We were up at 4am to catch the ferry to the airport this morning and with just a quick stop in Oslo, and only a 2 1/2 hour flight to Rome, we were here before noon and walking all over the place with dropped jaws. By 8pm tonight, however, Kaleb was already done with the place and ready to see the Italian countryside. Too funny, especially since none of the places we have seen so far are even in the travel books as recommended sights, and we were blown away by them all. Beautiful churches on every corner with at least a dozen picture perfect scenes inside every one. Kory was so inspired by their beauty he just wanted to shout HALLELUJAH, but that wasn't allowed - which had him chuckling that no one can really praise God properly in Rome because "silence is golden" (and flash photography prohibited.) Too funny for both of us since I love to take pictures. But the Roman architecture displayed in every building impressed even Kaleb.
We had to take care of business when we first arrived - exchanging dollars for euros - which ended up being a couple hour pursuit with minor results. No banks here want American dollars! The most I could change ws $300 at a time and it took about 20 minutes for each transaction. And the banks here are more secure than Fort Knox. Every one has a guard station at the front door and the bank entrances are highly secured. I had to push a button to get the door to open, then I stepped inside a rounded booth with the door I entered from the sidewalk on one side, and another door that went into the bank on the other. Both doors could not be opened at the same time, so for a moment, I felt like I was encapsulated in something that resembled the whole "beam me up Scotty" pads from Star Trek. Kaleb thought they were a hoot, I thought they were a bother. But obviously it's a security measure so no one could rob the bank and just walk out the door since they'd be trapped in the tube already imprisoned before they could enjoy the cash. Some banks wouldn't even open the doors when I pressed the button, assuming they didn't like the looks of me. If I understood Italian I would have known why they wouldn't open the doors, but I could see the tellers on the other side of the window just looking at me like I was an idiot and some loud speaker went on and on in Italian, saying something or another. I was in a bit of shock over the difficulty of the money exchange here so I'm hoping it doesn't pose a problem as I can tell from today's adventures that we'll be going through a lot of cash. Rome ain't cheap.
Kaleb could probably leave tomorrow as all he wanted was real pizza in Italy (which he had for lunch - see photo) gelato (which he had for an afternoon snack), and real Italian lasagne (which he had for dinner.) That boy has simple pleasures and they are all met so now he's "been there, done that" and doesn't even want a t-shirt. He's a good traveler though and I'm sure he'll enjoy tomrorow just the same. Today he insisted we go see the "Time Capsule" - some special effects movie they made to show the history of Rome which said more than once "the past is still present." It was a selective overview of Roman history, but then we had to listen to Kaleb for an hour afterwards correcting all the things they got wrong. According to the movie, Romulus and Remus, the mythical founders of Rome, were left in a basket in the woods for the wolves to eat, but instead the wolves adopted them and rasied them up. Kaleb said they ere set afloat in a basket down the river like Moses and washed up on shore and then taken in by the wolves. He also said the movie showed Julius Ceasar getting murdered during a counsel meeting, when in fact, according to Kaleb and his sources, Ceasar was killed in front of a theatre. That kid is just too funny. He's read a lot about Roman history and he remembers every bit of it. I can't tell if he's all wet or what, as I haven't read a thing on the history of Rome, but it's fun to listen to him spouting off, just the same.
I am so spoiled in Norway because everyone speaks English as a backup language, but not so here! So far, only the hotel personnel have been able to tell us anything. Everywhere else we've gone, we just get Italian, shaking heads, shrugged shoulders or lots of finger pointing, but no real conversations. Ordering food in a restaurant has been interesting as we never know what we will get. The whole language thing might be a challenge, but then, it's as it should be. I'm glad for Kaleb to experience that and for us to try to figure things out on our own.
