Meeting up with our Italian family

 After our long flight and no sleep, we have finally made it to our apartment in Rome. There we met up with Alexis and Kylie who arrived earlier than we did. We were all so happy to see each other. I haven’t seen Kylie since she was a little girl and I believe she’s 35 now and I haven’t seen Alexis for about two years, they have traveled from Denver, Colorado . Of course, being Italian and you know we all talk at the same time, we all had so much to say to each other.

The apartment we rented through VRBO was amazing. We all love it. After sleeping there the first night, everyone couldn’t believe how comfortable the beds were. Marble every where and the location is great! 

Tonight our plan was to meet up with our Italian family Maura and Alfredo. We contacted each other and set up a time to meet at 5 o’clock to do some sightseeing and then dinner reservations at 7:30, that’s when a lot of restaurants open. 

They came to the apartment and of course upon meeting we were all talking at once. The Italian kiss was happening to everyone. Then I finally got around to the introductions. Whew, that lasted for awhile. We also gave them our photo albums of our families that we had made and presented them with a bowl that Mike made out of Madrona wood. They loved that very much! 

We all walked to the Piazza del Popolo from our apartment, people and cars everywhere! From the Piazza there is a street that is a mile long lined with beautiful shops and a few little cafes. We haven’t as yet done any shopping but don’t worry we will. 

Next we drove up to this beautiful hill called Janiculuna Hill. It is considered one of the most romantic settings in Italy. It’s also the setting for the battle in which Garibaldi repelled an attack from the French troops. You certainly can see all of Rome. Pictures don’t do it justice. We even saw a photo shoot with a bride and groom !

            This is the statute of Guiseppe  Garibaldi

Ok now the good part! EATING!!!

Oh my what a feast and such a beautiful setting ( sorry no pics of the setting, by this time jet lag was setting in).

But the food was amazing! We just let Maura and Alfredo order. Appetizers, food galore and 4 pizzas! We ate everything except we had a little pizza left.