Europe Film

Here's the last of our Europe vacay! 

As I was busy snapping away photos, Lauren could be found

somewhere far away, stalking us with the video camera. 

I'm grateful for her talent, this will be something we'll watch foreverrr.

Enjoy :)

Roma: Colosseum and The Forum

Fast forward ten days and we're at the Colosseum. Once again SO tired and SO hot.

Our original plan was to visit the Colosseum the same day we did the Vatican. hah! Impossible. There is sooo much to see at the Colosseum/ Forum. It's an all day thing, and even when it's one hundred degrees outside, it's something you have to do while in Rome! Just wear a light skirt, and not tight shorts and garments like me. It's enough to turn a pregnant lady into a hot hot crying mess. Also, do not go to Rome in July/August. Ugh.

We had no problem getting tickets, it wasn't that busy. A few of us had downloaded Rick Steve's free podcast before the trip so we all shared headphones and tried to educate ourselves. After a lot of walking and sweating, we made our way down to the Spanish steps for dinner and the Trevi at night for our last gelato.

 ^ doesn't it look hot? I can feel the heat radiating from this photo ^

^ Rick Steves buddies ^

 ^ look how small and cute my bump was! This was before Mckell sat in disgusting pigeon poop ^

 ^  Site of the very first Hunger Games ^

 ^ exhausted at The Forum ^

^ the fam was fascinated by these orange men. They were everywhere. ^

^ We didn't find our favorite Roman gelato until the last night. They had mini cones, cookie sticks, AND whipped cream. My dad's dream. I think my favorite combination was Cookies, Milk, and Hazelnut gelato. YUM! ^

Until next time Rome! 

Roma: Trevi, Pantheon, and Spanish Steps

Our first day in Rome...

We arrived in the Roma airport around 9 AM after our miserable red eye flight. Jake and I had to sit in the back of the plane, and after boarding it took about an hour to get the plane moving. Oh and there was NO A/C. Cue the anxiety attack. There were some tears and aggressive paper fanning. Eventually we got going and after watching fifteen movies and attempting several different sleep positions... we gave up on having a "relaxing" flight. So we met up with the family, and to say we were all tired and snappy would be an understatement. Luckily we got on the right train to our hotel and after an hour of dragging our luggage up many stairs, we reached our place of refuge and started our journey through Europe on the only rainy day we would have.

As designated Rome tour guide, I thought we should keep our first day easy going and check out the Trevi, Pantheon, and Spanish Steps. These are of course must sees in Rome but what I love is that you can see them whenever, they're within walking distance of each other, and they're freeeee. So we did our walk slowly and sluggishly and crashed around 9 pm.

^  Our first time at Valle Aurelia, we became public transport Pros. ^

 ^ before our day even began! ^

 ^ where are you Paulo? ^

 ^ wish making. Also check out father's veiny arms... ^

 ^ Brielle's first Italian gelato ^

 ^ Dad educating the group with some Rick Steve's knowledge ^

Crete

Crete was our last excursion on the cruise, 

it's the largest Greek island located in the middle of the Mediterranean. 

We got off the boat early in the morning and ate crepes while all the shops opened up. 

We found some great jewelry and little moccasins for our babe. 

After shopping we walked down to the beach and enjoyed some long 

awaited time in the ocean. It felt fantastic! 

Crete definitely restored our faith in the Greeks. 

Ephesus, Turkey

Turkey was a pleasant surprise.

After the exhausting day we had in Athens, 

I was hesitant to hop on board to another long hot tour.

Luckily, we had a private tour of this special place that included

A/C and a funny little tour guide named Ali who sounded just like Franc from 

Father of the Bride. So even though we couldn't understand much of what he said, 

it was a enjoyable day!

My favorite part was Mary's house, where we went first. 

It was her last home and some believed she died there. 

Now they've turned it into a small chapel. 

It was a very sweet, spiritual place. 

After touring the home, we were able to see ancient Ephesus

including the Library of Celsus and the theatre where Paul preached. 

Despite the heat we really enjoyed it!

There were also some random stops at a Turkish snack shop

and a leather fashion show, where Sam and Lauren

got to be super sexy runway models for the day. 

Thanks Turkey for being so interesting! 

We hope to go back and see what else you have to offer.