All roads lead to Rome - Day 2 cont.

This next group of pictures is from our trip to Vatican City. There are so many because I had a really hard time trying to edit pictures out. Although there are no pictures of it (not allowed), we did see the Sistine Chapel. Which was mind blowing! No pictures you have ever seen do it justice, it's just amazing to see it in person!

Here are the boys in the subway on our way to Vatican City. I think this picture shows how exhausted we were. At this point, we still hadn't stopped for lunch so we had been on our feet for about 5 hours. We finally were able to get a bite to eat at the Vatican Museum and I'm happy to report that the Cola Wars have been settled, the Pope prefers Pepsi!

This is my first glimpse at the Vatican wall.

This is inside the Vatican Museum. I didn't have time to take pictures of the entrance because we had to go through security that TSA would be proud of. This statue again shows the influence the Egyptians had on this area of Europe.

I thought this was pretty interesting and a bit gross. This was in a courtyard that was full of depictions of war.

Can you believe that this was hand-carved thousands of years ago? Just mind boggling!

I liked him, not sure who he was, but he seemed to have a kind face.

Even the floors in the Vatican Museum are beautiful!

And this is on the ceiling! It was pretty hard to get a clear picture because flash wasn't allowed, but the colors were just so vibrant!

Just gorgeous! We were there at the perfect time of day to catch the sun shinning through this stained glass window.

And the staircase!

This fountain was completed by Bernini in 1675, who also is responsible for St. Peters Basilica and Piazza San Pietro (St Peters Square).

Piazza San Pietro

Billy is happy that we've arrived!

Bobby and I in front of Bernini's fountain. It was about 95 degrees out and the spray from the fountain felt so amazing!

St. Peter's Basilica. The dress code it pretty strict getting into the basilica. Knees and shoulders must be covered so we were tugging at our shorts/skirt in order to be able to get in.

The big screen in front of the basilica is for Sunday Mass. St. Peter's Square fills with people trying to get a look at the Pope.

This was on the way to the The Vatican Necropolis - Scavi which is where the tombs of the Popes are. Obviously pictures weren't allowed in there. We got to see the resting place of Pope John Paul II. There were a few mourners in front of it so we didn't spend much time there. It was unreal to see.

This is inside St. Peter's Basilica there was a small mass going on.

The is the Dome of St. Peter's Basilica done by Michelangelo and is the center of the enormous Greek Cross that is the form of the basilica.

St. Peter's Tomb is directly under the altar of the basilica

The Swiss Guard wear silly uniforms that look more like court jesters than military guards.

I thought this was a cool picture of St. Peter's Basilica with the sun shinning behind it.

All roads lead to Rome - Day 2

We wanted to get an early start because this was our last full day in Rome and we had a lot to see. Jayme and Bobby weren't completely awake when we left the hotel.We started out by getting cappuccinos next to the Trevi Fountain, it has a completely different feel in the light of the day.

We then starting walking toward the Roman Forum and the Colosseum along these ancient streets I couldn't help but take a few pictures.

This was a private home I believe and this picture doesn't do it justice!

These are some ruins that were in the process of being restored.

I just couldn't wipe the smile off my face. It was so incredible to be at these ancient sites!

These "Roman Gladiators" were all over Rome and Billy decided to get his picture with one of them. After about 10 minutes they got pretty annoying. It reminded me of being in Mexico had have the little kids come up to you, "Chiclet, Chiclet!"

This was part of the Roman capital buildings. The architecture was just amazing. We were able to walk up the steps and have a closer look. I really wanted to see that horse statue up close.

And here it is, I wish this picture showed the immense size of it, just amazing!

I wanted to get a picture of the hieroglyphs, it seemed to be a depiction of war. It was interesting how influenced Rome is by Egypt. We found hieroglyphs almost everywhere in Rome.



The roads were so charming, but after 8 hours of walking on them, they had lost their charm for me. Still, I had to take a picture.



This was at Circus Maximus which is where they did chariot races as well as where Ben Hur was filmed. Billy did an excellent reading out of my travel book that we made sure to catch on video. I'll have to post it another time.




