Author: susannekee

When you are in Rome there are so many beautiful scenic piazzas (squares) and historic churches. There are over 900 churches in Rome. You cannot walk far without coming across a church. 

San Giovanni dei Fiorentini. After almost 200 years of building, this Church was completed in 1734. It is dedicated to John the Baptist and is the national church for Florence in Rome.

 

 

Our early afternoon gelato stop. Chocolate covered Lemon for K and Cinnamon and Black Cherry for the adults.

 

One of Rome’s most picturesque Piazzas- Piazza Navona. It is a lovely square, with beautiful fountains, cafes, and shops. It was built on the site of the 1st century Stadium of Domitian, where chariot races were held. It has served as jousting arena in Medieval times, a home to festivals and marketplaces, and it continues to be a hub of activities to the Romans.The Church of Sant’Agnese in Agone.Porta’s The Fountain of the Moor from 1576.

The Fountain of the Four Rivers was sculpted by Bernini in 1651. It represents the four great River’s of the World, circa mid 1600s, the Danube, the Ganges, the Plate, and the Nile.

The Fountain of Neptune by Bitta and Zappala, built in 1878.

They had some kids activities going on.

 

Nugget snack stop for A on the steps of the Basilica of Sant’Agostino (15th century.) Heaven forbid we go to a country and not visit the local Mickie D’s. 

The Baroque Santa Maria Maddalena.

 

The Pantheon is quite the engineering feat. Centuries old, it is the only intact ancient Roman temple. Emperor Hadrian built the Pantheon in the early 100s. The dome is 142 feet vertically and horozonally. It is the largest unsupported concrete dome in the world, with 25 feet thick walls. The dome is a perfect half-sphere.

 

The Pantheon’s 27 foot wide oculus. Since there is a massive hole in the ceiling, when it rains, water falls inside. The floor is slightly slanted and designed with small holes to allow water to drain.

Like most Roman symbols, the temple has been tuned into a church, the Basilica of St. Mary and the Martyrs. It was probably one of the reasons it has been so well preserved. There are 16 Egyptian granite Corinthian columns at the front, each standing 40 feet tall and weighing 60 tons.

In front of the Pantheon is the marble Fontana del Pantheon, built in 1578. The obelisk atop it was built by Ramses II and brought from Egypt. It has been redesigned and reconfigured over the years.

 

Church of Sant’Ignazio. One of my favorites. The frescoed ceiling is amazing.

 

 

The baroque Oratory of San Francesco Saverio del Caravita (17th-century.)

 

The Trevi Fountain was designed by Nicola Salvi, finished in 1762 and is the largest fountain in Italy.  It is 86 feet high and 161 feet wide. In 19 BC, Marcus Agrippa built an aqueduct to bring water from (8 miles) outside Rome into the city. It ended at the Trevi Fountain. Interestingly, the water from the Trevi Fountain continues on to Fountain of the Old Boat by the Spanish Steps and Fountain of the Four Rivers at Piazza Navona.It is super crowded at the Trevi Fountain, so good pictures are hard to come by. In the center of the Fountain is Neptune, God of the Sea, being pulled in a chariot by tritons and horses. 

 

Legend has it that if you throw a coin with your right hand over your left shoulder into the Fountain, you are destined to return to Rome someday. (The kids did not  “technically” throw it in the right way.) Over $4000 are thrown into the Fountain a day.

 

We did a little souvenir shopping for the kids. Katherine decided on a handmade wire necklace with her name, and Andrew got some cool street art.

A quick lunch and water bottle fill up.

There are 2,500 “Nasoni” water fountains throughout the city. It is piped in from the mountains with ancient Roman aqueducts and is routinely tested for purity. So, it is safe, pure, cold, and best of all- free.

 

Column of Immaculate Conception, dedicated in 1857. The ancient Roman column itself was found in 1777.

