The boys were in rough shape for our 3 days in Rome. They seemed to have gotten a combination of the tummy bug Bill ended up with during our last 2 days in Cape Town and touch of something respiratory. Not fun. Fortunately, we didn’t have too terribly much on the agenda. While we like the vibe of a big city, we have learned what we prefer to enjoy them just as we would a small town…at a somewhat leisurely pace. That means not sitting in traffic all day just to check things off the list, eating near or at our accommodation, finding nearby parks, etc. Alas, we decided that a tour of the Roman Forum/Coliseum and a tour of The Vatican City/Sistine Chapel were the only stops on our must-see list. The boys were able to fight through their discomfort and at least make it through some of each tour. However, given the survival nature of this stop, we don’t have many pictures.
One thing we have found to be easier in Italy is finding our food scene. Pretty much anywhere we end up, we’re able to get a meal that our tastebuds and waistlines approve of (even if we don’t always make the choice our waistlines need). That was a little more challenging in Spain and Africa – although, we didn’t exactly realize it until we got here. While the food is easier, not everything is. The Italians have NO problem making you feel like an idiot or an asshole…and in the best situations, both at the same time. Maybe it’s because I speak so much less of the language here. I could at least get by in Spain and certainly in Africa. Fortunately, a cute guy from Boston taught me a long time ago that a culture of directness has no correlation to kindness and helpfulness. It’s just…direct, which I’ve grown to understand over the years.
For now, we are relaxing in Sicily for 2 weeks and restoring ourselves with beach time, movement and home cooked meals. Our objective in planning was to mix in some slow travel amongst quicker stops. True slow travelers would scoff at what we have set aside for our slow stops, but we’ve set that mark at 10 days plus. We have around 12 stops that range in length from 7-30 days. As of now, the pace feels sustainable to us all…for 10 months anyway. Things do speed up a little on the back half of our itinerary, but our longest stays are also mixed in there.
My mom is here with us which has been such a blessing for all of us in different ways. The grandmother name she chose is Nona, Italian for grandmother (spelled Nonna in Italian), so Italy seemed like an obvious choice for her to join us. We will be very sad to send her home. We won’t see her again until the end of February in Thailand which feels like a really long time from now. We’ll soak in all the Nona vibes we can while we have her!
More Sicily pictures to come in the next post. Ciao for now!
This featured blog entry was written by kbk33 from the blog Klein Travel Blog.
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