Good for you and bless your husband for allowing you to go to Florence and Rome. We love those cities.

Your post reminds me of a card I sent to a friend today. Here's the webpage. http://anyhorribleoccasion.com/produ...products_id=40

I'm looking forward to hearing about your time in my favorite country.

For "allowing" her to go?????

Kattttttieeeeeeeee! Shame!

Before I forget, here is a link to a post that might help other Moms who need (or want) to leave their kids.

http://www.fodors.com/forums/pgMessa...reen_name=mebe

hnberlin -- I'll do my best to offer a little inspiration :)

LoveItaly and LCBoniti-- nice to hear from you both again! That was a great trip with my daughter. She doesn't remember a thing, lol.

To say the boys are bouncy is an understatement! They're more like leapers, and have the scared knees and bumpy heads to prove it. They are also absolutely sweet, worth every moment.

mms - I was also a bit disappointed after all the raving I heard. But like I said, the service was excellent, it was just my room. Oh well.

Okay -- about the polizia -- I did not get arrested. I'm obsessed with them. And one nice man gave me a lovely squeeze... but that happened in Florence, so you'll have to wait awhile for the rest of that story.... :D

Well mebe I am jealous as the bello polizia in Rome did not give me a hug, but I will share that story at the end of your trip report, lol.

mebe-great report so far.
I admit a certain admiration for the Roman polizia myself. On my last trip I saw one of these incredibly gorgeous men in uniform, in the <i>ladies</i> restroom of the Borghesi gallery nonetheless!

Sounds like a fantastic trip - I went to Florence for the same reason to commune with the Botticellis and Venus never looked so good. AND I loved the Simon Schama series - I really hope that people take a look at it, he's so good! Carry on....

I find this thread REALLY interesting and I am really looking forward to the next installment of the saga.
A question to the Editor of the forum, though: Is it possible to bookmark the thread and not the whole forum? Saying this because with the number of posts we run the risk of losing the header in the depth of the screens.
Thank you
Lp

Thanks for this report. I'm green with envy.


I second and third SIMON SCHAMA'S POWER OF ART. I bought them on Amazon and LOVE them. I loan them to everyone. A great gift for a traveler too.

Lualpa-if you click on the title of the thread it will take you to a page which is specifically for that thread. Then you can bookmark that page in your computer.

simple enough
dumb me
thank you

Lualpa,

Also, by responding in any way, you have bookmarked the thread in a sense. If you click on your screen name next to &quot;Welcome&quot; at the top of the page, all the threads to which you have added will appear in the left column.

Dear mebe,

What a treat to find your report today! I was definitely wondering how things went and if you'd have time to share with us.

Can't wait to hear more about your trip.

gruezi

mebe
I can really relate to your post. I went to Italy with my parents and grandma. My husband took off time to watch our two very small children. Besides the quiet I remember really enjoying eating &quot;hot things hot and cold things cold.&quot; Nor did I have to get up for anything when I started eating.

I had a third since them and three years ago we took all of them. Really fun too--but different.

Mebe, please come back with more. It sounds like a wonderful trip. Do you have the link for the report from your trip with your daughter? Thanks.

Since mebe is undoubtedly busy catching up with her family, here is the link to her other trip report (one of my personal favorites):

<font color="blue">Call Me Crazy - I went to Italy with a Toddler , and Loved Every Moment (almost...) A Trip Report: Rome and Tuscany</font>

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34802236

Thank you LC.

Thanks LC.

Yes, I am. But I'm not folding laundry and working on some more. :)
~M.

I am really enjoying this, thank you, mebe.

I've done this myself a couple of times, but your tale is an inspiration for more as it helps relieve some of the requisite guilt... :-)

Gruezi -- I've thought of you often -- it's nice to hear from you!

Kristina -- I was a big fan of your trip report to Rome and I remember your polizia in the bathroom! They can get away with anything, can't they? ;;)

Here is a bit more...

I left on the afternoon of May 12, the day after Mother’s Day. That morning, Aaron slipped in the kitchen and dropped Chase on his head. Chase cried; I held him, my hand against his growing bump, thinking, this is a bad omen. I will die in a plane crash and the 24 hour new shows will label me a bad mother; the ticker tape asking the audience: “what was she doing on a plane, anyway?”

At the airport, I was anxious and sat fidgeting with my bags. I was near a French mother and her little girl, about three years old and I actually ENVIED her. Really, I scolded myself; you want to sit on a 10 hour flight with a three year old? Look at the fatigue in that mother’s eyes. You want to exchange your worries, for hers? I heard a baby cry, and I looked around, my chest tight, biting my lips, wishing my tears away, missing the cries of my babies. Really? Are you serious? So I gave myself a pep talk: pull-your-sh*t-together. You can cry once you get to the hotel, but not a moment before.

On the plane I sat next a business man traveling to London. His company was working to make 2012 Olympics environmentally friendly. We began chatting and I did enjoy the mystery of a lone woman traveling to Rome. He asked if it was for business:
No, I said, for vacation.
(A little pause.)
Then he told me about a trip he took to Tuscany with his wife. So I gave up a bit of mystery and told him that I also went to Tuscany, with my husband and daughter.
(Another pause.)
My husband suggested I take a trip on my own to get a break from our kids; we have three now.
You have three kids? Wow, you look too young to have three kids.
Thanks. ;;)
(Slightly longer pause…)
You must not live close to family. Otherwise, they could watch the kids and your husband could go with you.
Actually, we live near both sets of grandparents. My husband thought I should go alone. And he wanted to spend more time with his kids.
(R-e-a-l-l-y long pause)
That’s…interesting…
And our conversation ended.

Heathrow was easy. We landed; I quickly departed the plane (another bonus to Economy Plus) and briefly waited for the train. Right before security they decided one of my bags was an inch too long, and they instantly checked it. I flew through security, found my gate, and waited for my plane. When I almost burst into tears, walking by a diaper dispenser in the woman’s bathroom, I reaffirmed my promise to “keep my sh*t together until the hotel room.” I then climbed onto the plane and fell asleep while flying over the cliffs of Dover.

We landed in Rome in rain. Worried and uptight Brits from my flight surrounded me. That used to be me. But now I was in Italy. And there is something in that Italian air… I watched group of Italian men, standing together in an intimate circle, talking and gesturing. They were middle aged and not handsome, but their hair was coifed just so, their olive skin silky smooth and their Italian flowed beautifully like lyrics to a poem… My chest was tight again, and I bit my lip again, but too late, my eyes flooded with tears -- of pure joy. Oh My God. I’m actually here. I’m back in Rome.

I picked up my checked bag. My driver, a lovely woman in a white leather jacket, greeted me with my name on a sign and a genuine smile. I fetched Euros from the ATM, sank into the backseat of her Mercedes and eagerly awaited the great adventure of driving to my hotel.

I love the confident ease that Italians have while driving. She sped down the road, whipping in and out of traffic, while chatting on her phones and reading her daily planner.

I asked her if she was from Rome, and she burst into another smile and said “Yes!” and asked where I was from. I told her California, near San Francisco, and she immediately apologized for not speaking to me earlier. She said “I didn’t talk to you because I thought you were English; your flight came from London. I don’t like English… or French. Americans I like because friendly.” Yes, we do tend to be friendly I said with my own smile, my eyes cast out the window, blissfully absorbing the gritty Roman streets.