We came, we saw, we took a picture.

This was the theme of the day that we discovered about half way through. Overall...we conquered Rome today. In true Bryce and Mandy fashion, we saw absolutely as many major roman sites as our tired feet would take us to. At the end of the day, as we drank our cans of Peroni by the Tiber River, we felt like we had really seen Rome. Now...does that mean we could tell you every place we saw or what we learned today? Of course not! Does it mean that we could show you a picture of all the sites? YES!!!! You see.....Bryce and I are very much visual people....and that means seeing things, taking them in, and taking pictures! So here it is.....

We had every intention of waking up early and being out and about by early morning. Ha! Bryce thought the front desk was lying when they called at 7:30 with out wakeup call and we ended up sleeping until 9:00. The breakfast at the hotel is fantastic with antipasto, eggs, bacon, champagne, and a wonderful assortment of breads and pastries. Our first stop was the Colosseum. After only a few short metro stops we walked out from the metro station to a full view of the colosseum! Very quickly we got to see a marching band play and a HUGE group of hundreds of tourists (the vatican is closed on Sunday's so it was extra packed). We would of had an hour wait in line if we hadn't been approached by a tour company(who I normally ignore) for a tour than cost 15 euro each. With that...we got right in and got a guided tour of the site along with Palatine hill and the Roman Forum. Best decision all day!

The Colosseum was amazing. It's truly impressive how advanced the Romans were so long ago. To see things that were built shortly after Christ died is just amazing. My favorite quote....from Bryce..as we walked in "ahhhh....just like Wrigley Field"! From there we saw the Arch of Constantine, Palatine Hill, the Roman Forum, Capital Hill, and the "wedding cake" or Victor Emmanuel Monument, all before we had a late lunch at a cafe outside of the Pantheon. The tours were great and we got to see all of the ancient Roman Ruins. Some were very cool and some were .....well....ruins. :)
















From the ancient Roman Center, we moved onto to the Pantheon after lunch. This was set on a very cool square. After a large beer we went inside to get some pictures. The Pantheon is really just a big circle building...but a very cool one! With a circular window at the top it is the only light source for the whole building which serves today as a place of worship for many faiths. The highlight of the visit was seeing Raphael's tomb. As Bryce said...."he was the red turtle" . The building is one of the best preserved in all of Rome...built in 120 ad.....seriously....that's a long time ago!









From the Pantheon we walked our way through Rome up to the river to see some more sites....this is where the picture taking comes in. We saw lots of pretty buildings, columns, and squares. All are beautiful, we just don't know what they are all about! We found that it really is easy to walk through Rome....it's not that big of an area! After a short rest and drink at the bar we found our way to Piazza Navone....an absolutely beautiful square in the city. We enjoyed dinner out on the patio with street performers and merchants in view. It was such a great setting and I wish we could do it every night. After dinner we walked around the city stopping for drinks and gelato along the way. A few things we learned:

1. You can walk to most all of Rome......
2. Rome is a Very clean city and seemed very safe to us.
3. The vino is fantastic
4. utisca means exit and does not indicate the name of a metro stop :)

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Location:Rome, Italy

Day 1!

It's after midnight in Rome on our first day. We have been up for more than 24 hours and I am really not sure how I am functioning. But....the good news is that we had a FANTASTIC 1st day on our trip. The flight was uneventful... I got more sleep than Bryce which is not surprising. The train ride into Rome was longer than expected but ok. We found our hotel very easily..it is just a couple blocks from the metro which is just so convenient!



Our new day started at the Vatican. We got to walk through the vatican museum and see mummies, statues (with fig leaves Bryce says), tapestries, maps, an every thing in between. Next was the Sistine Chapel by Michelangelo, and of course, St Peters Basilica. The sites are absolutely amazing....to see something like these places in person is just unreal..it's hard to describe! They had St Peters square all set up for some event with chairs and a stage...just like you would see on tv. We got lots of pictures..I just hope they can do the scene justice! It was a beautiful day with beautiful sites. The highlight of our afternoon was absolutely our climb to the Top of the dome of St Peters. We took the easy route halfway (elevator) and then another 324 steps up to the top of the dome for some amazing pictures and views. After not sleeping for what felt like days it was exhausting but totally worth it. After enjoying the view and the square a bit longer we headed back to the hotel.



