no words describe...

Wow...Rome is amazing. This post will be short and sweet because we got up a bit late and the tour guide will be here soon to take us on a 5 hour private Vatican, St. Peters, Sistene Chapel tour. Arrived at 12:30 pm, after customs and whatnot made it to apartment at 3pm. Then at 4 we headed towards the Spanish steps and shopped and wandered and a cold beer. At 7 pm we met for a walking tour of Trevi Fountain, spanish steps and churches. Too tired at the moment and too hurried to describe right now. Will do that later. Anyway, at 10 pm sat down to a fabulous dinner outside St. Ignatius church on the patio.... walked all the way and in bed by 12:30....Rome is beautiful!!!!!!

Will post pictures and more detail later tonight...I will have time then! xoxoxoxo

we're ready to go

We are up and ready to head out. We made it to Seattle safely last night and thankfully we left in the day (and not in the evening as originally planned) because we had to stop in Othello at Les Schwab and get the tires checked. The van was fully loaded with luggage (10 pieces), 6 people and it was 96 degrees out at 2:30 pm in Washtucna. We got the "high tire pressure light" and naturally it was a bit concerning but we figured with the heat and heavy load it was to be expected. Upon stopping at Les Schwab it was found that the tire PSI was 50+ in each tire. It is normally 35....It's a good thing we didn't blow a tire. The tire pressure guage was in the truck at home so didn't realize how bad it was. Anyway, the rest of the ride was better once we go tires relieved of some extra air.

We got to Betsy's around 6:45 and then we all headed to Armondo's in Renton for a lovely Italian dinner and some Chianti wine. The evening was spent visiting and relaxing and talking about the trip to come. Mike and Kristin worked on Mike's bioengineering application, which is due very soon. All in all it was a great day.

We are all very tired, but the excitement of what's to come has got our adrenaline pumping! :)

One more day and too many loose ends!

Today is a busy day. Packing…ugh….But thanks to Becca and Kathy I have an amazing selection of books and really cool purse!

If only I could manage on NO sleep until we leave, I just might be able to get it all done!

24 hours from now, we’ll on our way to Seattle! Woo Hoo!

pictures and itinerary

Carnival Freedom


Map of where we are going!

Our trip itinerary:

• Friday June 20 - Depart for Betsy's
• Saturday June 21 - Fly to Rome
• Sunday June 22 - Friday June 27 - Rome
• Things we will be doing in Rome: Vatican Museum, Sistine Chapel, St. Peter's Basilica, Scavi Tour, Colosseum, Roman Forum, Palatine HIll, Orvietto, Osti Antica and Tivoli!
• Friday June 27 - Cruise leaves port of Civitavecchia (Rome)
• Saturday June 28 - Naples, Italy: tour of Amalfi Coast, Sorrento, Positano, Amalfi, Ravello and private guided tour of Pompeii with Francesco Marrapese
• Sunday June 29 - Felaxing day at Sea
• Monday June 30 - Dubrovnik, Croatia: tour Old Town, walk the city walls, Lokrum Island, Buza bar
• Tuesday July 1 - Wednesday July 2, Venice, Italy: evening Gondola ride, St. Marks Square, Doge's Palace, exploring and shopping
  
• Thursday July 3 - Relaxing Day at Sea
• Friday July 4 -Messina, Sicily, Italy: rental car to explore Taormina, countryside, funicular to beach and Mt. Etna
• Saturday July 5 - Relaxing Day at Sea
• Sunday July 6 - Barcelona, Spain: private city our with Jose Soler; La Sagrada Familia, Park Guell, Montjuic, works by Gaudi, tapas and beach time
• Monday July 7 - Cannes, France: private 9 hour tour; Eze Village, Monaco, Prince Palace Square, changing of the guards, the Cathedral, Monte-Carlo, St. Paul de Vence, Nice and topless beaches in Cannes
• Tuesday July 8 - Livorno, Italy: private 9 hour tour with photo stop at Pisa, 1/2 day in Florence, reservation at the Academy of Fine arts to see the David, Tuscan Countryside with stops at Leonardo Da Vinci Winery and San Gimignano
• Wednesday July 9 - cruise ends in Rome, fly to Seattle
• Thursday July 10 - return to Pullman
  

packing, loose ends, and lists

We had a "family + Mike" trip meeting last night to finalize plans, tie up loose ends and go over a detailed itinerary. Jake and Mike were being so ridiculously silly that I'm not sure how much information they retained. Thankfully I printed out a hard copy of the itinerary and a list of "things to know and things to bring".
While Kristin and Mike go shopping for last minute clothes and suitcases today, I will be knee deep in last minute stuff to make the trip happen. I need to alter 3 of my shirts as they are made for someone with watermelon sized breasts of which I do not have! Jake and Jim both have buttons that need to sewn on shorts, velcro added to pockets (long story...hehe)....I still need to get to Moscow myself and add on the international cell plan to our service and get instructions for Jake and Sarah how to use their iphones for wi-fi only and turn off the texting. With the 4000 texts per month Sarah does that would be a hell of a bill when we return. I think turning OFF texting while gone is the best bet!
Then it will be time to prepare instructions for Toni on preparation of payroll at the end of the month. I've never been gone during payroll before so this will be a first. I know she can handle it though. :)
I have been carrying around my small spiral notebook and I am making progress crossing things off the list, however I keep thinking of things to do and my list is growing!!!!!
Friday will be here before we know it and hopefully, I'll be packed! :)