 

Sant’Ambrogio e Carlo al Corso. Another favorite. Not much on the outside, but beautiful adornments and ceilings on the inside.

 

The Piazza di Spagna is home to the Spanish Embassy to the Vatican and the infamous Spanish Steps. At the top of the 135 Spanish Steps is Trinità Dei Monti. Ironically, it is a French Roman Catholic Church, and the steps were originally built in 1723-25 by the French as a grand entrance to their church.At the base of the Steps is Bernini’s The Fountain of the Old Boat. In 1598 the Tiber River flooded, and people had to use boats to get around the city. When the waters finally recided, one lone boat was left in this plaza, and Bernini and his son memorialized it with this fountain.

 

The Villa Borghese GardenAndrew at the Pincio’s Water Clock. The hydrochromometer was placed in the Gardens in 1873.

 

Looking down on the Piazza del Popolo from Pincian Hill. It recently was turned into a pedestrian only piazza.The Piazza del Popolo’s Fontana del Nettuno. At the center of the Piazza is an Egyptian obelisk from Ramesses II. It was brought to Rome in 10 BC by Emperor Augustus. It was originally erected in Circus Maximus, but moved to Piazza del Popolo in 1589.

 

Ending the day with an amazing dinner (yes, dinner- it’s vacation) of lemon gelato, some kind of cream filled pastry, and a freshly made cannoli in Piazza Cavour, beside the Supreme Court Building.

xoxo-sk

ps. They were selling these at some of the souvenir stands. They cracked me up.

After leaving Vatican City and St. Peter’s Square, we made our way down the road to Castel Sant’Angelo, Castle of the Holy Angel, named after the angel Michael. Legend has it the plague killed hundreds of thousands of people in the 500s, and in 590, Michael landed on top of the Castle, and the plague ended. Originally built in early 100s by Emperor Hadrian as a mausoleum for himself and family, it has been used as a fortress, castle, prison, and now museum.

The Passetto di Borgo connects the Castel Sant’Angelo to St. Peter’s Basilica. It was built in 1277 and is 800m long. It was built, and has been used, as an escape route for the popes in danger.

 

A few minutes away, and right around the corner from our Airbnb was the amazing Pizza Zizza. While we waited a few minutes for our table, the fabulous owner brought us out some fried rice balls. We obviously liked them.Andy and I enjoyed their specialty, the pizza platter. It was a sampling of six of their pizzas, each one amazing. The mushroom and fresh basil and mozzarella were my favorites, Andy loved the pesto and ham.The kids loved their margarita pizza.  If you didn’t know, the toppings on a margarita (margherita) pizza represent the colors of the Italian flag- red/tomatoes, white/mozzarella, green/basil. It was created in 1880 to honor Margherita, the Italian Queen. When Andrew finished his, they just brought him more. I cannot tell you how wonderful the hospitality is at this restaurant.And like a true Italian, Andy finished his meal with another expresso.

 

We started the evening walking up the Gianicolo (Janiculum), making our way to Trastevere. The Gianicolo is a large hill west of the Tiber, south of Vatican City, with beautiful panoramic views of the city. At the start of the climb.

Atop the hill is the Fontana dell’Acqua Paola, a marble fountain built in the 17th century by Pope Paul V. It was later used as inspiration for the famous Trevi Fountain.

The bronze Garibaldi Monument. It honors Garibaldi, the hero who overcame the French attack on Rome in 1849. 

 

On Rome’s “Left Bank” is the Trastevere district. It has a medieval vibe with cobblestone streets, lots of bars and restaurants, and an eclectic mix of people. 

Rome’s oldest church, The Basilica de Santa Maria was established before 337 AD. The current church was built in the 12th century. It’s sits in Trastevere’s main square.

 

Dinner outside at Sette Oche. My favorite of the nicer restaurants we went to (we didn’t go to any super nice places due to it being an absolute waste on our kids at this point.) I had cacio e pepe, a new favorite I repeated through the trip, and a caprese salad (no before pics, I was hungry.) Andy had lemon linguine, Katherine meatballs, and Andrew (again) had a margarita pizza.

