Christmas in Italy

We've never stayed in a B&B or hotel on Christmas Eve.. or any holiday really.  We weren't quite sure how it would work out, but it was great and a Christmas to remember!

On Christmas Eve, we set out for a walk, hopped on a bus, and were off to see some more of Rome! We ended up taking a horse-drawn carriage tour after much pleading from the girls (who both love horses).  We are so glad we gave in. We had a great time, got to see some amazing sights, and made some lasting memories!

Our B&B hosts were great; they dropped off some fruit cakes for Christmas, and also set up reservations for Christmas Eve dinner and Christmas day lunch.  Our Christmas Eve reservations were pretty late, and we were all exhausted after a long day, so we skipped out on them and opted for our favorite pizza shop.

The next morning the girls were so delighted that Santa had come! Hailee knew he had come early (very early) in the morning, but I wouldn't let her get up, so she said she just stared at the shapes of the packages Santa had left ;)  When both girls were awake, we let them open presents and their stockings in our bed.  It was such a fun morning, and we truly enjoyed it.

Typically, I like to stay in my pjs as long as possible (sometimes the whole day), but not this year.  We got dressed and headed over to St. Peter's square to hear the Pope's Christmas speech.  Absoultely amazing, and another memory we will never forget.  The area closest to the pope was blocked off and it was a long line to get in there.  We were okay behind the roped section (especailly because there were also two large screens and loudspeakers), and people were so kind they pushed Hailee up to the rope and mommy right behind her.  When the pope came out and began to speak, his voice filled the square. We couldn't help but tear up. It was such a surreal moment.  Most of the speech was in Italian, but it didn't matter.  We enjoyed every second of it.

After the speech, we headed to the Italian restaurant where we had lunch reservations. The lunch was a 5 course meal, of which I think we only made it through 3. Everything was amazing, especailly the lasagna.  They even talked us into trying the lamb, saying it was traditional.  Mommy doesn't much care for lamb, but Dad and Hailee seemed to enjoy it. We loved our server and the atmosphere!  It was a local restaurant owned my an Italian family.  It was sweet the way our server bragged about his mom's cooking, and he made sure we were comfortable and enjoyed ourselves. The restaurant was full of Italian families, who were loud and full of laughter.  We liked the loud part as it meant we didn't have to try and keep the girls quiet.  We were able to just enjoy ourselves.


The rest of the afternoon we headed back to the B&B and enjoyed Christmas movies while the girls played with their new toys, and Facetimed with the family.  It a was perfect end to a great day.