March 2016

It is August. My laptop broke. My life is crazy busy. I stopped blogging. So I am going to do a blog for each month, and then maybe add photos, and then maybe…

SO In March I had some holiday and we went to Rome! We had a really great time. we had an airbnb apartment close to the circus maximus.

whilst we were there we went [as you do] to the forum and palatine on the first day. we could walk there and had a good walk around. my idea of heaven looking around classical antiquities! So we walked, read, looked, spotted, discussed and then for a while, if you were a tired hungry BB, grumped and played on mummy’s phone. After that we went up to the palatine, tho we had less time up there. great views from the balcony and had to distract SB from trying to pick the oranges. We did think a café somewhere in the grounds would have been an excellent idea as we were in there so long we were well and truly peckish as we rushed out at closing time. luckily there is a supermarket on the way back to the apartment and we can start with our Italian dinners!

The following day we went to the coliseum. scorching weather, hhuge queues, but we had bought a pass from the forum, so we bypassed all of that . just stunning really -though you have to take the opportunity of the gaps between groups. SB and I partic enjoyed it, and I think it was partic good for her as she had done the class civ gcse last year and knew the story. I had misinterpreted the distance to the trevi fountain tho, as that is were we walked to. stopped on the way for gelato tho – as you do! delish. Also a tourist shop for selected souvenirs. BB underwhelmed by the trevi, and feeling overwlaked. tho she did throw in a euro for granddad. She really really did not enjoy the tube back, as some kids tried to pickpocket and then a lady shrieked at us for the rest of the journey in Italian. BB wouldn’t go on the tube again!

BB wasnt v well the next day, and tho we all walked to the market on the island, she and I soon walked back after she had made a purchase. SB and DH shopped for longer and SB bought me a beautiful heart necklace. the rest of the time we played games, and since the apartment had wifi, worked out how to get the Netflix on dh hudl to pass through the tv screen. so a bit of a chill morning!  we eall then walkd into the centre of rome to the campidoglio SB and I wandred around together and let BB whiz around with DH. SB took some really good photos.

BB not quite right, but SB and I desperate to see Ostia Antica – interesting in its own right, and we had read all the flavia gemina books! I managed to ask  the station for a return ticket – so was impressed with that! Easy train journey and we were there. Just fab, everything you could hope for! half deserted, mixture of buildings, mosaics, time to wander and dream, and a café! where I again managed to dredge up some Italian! they also have nice toilets – important for BB. TBH prob my fav day of visiting.

for the final day we went to the Vatican. the museum has an excellent trail for kids. we went round the whole thing. the girls laughed at me being so excited by the Abyssinian relicts! TBH, although I had been before I think I hadn’t noticed all the wonderful things in the museum. we nodded to st peters, and didn’t go in. bb and I then got a taxi [!] back to the apartment as she refused the tram, train or walk options and wasn’t quite well, and DH and SB went to Spanish steps – in scaffolding, and then to the Parthenon, which I would have liked. so a great holiday and went home wanting more . bb said rome was like her uncleland – so high praise!

we visited my parents before we went to rome, always good. also SB had a ballet audition for a production. she hadn’t had any ballet lessons since her grade 6 [merit] and looked good and enjoyed it, even if she didn’t get a part [there were loads and loads of dancers!]

exam prep carried on – weds4ed with lots of chemistry and maths, and lots and lots of English practice and past papers.

oh, I applied for a part time secondment post. work has always been a bit of a stress management wise, so thought should do something a bit different!