 

We walked home along the Tiber River. The historic center of Rome is the Ponte Sisto pedestrian bridge, built in the 15th century.Goodnight Rome.

xoxo-sk

ps. SPQR is Rome’s official symbol, coming from the Latin phrase “Senatus Populusque Romanus,” “the Senate and the people of Rome.” It dates back from 80 BC.

 

Ciao Rome! We hit the ground running here. First stop- Vatican City (the Museums and Sistine Chapel specifically.) Vatican City is the smallest country in the world (110 acres), with a population under 1000. Ruled by the Holy Catholic Church, it consists of St. Peter’s Basilica, the Vatican Museums, the Sistine Chapel, Vatican Gardens, and various offices and housing for the Pope, clergy, and Swiss Guard.

Pope Julius II founded the Vatican Museum in the early 16th century. It houses countless works of art, including paintings, tapestries, frescos, maps, and sculptures. There is truly so much interesting art to see, more than we could possible see in one morning, especially with kids. The Museum is enormous. It is not super organized and lacks a flow, but I think we saw everything we wanted to see, and in the kid’s case more than they wanted. Here are some (lots) of the pictures, I tried my best to edit them down to my favorites.

The Pinecone Courtyard or Pigna. The 13 foot bronze Pinecone was found in Rome, near the Pantheon and is from 1st century BC. It has been moved a few times, but has been in its current location since 1608. The bronze sphere within a sphere is one of many similar sculptures around the world by Italian Pomodoro. It was added in latter part of the 20th century, with the inner sphere meant to symbolize the world and the outer Christianity.

 

In the New Wing/ Braccio Nuevo. Andrew with the Statue of the Nile God.

Staring down a Roman marble bust of Medusa from 2nd century.

Many (most) of the statue’s penises are covered with a fig leaf. Pope Paul IV began the trend in the late 1500s, and it continued into the 1800’s. Some Popes broke the penises off, while some preferred the addition of the fig leaf.  Sadly, Pope Pius IX destroyed any statues with their penis still visible. Roman Emperor Antoninus Pius from the 2nd Century AD.

 

 

Katherine sitting by the pond in the Octagonal Courtyard, originally called the Belvedere Courtyard. The Courtyard holds some of the Vatican’s most important statues.Laocoön and His Sons was made around 30 BC and found outside Rome in 1506. The sculpture shows the mythological Trojan priest Laocoön and his sons getting attacked by serpents sent by the gods.

One of the Vatican’s most famous sculptures, Apollo Belvedere. It depicts the Greek/Roman god Apollo having just shot his arrow. This marble Greek statue, from 1st century BC, was found in the 15th century and was the first piece of art in the Vatican’s art collection. Interestingly, this was one of the pieces Napoleon brought back to the Louvre in Paris after his Italian invasion. Obviously, it was returned in 1815.

Perseus Triumphant was carved in 1801 by Canova and shows Perseus holding Medusa’s severed head. This piece was inspired by the Apollo Belvedere and took its place when Napoleon took Apollo back to Paris. To the left and right of Andy, Katherine, and Perseus are the boxers, Creugas of Durres and Damoxenos of Syracuse. Canova, inspired by the story Periegesis of Greece, finished sculpting the pair in the very early 1800s.

Venus and Eros from 170.

Sarcophagus with Bacchanalian procession and lion’s heads.The tub was made out of a single piece of red granite.

 

Quick stop in the Egyptian area. Andrew with huge red granite statue of Ptolemy Philadelphus.

 

The Sala Rotonda/Rotunda Room, completed in 1779.

