Italy Day 7

Today we left Cinque Terre for Rome. We decided the best okay for the day was to check out, but leave out bags at the hotel and head to the beach until noon. Then we'd catch the train to Rome (about 4-5 hours) and Bennett could nap. Our hiatal let us leave our bag there, not a surprise as they were so incredibly accommodating and hospitable our entire stay. So off to the beach we went. 

We definitely have ourselves a little beach bum. This kid loves the sun, water and sand as much as we do. 

After our beach time our day took a turn for the worst. We bought train tickets to Rome that would leave at 12:40. We had 5 minutes to make the train... Only we were on the wrong platform and missed it, which meant we missed our connection to Rome. Ugh! We had to wait 40 minutes to the next train to La Spezia, only it was late arriving, so instead of arriving in Rome around 4:39, we left La Spezia for Rome at 4:20. This train leg was about 4 hours itself... But naturally it too was delayed, so we arrived at Roma Termini a little after 8:30 pm and walked the 20 minutes to the hotel. 

Here is Bennett eating his favorite biscuit, taken from the Poppi hotel, as we sort out the train fiasco. 

Joel found our hotel, it's in a great location just blocks from the Collaseum and Forum. It's a small place in a big building with a cool front door and lift. We'll need to take pics tomorrow. 

It should be noted that Bennett was some kind of horrible in the train. Just crazy and hyper, followed by whiny crabby, repeat a few hundred times and throw in some loud talking and screeching and that's what happened for 4+ hours of our day. Once we made it to Rome, he was in AWE. His head was on a swivel, so much traffic (plus he's obsessed with vehicles of any kind right now) and so much to see. He kept whipping his head in one direction and then the other. Our room has windows that open and a little ledge so I set Bennett there for a while. I'm pretty certain we could just tie him to the ledge with a leash, and leave some good there, sand we could leave him there all day. After the train ride, it's a tempting thought... As frustrating as it can be, it's exciting to spend so much time with him too. It seems like he has learned quite a bit this trip. In Poppi, I'd ask him where the castle and swimming pool were and held point to each. He knows where the moon is now too. Tonight he was pointing out buses, trucks and motorcycles. He started saying 'truck' and 'hi' this trip also. When he is hungry we'll ask if he wants food and he'll sign for food. He'll say yes and no if we show him food and drink options. When he wants water he'll say something that sounds like a mix between 'mom' and 'more' but it definitely means water to him. He still says 'nana' if he sees a banana but all round fruit (oranges , apples, apricots) are all 'ball' to him. At least he understands shapes, I guess. There was a cat at our last hotel so he'd point to it when we'd ask where the cat was. It really is exciting to see how much he picks up and how quickly.