The size of Circus Maximus was about 3 football fields!

This is right outside the Colosseum, it was unreal to see it in person!

After the Colosseum we headed to the Roman Forum, which is the center of Ancient Rome. The history is pretty interesting so I took this from Wikipedia to explain the importance of it: The oldest (7th century BC) and most important structures of the ancient city are located in the forum, including its ancient former royal residency, and the surrounding complex of the Vestal virgins, (kind of like nuns). The Old Republic had its formal Comitium (place of assembly) there where the senate, as well as Republican government began. The forum served as a city square and central hub where the people of Rome gathered for justice, and faith. The forum was also the economic hub of the city and considered to be the center of the Republic and Empire. The Forum is also where Julius Caesar was assassinated by 21 senators led by Marcus Junius Brutus.

This day is not over but this post is. Next I will post pictures from the Vatican, Vatican Museum and St. Peter's Square and Basilica.

All roads lead to Rome - Day 1

This past August Bobby went to Italy to work on his most recent album. For those of you that don't know, Bobby has embarked on a solo career and is calling this project Places & Numbers. He has a record deal with Equal Vision Records and they agreed to purchase all of his recording equipment and pay for his trip to Italy where he spent 2 1/2 weeks recording his album. He took a few friends with him to help him out; Casey did the engineering, Jayme documented the trip with photography and his brother Billy documented the trip with video. I was able to join them for the final few days of the trip, and here are a few pictures from my visit to Rome.

When I got there we hadn't be able to confirm an exact meeting time and place so I, being the planner, was a bit stressed when I got off the short train ride from the airport and Bobby and the guys weren't waiting for me. Remember, our American cell phones don't work in Europe. I walked around Rome's Termini train station for an hour looking for them, finally deciding to find an internet cafe' where I found a message from Bobby on Twitter saying where and when to meet the only problem was that I was already an hour late. So stressed out me had to run back to Termini in the hopes that the guys would still be there. I was praying the entire way and almost came to tears when I didn't imediately see the guys. I kept thinking, "what am I going to do in a foriegn country all by myself?" I saw Billy first and I relaxed instantly, everything was going to be ok.

Our first objective was to find a hotel so we set out to the Spanish Steps knowing that area is one of the nicest in Rome. Seeing the Spanish Steps for the first time was surreal. Just amazing!

Bobby and I from the top of the Spanish Steps

Billy takes a load off

Just down the street from the Spanish Steps are the amazing Italian shops! I just had to take pics!

We found a hotel to stay at half way between the Trevi Fountain and the Spanish Steps. We all took nice long naps and showers and set out to find a nice Italian dinner. Walking around the corner and finding the Trevi Fountain was just astonishing. It was lit up for the night in just the most beautiful way!

Me enjoying my first genuine gelato

Dinner and a show!

After dinner we were exhausted and knowing that we had a long day ahead of us we decided to call it an early night.

INTRODUCING....

Lucille JoAnn Bauslaugh

July 1st, 2009

Meeting her big sisters for the first time! They're just so excited!!

A few days old

A few months old with Uncle Bobby

Princess in training



Rolling over @ 4 months old

Coming soon!

*Introduction of my new niece Lucy Jo Bauslaugh

*Roman Rendezvous

*Fancy Family Photos

*Chelan

I just need to get my pics organized. Stand by.

Please be patient with me!

I've taken a few months off from blogging (laziness) and I'm back but it will take me a while to get caught up on life.

:(

Vegas!

Bobby and I went to Vegas in April with our good friends Tony and Carmen Doud. It was a great trip because Bobby and I were able to experience things that we don't normally experience when we're in Vegas. We started off our trip at SeaTac Airport where we quickly found out that we had been bumped from our flight. No problem, we're professionals! Within an hour and a half we were on another flight to Vegas, which, because it was a direct flight, got us into Vegas sooner than we would've gotten in our original flight.When we got to Vegas the first order of business was to check into our hotel. We stayed at the Excalibur because we got a great deal and the location can't be beat! The Excalibur has 2,000 newly remodeled rooms and we were lucky enough to get to stay in one.