After a much needed 30 min nap we headed down to our hotels bar for a happy hour drink and from there we hit the street looking for the Spanish steps and the Trevino fountain. We found both! This area at night was
Just so much fun....people watching and italian men throwing roses for sale at me were some highlights. These were truly memorable sites...so much culture in one area! I also realized how much shopping is close by our hotel! We found dinner at a restaurant down a side street and ate on a patio....we both had pasta and Bruschetta along with a bottle of white wine that was suggested by our waiter...yum!

After dinner we finally got what I love so much about Italy .....GELATO! We had some gelato while sitting by the Trevino fountain.....love love love it! After throwing coins in the fountain we feel comfortable that we will visit Rome again..this is story at least! We walked back to the Spanish steps, walked up them and found a painter along the street wHo we bought some drawings from. I just love the thought of having art in my house that I can say was Bought at the top of the Spanish steps in Rome!

Tomorrow is a big day.....I must get sleep....until then....Chao!!!,



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Location:Rome, Italy

Locked and loaded!

We made it to Chicago and are now having a drink at the bar across from our gate....having a beer though I'm already craving some vino! Good experience so far in our day of travel. We had a very nice cab driver who just happened to have a tuscan cookbook in the front seat of our cab.....kind of weird but whatever! Standing in line in security....I was dancing around being excited which drew attention apparently....the TSA officer came over to see why why I was so happy...most people she said do NOT have fun in the airport! I said we are going on vacation so of course I'm excited!! We had a nice chat while waiting in line......so the countdown is really on.....we are working practicing our Italian. So....arrivederci, ciao, and andiamo!

Love,
Mandy




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Today is the Day!!!

We leave TODAY!!!!  It's been 9 months since we bought the airplane tickets and I can't believe its here!!  My mom came last night to pick up Russell...this will be the longest time we have been away from him!   It's always so sad to wake up without Russell in the house but we will be over that shortly :)  Russell is in paradise right now with my parents...and he gets to take part in all of the "Leonard Bowl" festivities in Rochester tonight...Go Rockets! 

Here's to a wonderful trip, a non-eventful travel day, and the trip of a lifetime!!

Love,
Mandy

Italy 2011 - Itinerary!!

Bryce and I have been carefully reviewing travel sites, Frommer's guides, and recommendations from friends and finally we have a good idea of where we will be spending our time over the next few weeks.  As we have been planning this trip it becomes more and more clear to me every day that I will need to "let go" and enjoy this trip as it comes.  As I have learned in my current job, I am a strong "J" per Meyer's Briggs which means I have a strong need for control & agenda to my life.  To say the least....Bryce is NOT a J.  So, I hope I can capitalize on Bryce's strengths in using this itinerary loosely and enjoying Italy as it comes - whether that means sticking to our schedule or not.  In general we have a few places we know we want to go, but for the most part we hope to take this trip day by day, enjoy the sites in the moment, and get some much needed R&R.  I have come to count on vacations away from work and the last one we took was over a year ago in Tulum, Mexico - so we are MORE than ready for some relaxation away from work!  So for those who care to know, here is a loose itinerary of where we will be and when.  I hope to blog regularly while we are traveling  - this will largely depend on internet connection & ability to post via Ipad....we will see!  OH....and if anyone is worried about Russell, he will be loved 24-7 by my parents who "called-it" to take him while we were away back in February :)

Depart: September 16, 2011 (St. Louis - Chicago - Rome)
Arrive: September 17, 2011 (9:15am) - Here's to hoping we get a good sleep on the flight! 

September 17 - September 19: Rome
Hotel: River Palace Hotel (http://www.riverpalacehotel.it/hotel-roma-index-en.htm)

We have 2 days in Rome which start on the day we arrive.
     - Day 1:  We will arrive in Rome around 9:15 & make our way to the train to ride into Rome.  From there we will take the Metro to a stop near our hotel.  If we make it through this I think the rest of the vacation will be OK....I am a bit stressed by this commute :) From there we will hope to visit the following:  Vatican, Sistine chapel, Piazza De Popolo (café stop), Spanish steps, and at night, the Trevi Fountain.
     - Day 2:  This will be our 1 full day in Rome - we hope to have an early start to see things like Capitol Hill, Imperial Forums,  Colloseum, Arch of Constantine, Roman Forum, Palatine Hill, Baths of Carcalla, Capitoline Museum (Marcus Aurelius statue), Pantheon, Piazza Navonna or Campo de' Fiori at night. 

