A New Years in Rome/ Felice Anno Nuovo!!!

{The Colosseum as the sun sets}

      Yes, I realize it has been many moons since the New Years and this post seems a little 'late to the party' but instead of sending pictures individually to family and friends, I figured this would save time. And although I have nothing but time on my hands, I like to think of myself as being efficient. (At least that is what I would like to think, I'm sure my old professors would beg to differ). So for New Years we decided to get outta dodge, not because we don't like dodge, but because who doesn't need a change of scenery from time to time? Nothing like having multiple days off in the season and feeling like you did nothing with that time…(see... back to that efficiency thingie). We contemplated London but she turned out to be such an expensive b@tch and since neither Shaun nor I have the 'at all costs' chip embedded in us, we looked elsewhere and Rome it was.  Fast forward a few days and voila, the lodging, the flight and a loosely based 'itinerary' was in the books. We decided to rent an apartment smack dab in the middle of one of Rome's most famous squares, Piazza Navona. What drew us to it was the accessibility to everything (we walked everywhere) and the fact that we could somewhat blend in as locals. Don't know why, but the whole 'walking into an apartment building as opposed to a hotel lobby' makes me feel…more authentic. If that makes sense? Truth be told, that 'authentic' feeling flew right out the window as soon as we realized that we were 'geographically' challenged and turned a 2 block walk to the Pantheon into a 20 block excursion complete with arguing, multiple beads of sweat and some minor cursing at our map. All in all, we spent 5 days in what could possibly be my new favorite city (sorry Paris and NYC). We hit all the major sights; Colosseum, Pantheon, Trevi Fountain, Vatican City, the Spanish Steps and tried as many authentic restaurants as possible. Unfortunately for Shaun, he came down with a nasty head cold that left him unable to taste food for a good day or so. Instead, he would eat and ask me how it was which I'm sure humored anyone with-in ear shot as I described in detail how good it was. We spent hours at the Colosseum where the words 'are you not entertained?' passed Shaun's lips more than once and lingered in the Roman Forums admiring the amazing architecture all done with out the modern technology that we know now. We ogled the opulence of St. Peter's Basilica and giggled at the fact that Vatican City is the country with the smallest birth rate…zero (or at least should be zero.) And just as we are pondering life and how much of this vast world we have yet to see, we run into a fellow Georgia Tech basketball alum playing overseas in of all places…The Sistine Chapel. (He is not actually playing in the Sistine Chapel, we just ran into him there…) The only semi-bummer was due to a time mix-up, we missed Pope Francis papal speech, which I'm kicking myself for. Fortunately, Shaun was just as disappointed so I guess we will just have to make another trip…..

{Inside of the Colosseum. Still hard to believe that people were killed for sport all the while spectators cheered and celebrated. The cross on the left hand side represents where the Emperor sat and gave the thumbs up/thumbs down that Joaquin Phoenix did so well in the movie Gladiator}

{The floor is no longer there but you get the picture with the replica floor on the far side, with the underground part being cages for holding the animals and gladiators before the fights}

{Entrance to the Roman Forum, the heart of ancient Rome, located next to the Colosseum}

{View of Roman Forum from entrance}

{View of Castle Sant'Angelo from the across the Tiber} 

{St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City}

{Gold guilded entrance to St. Peters}

{Pantheon}

{Amazing interior of the Pantheon…which I found out can be used for weddings…could imagine sending out invites with the address of the ceremony being The Pantheon}

{Taking a break from the Vatican Museum to get a pic with the dome of St. Peter's in the background}

{One of the many beautiful frescos in the Vatican museum}

{Trevi fountain..we did the obligatory throw the coin in the fountain with your right hand over your left shoulder so supposedly…WE WILL BE BACK}

Nice...encore

{View from atop of the Park du Chateau}

     You can't help but love Nice. I laugh now when I think about the first time we visited (4 or 5 years ago) and it was raining. We didn't want to get wet so we only did a drive-by and quickly concluded, we didn't really like it. (Because we all know, you can totally get the feel of a city in a car. On a rainy day. After a long drive. With 3 people in the car. And 2 dogs.) At the time, I couldn't understand what all the fuss was about. It seemed blah. Maybe it was the rain streaked windows but I asked myself, where was this Nice everyone was talking about? This vibrant place with energy, history and oodles of character? Well the second time we went, I found all that and more. It clicked. I got what everyone was talking about and each time I return, I find Nice has a little something for everyone, the beach, great food, lively ambiance, history and beautiful architecture (or what I now refer to as 'eye-candy'.) So when we have visitors and they ask what there is to do and see in Nice, I find it is almost better to remain vague about it, to let it speak for itself because if there is one thing I have learned in the last 4 or 5 years, Nice never disappoints.

{Nice's sherbet colored buildings}

{Hanging laundry never looked so chic}

{Flavored sugars that I regret not buying}

    While exploring the Parc du Chateau which overlooks the city, we stumbled upon a beautiful cemetery called the Cimetiere du Chateau with the most ornate tombs and headstones. We spent a peaceful 30 minutes admiring the detail and the beauty and even spotted some recognizable names such as Alfred Van Cleef (the jeweler) and Emil Jellinik, who named a a certain car after his daughter, Mercedes. See that is the thing about Nice, just when you think you have seen it all, you realize you've only just scratched the surface.

We're back

   

     Yes folks, we are back. After an all too long break from blogging, I feel like it may be time to start back up again. My absence was not for a lack of action in our life, just a lack of interest in documenting it, or more probable, a lack of time to organize my thoughts. So with out further ado, here is my brain dump. After my last post here where I talked about Shaun getting the go-ahead to start practicing after his Achilles tear, a lot happened. He practiced, he played in the play-offs, he got a big head, his team won the championship, we celebrated, we went back to the U.S. for an all too short 8 weeks, we visited family, then we flew back here to Antibes and found ourselves back in the routine as if none of that ever happened. A few days ago while at the beach drinking some rose (yes our life is sometimes really rough), Shaun and I talked about how all the above seems like a blur to us. Maybe it was the short summer or maybe it was the fact that when we walked balk into our apartment for the first time, it felt like we had only been away for a long weekend. Time had stood still, our cupboards were full, our clothes still hung, all the usual suspects were still at the beach and the local boulanger greeted me with the same half-smile she did 2 months ago. (A full smile is tough to get from her but since she did say it was nice to see me since it had been a while, I will take that as an equivalent to a full smile and maybe even a hug in her book.) It is amazing to me how after being away for a few months, one can snap right back into the swings of things so easily and organically. So since pictures are worth a thousand words, I will let them detail our last few months and let's hope that getting back into 'blogging' will be as as easy and organic as it was for us to settle back into French life.

{Semi-finals against Pau, photo cred Romain Robini}

{Shaun and his 'big head' I was talking about}

{This didn't end well...notice the proximity I am to these two donkeys}

{Doing the obligatory 'medal bite' while Jaws the mascot seemed to be attempting to do his own 'bite' on Shaun}

{The pay-off after 10 months of hard work}

{The French National Team christening the new gym}

{Sunset in Juan les Pins}

{Some rose and the beach}

{One of the not so great perks of living in such a popular tourist destination, the crowds}