Found in Emperor Hadrian’s old villa and restored in 1774, these Roman marble sculptures represent Zeus’s daughters, the Muses. The Muse of Tragedy, Melpomene, with a tragic mask. Clio, the Muse of History and Memory. Urania, Muse of astronomy, with her staff and globe. The Muse of Comedy, Thalia, with her comic mask. The statues are 2nd century Roman copies of Greek originals from the 4th century BC.

Hercules is on the on the far right and is gilded bronze from the 2nd century. He was found buried under a courtyard in the Roman district of Parione in 1864. It was found that the statue had been struck by lightening, and then, according to Roman customs, given a ritual burial.The beautiful ceilings and floors. The stunning mosaics are from the early 3rd century and were reassembled in the hall in the 18th century.

At the center of the Rotunda Room is Nero’s spherical stone bath. He ordered it for his Domus Aura (Golden House) in the early 1st century. With a forty foot diameter, the basin is made of porphyry, volcanic rock. It is hard and heavy, and it must have been quite a feat to get the rock from Egypt to Rome and carve into shape. A red porphyry scarophagus from the 4th century that belonged to Constantine’s mother, Saint Helen.

 

The Gallery of Tapestries is full of Flemish tapestries made in Brussels by Pieter Van Aelst’s school. These tapestries took years to make. They used Raphael’s students drawings as inspiration. The hangings were originally displayed in the Sistine Chapel in 1531. There are also some 17th century Roman made ones of Pope Urban VIII’s life on display. Tapestries aren’t a favorite of mine, but they were beautifully detailed. The Resurrection of the Christ. The Gallery’s ceiling. My favorite thing about the Museum were the amazingly beautiful ceilings, each one more gorgeous then the next. Yep, all that art and I am in obsessed with the ceilings.

The Maps Gallery. Between 1580 and 1585 the famous geographer, Ignazio Danti, frescoed forty maps on the walls representing Italian and Papal regions. I loved the rich bright blues on the maps and the ceilings were stunning.

 

The Raphael Rooms were used as Papal apartments from 1507 to 1585. They were painted by Raphael and his school between 1508 and 1524.

The Room of the Segnatura ceiling. The School of Athens. In this painting, Raphael has imagined a meeting of the greatest minds in history. You can find Michelangelo, Plato, Socrates, Aristotle, and Bramante in the piece, along with Raphael in the bottom right corner.

Disputation of the Holy Sacrament.

The Room of Heliodorus ceiling.

The Mass at Bolsena. Raphael painted himself into this painting.

The Room of the Fire in the Borgo ceiling.

 

You are not allowed to take pictures inside the Vatican’s most famous site, The Sistine Chapel. It was built in the 15th century. Most people are pretty familiar with it and a quick google search will show you pictures of the interior. Michelangelo’s famous ceiling truly is magnificent. It contains nine scenes from the book of Genesis, with the most famous being the Creation of Adam. It took him (mostly alone, he did not play well with others) four years to paint (1508-1512.) Although the ceiling is lovely, I found myself drawn more towards Michelangelo’s The Last Judgement, painted between 1535 and 1541. It’s a chaotic painting of the second coming of Jesus for the final judgement of man.

 

Collection of Contemporary Art.

El Precursor by Sartorio finsihsned in 1928. Foujita’s Madonna and Child (1920.)

Tano Festa’s piece from 1979 was inspired by Michelangelo’s work in the Sistine Chapel

 

 

A few more amazing ceilings and yes Katherine, we are almost done.

 

 

Andrew and the amazing spiral staircase. You are unable to see the original Bramante spiral staircase, but this one is very similar and was constructed in 1932. It a double helix design, made up of two staircases.

Goodbye Vatican, you were everything everyone said you would be- gorgeously breathtaking and crazy crowded.

But wait, one last stop at the Vatican Post Office to send a postcard to our cousins.

Making our way out of St. Peter’s Square. The square was designed by the famous architect Bernini. 140 columns surround the square, with 140 statues atop each one. The colonnades are to represent the Catholic Church embracing the people of the world. It is beautiful.

