Rachel's New Accessory

Rachel and I had a new experience in Germany today, although doing something we had a fair amount of practice at in the US. We visited the ER at our local Klinikum. Thankfully everyone speaks more English than I speak German

Last night Rachel twisted her ankle at basketball practice. She had a strong limp but we decided to try ice and ibuprofen overnight. Things weren't better this morning so off to the hospital we went. I've had a bit of experience with minor versus more serious injuries especially with Rachel and AJ (meaning I don't run to the doctor with every injury), and this didn't feel like just an ankle twist or muscle pull. Rachel by the way insisted she would be fine because there is a tournament at school this weekend that she didn't want to miss.

The doctor initially thought it was just a sprain and our fingers were crossed, but after an X-ray she was concerned that there was a small fracture. Our next step was an MRI.  They were ready for us right away which was great. However when Rachel came out she said, "Mom, I'm not sure they did the right foot". She explained to me that both feet were on the table but the left not the right was in a compartment. So I asked. The girl at the desk went to get the manager who spoke awesome English and he checked and someone had written left instead of right. Darn!  So back to the waiting room to wait for another MRI. This was a good lesson for Rachel too, when in doubt, ask.

After a second MRI of the correct and also right foot we headed back to the doctor. Yep, small fracture in the growth plate. This means crutches and the cast for 10 days and then walking in the cast for another 2.5 weeks. We also had a piece of interesting news, since they also took an MRI of the left foot they read it, and 2-4 weeks ago she had a small fracture in that ankle that she never complained about, in fact, Rachel can't remember doing anything to it. So we know she's tough.

**Update** When I wrote this yesterday I forgot to mention one thing. During all of this Rachel walked everywhere! She walked from the clinic across the hospital to x-ray, then back. Then she walked from the clinic to the MRI area and back. Then when the doctor was going to show us the MRI's, Rachel started to get up to come see too and the doctor said, "No, you can't walk now that we know your ankle is fractured". At this point it was just funny.

Lastly we learned that in Germany when you get hurt at school, school "foots" the bill!

Feast of the Epiphany

The Feast of the Epiphany celebrates the visit of the Magi or three wise men to baby Jesus. It is celebrated on the 12th day of Christmas, January 6th. Although in the US it is now celebrated on the Sunday between the 2nd and 8th of January.

Here in Germany, well more specifically Catholic Bavaria, January 6th is a holiday. Traditionally after the church service children dress up as the three kings and travel from house to house singing a Christmas carol and collecting money for poor children.

Afterwards using chalk, they write this on your door: "20+C+M+B+14". This represents the Latin Christus Mansionem Benedicat which means Christ bless this house. The letters are also the first initials of the three wise men: Caspar, Melchior and Balthasar. The numbers represent the year. We missed them last year so I was excited when they arrived at our door!

Verona

We decided to break up the drive home from Rome and stop in Verona overnight. It was lucky that was our plan because the traffic from Rome to Verona was horrible and the 4.5-5 hour trip took an extra 2.5 hours. This is the second time we have encountered super delays driving through Italy. It probably won't be the last, we do love Italy.

We stayed at the "Romeo and Juliet" hotel near the center of town and it was lovely. Since we arrived so late and the kids had junk food snacked their way through the drive we all just called it a night.

AJ's hoping for good luck!

We spent the next morning exploring a bit of Verona. There was a sweet little market in the town where we all found fun trinkets. While Romeo and Juliet may be fictional, the town is lovely. We saw "Juliet's balcony" and the Coliseum. I would like to go back and attend a concert here, it is still a functioning performance arena in the summer. It may be an uphill battle to get Steve to join me...

Juliet's balcony

New Year's Day and Mass with Pope Francis

Pope Francis

We were lucky enough to score four tickets to mass with Pope Francis during our visit to Rome. While we had hoped to get six, ticket demand was overwhelming and we were lucky to get any. While we did indeed have tickets to guarantee getting a seat, in hopes of getting a good one we had to be at St Peter's Square at 6am! Steve was generous and let me be the adult and AJ, Stefanie and Dominic decided to join me. Rachel opted out because she could not wrap her head around being out of the hotel at 530am! And for anyone who has ever spent a morning at our house, you understand why this would be hard for our night owl.

6am! Stefanie, Missy, AJ & Dominic

Once we got to the square we found our group, Steve's cousins Terry and Dianne and Terry's daughter Charlotte as well as their friends who were also visiting Rome. We got in a line outside of St Peter's Square. The Square is actually closed overnight and no one was quite clear about where the security line would be opening. Lucky for us our group had good information and about 730am the line opened right behind where we were standing. So then we rushed with the crowd to the front of the security queue where we waited, again, for about another hour. We were packed in tightly in the queue that is probably 10 people wide. The bonus was we weren't cold anymore. When that line opened an hour later it got interesting. People ran and made their around you trying to get to the security scanners. Dominic tried to block the line for our group of seven and two little old ladies pushed and shoved their way around him, slid in front of us, threw their bags on the belt and ran through the scanner. I am not kidding. We all cleared security easily and then headed for the church and at this point, we were jogging too. Our next good tip was not to rush to the front, but to find seats on the center aisle. So we picked three rows and the boys sat in one, Stef and I in the next one and Steve's cousins behind us. This insured we would all really be able to see Pope Francis.

