13th Wedding Anniversary

Nick and I have now been officially married for 13 years and together 16. I am so lucky to have him in my life. Every year I only grow to love him more and more. He bought me the beautiful Swarvoski necklace and earring set in the picture above and took me for a romantic dinner at the Tisch Bar and Restaurant. He hoped to place the present under the Christmas tree and tell me to see if Santa left me anything, but ironically enough, had taken the tree down that day.

I, however, bought him running gear, power shakes, recovery drinks, and inserts for his running shoes. Amazingly enough, he said that was the best gift he has gotten from me in years.

Heres to growing older, wiser, more wrinkled, and senile together. Being with you is still and will always be the best decision I have ever made. I love you.

Sledding in Hunenberg

Today at 9 am this morning, I decided to bundle Geno, Coretta, and Charlie up to go sledding in the neighborhood. The above collage is of us spending time together in the neighborhood sledding.

The Vatican, Pantheon, and Trevi Fountain

The Vatican experience was really amazing. The idea that it is it's own country with 900 inhabitants is interesting, with those inhabitants being just the cardinals and the Pope intrigued me. Why always 900 inhabitants you may ask? Because the Cardinals can't marry and so when one dies, that one is replaced. This is why the population never increases. One thing that really fascinated me, was all of the private collections of the Popes. One Pope collected marble figurines of animals, another huge marble Roman statues, while another collecting maps around the world as big as the size of the wall. To me, their wealth seemed endless.

One room was dedicated to intricate tapestries of religious themes. These specific tapestries were all hung in a temperature controlled room.

Yet another room was titled the Immaculate Conception. Many people believe that the Immaculate Conception stands for the point in time when the Virgin Mary gave birth to Jesus, but in reality it is her birthday. In this room there is a shrine to the Virgin Mary. There are murals painted that have her depicted in the middle of the painting with Jesus and God on each side of her. Typically, the Virgin Mary is depicted to the side of Christ. In this room, every Pope has written about the Immaculate Conception in their own native tongue.

Obviously, the Sistine Chapel was amazing. I found the mural of the Last Supper beautiful as well as the Story of the Bible painted on the panels. Symbolism in medieval art is prominent, that you could stare at one for a long period of time just trying to decipher all of the symbols and their meanings. The two main creators that were hired by the Pop himself were Michelangelo and Raphael. Michelangelo, being known for his sculptures and Raphael being known for his painting style and technique.

We also toured three basilicas that were equally important. The first being the Basilica of Saint Peter. In many of these basilicas lies the tombs of Popes and prominent male and female people who fought for and defended Catholicism. It was a pagan country until the Emperor Constantine's vision of the cross while in battle. Rumor has it, that this was when he decided to convert to Catholicism.

Coretta said that visiting the vatican was her favorite memory. She enjoys history and especially art. Our tour guide was always amazed with how attentive she was for her age. This will definitely be a memory she will remember always.

Overall, it is a must see stop if you are traveling in Rome. It is good from a religious standpoint as well as a good look into religious philosophy and history as a study.

Christmas in Rome

While in Rome, we decided to tour the Colloseum. This was a three hour tour that consisted of the tour of the Colloseum, Palentine Hill, and the Trajan Markets. The Colloseum is a sight to behold. It looks so much bigger in person. While in there, we could see the four levels of seating that could house 70,000 inhabitants. These are given out by class status. For the real wealthy, they have the first level where the poor have the fourth level and so on. Although they are seated by class, the one thing that brings these groups together was the shared experience of watching the Gladiators fight each other as well as imported animals from Asia and Africa.

These animals ranged from crocodiles, bears, panthers, and tigers. The set was elaborately put together to create a real natural environment which included bushes, trees, and man-made ponds. The Gladiators themselves were slaves. They worked hard to train for these matches at the Colloseum, partly because if they won and didn't die, they were given their freedom.

Freedom and a substantial amount of money really must have drove their determination. The animals were not fed for the week before the fight to make them more predatory. The animals would then appear out of nowhere from the trapdoors below. They have nets that protect the spectators,but if this doesn't seem to hold, they have Roman soldiers stationed throughout that are ready to shoot the animal. Although this was considered a sport and form of entertainment, both the Gladiator and the animal were used and mistreated. Human Rights Activists and Animal Rights Activists would be in an uproar if this happened today.

Another interesting fact was the explanation of the toilets. The toilets were nothing but cement squares with another square size area carved out of it. The idea of every person relieving themselves essentially into the walking areas seems unsanitary and gross.

Geno seemed to enjoy this tour a lot and was able to keep up throughout the three hour tour with no problems at all. Our group of ten people in the tour really got to know each other....well they all really got to know Geno. Geno always seems shy at first, but when he warms up, his personality shines. In fact one lady asked if she could take his picture. Clearly he was absorbing all of this information, because afterwards he would not stop talking about how they fight monsters at the Colloseum.

We then spent limited time shopping and eating gelato and Roman cuisine. The waiters always seemed to ask Geno if he wanted some whiskey, and Geno would smile and say, "Just apple juice." I believe this is a memory he will remember always.

Grandma Marilyn's Gifts Arrive

 

Geno was so excited to see all of the super hero gear that Grandma Marilyn sent for him. As he would say, "They are so cool. Awesome!" Thank you Grandma! We love you!

Sledding in Zugerberg Today

Today we decided to head up to Zugerberg, located in Zug, for some sledding. We arrived around 11:00 am and parked the car, and proceeded to make it to the train that takes you to the top of the mountain. This train is reclined, somewhat like a cogwheel train.

Once to the top, Nick and Geno jumped on their wooden sled, while Coretta tried to persuade me to go down the mountain with her. I told her that I would promise to do it the next time, which would give me some time, since it takes at least 20 minutes to get down the mountain. While they did that, I decided to hike in the mountains and take some pictures.

I then proceeded to meet them where they would be, and get on the wooden sled and go down the mountain. The older I get, the less of a risk-taker I become, so this was hard for me. What if I lose control of the sled? What if I fall over the cliff? What if someone bumps into me? How bad will I get hurt? are all questions coming to my mind at this moment.

Once down the hill, I felt a liberating feeling come over me. The smooth gliding of the sled on the snow, the scenery, the quiet. Quickly I experienced what it was like to go fast, out of control, and fend for myself which means I needed to learn quick how to move the sled right, left, and stop. They have several bumps strategically placed on the course with patches of ice around the corners of the road. It's like nascar on ice.

We made our way back to the cogwheel train, that brings us back to the mountain to do it all over again. This time Geno and Nick went down together. Geno, who used to be afraid of sledding last year, has become quite the adventurer. He and Nick were going down the hill, and he is screaming, "Faster! Faster!" At one point, they actually hit the boards of the side of the cliff, and Geno loving every minute of it. Even when he almost fell off he was laughing and having a good time.

Coretta then decided to stay later with Sophia, and Evelina while Nick, Geno, and I went home. What a wonderful experience that has taught me that losing some control can be a good thing.

Geno's 4th Birthday!

Geno's 4th Birthday is on December 22nd, but since we will be on a plane to Rome, we decided to celebrate it a few days early. The day was filled with sledding, eating lasagna and cake, and playing with his presents. He even helped Mommy make his cake. He received a Monster Truck remote control vehicle, a mix and match game, Mr. Potato Head from Toy Story 3, Movie Night Playdough Set, and 6 puzzle books from Coretta. After a bath, he was able to slip into some new flannel pajamas before crawling into his bed. I think Geno enjoyed his day very much. Above is a slide show of pictures taken of the day, and below is actual video of Geno opening his presents. Enjoy!