Thanksgiving in Rome Because Why Not?

Spending Thanksgiving day in a country that doesn't celebrate Thanksgiving is about as non-traditional as it gets.   We are child free and we like to travel.  I knew it was only a matter of time before something like this happened.

Transportation strikes in Italy are either a regular thing or we just get really lucky and visit when they are having them.  Four years ago we almost got shut out of Florence and Pisa because there was a strike.  Luckily, the cruise ship was able to get us on a tour, and there was no strike the day we needed the train to get to Rome.  This time our flights were straight up cancelled.  MJ was able to book us on an entirely different airline, just with a slightly later flight time.

We didn't make it there until close to midnight on Wednesday and spent Thanksgiving day touring the ancient city of Rome.  The threat of rain loomed, but the weather actually cooperated with us pretty well while we were there.  The bus stop that would take us into the city was right across the street, so we bought tickets from the news stand and waited.  This particular bus stop had an electronic screen that kept you updated on when the bus was scheduled to arrive.  The time kept getting pushed back, but eventually it showed up.

Lifts that carry animals from underground to the stage above ground

The first thing we did is head to the Colosseum.  The last time we were in Rome, we were so rushed that we didn't have time to tour the inside so I was really excited to get to do it.  It's pretty impressive on the inside and it's so crazy to think that this was the site of gladiator fights to the death and where people were sentenced to die by being torn apart by wild animals.  Even crazier is that people showed up on droves to watch.  Like a show.  The lifts that were used to carry the animals from the lower levels to the stage above are still there.

When in Rome

Palatine Ruins

We were ready for pizza by that time so we stopped for some lunch right across from the Colosseum.  The tickets include entry to the Palatine Ruins so we headed over there next and spent some time wandering the grounds until it was time to head home for dinner.

We whipped up a 4-course meal for Thanksgiving dinner.  kind of.  I poured us some wine, and when the chef showed up she taught us how to do the appetizer, the fettuccine and dessert.  The appetizer was layered pane carasau, which is a very thin Italian flatbread, with Pumpkin, meat, and cheese baked in the oven.  The fettuccine was not drowning in any kind of sauce, but was full of flavor.  The only thing we didn't help with at all was the beef, because due to time constraints she showed up with that already done.  The dessert was this amazing chocolate log that only required three ingredients.  biscoff type cookies, chocolate and oil.   

After we finished helping with dessert she shooed us out of the kitchen and finished every thing up.  When it was ready all we had to do was sit at the table while she served us a delicious traditional Italian meal.  The appetizer involved pumpkin, this pan She even cleaned up the kitchen afterward.  The whole thing was like magic.  I imagine that's how it might be if you had a live in chef.  Must be nice.  There was no turkey.  No mac and cheese.  There was nothing Thanksgiving like about this meal, except that I was thankful to be there because how often do you get to cook and eat Italian food in Italy? Not very.  It was so sweet of MJ to arrange that for us.  The wine, the food, the place, the man sitting across from me.  Everything was perfect.  Perfetto!!  

More pizza because Italy

It rained most of the night and into Friday morning, but by the afternoon it cleared up.  It was another strike day.  We asked the resort to call us a cab, but there were absolutely none to be found.  Four years ago Rome basically chewed us up and spit us out.  We had one day, part of which was eaten up by kind of a long train ride from Civitavecchia where the cruise ship was docked.  By the time we made it to Rome all we had time for was St. Peters Square, The Vatican, pizza and a peak at the Colosseum, before we had to leave.  Traffic is pretty bad there.  This time, was 100% different.  We were able to get a ride into town and took our time strolling from the Pantheon to Trevi Fountain.  We ate Gelato, and more pizza because Italy, and meandered around the city taking it all in until it got dark.  It was wonderful to stay there, take our time, and really be able to enjoy the city.