 

Promised snack break. Gelato flavors today are Strawberries and Cream/White Melon (white melon was the best flavor the whole trip) for me and Cookies/ Nutella for Katherine. Andy doing the espresso thing after a packed morning.

xoxo-sk

For the kid’s Fall break this year, we went to Italy. It was wonderful. We wondered if the kids were old enough and how they would handle the amount of sight seeing, but they did great. It didn’t hurt that we kept feeding them gelato and pizza. We spent one night/day in Milan and then made our way down to Rome.

The Duomo is a sight. (Technically it is the Milan Cathedral, as duomo is Italian for church.) I’ve seen a lot of churches in my European travels, and the Duomo’s marble exterior is one of the most impressive. The pictures don’t do justice to the intricate sculptural details covering the church. The outside of the church has 2,245 marble sculptures, 96 gargoyles, and 135 spires. I can understand why it took almost 600 years to complete. It was actually Napoleon who ordered the final facade of the church to be finished. He was crowned King of Italy at the (mostly finished) Duomo in 1805.

 

Right beside the Duomo is the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II. It is named after the first Italian King and is Italy’s oldest active shopping mall. It opened in 1867 and is full of fancy shops and cafes. 

 

A must if you are ever in Milan is the panzerotti at Luini (it’s around the corner from the Duomo.) There is usually a line, but we got there early. Panzerotti is similar to a calzone, but is fried, not baked. We got a couple cheese and sweet ones to share. It is amazing. So amazing my very particular son loved it. So amazing we actually went back for more.

 

San Bernardino alle Ossa is a church built in the 1200s and rebuilt in subsequent centuries. Predating the current Church is a small chapel decorated with human skulls and bones. I was super into it. (Back home, I was an orthopedic OR nurse, so I felt quite at home with all the bones.) It creeped the kids out a little, but they still thought it was cool. It was originally built in 1210 to house bones when a nearby cemetery ran out of room.

The chapel was filled with skulls, sawed off distal femurs (end of the thigh bone) and proximal tibias (top of lower leg bone).

 

I did some research on gelato before coming here. I really wanted the real stuff. (The easiest way to tell is to see how it is stored. It should be in covered circular containers and not whipped up, piled high in a freezer. Let’s not be snobby though, fake gelato is still super yummy.) Our first stop, Grom, was the real deal and did not disapoint. Flavors we tried today were pastry cream/chocolate and lemon/apple. 

 

Piazza Sant’Alessandro

 

Castelleo Sforzesco was built in the 15th century by the Duke of Milan on the remains of a 14th century fort. It’s a massive defensive fortress that has been rebuilt, occupied by foreign armies (French, Spanish, Napoleon), and added onto over centuries. 

Katherine walking along the water in The Courtyard of Arms, and the boys in The Rocchetta Courtyard.

 

We had late lunch/early dinner at La Prosciutteria. By we, I mean Andy and myself. The kids had a few bites we made them try, but they were not fans. Andy and I loved it though. We are very partial to meat and cheese platters, and this one was amazing.

 

A beautiful little fountain we came across.

 

The tallest building in Italy, the Unicredit Tower.

 

Since they decided not to partake in our meat and cheese plate at La Prosciutteria, we made a quick stop for the kid’s dinner at McDonalds. I’m pretty sure we’ve been to a McDonalds in every country we’ve visited with the kids.

And we are off to Rome. Cin Cin.

xoxo-sk

ps. I absolutely loved all the greenery on the buildings.

Katherine and Andrew turned nine this year. They decided on having sleepovers to celebrate. We decided to do them back to back and knock them out in one weekend. It was exhausting, but everyone had a great time.

Katherine had her party on Friday night.They  girls were high energy and high volume. They made slime, got their nails painted, watched The Greatest Showman (twice), giggled a lot, and ate quesadillas, nachos, and danish waffles. They went to bed late, if at all.

