Finally, Rome

We finally arrive in Rome and I think that things are going to get better now because we’re getting on a train and Oscar can see out the windows and stuff like that, but he doesn’t care about the passing Italian countryside, or the aqueducts we’re passing as we

come into Rome because there is another kid in a stroller who is older that is handing Oscar his fire truck and letting Oscar drop it over and over.  When the kid started to hack and cough though, I decided that maybe we should try to go sit in a seat and look out from there, but then Oscar realized that there were stairs on the train and stairs are his new passion.  He 

  only wants to go up and down them over and over again and wants to hold your hand while he does so because he knows that he’s not good at it yet.  This is fine for a stair way or two, but bending over holding a little hand going up and down stairs for half an hour wears on a body.  So, I have to start putting a time limit to stair walking.  We finally arrive at termini 

  and the hotel is just a few blocks down from there, so it’s an easy jaunt with the luggage and after all of the airport security and ridiculousness, I’m wondering why we’re flying to Paris and Madrid from here.  I know that it is a hell of a lot less expensive in Europe to fly than take the train, but they’ve made flying prohibitive in so many other ways, they could basically make it free and I would still take the train and pay for it.  After 

 checking in the group and refreshing for a second or two, they go out to a restaurant that has stairs and no where for Oscar to be, so he and I decide to go out on our own since that will be the norm here.   Down the street there is a Carrefour Express and I find a sandwich for me and a beer and some cookies that I think that Oscar will like.  We go have a picnic in front of the Opera house and walk the stairs again there.  These wide marble stairs in Europe are a new thing for him and it’s like  

he has to do it twice as often in order to get the feel for them.  A bird also shits on his arm out of nowhere and at least I’m able to catch him before he tries to put it in his mouth….that’s all I need, a kid sick with some form of avian flu from Italy or something.  We head back to the restaurant and see that the group hasn’t even gotten their food, so I tell John that Oscar and I are heading back to the hotel and we’ll skip the night time trip to the Trevi fountain.  I’m exhausted, Oscar’s exhausted and it’s just a fountain anyway….even though it’s much whiter now that Fendi paid to have it cleaned. 

  The Spanish Steps were closed for renovation though, which was something that I think was on Oscar’s must see list because of his new stair passion, but now we can avoid that.

 we’re both asleep by the time that John has one of the kids send me a text that they’re leaving the restaurant if we want to join….at least there is finally sleep I think, but when John gets to the hotel later, Oscar wakes up

and thinks that he’s now had a nap and we can play some.  So, while John sleeps, Oscar and I have a middle of the night snack and some play before going back to bed.  First day in Rome doesn’t count when you get in this late in the evening and you’re too tired to care that you’re in Rome….