The resort helped us out with bus numbers and maps, but I would have been lost without MJ.  He is a master at navigating public transportation anywhere.  The first day we took the bus home from an entirely different place than we were dropped off.  We walked down this grassy tree filled median in the road, and I have know idea how he knew where we were going, but we kept walking and there was the bus stop.  On the second day, we were near a taxi stand and started to take a cab, but he had a sudden burst of inspiration.  We turned, boarded a train at the station, and when we got off the bus that would take us home was right outside.  How does he do this when I have just barely figured out the very limited trolley system in San Diego?  I have no idea what's happening or how.  I follow him, and we always make it home.

That night we went out to dinner at a restaurant in the Appia Antica area within walking distance from our apartment called Ristorante San Tarcisio.  We purposefully dined outside of Rome so that we were sure to have an authentic Italian dining experience, and it was exactly that.  It was so delicious.  We had an appetizer, and I helped myself to the bread basket.  I went for the lasagna and we shared a bottle of wine between us.  I can honestly say it is officially the best lasagna I've ever had, and I was stuffed.

When I realized that we were within walking distance of the largest catacomb in Rome, I wanted to take a tour, so we spent our 3rd and last morning at the Catacombs of St. Callixtus. I have a thing for catacombs, and it was one of the things we did when we were in Naples four years ago.  I just find the history and the mystery of it to be so fascinating.  The place was a maze.  I think it would be really interesting to be let loose in there and try to find our way out, but it was all guided.  It was hallway after hallway of dark underground tombs, and we probably didn't even see half of it.  We had to get up kind of early to fit it in, but it was worth it.

It took us about an hour to walk home from there.  It was a little chilly, and a little muddy on parts of the road but it was a nice walk through Appia Antica which is the largest green space in Rome.  We encountered many walkers and bikers along the way and made it back to our apartment just in time to be whisked away in the same black car and the same driver that brought us there.

Thanksgiving was different this year.  We were away from home and family, but we had each other, and it was wonderful.  Rome was so good to us! I'm so glad we got another chance to experience it together.  

 
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Castle on a Cloud

I left on Friday very early California time and arrived in Stuttgart on Saturday morning.  They are 9 hours ahead so technically it was only about 17 hours of travel.  Only!  I got a nap in and then we walked to the Christmas Market conveniently located across the street from his apartment where I had my first introduction to Gluhwein.
 

Munich, Germany

On Sunday we took a two hour train ride to Munich, where we stayed the night at the Sofitel Hotel Munich which was just steps from the strain station.  Wish we could have had another night at the hotel, just for the toilet.  Yes, the toilet!  It had bidet, and dryer action all in one with the push of a button.  I had way too much fun with that toilet.  We checked in and then went walking around the city.  They didn't have their Christmas Market set up yet, but we found the Gluhwein.

We ate at a place called Hofbrauhaus Munchen, where I ate a very German meal of sausage and potato salad with beer.  I was kind of bummed when it came out because it looked like regular old hot dogs, but it turned out okay because they did not taste like regular old hot dogs.  The place is huge, and fend for yourself when it comes to seating so we did end up in a communal table with people we didn't know.

Linderhorf Palace

The next morning we were up bright and early for our castle tour and it lasted all day long.  We had to be at the bus at 8am and I don't think we got back until 6ish.  The first stop was this adorable little town called Oberammergau where we toured Linderhorf Palace.  This one was small inside, but very beautiful.  It was set up so that each room led right into the next.  We stopped for a snack in one of the cafe's, where I had a delicious croissant with coffee and then we headed for the town of Hohenschwangau.

German Spaetzel

Bavaria is straight out of a fairy tale.  As we drove into town several homes had fairy tales painted on the sides, and the mountains looming in the background were magnificent.  I was pretty much starving since the moment I woke up.  Nothing I ate filled me up that day, not even the weird sandwich I got from Starbucks.  Even though their menu items are different, I avoid all American establishments in Europe.  I didn't travel all that way to eat at Starbucks or Burger King, but I was starving and I thought eggs might do the trick, so I went with it.  Well, the sauce was weird and I didn't like it that much but I ate it anyway because I was so hungry.  The croissant didn't help much either, so our first stop had to be food.  We ate at a hotel restaurant where I went for the carbs.  Spaetzel, is kind of like the German version of mac and cheese.  It was so delicious, so filling, and I was ready to make the hike up the hill to our next castle.