Andrew’s party was Saturday.The boys were much lower maintenance. They played video games, had pillow fights, played on their iPads, watched Infinity Wars, and ate pizza and pancakes. They also slept pretty well, but were up super early.

 

Some lucky nine year olds, opening their birthday packages from all their Grandparents. 

 

Katherine’s friends took her out to a big girl dinner to celebrate her birthday. They got ready together and even borrowed each others clothes. She loved it. 

 

Happy Birthday to Andy. He got his favorite- cupcakes made of yellow cake mix with chocolate frosting. (My lovely American embassy friend got them from America for me.) 

Andy and I celebrated at one of our favorite restaurants, Retour. 

xoxo-sk

School is in session and football season is starting. It’s hard being a college football fan when you are on another continent and six hours ahead. We do our best though.

Due to the time difference, all the games are night games (or middle of the night games.) Before the first game, we pregamed at Tivoli. I made the kids take pictures in front of the red roses, in honor of Georgia’s Rose Bowl victory last year. 

After Tivoli, Andy and I did some adult tailgating. Coincidentally, the bar we were at played Baba O’Riley. For those non-Georgia fans, it’s the song they play right before kickoff at all the UGA home games.

 

Fall fun with friends- Birthday celebrations and lunch at the Danish Design Museum.

 

We went on a guided tour of the Glyptotek. It is a Museum, founded by Carl Jacobson, of Carlsberg brewing fame. He amassed a massive collection of art and artifacts, and he donated it to the Danish people. 

My favorite- all the noses.

“The Kiss” by Rodin

The Museum also has a beautiful domed Winter Garden. (It also has a wing of paintings, but we didn’t visit it that day.)

 

We took the water taxi across the harbor to Reffen, a new street food market in Copenhagen’s industrial Refshaleøen. They have tons of yummy food stalls and secondhand marketplaces.As per usual, a crepe for Katherine (Oreo and Nutella.) Andy doesn’t mind her always getting a crepe because he usually gets to finish it. (I don’t like Nutella, I know.)Andrew and his beloved burger and fries. He even approved of the ketchup.I was in the mood for a big salad.And Andy got fresh pasta.

We found some Americana in the second hand shop there.

On the way back to the water taxi, there are really cool apartments made from repurposed storage containers.

Reffen from our side of the harbor.

 

We tried some freeze dried bugs at Copenhagen Bugfest.

Andy tried it…did not like it.

Andrew, who doesn’t try anything, not only ate it, but he liked it.We even brought some home with us.

 

Exciting times, spending a Saturday at Andrew’s basketball tournament.

 

xoxo-sk

ps. The Danish brand Mikkeller’s beer names and cans crack me up.

 

With the whole family back in Copenhagen, we had a little bit of summer fun left before school started back for the kids mid-August.

 

Warm days.

Beautiful nights.

 

Quick trip to Tivoli.

 

Street food festival on the Lakes. Kids got their usual- hamburger and fries for A and a Nutella crepe for K. I had a peptio, and Andy had butter chicken. Then it rained on us.

 

Twin’s first day of Grade Three at Copenhagen International School. They were excited.

Tired Katherine a few days into the first week. 

 

Back to school brunch for the Moms at our favorite, Wulff & Konstali.

And naturally, a back to school ladies night out. We had dinner at Wagamama in Tivoli (they have tons of restaurants there too) and watched a little of whatever concert was going on. I think it was a Danish pop group from the amount of young girls singing along in Danish, just a guess. Drinks after at Library Bar.

 

One weekend we went to go see cliff diving off the roof of the Copenhagen Opera House. Andy and I enjoyed it, the kids not so much, with A falling asleep.

xoxo-sk

ps. Hot days, open windows, fresh foods all equal fruit flies. I will kill them all.