We then went searching for good food, which really isn't that hard in Vegas. We headed to a place we know well and knew we could get what we were looking for. The Pyramid Cafe' in the Luxor is just what our stomachs were craving. I had the Chicken Caesar on Focaccia, and after the first bite it made the list of top 5 sandwiches I've ever had.

Next stop, slot machines. We had been told by a few different people to stay away from the slots this trip because the slots are super tight due to the bad economy. How could we resist all those flashing lights? We learned our lesson after only a few minutes of playing. We had to play long enough to get a few drinks though, right? The drinks were just as disappointing as the slots. The wine and the mixed drinks were really watered down. I guess I better start enjoying beer if I want to get that Vegas buzz going. We called it an early night as we knew that the next day was going to be a long one.

The temperatures were in the 90's and this Seattle native was HOT. I loved it though as long as there was an air conditioned casino close by. We walked from the Excalibur all the way to the Wynn. Of course we stopped along the way for a few photo ops and a couple of stints at the blackjack tables. We caught a great happy hour at Maggiano's in the Fashion Show Mall. By this time Bobby's bad ankle (old injury) was giving him a lot of pain. We caught the monorail at Harrah's and made our way back to the Excalibur. Once we got back to our room and took a look at Bobby's swollen ankle we knew we had to call it a night. Here are a few shots we took during our site seeing day. The first one is Carmen and I hanging out with The Blue Man Group at the Venetian. The second and third ones were taken in the Palazzo we thought the umbrellas were beautiful and made for an interesting photo op! The fourth one is Carmen and I getting to know the green M&M. Isn't she pretty?

The next morning after Bobby iced his ankle again and popped a few ibuprofen, Carmen and I did a little shopping while the boys sat down to play some poker. Carmen and I were in search of some good deals on Zumanity one of the Cirque du Soleil shows. We found one of the Tix 4 Tonight locations at the bottom of the giant coke bottle and got an amazing deal on some unbelievable seats.

Carmen and and I made our way back to the poker tables we left our husbands at and weren't in the slightest bit surprised that they were still there. We decided to check out the Mandalay Bay Shops to kill some time while we were waiting for them to lose their money. When we came back they were again where we left them, but Bobby was done. He and I decided that we couldn't miss out on getting some much needed sun so we checked out Excalibur's pool.

The pool at Excalibur is a great pool that's only about 3 ft deep so you can walk around on your knees and visit with friends while sipping on your favorite drink. We spent a few hours reading, relaxing and people watching before we had to get cleaned up for our night at Zumanity. I especially enjoyed watching this poor guy try to talk to this girl by slowing creeping up on her in the pool and asking her about the book she was reading. It happened to be Twilight and for anyone who has read it, you can understand why she only gave him about 1 minute of her precious time with Edward.

Once we got back to the room we cleaned up and headed to check out the buffet at our hotel. We got there at a great time because they had a 2-for-1 deal and the crowds hadn't descended upon the buffet yet. This buffet was incredible! Not only did they have all the expected buffet items, they had a Mexican food section, a Chinese food section and even a sushi bar. Needless to say, we ate ourselves silly.

When we were able to peel ourselves away from the buffet made the short walk to theZumanity Theatre at the New York-New York. After entering the theatre we were quickly ushered to the photographer who took a few posed pictures of us just like at prom. We then got to our seats and waited for the show to start. This show is hard to describe. There were funny parts, a lot of funny parts; beautiful parts, I have no idea how she got her body to contort that way; and sexy parts, some of those sexy parts were a little too sexy for me, but it was easy to simply look away. All in all it was a great show and I'm glad we spent the money to experience it. This picture is the four of us enjoying a drink before the show.

After the show we made our way back to our hotel and sat down at some blackjack tables where we spent the rest of our night.

The next morning Bobby and I had to catch our flight back to the real world. We left a little more money in Vegas than I like to but we had a wonderful time with wonderful friends. I can't wait to take off on our next journey.