There is a castle on a cloud.

I like to go there in my sleep. 
Aren't any floors for me to sweep.  
Not in my castle on a cloud.

The walk to Neuschwanstein Castle is about a mile, and much of it is uphill.  I was ready for that, but what I wasn't expecting was the strong gusts of wind.  Once we got to to the top of the hill with the Castle in full view the wind was so strong that I could feel it pushing me.  We lucked out, and it actually wasn't super chilly that day, but the wind was insane.  When I saw this castle looming in the distance the song from Les Miserables, Castle on a Cloud, took root in my brain and there it stayed for the rest of the day because the castle on a cloud was right before my eyes, and it was beautiful.  It also happens to be the very same one that inspired the Disney castle, and I guess I just couldn't stop singing about it.  We started up a spiral staircase, and I could feel the cold emanating from the thick stone walls and it is positively massive inside.  The hallways are wide, the windows are arched, and the ceilings ornate.  We saw the servants quarters, the huge kitchen, a massive hall where I imagined a royal ball like the one in Cinderella could be held.  The royal bed is a thing of art, and I just can't believe that people lived here.  It's exactly how you would imagine it to be from what you see on TV.

We had a little bit more time to walk around Munich once the bus dropped us off.  We got our bags from from the hotel, and went to the station for our train back to Stuttgart.  It was a long, exhausting, magical day.  

Crying at all is not allowed
Not in my castle on a cloud

 
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They Don't Pay Me Enough

There is no other way to say it. International airline travel sucks.  I had two flights each way.  There, it was 5 hours plus another 8. On the way home it was 10 hours plus 6.  I splurged on a pricier neck pillow, and the recline angle was pretty decent, but sleeping while sitting up is no fun.  It's just not natural to sit in such tight quarters for that long. Ridiculous even. Like how? But if you want to walk the cobblestone streets of Paris it's what you have to do. When your husband is living overseas it's what you have to do. 

Rome, Italy

This trip wasn't planned, but if I was a regular wife it would have been. You know, the kind of wife who says, "Sure I'd love to honey! When do I leave?" when her husband asks her to come to Germany and stay at a romantic lodge in the mountains of outer Bavaria.  Who wouldn't want to get away and enjoy that with their husband?

Well not me, because I'm not a regular wife.  We talked about it in August. Well, texted about it, because sometimes you just don't get around to talking about all the things you mean to when your husband lives nine hours ahead.

"Impossible," I said. 

Because it was. There isn't any possible way that I can get away for that long during that time of year.  I have one job! And it's showtime. The work floods in on the 18th, and I have a hard deadline on December 2nd.  Like really hard, as in the most important and biggest deadline of the year.  We lose 2 days for the holidays, but if I went to Germany when he wanted I'd have exactly 4 days (Tuesday to Friday) to do five times the amount of work that I would normally have 10 days to complete.   Impossible.  I could swing an extra 2 days max, but who spends 15 hours and a cool G on a flight for a 6 day visit? I really wanted to, but it was impractical, and I am nothing if not practical.  

I would see him two weeks later for Christmas and that was that because that's life and you simply don't always get what you want.

We didn't talk about it again until much later. We had a nice week together in Hawaii, but as Thanksgiving approached I knew something was wrong.  We don't argue, but for two months I had an uneasy feeling in the pit of my stomach I couldn't shake. Hawaii was weird. Something was wrong, and when I flat out asked him what it was, I found out he had stronger feelings about the situation than he let on.  Election day was hyper emotionally charged for more reasons than one.

"Well, it's too late now," he said.

"Probably, but it wouldn't hurt to look."