We got here early July 2017. It is now a year later. You can try and prepare yourself to live in another country- read up on the culture, do all the research. But, until you are there and completely immersed, you really have no idea how your daily life is going to be. Surprisingly, the big things are easy to deal with, and it’s the little things that you feel like will break you.

We have discovered so many wonderful things about living in Copenhagen. You learn about their culture, the way they go about doing things- the similarities, the differences. Denmark is a very homogenous society. They are often regarded as one of the happiest countries in the world. I wouldn’t use the word happy (especially the American feeling of happiness) to describe the Danes, I would use content. They do not want to “keep up with the Joneses,” rather the opposite of that actually. They are encouraged to be average. Jante’s Law being very evident. They also look at friendship differently. Danes look at friendship as a life long relationship, with most of their friends being made when they were in school. They are not going to invest in someone who likely won’t be here long term. That’s not to say that you can’t connect with a Dane, but all of the friends I’ve made here are expats. Danes aren’t what I would call outwardly friendly either. They do not chat with strangers. They are approachable and nice to you if you ask for assistance, but will not go out of their way to see if you need help. The Danish tend more towards respecting your privacy and staying out of your business. I’m sure I make a good number of them uncomfortable with my big smiles, eye contact, and hellos, but my Southerness cannot be stopped, even in Scandinavia.

We are lucky that in Copenhagen the majority of people speak English. Not only do they speak it, they don’t mind speaking it. Although they can speak English, they are Danish and largely (and obviously) speak in Danish. (Swedes, Norwegians, and Danes usually speak to each other in English, as they find it hard to understand each other.) So, conversations all around you, on the bus, at the stores, at restaurants are in a language you don’t understand. It’s like white noise. It can be very isolating as well. I found listening to music, podcasts, the Atlanta sports radio app really helpful. Also, the majority of the music you hear in restaurants, stores, bars, etc. is in English, which is nice. The Danes like all kinds of American music- oldies, metal, rap, rock. Fun fact- The first song I heard when we got here was Britney Spear’s “Hit me Baby one More Time.”

Danish is a hard language. The kids are learning it in school and their pronunciation is better then mine. As an American, I tend to enunciate every syllable in a word, and that is not the case here. The Danes mumble and swallow the end of words. While I can understand a lot of written Danish now, (mostly with regards to shopping, food, and transportation) to understand it spoken is still extremely hard for me.

I am horrible with directions. I always have been, as my friends and husband can attest to. We don’t have a car here- we walk, bike, use the bus, and the train. As such, I have become quite adept at navigating my surrounding areas. I can actually give directions to the many tourists in our neighborhood now. (We live close to the Little Mermaid statue.) Not having a car was a big lifestyle change for us. There are times when it’s been really hard without one and the kids have whined about it, but you learn to deal. The Danish public transportation is vast, and I have enjoyed not having to worry about driving. Everything is very walkable and reachable for us because we are so central. We love our apartment and where it is located.

One of the downsides of living in a different country. It’s the little things that can frustrate you. Things like all the different European sizes, the crazy return policies you thought would be at least thirty days but aren’t, not being able to find the correct floor cleaner that you are told you have to use, figuring out how to fix the range hood when it stops working and the instructions are all in Danish, trying to watch college football, figuring out which websites actually deliver to Denmark (they don’t have a Danish Amazon), wondering where you can buy all purpose flour (hint- you can’t, it doesn’t exist here) and so many more. Things that didn’t even cross your mind would be a problem. All the silly little stuff that is so clear and easy to overcome back home makes you feel so helpless and stupid here. Thankfully, it does get better as time goes on (or maybe my coping skills have improved.) Your knowledge of how things work here grows, you learn to accept that what you are looking for just doesn’t exist here, and you find friends that have been here long enough to answer all your questions. I still come across things that make me crazy though. Recently, I almost drove myself crazy trying to find the right ingredients to make slime. After multiple attempts, it turns out the glue and contact solution here don’t have the correct chemicals, and they don’t sell borax. It’s always something…

Overall, living in Denmark has been amazing. We have grown and experienced so much individually and as a family. If the first year is any indication, the next two years will be quite the ride.

xoxo-sk

Sooo… My Dad dropped us off at Atlanta’s Hartsfield Jackson Airport to catch our flight to Copenhagen via New York’s JFK (FYI-currently their are no direct flights between ATL and CPH.) So far, so good.

