CHRISTMAS IN ROME: PINOCCHIOS + PORCHETTAS + POPPING BUBBLE AT THE PANTHEON!

today, we had such a fun, carefree day! we danced and ate gelatos on the spanish steps, popped giant bubbles, played with pinocchio, and snacked on some porchettas by the pantheon! the smell of roasted chestnuts filled the air and combined with the magic of christmas, it all felt so comforting and peaceful, like we were HOME.

i could roam the streets of rome forever! so rustic and authentic and GORGEOUS.

someone ^^ is one HAPPY camper!! chris has declared that this is his favorite shop in rome!

the kids were constantly touching their noses today. finally, i realized they were worried they would grow like pinocchio’s if they lied. sooo cute and funny! they are extra extra careful to tell the truth!

my selfie pics are improving, don’t you think?! no, not really you say?

we met the sweetest mama with her adorable little boy here! she snapped this photo for us and the kids had such a fun time playing and sharing their new toys with him!

this image below reminded me of savannah, georgia or charleston, south carolina for some reason. so pretty!

kate is currently going through a chicken dance phase. she can shake her little tush like nobody’s business!

by the pantheon, we happened upon a floating man dressed in fine arabian nights garb. the kids immediately ran up to him, mouths hanging open, fascinated! he grunted to them that they should put money into his cup right away. when we didn’t he had his bodyguard shoo all of us away.

so, the kids ran over to the bubble man who was nearby blowing these giant wondrous bubbles! this young man was ever so patient with jack and kate showing them how to carefully blow them bigger and bigger. he must have spent a good 15 minutes giving them a private bubble blowing lesson!

we thanked him profusely for being so kind, dropped a good chunk of euros in his hat, and happily waved ARRIVEDERCI to our new best friend. all the while getting the stink eye 😤 from the floating human! 😂😁

cue “the christmas🎄🎶 song” sung by nat king cole!:
chestnuts roasting on an open fire
jack frost nipping at your nose
yuletide carols being sung by the choir
and folks dressed up like eskimos…

this little chestnut stand is right in front of the trevi fountain. so, you can buy a cone of hot chestnuts and munch on them while you stare at the world’s most gorgeous fountain!

we needed a little snack break at the nearby mall!

back at the hotel, while daddy took a shower, the kids and i did a little photoshoot of our precious tchotchke collection! for one euro each, they were pretty detailed and impressive! we felt they each deserved a portrait! hope this doesn’t make you quickly click out of here and run the other way – i promise i haven’t lost my marbles. well, not too many anyway.

tomorrow is our last day – after checking out, we plan on driving over to hadrian’s villa before heading home. the week went by incredibly fast and we are definitely planning a return trip to do all the things we didn’t get to do. such as the vatican museum (sistine chapel!), roman forum/palatine hill, steps of the typewriter (altare della patria), piazza navona, the inside of the pantheon, fish market trastevere, aventine hill, ahhh the list is endless. we might need five more trips to rome.

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