We had a beautiful day today, but it got chilly when the sun went down. Kaleb and Kory were both asleep by 8:15 as it was a long day. Our hotel is rigth in the heart of town, walking distance to everything so it's very handy and it was a good choice (thanks Rick Steves), but the one drag is their wireless network is outdated and it won't work with the latest operating system (which I have and therefore, can't get internet access at the hotel!) It's fun to be here as a family and to experience the history, art, food and culture like this. Kory's cousin Linda said before we left that we are giving Kaleb so many experiences in his childhood, when he grows up, all that will be left for him is the moon. Perhaps, but there's a big world out there now just waiting for us tomorrow, and it's called ROME.
We had to take care of business when we first arrived - exchanging dollars for euros - which ended up being a couple hour pursuit with minor results. No banks here want American dollars! The most I could change ws $300 at a time and it took about 20 minutes for each transaction. And the banks here are more secure than Fort Knox. Every one has a guard station at the front door and the bank entrances are highly secured. I had to push a button to get the door to open, then I stepped inside a rounded booth with the door I entered from the sidewalk on one side, and another door that went into the bank on the other. Both doors could not be opened at the same time, so for a moment, I felt like I was encapsulated in something that resembled the whole "beam me up Scotty" pads from Star Trek. Kaleb thought they were a hoot, I thought they were a bother. But obviously it's a security measure so no one could rob the bank and just walk out the door since they'd be trapped in the tube already imprisoned before they could enjoy the cash. Some banks wouldn't even open the doors when I pressed the button, assuming they didn't like the looks of me. If I understood Italian I would have known why they wouldn't open the doors, but I could see the tellers on the other side of the window just looking at me like I was an idiot and some loud speaker went on and on in Italian, saying something or another. I was in a bit of shock over the difficulty of the money exchange here so I'm hoping it doesn't pose a problem as I can tell from today's adventures that we'll be going through a lot of cash. Rome ain't cheap.
Kaleb could probably leave tomorrow as all he wanted was real pizza in Italy (which he had for lunch - see photo) gelato (which he had for an afternoon snack), and real Italian lasagne (which he had for dinner.) That boy has simple pleasures and they are all met so now he's "been there, done that" and doesn't even want a t-shirt. He's a good traveler though and I'm sure he'll enjoy tomrorow just the same. Today he insisted we go see the "Time Capsule" - some special effects movie they made to show the history of Rome which said more than once "the past is still present." It was a selective overview of Roman history, but then we had to listen to Kaleb for an hour afterwards correcting all the things they got wrong. According to the movie, Romulus and Remus, the mythical founders of Rome, were left in a basket in the woods for the wolves to eat, but instead the wolves adopted them and rasied them up. Kaleb said they ere set afloat in a basket down the river like Moses and washed up on shore and then taken in by the wolves. He also said the movie showed Julius Ceasar getting murdered during a counsel meeting, when in fact, according to Kaleb and his sources, Ceasar was killed in front of a theatre. That kid is just too funny. He's read a lot about Roman history and he remembers every bit of it. I can't tell if he's all wet or what, as I haven't read a thing on the history of Rome, but it's fun to listen to him spouting off, just the same.
I am so spoiled in Norway because everyone speaks English as a backup language, but not so here! So far, only the hotel personnel have been able to tell us anything. Everywhere else we've gone, we just get Italian, shaking heads, shrugged shoulders or lots of finger pointing, but no real conversations. Ordering food in a restaurant has been interesting as we never know what we will get. The whole language thing might be a challenge, but then, it's as it should be. I'm glad for Kaleb to experience that and for us to try to figure things out on our own.
We had a beautiful day today, but it got chilly when the sun went down. Kaleb and Kory were both asleep by 8:15 as it was a long day. Our hotel is rigth in the heart of town, walking distance to everything so it's very handy and it was a good choice (thanks Rick Steves), but the one drag is their wireless network is outdated and it won't work with the latest operating system (which I have and therefore, can't get internet access at the hotel!) It's fun to be here as a family and to experience the history, art, food and culture like this. Kory's cousin Linda said before we left that we are giving Kaleb so many experiences in his childhood, when he grows up, all that will be left for him is the moon. Perhaps, but there's a big world out there now just waiting for us tomorrow, and it's called ROME.
