The Rest of our European Vacation...

Tuesday we headed to Vatican City. I am sure I do not appreciate all that we saw this day to the same level as perhaps Brad and his brother did being Catholic, but I still loved the extreme beauty of everything we saw and the rich rich history involved with every piece of art and buildings that stand there. St. Peter’s Square is where we started our morning, which is larger than pictures could do justice and very picturesque.


I had so much fun sitting in the square for hours on our trip just taking everything in and people watching. The people watching in itself was an event. We then made our way into the Basilica


and once we took in all the ornate beauty that surrounded us went through the Treasury of the Basilica.

Then onto the Vatican Museum, which is supposed to be even larger than the Louve. I was pretty excited to see the Sistine Chapel, which was one of the must see spots on my list in my life. We completely lucked out at this point. Normally the line wraps through much of Vatican City to enter the museum but a tip we had received to go during lunch time paid off. While everyone in town was in the pizzerias eating their lunches, we went to the museum and had zero wait. Score for us! We went through the magnificent museum taking in the wonderful works of art displayed. We eventually made our way into the Sistine Chapel, the last stop of the museum. Magnificent. You are not allowed to take photographs inside the Sistine Chapel, but my sneaky spy husband managed to take a few before the guard yelled no photos. The pictures truly do not do this beauty justice.


What a genius Michelangelo was but I can not even imagine what he endured to paint the vast walls of art. I have seen the Eiffel tower, the Coliseum, the Sistine Chapel, all within just a few days. I felt truly blessed at that moment. After our time in the Sistine Chapel, Brad and his brother decided they wanted to climb to the top of the Basilica. This adventure involves narrow winding stair cases to the very top of the Basilica.

Again, in my pregnant state, not something I was really able to do, so I went back and sat in St. Peters square enjoying the beautiful weather and scenery and quiet time while Brad and Tom made the hike. The views from the top they saw seem amazing and I’m sorry I had to miss out on it in person, but at least there are pictures!!






After we met back up we walked to St. Angelo Castle.


We then stopped into a beautiful old church in a beautiful piazza before walking to the Pantheon.



After the Pantheon


we walked to Trastevere which is such a romantic and beautiful part of Rome. The streets are all narrow with beautiful buildings lining the streets. We ate a delicious last dinner in Rome and then hit up a very sinfully tasty Gelato place for dessert.


It had been a very long day and we were wiped! Back to the hotel and bed….

Wednesday was our last day in Rome as we were flying back to Germany that evening. We first made our way to see the statue Moses, by Michelangelo

and then after really seeing everything that was on our list to see in Rome, we had the day to do shopping! We ended up walking from one side of Rome all the way to Vatican City, which is on the complete other side of Rome by foot. We did this leisurely with occasional stops

but we were still amazed a the end of the day how much walking we had done! It was the perfect ending to our time in Rome though, to do a walking tour of sorts of all the city taking it all in one last time, picking up a few souvenirs on the way. We ended up in Vatican City and the three of us just sat in St. Peter’s square relaxing, talking and enjoying each others company. What an amazing trip we have had together!

Then on the plane back to Germany, only to wake up a few hours later to head back to the airport to head back home. It was bitter sweet saying good bye. It was hard to leave the trip behind us, the beauty that surrounded us, the experiences, but knowing Blake was on the other side of the ocean waiting for us did make it pretty easy to step foot on the plane. When we checked in at the ticket counter to get our boarding passes the lady told us she could only get one of us a seat and we would have to talk to them at the gate to get the other. We were supposed to already have reserved seats so I started freaking out. Brad, my constant state of cool and calm helped bring me back down. We checked in at the gate and after what seemed like an eternity the agent handed Brad and I two boarding passes and said we had been upgraded their treat to business class. How does Brad always have a way of knowing that things always work out in the end?? I need to be better in trusting that. We had a 10 ½ hour flight back to the states, but Brad and I both agreed we could have flown another 5. It was the most amazing flight of our lives and definitely the perfect ending to the perfect trip!!!

It felt absolutely amazing to be back home with my boy. After the initial confusion and shock wore off he couldn’t have been happier to be with his mommy and daddy again either.
And finally, to end my LONG blog about our trip I have two very large thank you’s to write. The first to Brad’s mom… without her we wouldn’t have been able to go on the trip and are so grateful to her for watching Mr. Blake for 10 days. Not only did she take wonderful care of Blake but she also managed to organize my pantry and Blake’s closet. Too bad she’s not for hire permanently! Truly though, I am so grateful for the loving care she gave Blake while we were gone.
And last but certainly not least, thank you times infinity to Tom for making this whole trip happen. I am forever grateful to him for this opportunity and will have these memories and experiences to treasure forever. What an amazing gift Tom…Thank You.