Call Me Alice

Those of you who are in touch with me regularly are aware I have of late been disgruntled by my name. Without knowing me, people often assume I am a man.  As a matter of fact, when the barista at Starbucks asks my name I always say, "Alice."

The worst thing that has happened recently is that my bank froze my account, including credit card, because they were sure that I am a man, and the real me is a fraudster trying to hack my own account.  I actually had to send proof that I am female before I was able to access my account that I have used for almost twenty years.  Even, Taylor, by being married to me, was locked out of our money.

Imagine my dismay when I encountered this a few blocks from my apartment near the Vatican:

                             

I am accepting other suggestions of new names.

Waiting your advice.

The Colosseum is Colossal, and Other Sights

I wasn't all that keen to visit the Colosseum or the Forum while in Rome.  I had heard that they are tourist traps and I would have to stand in long lines with huge crowds. I also heard the Colosseum is full of feral cats. None of this proved true and I really enjoyed my time at both sites.

We bought our tickets on line at home.  In spite of what the touts said, we only stood in line for about 40 minutes.  That was enough time to read the guide book and enjoy details.

Margit captured these columns as we waited.  The pock marks are from bronze poachers throughout the ages.

The Colosseum is colossal.  It's not hard to imagine bloody games in this venue with crazed fans cheering on the bedlam. For me it's hard to believe that this was built in A.D 80.

As you look at the Colosseum photo above, imagine the platform toward the bottom of the photo extending over the maze of alleys below.  That is the staging areas for the Gladiators, criminals, slaves and wild animals who were preparing to enter the arena to kill or to be killed.

I know that gladiators, slaves and criminals got killed in the arena, but there were a few peaceful sights looking out the windows.

After leaving the Colosseum, the home of ancient sports, we walked over to the Forum, the home of Rome's politics, religion and commerce.

Interesting photo by Margit, looking down at the Forum buildings

We rounded off our visit to the classics by going to the Pantheon.  It was originally a Roman temple, and is now a Christian church.

Lots of people, but we didn't stand in line, we just walked in.

The open air oculus caught my attention as soon as I walked into the Pantheon. Photo by Margit.

Through chance, I looked to the side and saw the sun shining through the oculus.

A Little Uncertainty

Taylor and I started planning a trip to Italy one year ago with our friend Margit Beerli.  We  plotted and planned a month of touring to a fair thee well. We will spend a week in Rome, then travel north to Tuscany to meet with our friends John and Bruce.  After almost 2 weeks in Tuscany we move on to Florence and have a grand finale in Venice.

No matter how well planned, travel always involves some uncertainty.  About a week before departure, I learned that our Airbnb hostess, Virginia, is not the kind of person who likes to communicate. After not responding to my attempts to make contact with her she insisted her sister Francesca, who is not mentioned on the Airbnb site, had organized our reservation. Learning that someone I had never heard of was in charge of my reservation got me worrying about the status of our apartment in Rome. I never heard further from Virginia, or Francesca.  I guess we'll just go to Rome and hope things turn out.

Then, the day before departure we discovered that bad weather in New York City would impact our flight plans.  Less than 24 hours before take off and we were suddenly on high alert, trying to change airline flights booked last January.  Our hours of waiting to speak to Delta representatives paid off.  We are re booked through Atlanta and are ready to go. Here's hoping we also have an apartment to stay in.

The night before take off, re booking our tickets to Rome.  We are still smiling.

At the airport in Atlanta and still in a good mood.  Both Taylor and Margit are plugged into their devices.  Taylor shares Alison Kraus singing "Atlanta" with Jamar.  Once we get on the plane it's only 9 more hours to Rome.

We made it.  We landed in Rome.  Our driver was not at the airport to pick us up, but after a phone call he appeared.  Neither Virginia nor Francesca showed up to let us into the apartment.  Barbara welcomed us instead. What's important is we have an apartment, even though we've never seen the hostess listed on Airbnb. It's all highly irregular, but we are not about to start asking questions.  What is important is WE ARE HERE.

After recovering a bit from travelling, we strolled to the Vatican from our apartment.  Here is St Peter's Square.

Shopping near the Vatican for religious gear. Wooden Pinocchio puppets are right behind Mary.

Bridge over the Tiber.

Castello Sant'Angelo.

We ended our evening stroll with dinner at a cafe sidewalk (I still can't believe we ate dinner after 8 p.m.) and a good bottle of Chardonnay.

Calamari, mussels and shrimp.

Now, all we have to do is return to our apartment and sleep off the jet lag.  I think we can do it.

Econ 101

It turns out there is a reason to keep all those economic journals.

Good Bye

Our final times with each other involved meals.  What a way to say "Good bye."  See you in December.

Dinner in Des Moines, WA

Breakfast at Sea Tac

Mt Rainier

Chia wanted to see Mt Rainier. We booked a cabin at Packwood and drove to the mountain for a last hurrah before David, Chia and Solomon flew off to Taipei.  It was worth every minute.

Solomon's first experience of snow - at Paradise.

A beautiful day to introduce Solomon to Mt Rainier.

Hiking with dad means a free ride.

We couldn't believe we had to wait in line to cross the suspension bridge at the Ohanapecosh trail..

It's kind of  hard to follow directions.

Solomon crossed the bridge multiple times.  What fun!

Throwing rocks in the river on the other side of the bridge.

Snack time!

When a boy is hungry on the trail, he has to eat!!!

Viewing the glacier.

Little cabin in the woods.

Final Days At Grandma and Grandpa's House

There are lots of chores to do at Grandma and Grandpa's house.  When the chores are done there is a treat.

Watering the garden - thank goodness mom bought Solomon new boots.

Picking the last of the blueberries.

Putting dad in the box.....and getting him out.

Finally, ice cream.