So I looked, and my heat sank, because the cost was $600 more than when I was "just browsing" in August.  Yes, there was a total breakdown in communication.  We should have had that conversation a heck of a lot earlier, but the bottom line is that I should have known. I should have known that it was not okay leave him alone for Thanksgiving, and I had to fix it.

 

"It's way too much money," he said.

"I know.  Way too much, but I'm tempted to do it anyway."   

I mulled it over.  I talked to my mom.  I called my boss at home.  What would the lead girl in the Rom-Com do in this situation? She would cancel her airline ticket to Vegas and book the damn ticket to Stuttgart. She would do whatever it took to get to her man.

I'm not the type to say screw them, they'll figure it out.  That's not me.  I'm the girl who tried to come back to work 2 weeks post op, but stretched it to 3 because I was told to stay home, and then worked in pain all week because of the very same deadline that was keeping me from my husband.  I offered to work from home while I was in Germany, and I still didn't know how I'd get all the work done, but it was the only option I could come up with.  Mind you, it doesn't really work like that in our office, but desperate times called for desperate measures.  I had to make this happen.  I booked the flight on Friday and one week later, I was on a long ass flight to Stuttgart.  No easy task for someone who suffers from travel induced anxiety.

At least they keep you occupied on international flights. Plenty of movies to choose from.  I watched four on the way there, and five on the way back.  Five!  High Strung has to be one of the most cliche dance movies that ever lived.  Dance battles in the subway station, spontaneous dancing on table tops, a scholarship at stake, and a love that depends on winning it all in a dance competition.  Loved it! I was ready to try for a nap until I saw that and it passed another 1 1/2 of time.  

My meal after I demolished the chicken

You get hot towels before meals, and there were two (plus dessert) sandwiched between 3 beverage services giving me the opportunity for two glasses of wine plus coffee. I had three on the way home, and those flight attendants are not nearly as stingy with their pours as bartenders.  The food is good and perfectly designed to fill you up.  They offered it, and I ate it.  Eating is something to do.  They feed you on short flights too.  We had quiche on the way to Rome.  They make you feel so cared for, and then you get on a domestic flight and feel like a squatter who is lucky to have a bag of peanuts tossed in your direction.

Stuttgart, Germany

I imagine that in the movies the girl would have surprised her man. She would have booked the flight without a word and showed up at her husbands apartment triumphantly, suitcases in hand, and a loving smile on her face.  But this is me we're talking about, and as romantic as the idea of a surprise trip across the country is, I live in reality.  I needed his input just to get the flight booked.  The sappy music montage cutting between me navigating the transportation system of Stuttgart and my lonely husband on the couch drinking hard alcohol straight out of the bottle, would never happen.  It turns out that his apartment is pretty secure.  You can't get past the outer door without a pass key.  Also, I am so directionally challenged that I would have been lost and stranded somewhere in Stuttgart, and if by some miracle I managed to find his apartment he wouldn't be around.  My husband isn't one to sit idly or drown his sorrows in alcohol.  He would have made other plans and been long gone. 

It was still pretty perfect.  I headed through customs, then into baggage claim and looked for him in the crowd standing behind the glass.  He waved.  You guys, my husband is so cute.  I waited for my luggage and when I saw him in new cold weather active wear I'd never seen before I knew I made the right decision and that whatever I had to deal with to make it happen was well worth it.  He made a similar sacrifice for me, because he knew how important it was to me that he be in Hawaii, and I needed to do the same for him.

The price of that last minute ticket was utterly outrageous, and totally impractical, but the most practical choice isn't always the right one. Once I decided I needed to get to Stuttgart, the price didn't matter.  What mattered is that I was there for my husband, and we got to be together.  I got a chance to see what his life is like in Germany.  We ate Italian food in Italy, drank beer in Germany, and got to sleep in the same bed for nine nights.  You can't put a price tag on that, and when it comes down to it, they don't pay me enough to put work before my marriage.

How 'bout That Election?

