Just Wondering…

You all probably get tired of me going on and on about how tired I am.
How poor I am.
How busy I am.

Probably. I get tired of it, too. And now you are probably sick of my “infomercials” as Jon has dubbed them. I’m sorry. I guess I got a little excited at the prospect of some of you actually being interested in the things I like. (and you were! Thanks for clicking through, I appreciate it!) I do promise not to make it an everyday thing, these “infomercials“. But again, I do tend to get excited about things. Especially things that I think someone else could use and benefit from.

But I am not trying to sell you something today.

Today I am here to make you mad at me. Not on purpose, but I know it will happen.

I am going to Italy again.

In January, with Jon and Seven. Some of you may remember that we “found” Seven in Rome last year. It was a miracle. I still remember sitting alone in the Sistine Chapel for such a long time. Just looking. Sitting. Quietly. Jon was outside in the piazza, as he didn’t feel like going through the chapel again since we had done that a few times before, but I was with our friends, and I managed to get separated from them. So I sat there. People looked at me funny but I didn’t care. And while I sat there, Jon was in the piazza when the Pope opened his window and blessed the crowd. On MY birthday. So my husband gets blessed by Benedict and I get lost in the life of Michelangelo. Several hours later, I am in the Ospedale, gasping at the sight of my unborn son on an ultrasund monitor. Rome will never be the same to me.

So we are going back, and taking The Boy to the place where we found him. Luckily for us, three MAJOR things are helping this trip, otherwise we would definitely NOT be going.

1 – US Airways reduced the Frequent Flyer Miles needed to fly to Europe from 50,000 down to 35,000 for the winter. We each had 35,200. Tell me that isn’t fate. That saved us $1500.

2 – Jon’s Nonna grew up in Italy, just north of Venice. She moved here when she got married, ages and ages ago. But she stayed friends with one of her pals, and that pal happens to have TWO apartments in Venice. One that she lives in, and one on the main island of Venice, just off of San Marco Square that just sits there, unused. We are staying there. For Free. It has a kitchen, Dining Room, Bedroom, and two other small rooms that make little sense. But it is in a perfect location. We stayed there a few years ago for New Years, and while not a 5 star hotel, it’s fantastic. It’s so nice to have all of that space, and it will be great for having Seven there. So, we will be staying there from the 17th through the 25th – 8 days or so. Then it’s back to Rome.

3 – Jon’s parents decided to join us for part of the trip. We had been looking at apartments to rent in Rome for just the 3 of us, but when they decided to go, too, we were able to get a much bigger, much better place and share the cost with them. The apartment is right near to the Trevi Fountain and Piazza Barbarini. We love this area of Rome…it’s so easy to get around!

We are hoping to have Seven baptised in Rome on the 28th. That’s my birthday and also our wedding anniversary. I think it is a special day. Jon’s mother is trying to work it out with one of her former priests (who now teaches, I think, at the Vatican) to get him baptised at Saint Peters. Can you imagine?? How many little boys can say they were baptised in St. Peters??

Stop hating me now. This is where I tell you WHY I am writing this post.

We have never traveled with Seven. Yes, we took him to a ski resort and to the beach. But he was smaller, less mobile, and we had a car and a pack & play.

Does anyone have suggestions about how to travel on the plane (he will be in our laps) – getting him to sleep on the flight (no, I am not opposed to Benedryl, which has been suggested by a doctor) how to make him more comfy? How do you change a butt on the plane? I am not worried about food on the plane. He eats everything. Sleeping and diapers are what have me wondering.

Second, getting around. We have the huge Graco stroller. I do not intend to take this behemoth. We will be traveling by train for much of our journey, and that sucker won’t make it through the door. I have been looking at the cheapy umbrella strollers, but think they are too fragile for cobblestone streets and a lot of heavy use, as we will be carting him everywhere in it for 2 weeks. Looking at lightweight strollers – does anyone have a favorite? Any experience in this field??

Third, sleeping. No WAY am I hauling a Pack & Play to Italy. I saw something tonight called the PeaPod Plus, a tentlike airbed. It’s in the $65 ballpark, and looks pretty cool. It folds up nicely and weighs under 10 pounds, which is nice. because we will be in apartments, there will be no concierge to bring us a port-a-crib, so, without a contraption like this PeaPod, how else would he sleep? Anyone? I am so open to suggestions.

I know a lot of you reading this actually live in Europe. Any ideas? Should I buy these things in advance, like the stroller and the bed, or wait and buy them there? I feel like it will be much less expensive to buy them here…the Euro is still higher than the dollar – and well, I know we will be way under our allowed weight limit for luggage.

Any other helpful hints about getting around are MUCH appreciated.

Italian readers? Do I still have a few? I have a question about train travel. I can do it on my own, but I do have a couple of questions if there is anyone willing to hold my hand!

Any suggestions left in the comments that I think are really helpful I fully intend to republish (with links to you, of course) here on the blog when I get the chance…that is, if you don’t mind.

Hope everyone is having a great week – it’s almost Friday!!