Roma! Happy 2nd Anniversary!

Oh, Roma. How can you not love Rome?
We had a great time with Ron and Carol (my in-laws) during a four day whirlwind tour during which we celebrated our second wedding anniversary. Salute!
Note: General sites from Rome, including fountains and the Spanish steps follow. Individual posts have been dedicated to the Romans in Rome and The Vatican. It's only right.

Chillin Ron

We made a dinner one night in our apartment (which was located just down the road from the Vatican and was amazing). We stopped at the largest market in Rome, Mercato Trionafale, to purchase some fresh mozzarella,etc. It was delicious.

HAPPY 2ND ANNIVERSARY!

Ok, not the best picture, but the only one we have to commemorate our dinner. It was a pleasure to celebrate in Rome with Ron and Carol. This makes two for two; both of our anniversaries so far have been spent in Italy (the first in Tuscany).

To celebrate, we followed the hallowed advice of Rick Steves (a must) and did a one mile "Night Walk" through Rome. After a day of riding along the Appian Way (see the Romans in Rome post) and generally walking and biking miles, this 7 month pregnant girl was not sure she could do another walk (on our way to the restaurant, we hailed a cab. To take us about a quarter of a mile. Because I just couldn't walk one. more. step). But it was beautiful to see the fountains all lit up, and we were really enjoying ourselves....

Until we got *poured* on. There is no way to explain the type of rain that unleashed during our walk. I have never been so grateful for all of the umbrella salesmen who literally came out of the woodwork at the moment the first drop fell. It makes our pictures of the Trevi fountain a bit hazy, but it was still beautiful.

The Trevi Fountain

The attempted belly shot to prove to the coming bambino that he was, in fact, at the Trevi Fountain.

 And all was going well, until the last few tenths of a mile as we were reaching our last destination, the Spanish Steps. Despite having been anticipating seeing the Steps since we had arrived in Rome (thank you Audrey Hepburn), we arrived wet and my resolution to walk just a bit more was fading. And I sat down on the beautiful Spanish Steps, which were soaked, and I cried. Needless to say, I enjoyed the moment in a cafe across the street while Adam and Ron hiked the steps. And we took a cab home.
Rome is not for the faint of heart. Nor is it for the pregnant women in their third trimesters. Consider yourselves warned.

The Spanish Steps.

The view I never did see. Looking down from the Spanish Steps.

Paralympics 2012

We had the honor and pleasure of getting to know Zena Cole, the U.S. Bronze Medalist in the 2012 Paralympic Games Women's Discus Throw. She is simply inspiring as an athlete, a mother and a spokesperson for UNICEF polio.

On the mound

Throwing the discus during a practice round

On the mound with T and the club

FANS!

Tanka loves Zena

Other inspiring athletes practicing

Inspiring athletes

Olympics 2012

Friends flew in to enjoy the Olympics. We met them at Heathrow Airport and went directly to the Beach Volleyball Court at the Horseguards Parade. We saw Brazil take on Poland , and the USA take on Latvia. Although the USA lost be just a few points, it was amazing to be there to cheer them on! GO USA!


Olympic Clock in Trafalgar Square, counting down for the past year.

Katy & Alan, fresh off the plane

2 best friends and their pregnant wives

Inside Horseguards Parade



Beach Volleyball Court, Horseguards Parade. GO USA!

The Olympics were definitely in LONDON



Adam & Alan

Katy & Jaclyn

The Dancers at the game. The Rackey-Rackey team (those who raked the court) was also made a regular appearance.



S'mores in our back garden, using chocolate digestives rather than graham crackers and hersheys. Delicious

Tea at Peacocks Tea Room in Ely

Trier

Trier is an incredibly quaint German town, one that makes you pinch yourself because you can't believe it's real. It also has a lot of history.

QUAINT TRIER

We ate lunch just in back of this building in an outdoor cafe in the garden. We were so excited to have Alsatian food. I again had the flammkuchen- it was delicious. 

As I was starting to show, here is evidence that the baby was here too.

PORTA NIGRA
The Roman Gate to the city. It is called "The Black Gate" due to it's color.

This is the view of Trier from the Gate. The street below follows the original Roman road. It was also noted that during the time of the Romans, the entrance to the Gate was on the second level.

Inside the gate. 

A Roman soldier happened to show up while we were touring. Too bad he only spoke German. I'm sure his presentation was entertaining, however, considering all of the dramatic yelling he was doing as well as all the laughs he was receiving. 

ROMAN COURT, NOW ELC CHURCH

The history displays in this church about the use of the building during Roman times were great. This was the building where the Roman Emperor held court.  The alcoves held statues of Roman gods. It was amazing to see the building still in use. 

 RHINELAND MUSEUM

Ancient Mosaic

Ancient Mosaic

Luxembourg

Adam was TDY (Temporary Duty Yonder) in Germany (at Landstuhl Army Hospital) for a week. So I flew into Frankfurt Hahn on Saturday morning and flew back to London on Sunday. Nothing like a weekend trip, especially when it fits so nicely around work schedules.

LUXEMBOURG AMERICAN CEMETERY
This cemetery honors all of those who fell during the Battle of the Bulge, including General George Patton.

The Gate to the Cemetery

The Cemetery Chapel

Chapel ceiling

Rocks are left on the crosses by those who came to visit. 

Life.

LUXEMBOURG CITY

The City

The City Fortress allowing the city to be completely impenetrable for centuries. It is an internal maze with many levels. Quite sophisticated.  

City Square

The city has many quaint nooks like this one. This staircase took us to the restaurant where we ate lunch. It had a great assortment of Alsatian food.