I'm a mail voter, so my ballot bumped around the house and my purse for a few weeks while I pondered my selections.  I figure, what is good for my job is probably going to be good for me, so I normally follow my employer union recommendations on state propositions, education boards, and city officials unless I have reason to do otherwise.  I started with that, but there were  still quite a few empty bubbles.

I read through the remaining propositions in the voter information guide and got overwhelmed.  Some of them are clear cut.  I am either for repealing the death penalty or I'm against it.  I understand what the death penalty is and have a generally clear grasp of implications on both sides.  I either believe that marijuana should be legalized or not.   I have strong opinions on background checks for ammunition sales.  I've heard enough information and am familiar enough with these hot button issues to make informed decisions. 

Others are more complicated.  Should elected officials use their authority to propose and ratify an amendment to the federal constitution overturning the the US Supreme Court decision in Citizens United v Federal Election Commission? Um.  I don't know.  And still others are just...well let's just call it a head scratcher for lack of a better word.  Prop 60 is about pornography.  Should adult performers be required to use condoms during the filming of sexual intercourse and require producers to pay for performer vaccinations, testing, and medical examinations?  My union did not take a stand on that one!!  So, how do I the average person approach this?  I know that condoms help prevent diseases and unwanted pregnancy.  I don't know too much about the porn industry, but I've heard that performers are required to test to make sure that they are clean.  The condom requirement makes things safer, and if testing is required perhaps it is fair to place the burden of expense on the producers.  See, I'm inclined to vote yes, because condoms are good, but what do the performers want? Maybe they are okay with relying on routine testing.  Am I really the best person to be in charge of helping to regulate the porn industry?

How can I, the average, not super in the know on politics voter be trusted to make such big decisions on anything?  

Here's another one.  I hear so sad stories of ill and elderly who can't afford the hundreds of thousands of dollars in prescription costs that keep them well, so proposition 61 to lower Rx expenses sounds good.  Then I hear a radio commercial claiming that only 12% would end up with lower costs and they would increase for everyone else.  The voter guide breaks it down for you alright.  Argument in favor of Proposition 61, rebuttal to argument in favor of proposition 61, argument against proposition 61, and rebuttal to argument against proposition 61.  What? There is a pro and a con for each side and for every action a consequence.  Some commercials claim that veterans are for it, others claim they are against it, and I still didn't know what bubble to fill in on prop 61.  So now what?  And there are so many propositions!  

Don't even get me started on the presidency.  It was the last bubble I filled in, but I had to make a decision.  I was running out of time.  Clinton and Trump are both embroiled in some pretty serious scandals.  Hilary Clinton lied, but so did Donald Trump, plus he's kind of a nut job, and isn't it kind of a given that politicians lie?  I hate to give them a pass, because if they want the highest position in all the land they should be better than that, but the idea that we can truly hold the president to a higher moral standard seems to have flown out the window a looooong time ago.  It almost comes down to who is the least immoral.  Our elected officials are humans after all, and humans are flawed.  They make mistakes, and they don't always do the right thing.  I don't always do the right thing, but then again...I'm not running for president.  I knew what my decision would be all along, but the constant mud slinging made me second guess my instincts.  

I realize that I am totally revealing my political ignorance by admitting I didn't know until I checked out my ballot, but did everyone else already know that Jill Stein, Gloria Estela La Riva and Gary Johnson were running for president?  I actually do recall hearing the name Jill Stein, but her name got lost in the Clinton/Trump storm and I guess I forgot.  How crazy is it that we already know they have no chance whatsoever, but stranger things have happened, like Trump making the ballot in the first place.

Anyway. 

I am only one person.  I don't know all the facts, I don't have all the information, and I certainly don't understand all the issues, but but my vote counts.  It is my right, and it is my privilege so I make the best educated decisions I can and hope for the best.  This election is so ugly, divisive, and terrifying all at the same time. It's tearing people apart.  I think most of us just want it to be over.

