Pompei

As I was looking through my posts from this month, I realized that I completely skipped over our trip to Pompei! We went to Pompei earlier this month with Jean, Ashleigh, and Dan and even though it was cold and raining allllll day, we still had a great time! Pompei is only about a 35 min drive from our house...how did we get so lucky to be living here?! We took a private tour and learned so much about this amazing city; I was suprised how huge it is and I can't wait to go back with my parents next month and see some of the other parts we didn't see before.

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This is the original entrance to the city and when you get up close, you can see where the massive wooden door used to be and there are still wagon tracks!

The remaining part of one of the market places and the building in the far back is where judicial hearings used to be held. Inside one of the bath houses- this pool would be filled up with warm water that was heated through steam pipes. The bath houses are very well preserved and there are still frescoes on the walls and you can see the plumbing, too! The main marketplace...can you tell from this picture how awful the weather was??? This was one of the highlights for me- in my Latin class in high school, we had this poster up on the wall! Cave Canem- Beware of the Dog. It's so remarkable- it's the entrance to one of the houses as you walk down the road and if our tour guide hadn't pointed it out, I probably would've missed it completely (it's also dirtier than I thought it would be). Looking down one of the roads of Pompei- these were mostly residential buildings. This is pretty x-rated...it's one of the many frescoes from one of the popular...ummm...brothels is a nice way to put it. There's one of these paintings over each of the rooms...I guess in case they didn't know what to do there.... One of the rooms of the brothel...yep that's a stone bed...very sanitary I guess but I imagine they were quite uncomfortable! Remains of the bakery. Those two big things in the middle is what the wheat was ground in to make flour. One of the remaining frescoes and there's a plaster cast of a body in the glass case.

On a side note, Karl, our baby boy, and I are doing well. Karl is on a trip for work and will be home soon and we're still trying to come up with some good baby names...we're always taking suggestions! We're finally having some nice weather in Italy and it hasn't even rained the past two days! My parents are coming in about a week and a half, so we're busy getting ready for their visit. Also, I'm planning on making a trip to the states at the end of April, so I hope I get to see a lot of you while I'm home for about two weeks. Thanks again for all the great comments you have been leaving!

Easter Fun

Happy Easter (Monday)! Karl and I had a wonderful first Easter together as newlyweds even though the weather was absolutely dreadful here :( We slept in and got to relax around the house and the Easter bunny even brought Karl lots of goodies! In the afternoon, we went over to Leighanna and Ben's for Easter dinner and I introduced them to corn pudding (mmmmm!). We had a great time playing with Luke and spending time with good friends not to mention stuffing our faces with some of the best ham ever (thanks again Leighanna!). Our baby boy spent the evening kicking me and moving around- it feels so funny!

Check out my Easter belly!!! We're at 20 weeks now- officially halfway!!!!

and the verdict is in.....

Today Karl and I had our big ultrasound appointment where they spent an hour and a half doing measurements and checking to make sure the baby is healthy! We got a good bill of health and we also found out the sex of our baby.....

WE'RE HAVING A BOY!!!!!!!! My first reaction was that I asked the Dr. to repeat herself because I didn't believe her...I was convinced this was a girl and was actually shocked when they told me otherwise. Karl and I are soooooo happy and you can't wipe the grin off his face...I'm sure he's thinking "All right, another Marine soccer player!" We went and bought a few cute boy outfits and some newborn booties :) We took the picture above right before we left for the appointment (notice my St. Patrick's Day green). We'll put up more about little boy Schlegel as the weeks continue!!!

Firenze (Florence)

Sorry it's taken so long to get our pics from Florence, but my blogger has not let me upload for a few days...better late than never! We went to Florence for three days last week and had such a great time- the drive was beautiful and we even had a day with no rain! I think we saw about every inch of the city and even got to spend a lot of time at the Uffizi (the room with the Botticelli's was our favorite here), the Academy (we saw the David!) , and the Duomo (the famous Dome and church of Florence). If you haven't been here before, it is definitely a must see- I honestly don't have one bad thing to say about this city.

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Below is the view we had from our hotel balcony- we were right on the river a few blocks from the Ponte Vecchio and Uffizi!