As you can see this is a big 2 days......this is where the flexibility needs to come into play :)

September 19 - 22: Sorrento
B&B: Casa Dominova (http://www.casadominova.com/)

We will get up early on the 19th to pick up our CAR at the airport in Rome.  From there will will drive ~3 hrs to Sorrento which is on the Amalfi Coast, south of Naples.  This is where the RELAXING will hopefully start!
     - Day 1 - Enjoy Sorrento which could be the inlaid wood factory, limoncello making, or just relaxing around town!
     - Day 2 - Isle of Capri - We will take a ferry or some kind of a boat to the island in the morning for a day's visit in the cities of Capri and are looking forward to visiting either the Blue or Green Grotto....an ocean cave that bring in light under the water illuminating the cave in different colors - I mean.....not even Hugh Hef can beat that! This is one of the things we are looking forward to the most!
     - Day 3 - Pompeii - This city was destroyed by a volcanic eruption in ~75 AD.  We will hopefully see the museams of archeology and enjoy the cities ruins.  We also hope to drive the Amalfi Coast on this day...Bryce is especially looking forward to the challenge as its said to be one of the most "trecherous" drives in the world"

9/22 - 9/24: Tuscany: Radda, Italy
B&B: Poggerino (http://www.poggerino.com/)

On the 22nd we will be driving for the last leg on our tour, Tuscany.  We have two places to stay in Tuscany and the first is in Radda which is conveniently located on the Chianti trail.....Chianti is Wine :)  Should be interesting.....This is also the part of the trip we are keeping the most open - I want to see where the owners of our B&B's take us and where we feel like traveling.

     - Day 1: Florence
     - Day 2: San Gimignano & the Chianti Wine Region

9/24 - 9/27: Tuscany: Montepulciano, Italy
B&B: II Rondo (http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g194833-d1789269-Reviews-Albergo_Il_Rondo-Montepulciano_Tuscany.html)

For the remainder of our trip we will stay in the southern portion of Tuscany in Montepulciano.   We hope to get the most out of the last part of our trip and are leaving this part of our agenda open to whatever we think is necessary to see.  Likely it will be lots of trips through the countryside visiting wineries, olive farms, and small towns that we see along the way. 

Departure: September 27, 2011 @ 11:15am
Arrival: September 27, 2011 @ ~5:30pm in St. Louis

We are just so excited for this adventure and can't wait to see where it takes us!!!!

Love,
Mandy

Welcome to Life and Times!

Today we start into the world of internet blogging and giving you all a more detailed look at the life and times of Mandy, Bryce, and how could we forget Russell!  The idea for this came from a conversation I was having with one of Bryce's co-workers regarding a travel blog for our upcoming trip to Italy.  I thought, what better time to start a blog!  For several years I have followed several good friend's blog sites which I have really enjoyed - hopefully I am able to keep up and provide updates regularly.  That is to assume though that our lives are interesting enough for people to follow :)  In the coming weeks I will provide a loose itinerary for our trip so that for those of you who care, can have a good idea where we are during our 10 days in Italy.  Hopefully (provided we can find internet service), we will work to update the blog while we are on our trip to give you a flavor of our experiences.  So excited!  Now if I can just survive the next 2 weeks at work.....

Why Life and Times??

As a kid, my mom (like many other moms) documented my brother and I's lives via the "dinosaur".  Also known as the giant video recording device one had to hold on their shoulder.  Birthday parties, sleepovers, tee-ball, soccer, volleyball, football, skiing, vacations, you name it, we have it on tape.  This amounted to hundreds of VHS tapes - all labeled "Life and Times of Mandy and Aaron...insert year"  Now I am sure this site won't be half as entertaining as the old videos but we will see what we can do. 

Love,
Mandy