Tim and Lynda's Travels: Family joins us in Rome

Thursday was a travel day for us. We returned the car to the airport in Bari and then took the train back to Rome. It was again a long day as we got into Rome about 6:00. We were finally settled in our apartment about 7:00 and were very much ready for sustenance and wine. We are located just a very short walk from Piazza Navona, our favorite area of Rome. In the Piazza we found our needed sustenance and wine. Friday was arrival day for Jeff, Heather, Cole, and Kelsey. Their plane was scheduled to arrive in Rome at 11:00 a.m. Due to a strike of customs workers in Paris they missed their commecting flight. Eventually they arrived in the Piazza at 8:00. We had been gently harrassed by the Maitre'D of a tratoria on our way to the Piazza so we assured him when the adult children and grandchildren arrived we would be back. He greated us with open arms and a table for six already set up. It was a joy to see the excitement on our family's faces at being in Rome. Kelsey ordered a pizza and with her first bite her eyes became huge and then the smile on her face bigger as she exclaimed it was the best pizza she had ever had. Cole was equally excited over his Spaghetti al Bolgnese. We think that Heather was too tired from shepherding her 3 (!) children from Mason to Rome to enjoy her meal as much as everyone else. Saturday turned out to be a more exhausting day then we anticipated partly because we got a later start to the day then planned. Before leaving home we had booked a reservation to see the Sistine Chapel. At the time we booked the earliest time available was 6:30 in the evening. While at home we decided to visit the Colosseum and forum in the morning, come back to the apartment for a break and then head to the Vatican late afternoon to visit St. Peter's Basilica before our scheduled visit to the Sistine Chapel. We ended up taking a guided tour of the Colosseum which was not in the plan but which we thoroughly enjoyed. Lynda did not take the tour for lack of interest but thought she would join for a tour of the Forum. As the Forum was part of the guided tour she was unable to join. Tim was not particularly interested in the Forum so he ducked out of that part of the tour, met up with Lynda with the intention that we would go back to the apartment and meet Jeff, et al. there when they finished at the Forum. Long story short, we all ended up back at the apartment with little time before heading to the Vatican. We all found both the Basilica and the Sistine Chapel to be overwhelmingly beautiful. But we had forgotten how much walking was involved in visiting both sites. As we left the Sistine Chapel we were all famished and a bit sullen so we went to the first restaurant we could find which was conveniently across the street from the exit from the Sistine Chapel. Food and beverage revived us enough to be back on speaking terms so that we all were able to relive the beautiful sites we had visited over the last 3 hours. Lynda and Tim assurred the younger Crandalls that tomorrow would be a much easier day. On our first visit to Rome in 1984, we had pencil portraits done of Jil and Jeff by one of several artists located in Piazza Navona to do said portraits. It only takes about 20 minnutes for the artist to create the portrait and those portraits still hang proudly in our home. Years later when we took Madison and Jocelyn to Rome as a fourteenth birthday present we also had each of their portraits done. Madi's portrait was a surprise Christmas present that thrilled Jil and Rob and brought back pleasant memories for Jil. We assured them both that we would do the same for Jocey. So, today, Sunday, the first order of business was getting portaits done of Cole and Kelsey. As promised the night before, the first order of business did not start until almost noon. It was great fun to watch the artist at work, creating a beautiful likeness of our grandchildren in just 20 minutes each. From Piazza Navona it is a short walk to the Pantheon, another beautiful, much underrated structure in Rome. Unfortunately, since our last visit the powers that be have instituted a reservation system to visit the Pantheon on the weekends thus we were unable to get inside. Somewhat disappointed we walked on to the Trevi Fountain. As always, it was full of visitors but we were able to get fountain side seats so the younger Crandalls could throw coins over their shoulders into the fountain assuring that they would some day return to Rome. Not far from Trevi Fountain is a lovely restaurant that we discovered on our first visit and have returned to each succeeding trip. It seems the rest of the world has also discovered this wonderful tratoria. While the food was still wonderful, the wait staff seemed a bit harried so it wasn't the relaxing meal we had looked forward to. After eating, Tim and Lynda returned to the apartment for much needed naps while the rest of the family visited the Spanish Steps. Kelsey reported that it was an excellent visit enjoyed by all. Tonight we are looking forward to an exciting game of UNO.