 
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Not a Honeymoon

I don't mind staying in three different hotels on one vacation because it makes the vacation seem that much longer.  The  Grand Waikikian is even better in person then it looks on the internet.  The hardwood floors, the kitchen, the bathrooms, and tons of space.  Everything about it was perfect.  My parents stayed with us, and everyone else was in different hotels.

Mom and Dad

This is our fourth time to Hawaii and hiking was pretty much the only activity I wanted to do, so after the four of us checked in we went directly to Manoa Falls Trail.   It was more muddy and slippery than it was challenging, but it was a good hike for the four of us.

older sister and nephew

This is the sister who claims she doesn't like to travel.  How is she my sister?  I got a shirt, but her trip souvenir was two new tattoos! Saying no to travel is like saying, no to taking space away from the job and your every day wash rinse repeat routine to experience new and fun things.  It doesn't have to be as far as Hawaii, or even require an airplane, but travel is travel and I really hope that she has a new appreciation for stepping outside of her small town and doing something different. 

Baby M is not so sure about this whole beach day thing

I haven't yet mastered swimming, and have this odd fear of fish.  Learning how to breathe underwater and walk on the ocean floor with sharks was not on my wish list, so MJ took T's new hubby along and they had a fantastic time.  The rest of us spent the day at the beach.

the kids were done

The newlyweds were not rid of us yet.  Not a single day went by that they didn't see friends and family.  We were all within one mile of each other, so it worked, but it wasn't the same!!  Group activities take so long to get going.  Trying to coordinate dinner, or anything really was a bit of a nightmare.  It took forever for all of us to make it to the beach.  That night we were all starving and it seemed to take forever for everyone to be ready and to decide on a place that could accommodate all 8 1/2 of us.  We went looking for Round Table because the wait at Yard House was too long, and it turns out it was actually just Round Table Pizza served inside a place called Giovanni Pastrami.  Okay...that's clear as mud.  Don't call it Round Table when it's not Round Table!  We would have never found it if I hadn't asked a valet.

surf lessons

In addition to scuba diving MJ also wanted to try surfing so he signed up for a lesson.  He was the only one in his class that actually was able to stand up and he was super sore and exhausted after he was done.  I guess surfing is pretty hard.  You see those two girls on the right?  They had a full face of make-up.  Both of them! Why do people do that?

We got in another beach day and a pool day before we had to go home.  My parents left very early Wednesday morning.  I cried.  My sister and nephew left Thursday afternoon.  I cried.  T and her husband took off on Thursday.  I cried.  What the heck is wrong with me?  We left on Friday evening.  I didn't cry, but I wanted to.  We stretched our trip out to the max; nine relaxing days...and somehow it still seemed like it wasn't long enough when we left.

Oahu was our honeymoon six years ago, and it is great but my only complaint, is that you don't get that quiet tropical island feel you expect from Hawaii.  We got that feel in North Shore, but Waikiki is very populated.  There are freeways, tall buildings, and a lot of chain restaurants and shops.  We still haven't made it to the big Island, but after hearing that the beaches are volcanic ash, I'm not so sure I want to.  Honolulu is still a great vacation, and we enjoyed it, but the next time I go back, it will be Kauai or Maui.  Kauai because it is so remote, and Maui which is not quite as remote, but has Road to Hana.  They are by far my two favorite Islands.

I don't know how he survived, but MJ traveled from Germany half way across the world to San Diego just a day and a half before we left for Hawaii.  He was tired, but he adapted pretty well during the trip.  We did a red-eye out of Honolulu and arrived in San Diego on Saturday morning.  I unpacked my suitcase so he could fill it back up.  He was home for five hours before I was driving him back to the airport, and he had to be back at work bright and early on Monday.  I'm so glad he was willing to do all that travel in such a short amount of time and that he was able to make it work with his schedule.

I cannot be without vacation in my future.  You know what that means? Time to start planning the next one.  It is not a honeymoon when your friends and family tag along so T and Tom are doing the same.

Oahu #1
Maui
Kauai
Oahu #2

 
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