Waiting for Mass
Stefanie, AJ, Dominic & Missy

Charlotte, Terry, AJ, Stefanie, Missy, Dominic & Dianne

Mass started promptly at 10am with a long procession of altar servers, visiting priests bishops and cardinals. Then came Pope Francis. They do not take security lightly when it comes to him. In addition to the Michelangelo costumed Swiss guard there were at least 8 other suited up, earpieces in ear, gun carrying guards surrounding the pope. They are not fooling around when it comes to his safety.

Mass was beautiful, sitting in the Basilica listening to the choir and the flow of the Mass was an incredible and unforgettable experience. Mass was of course said in Latin and the homily was in Italian but I'm so happy that we got to be a part of it. I really admire this pope and I think he has real potential to make a difference in our world.

After mass we exited onto St Peter's Square for the Pope's blessing. Rachel and Steve were out there too. They had arrived at 830am to an empty square and were right at the front near a jumbotron where they watched the entire mass.

Rachel

By the time mass was over the square was completely packed but we successfully found them after the blessing.

St Peter's Square after mass

Papal Blessing

Next we were headed for a family lunch with a quick stop back at hotels first. We took Charlotte back to our hotel with us as she and Rachel and Stefanie had become fast friends. Charlotte and Rachel especially seemed to be two peas in a pod.

Metro - Rachel, AJ, Stefanie & Charlotte

But this is where it got tricky. We walked from our hotel to the restaurant and as we passed through the Trevi Fountain Square we lost Rachel and Charlotte but we didn't realize it until two turns later. Can you say stress? First Steve went back and couldn't find them, then Steve and the boys went back a little further and still couldn't find them. We all returned to the Trevi Fountain and I stayed at the fountain while everyone else took a street. Sure enough a few minutes later AJ came through the crowd with the two of them in tow. Not a fun 30 minutes.

The Lost Girls
Rachel & Charlotte

Afterwards, lunch was lovely and fun and relaxing. What a bonus that here in Europe we were able to spend our holiday with family!

Roma!

Coliseum
Steve, AJ, Stefanie, Dominic, Rachel & Missy

Our trip to Rome after Christmas was terrific We visited with family, toured the city, went to museums, celebrated New Year's Eve and went to Mass with the Pope.

When we arrived from Pisa it was late afternoon on a Saturday. We were staying near the Spanish Steps so we decided to explore that part of the city. Following our Rick Steve's guide book we decided to start at Piazzo del Popolo and walk down the Via Del Corso. This is the Rodeo Drive of Rome and on a Saturday night after Christmas it was crazy busy! We worked our way along the street occasionally stopping to check out a street performer or go inside a fabulous church. Seriously, every church is fabulous. We ended up at Palatine Hill and now we were hungry so we worked our way back towards the Trevi fountain and found a cute little restaurant for dinner. The wine lining the walls sold me!

Via del Corso

Our next day started slow and relaxing with a leisurely breakfast and a late start, remember I'm trying to embrace traveling with teens and their expectations. What are their expectations? More relaxing, less site seeing! I convinced Rachel to look through one of our guidebooks and she found the Time Elevator, a 5d movie ride about the history of Rome, so that is where we started our day. The movie was fun and informative, and much more fun for the kids than listening to me read out of a book!

Rachel, Stefanie, AJ & Dominic

We headed to the Pantheon next and since mass was still in progress we did what anyone in Italy would do, found some gelatto.

Dominic, AJ (on tip toes), Stefanie & Rachel

In fact we found 150 flavors of gelatto. It was incredible. Seriously, Profiterol flavored gelatto? Awesome!

AJ, Rachel, Stefanie, Dominic & Missy

Then it was time to explore the inside of the Pantheon which really is amazing. Steve and I enjoyed the audio tour explaining all the nooks and crannies and statues. It is really incredible what the Romans were able to accomplish so very long ago.

Late that afternoon we spent some time exploring the Borghese Gardens and then Villa Borghese Museum. A tip about this museum, you must reserve your tickets in advance, it's the only way to tour it. We really enjoyed the scupltures! Cardinal Borghese created this museum as a place to showcase his art and entertain important guests. Also, Cardinal Borghese was not religious and was the nephew of the Pope. Hmmmm.

