Rothenberg, Germany- Rome,Italy - New Year's Eve

                                                    Rothenberg, Germany

Christmas Market, December

 Rothenberg is a medieval, walled town that was not destroyed during WWII leaving much of its beautiful original architecture.  Rothenberg is famous for its year round Christmas Village and schneeballs (schnee=snow)!  Schneeballs are balls of stripped dough covered in all sorts of sugary things and often served with whip cream and ice cream.  They were originally made during times of hunger –as a way to efficiently use all the leftover dough. 

This was an impromptu girls’ trip to visit the famous Christmas market of Rothenberg, one of the more famous markets.  Shannon and I packed the boots and gloves and drove the short 1:45 in the beautiful snow.  It was perfect weather and an easy drive.  Although, since the city is walled we drove through an arched entrance on a bridge that looked more like a bike path.  It was just another one of those uncertain driving moments.

We spent the day into the evening tasting the town’s treats, shopping, stopping for coffee and hot chocolate—leisurely enjoying the time with no schedule.  This market can be done as a day trip but we really enjoyed the freedom of staying overnight to relax and without rushing.  It’s a busy one!

Rome, Italy

Rome is awesome. Go.  I could just stop there but let’s be real, I won’t.

It was an easy 2.5 hour direct flight from Stuttgart.  And, at $110 a person –it’s hard to fathom traveling that inexpensively to one of the great cities of the world.  We have visited several places in Europe that shut down at 7:00-8:00PM…  That doesn’t work well with our preferred vacation schedule of napping at 6:00 and dinner at 8:30-9:00.   Rome is a late night city-And, I don’t mean partying.  Shops are open late and squares are bustling.  Late night dinners are the best-  You can spend all day gallivanting, have nap time, and still go to a nice dinner. 

We are big fans of traveling off-season for two reasons:  Crowds and $$.  Late December in Rome was more like fall and although the city was still full of people, it was nothing like the heat and crowds in the summer....or so I've heard and read.  We waited in line for nothing.  We leisurely enjoyed everything.  Our plane tickets and B&B were cheap.  What more could you want?  

We took a tour with a company named Dark Rome.  The underground area of the Coliseum is considered a very delicate area and has just recently even opened to the public--But, only with a tour group and even then we guided down and supervised by a Coliseum employee.  

The underground area of the Coliseum-  Used to house the gladiators and the beasts.  

Of course the underground area was once completely covered by the Coliseum floor but, now is open.

  in the Roman Forum

 the Vatican

I had no idea the Vatican actually houses a few of the prior Popes.  I wish I had known before.. Perhaps I could've avoided gasping at a most inopportune time-- while people were praying in front of him.  

Cakes made into nativity scenes

One of the highlights of our trip was this tasting tour.  If you travel a lot you've probably found in the immediate touristy areas, food is not what you expect and it's often overpriced.  We always try to get out of those centers to eat and this was a great way to do it!  We were nowhere near any of Rome's major attractions and we didn't encounter any other English speakers during our walk and boy, the food was delicious!!  Best pizza I've ever had, real gelato (not the mix stuff), and real cannolis just to name a few of our favorites.  Our host was a cool guy and didn't give us a history lesson but shared a ton of really interesting information.  I won't ruin it for you because I hope many of you experience this!

 eatingitalyfoodtours.com

Excellent pecorini cheese and salamis here.  And the best prosciutto ever.  Over the last year Mike and I had determined we just don't like prosciutto --until we had it here.   

Holy cannoli! This was a local market stop.

Lunch with our fun group from all over;  Germany, Canada, Australia, Miami, and Maryland

Love these guys!  

Trevi Fountain

It's beautiful but it was one of our least favorite stops.  This and the Spanish Steps.   They are inundated with people trying to sell you things.  Glad we saw it, glad we left after 10 minutes.

                                              

 Our dinner at Ad Hoc-  Good food and great service.  One of my favorite cheese platters to-date!

They also had a friendly sommelier on staff who came over and picked our wines for us.

 Bortolucci Toy Store

Of course I have many more pictures of the Pantheon, Palatine Hill, the pyramid, the Vatican, and so many other beautiful places but, as I look through the pictures I feel the experience is difficult to describe with only pictures.  Pictures just do not do many of these places justice.  

Rome did not disappoint.



New Year's Eve
Hello 2013

If you remember last year, we were unprepared for New Year's Eve in Germany.  Fireworks are not prohibited anywhere here so right before midnight people gather in the streets of the villages and start setting off professional fireworks.  We were in awe last year.  In awe without any fireworks to share.  This year, we were ready.  Mike raided the Real (German Wal-Mart) where they sell fireworks for about a week before the night.  They are serious about their fireworks here. I have a ton of videos but, I need Mike to combine them first.  I'm not the best videographer so I apologize if you are dizzy after watching this but every time I'd turn one way, they'd go off behind me.  :D

Here's one example.  This goes on for about 2 hours.

Pre-New Year's Family Picture

Look how cute he is!  

Arsenal de Cooney