The famous Ponte Vecchio- it's the oldest bridge in Florence and was built in 1345 (it's right next to the Uffizi). What was originally workshops, butchers, and tanner shops are now some amazing gold and antique jewelery shops. The Duomo (Santa Maria del Fiore)! The dome of the duomo is what makes this such an engineering marvel- Brunelleschi dome was the largest of it's time that was done without scaffolding. It's hard to see in pictures (they don't do it justice), but the entire outside of the duomo is made with white, green, and pink Tuscan marble and this picture only shows a tiny bit of the HUGE church! Part of the Duomo, this is the Campanile (also known as Giotto's tower) built in 1334. We actually walked all the way to the top- over 430 steps (I needed a nap afterwards!)! A view from the top of the Campanile- so beautiful! Another view of the city from the top. Ashleigh and I at the Bargello- leave it to the sorority girls to pose with their mascot!

Karl and I on the Ponte Vecchio...awwww :) Me and Miss Jean! Another shot of the Duomo (sorry it's out of order) I was soooo excited to see this after all those years of art history- this is Ghiberti's "Gate of Paradise" which are the doors the the baptistry of the Duomo- commissioned in 1401. They were so different from Florentine Gothic Art, that they are often said to be the finest products of the Renaissance! Beautiful Santa Croce- built in 1294 it holds the tombs of some VERY famous Florentines including Michelangelo, Da Vinci, Galileo, Machiavelli, and Ghiberti.

Karl being photographer and taking a cool pic :) Leonardo Da Vinci's tomb! Michelangelo's tomb Courtyard of Santa Croce We had so many great pics, it was hard to choose which to post, but I'll have Snapfish album up soon and I'll put up a post! Next blog, I'll have our Pompeii and Almafi Coast pics and I'll try to get up a new baby bump pic (we find out Monday if it's a boy or girl)!!!

Roma!

The past few days have been absolutely wonderful, so I thought a blog would be fun! Last week, Karl got back from a long trip to Germany and we had a belated bday for me and he got me some really neat, German gifts. Then on Thursday, Karl started his week and a half of vacation/leave and we drove up to Rome so we could pick up our first ever house guests! Jean Gardner (my second mom basically) and Ashleigh and Dan Volker (great friends of ours) have come to visit for about two weeks and we're trying to see/do everything possible! Karl and I had a nice afternoon and evening in Rome and then the gang got in Friday morning- they are such troopers; after an all-night flight, we went and hit all the big Roman spots and then drove back to Napoli that night. Yesterday, we slept in a little bit, then spent the afternoon in downtown Naples and came back home for a nice, homecooked meal. Today Jean, Ash, and Dan headed out to Capri and Karl and I hung back at the house to regain some energy (the baby and I needed some couch time) and since we've been to Capri, we figured it was a good day to stay home.

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We have a busy week ahead of us with three days in Florence then Pompeii, Sorento, and Naples Underground (look for some great blogging ahead)!

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Thought I'd throw this picture in the bunch- introducing my dark hair and baby bump! This is us at 17 weeks and already in maternity clothes!

One of the hallways in the Vatican Museum leading to the Rapheal Rooms and Sistine Chapel- so beautiful! The School of Athens by Raphael- I never knew how huge this fresco is- couldn't even get the whole thing in a picture! Sorry some of the indoor shots are blurry, but you can't use flashes :( The picture we snuck in the Sistine Chapel (photography is a very big no-no), but we figured they can't do too much to us- pregnant women get away with murder in Italy! I can't even explain how breathtaking this was. Karl and I just sat on a bench and stared at the ceiling for what seemed like forever. One of the most amazing things I've ever seen in my life! After a very wonderful dinner, we took a walk along the Tiber. This is the Castle Sant'Angelo; built in 123 AD, it was a papal castle for over 1000 years- a viaduct that let the popes escape here in times of crisis. A view from the castle onto the Tiber...soooo pretty! Rome Day 2! Karl and I in front of the Arch of Constantine.

Karl, me, Ash, and Dan in the Roman Forum ruins- to the right of us are the remaining columns of the Temple of Julius Caesar. Ash, me, and Jean posing with part of the fallen ruins (we think this was part of a column way back when). Karl and I at the Trevi Fountain (I am nursing a bottle of Coke that I consider the most expensive soda in the history of the world- that stupid Coke cost 6 euro!!! that's like $8!)! Karl, Ash, and Dan with the Colosseum behind them- the weather wasn't great all day- it did rain a tid bit. We're having so much fun with our friends and can't wait to explore more this week- we'll have lots of great posts :) Ciao!