AJ, Rachel, Stefanie, Steve & Dominic

Album Cover Shot in the Borghese Gardens

Our next day was rainy but luckily we had mostly indoor activities planned, we just had to get there.  Our first stop was the Capuchin Crypts, Rachel had also spotted this gem. It has a small museum about the history of the Capuchins and then six rooms where the bones of about 4000 monks have been arranged in elaborate art displays. It is most definitely creepy yet really fascinating to see. The kids really liked it.

Stefanie, Dominic, AJ & Rachel

Next was Vatican City, we hopped on the Metro which was super easy to use and headed over to St Peter's Square. We were meeting Steve's cousins for a tour later but decided to have a quick look and some lunch beforehand. Even in the rain it does not disappoint. It really is amazing and HUGE and beautiful.

AJ, Stefanie, Dominic & Rachel

The paparazzi - or what the kids see all the time when we are traveling!

There was also a lovely creche for the Christmas season.

After lunch we met up with Steve's cousin Terry and her family, his cousin Dianne and their mom, his Aunt Marilyn. We also met some of their friends who were visiting Rome. It was so incredibly fun for us to be able to spend time with them. We had a tour of the Vatican Museum, the Sistine Chapel and St Peter's Basilica. While the Vatican is home to beautiful and amazing art it wasn't the best day to be viewing it. Rome is busy at Christmas time, couple that with a very rainy day and you just sort of move with the crowd through the museum. We enjoyed seeing the Sistine Chapel and taking in the different paintings but it was different than any of us imagined. The kids were less impressed than they expected to be.

St Peter's Basilica on the other hand did not disappoint. It is truly an amazing church and an incredible place to spend time. The entire church is made of types of rock, literally the rock of the church like Peter is the rock on which the church was built. My favorite art work inside is Michelangelo's Pietà, which is Mary with the body of Jesus after he is taken from the cross. There is so much feeling and emotion that generates from this piece. Although I don't have a picture to share. It is behind glass to protect it and there was always a crowd so I have a book.

I had wanted to climb to the top of the Dome after our tour, but it ended too late, which turned out to be for the best. Steve and I returned early the next morning to do the climb. The kids had opted to stay back at the hotel and sleep in, and here is a highlight of traveling with teens, you can leave them at the hotel! Steve and I cruised through security and were thrilled there was no one in line so up the stairs we went. At the first level we stopped and walked around the inside of the Dome and took pictures.

Then we climbed the last 300 steps to the very top and the views were incredible. You look out over Vatican City and then further over all of Rome. On our way down we stopped at the gift shop at the halfway point - there's a gift shop! - and then made our way back to the kids

Steve & Missy at the top of St Peter's Basilica

It was a beautiful day so once we collected the kids we explored the Roman Forum, Capitoline Hill and the Roman Forum from the outside.

A shopping mall

Original floor

Favorite shot - Rachel, AJ, Stefanie & Dominic

Again we watched street performers and painters amaze the crowd with their different forms of entertainment. We found gelatto (how fortunate) near the Circus Maximus so we sat on the wall eating gelatto listening to the bands that would be playing there that night for New Year's Eve do their sound checks.

Then the kids humored me and we went to Santa Maria of Cosmedin church so we could see the Bocca della Verità - the Mouth of Truth.

People waiting in line to see if they are truth tellers!

If you have ever seen Roman Holiday, than you know why I had to go do this. Plus, it's always good to make sure your kids are truth tellers! There may or may not have been some slight hesitation putting their hands into the mouth to see if they were liars or not!

That evening we had an early dinner for New Year's Eve.

AJ, Missy & Steve

Dominic, Stefanie & Rachel

We celebrated the rest of the evening mellowly with a movie - Roman Holiday and games. Then we watched the fireworks at midnight from our balcony, preferring to stay out of the crowds! We lucked out and could see the fireworks over the Pantheon, St Peter's, the Spanish Steps and Piazza del Popolo as well as all the small fireworks shows being put on throughout the city. Just like in Germany, fireworks are easily available and everyone shoots them off with no real safety precautions. It is a little scary!

Part of the reason for our mellow New Year's Eve was that we had big plans with the Pope on New Year's Day. Read all about it here: New Year's Day and Mass with Pope Francis

New Year's Day was truly a fabulous day and we left Rome the next day but not before taking a guided tour with Steve's cousins of the Coliseum, the Roman Forum and Palatine Hill. It is truly amazing what the Romans built and accomplished during the height of their power. Walking through the ruins and into the incredible parts that still remain are amazing. The Coliseum especially is amazing to stand in and imagine what life was like. We also saw this amazing church, I don't know what it was called and can't figure it out from the guidebook but the mosaic is amazing.

After a long goodbye with our fun cousins we had a quick lunch and headed to Verona!

Family!
Stefanie, Dominic, Rachel, Chris, Charlotte, Louie
Steve, Dianne, AJ, Terry, Missy & Aunt Marilyn