Then, the delays started. Long story short, New York had really bad storms and stopped all incoming flights. So, we missed our connection to Copenhagen and got booked on the evening flight the next day. We decided to make the most of it, get a hotel room in the city, and go exploring before we had to leave. Lemonades out of lemons right?

Finally at JFK, now to find a hotel. 

Finally on the way up to our room. (We did run to the corner bodega to overpay for toothbrushes, toothpaste, and deodorant.) This was after 3 am. The kids were troopers. 

 

New day. With little sleep, no make-up, the same clothes (lucky me had worn flip flops,) and hauling our carry on luggage (large shoulder bag and three backpacks,) we ventured out for the day.

Our hotel was right around the corner from the Empire State Building.

 

The beautiful New York Public Library. I didn’t realize what a lovely building it was. 

The Original Winnie-the-Pooh exhibit.

 

Quick walk through Central Station. The ceiling was beautiful, it didn’t photograph well though.

 

The largest Catholic Cathedral in the U.S., St Patrick’s was built in the late 1800s. They were saying a mass, so we didn’t venture in too far. 

 

Rockefeller Center.

 

The Rockette’s home, Radio City Music Hall and 30 Rock, NBC Studios.

 

Times Square.

 

Lunch was Andrew’s favorite food- New York style pizza. This was probably his favorite part.

 

 

We got to explore Central Park.

 

By the time we had to catch a cab back to the airport, we were exhausted. It had been an unexpected, but fun day in the Big Apple. K’s final thoughts were, “New York smells like garbage.”

Finally, we are ready to go. Two new shirts later (the ones they wore all day were gross and sweaty), we headed back to CPH.

xoxo-sk

ps. Guess who we saw at the airport? Tim Tebow, the biggest Gator of them all. Andy controlled himself (barely.) He only slightly (kiddingly I think) insulted him once or twice. He was just as nice as you would expect.

Home, sweet, home. It’s always so great to catch up with family and friends. Also, the shopping. I missed strolling through Target (they have nothing like it in CPH), aimlessly getting all the odds and ends you need (and don’t need.) Andy got to come for a few days too.

While the kids were making the Grandparent rounds, I went up to have lunch with my brother Daniel, and sister-in-law, Katie. We got lunch from The Place (all things fried), and I got my favorite cookie from Insomnia. Yes, my favorite cookie is Oatmeal Raisin, followed by Sugar, Snickerdoodle, and then maybe Chocolate Chip.

And I got to snuggle with the nieces- Norah, Lily, and Milly.

 

I went to my first Atlanta United game at the Benz with my cousin Michael. It lived up to the hype- the stadium, the team, the fans, the food (I got the pimento cheese from Fox Brothers.)

 

I got to see all my friends!!! I stay in touch with social media and texting, but it’s not the same. 

 

The kids and I got to spend some fun time at Daniel and Katie’s new house in Athens. Sleepovers, braids, baking, and sprinklers. Makes my heart happy to see all the cousins together. They love each other so. It’s funny to see how alike they are. Norah and Andrew are the rule-followers, and Katherine and Lily are the pot stirrers. 

 

Before we left the kids got to visit our cousin Michael at Turner Sports Studios. It’s where they film all the NBA shows you see on TBS and TNT. He showed us around the sets and explained how it all works. Very cool.

 

 

Goodbye Georgia, once again. I will miss all my people dearly.

xoxo-sk

ps. Left with an impressive amount of American goodies. (Seriously, I bring a huge empty suitcase.) Here are just the shoes.