day 3: Exploring the City Centre

Our last full day in Rome was completely devoted to exploring all the delights of the city center, eating too much, and shopping our was across the city! All the things a good tourist should do! But before we got a jump on the latter two items, we still had a few touristy highlights to hit…

Once again, we made an early start… And thank goodness the weather had decide to cool down just the tiniest bit! We got off the subway, and made our way through picturesque back streets to the Pantheon and Trevi Fountain! Both were incredible master pieces… I have to admit that I didn’t really know anything about the Pantheon beforehand, but when we got inside it was such an amazing contrast, given that we’d just spent the entire previous day exploring the epicenter of Christianity… The Pantheon was originally designed as a pagan temple to “all of the Gods” (the Greek translation) of Rome, and later taken over as a Christian Church. But it’s pagan influence, including the shape and architecture, was clear in comparison to the most Christian churches. 

The Pantheon! The largest free standing dome in existence, and quite impressive if I may say so myself! :)

My first impression of the Trevi Fountain was that it was SO much bigger than I had expected! It literally comprised an entire side of a building! I guess it’s magnitude had never stood out in pictures, but it really was an incredible work of art inconspiciously nestled in between these little back-alley streets… Who would’ve known?!

 

Trevi Fountain! We hit it early and managed to miss most of the masses!

The kids found a quiet shady place to rest by the Fountain… Quite a feat considering it was tourist-central!

      Tossing a coin to guarantee my return to the Eternal City! :)

The streets around the city centre were almost my favorite site of the day… They were just out of a picture-book… Relatively quiet, shady, and full of lots of little places to fulfill Carolyn’s souvenir shopping and my mom’s post-card addiction! :)

 

Shopping, Shopping, Shopping, Picture, and more Shopping… :)

 Outside the Pantheon… Ready to head back into the heat…

 The Piazza Navona… Yet another site from Angels and Demons!

We headed home for a nap in the afternoon, and returned to the city centre later that evening to see the Spanish Steps and Piazza del Popolo… We stopped for a wonderful pasta dinner while in the city… And even stopped back by St Peter’s Square with mom, again later that night… It was a perfect relaxing evening to end what had been a busy, but wonderful family vacation!

The Spanish Steps… Which were packed in the evening!

In the Piazza del Popolo… Where we stopped for a delicious dinner on our last night in Rome!

The next morning we waved goodbye to the Eternal City… But given that we were only there for 5 days, we all felt like we’d accomplished everything we had wanted to… It was a gorgeous city, full of amazing history, architecture, engineering, and great food… Exactly what Drayton, Carolyn, and I wanted when we listed Rome as the one place in Europe we all had to go as a family during our time living in Germany… And thus another chapter in the Bird Family Adventure is complete! :)

With Love from Roma… <3 Mary Elizabeth

Rome, Italy Day 2: Vatican City

Day 2 of the “Birds in Rome” was another sweltering hot day… But thank goodness our B&B was only 4-5 blocks away from Vatican City! Once again, the simple act of purchasing tickets for the Vatican Museums ahead of time paid off ten-fold! As we were walking to the Museums, we went past a line that must have gone on for a half-mile! We all felt so bad just skipping in front of the hundreds of people that were standing in the blazing sun, just frying while they waited to get in… It seems criminal not to have bought a simple ticket ahead of time!

Yet again, we were smart and were at the front door as soon as it opened… But even then the museums themselves were packed! It was hot inside and hot out, but definitely worth the chance to get to see the inside of the “Holy See!” We (or at least I) found it interesting to learn that Vatican City:

Is the smallest sovereign city-state, with only 0.2 square miles of land. It has a population of about 800, and no permanent residents! Official languages of the state include Latin, French, Italian, and English. It has it’s own railway station, radio channel, printing industry, post office, and issues it’s own passports. It is guarded by the Swiss Guard.

The Bird Family at the Vatican!

The Dome of the Bascilica from inside the Vatican… :)

 

I assure you they were not this pensive for our entire tour of the Vatican Museums… Haha

The Sistine Chapel!! Almost overwhelming in it’s detail!

Inside the Vatican Museums

The Vatican museums themselves were absolutely massive! In fact, there are apparently more than 9 miles worth of galleries!!! If you spend only 1 minute per painting, it would take you nearly FOUR years to complete the entire circuit!! There were halls after halls of painted art, statues, ancient maps, tapestries, and gold tributes to past Popes… So needless, to say we didn’t get to see everything, but we gave it a good effort! And if I left the Vatican with any impression, it was of the influence and incredible wealth of the Catholic Church throughout the ages… It was almost unnerving to see that any church held so much wealth and influence!

Doesn’t she look all prim and proper… Haha

After our tour of the Vatican Museums, we headed over to St Peter’s Square and St Peter’s Basilica! :) The square wasn’t too terribly busy, and although we did have to stand in line to enter the Basilica, it wasn’t too long a wait… Carolyn, Drayton, and I found it almost as interesting to point out the sites where Dan Brown’s “Angels and Demons” was filmed, as to learn about the actual history… Haha :) Either way, it was pretty surreal to actually be standing there!

 

St Peter’s Square!

Inside St. Peter’s Basilica

We all had to agree that St Peter’s Basilica was almost more impressive than the Sistine Chapel… While the Chapel was absolutely breathtaking in it’s detail, it was almost overwhelming… The Basilica was incredibly impressive (no surprise, as it has the largest interior of any Christian Church in the world!), and also full of gorgeous works of art, including Cambio’s bronze statue of St Peter that has been a site of pilgrimage for centuries (and which Dad and I have both now touched the foot of in prayer) or (my personal favorite) Michaelangelo’s Pieta, which depicts Jesus and Mary after his crucifixion. It was a gorgeous place to visit!

 

And whilst Mom, Dad, and I were taking in the history of the Basilica, you better believe Drayton and Carolyn were finding entertainment elsewhere… :)

YAY! Funny looking Swiss Guards!

Later that afternoon, we wandered home for our daily “heat of the afternoon naps” and gelato! And that evening Mom, Carolyn, Drayton and I ventured out to find pasta for dinner! We decided to head over to this little family-owned place just around the corner from our B&B… The restaurant owner was this little Italian old man, so we thought “Hey, this is bound to be authentic and yummy”… Right? Wrong. Poor Drayton ended up literally getting served partially cold noodles with shredded cheese on them! Ha! It was completely sad, and also hilarious. Needless to say, we did manage to get our fill of delicious pasta in the following days during our stay… :)

We ate gelato, and then more gelato, and the more gelato… But really… How else were we supposed to stay cool?! :)

And of course, LOTS of Pasta and wine! Italy suits me!

After dinner, Carolyn, Drayton and I decided to walk back over to St Peter’s Square to see it lit up at night… It was so beautiful and cool, and the Square was nearly empty of tourists… So we just hung out for several hours chatting it up, watching Carolyn make a fool of herself taking funny pictures, and secretly mocking the occasional hilariously dressed tourist… It was a perfect evening in Roma. <3

 

   

St Peter’s Basilica and St Peter’s Square by night! It was lovely that our B&B was just around the corner!

With Love from Roma! <3 Mary ELizabeth