Vindi, Vidi, Vici

 Today is our last day in Rome. We were all exhausted from days spent on our feet seeing all the things. The day trip to Pompeii was also rather taxing. We decided not to plan anything for today, but to see how we were and go from there. Ammon had found a ward not too far from us, so we had decided to at least attend church. To get to the church was pretty awkward from our Air BnB which is why we decided to take a taxi. Unfortunately, that proved to be the wrong choice. We could not get one and ended up missing church. We went back inside and had home church then asked the kids what they wanted to do. Nothing. They wanted to do nothing.

After a while of doing nothing we decided to go in search of food. We also needed to get a duffle bag for our flight tomorrow. The flight from Rome to Barcelona has very strict rules on weight for the checked luggage, so we decided to get a duffle bag since we get to check a total of 6 bags and one gets to be heavier. Down from our house not too far was a mall that we had been to before so we went there. You would think that it being our last day in Rome we would want Italian food, but we were all kind of over it, so we ate at a "Wild West" restaurant instead. Cormac and I got the fajitas. They were delicious.

After eating we went in search of a duffle bag. We also needed a few supplies. In particular, I was looking for a needle and maybe some moleskin. I have the most enormous blister on the back of my heel that is causing me great pain every time I take a step. I needed a way to relieve some of the pressure without creating a big open wound. I went into the pharmacy to ask for moleskin or something like it. We had a bit of trouble communicating. When I asked for something to care for blisters he thought I needed a pill organizer. I finally busted out Google translate and when he knew I was asking for help with my blister he went into the back and brought me back some bubble wrap to put in my shoe. I accepted it and decided to move on. We weren't going to make any more progress. It was pretty funny.

We gathered our supplies and then hopped on the metro to go to a bakery I had read about that wasn't too far from our place. This place had amazing reviews and the most adorable pastries. They were all tiny. We got a dozen little ones to share and 4 big ones. Unfortunately there was nothing there dairy free, so Ammon didn't get to participate.

We returned home and then settled in to watch some movies. We first watched a documentary on Pompeii then we watched Free Solo and all flinched and freaked out as he climbed El Capitan even though we all knew he lived. We then settled into our "meal" of pastries while Ammon finished off the leftover tacos.

I recognize that being in Rome and staying in all day may seem like a waste, but it was so nice and I think all of our bodies really needed a rest. Tomorrow we leave for Barcelona.

I asked the kids what they would miss about Italy. They like the food and have enjoyed seeing the sites, but also, they are all looking forward to leaving because we get to play at the beach the last few weeks of our trip. Having very little relief from the heat has maybe tainted a bit of our enjoyment of Rome, but I think the kids will look back on this leg of the trip fondly.

We have really fallen into a rhythm. I was very prepared for the kids to complain and to want to go home the further we got into our trip. I find that they actually talk about it less and less as time goes on. That is not to say they do not miss home. They do, but they have also really adapted to our current lifestyle. We are getting good at waking, eating, site seeing, and working in the evenings. The kids are getting more adept at navigating around. It has been a really great experience. Most of the homesickness and complaining came the first week we were away. It has slowly gotten less and less. We were tempted to come home early, but was time has gone on I am so glad we didn't. While we will likely never attempt something this lengthy again, I am definitely glad we have done it at least once.