Rome

Well, after wandering around a bit, we finally found our hotel. In the process, we learned quickly that Rome is very different than the other European countries we have visited. It is very busy and overcrowded and not so clean (very hard to find a garbage can). However, it was sunny and 75 degrees and is very rich in history which we really enjoyed. We took an open tour yesterday and visited the 10 most popular places to see in Rome. We saw lots of really old buildings with amazing detail and sculptures, Trevi Fountain, the Vatican, Spanish steps, the Capital and Roman Forum, but our favorite, far and away, was the Coliseum and ancient Roman ruins. We must have walked for 6-7 hours today and Ryan is snoring as I type. He doesn’t hold up so well with a lot of walking. We probably spent 4 hours at the Roman ruins and Coliseum. It was amazing to see such a huge structure that was built 2000 years ago, around 72AD! It was used until 570 AD and then it wasn’t as cool to watch Gladiators killing each other or animals killing each other or people! 50,000 people would attend these events. An earthquake destroyed the top layer on the one side and all the marble and travertine were taken off and used in other building projects in Rome, so it isn’t as preserved as it could be. It would have been neat to see what it was like back then. The ruins were also very interesting…much of it was covered by dirt and they have been excavating for many years and will continue for many more. We were very impressed by the size and detail of many of these structures and wonder how they got to the top without cranes! Here’s just a few pics….there are too many to post: Looking down into the Coliseum. The bottom is a series of rooms and tunnels that were originally under a wood floor. They had trap doors where exotic animals popped up out of during events. The bottom of the picture is a floor they added later to show what it looked like. Romans ruins

Listening to our audo tour on the second floor of the bus:Saint Peter Basilica:

View looking down from the Spanish steps-not too many people out and about on a Sat.:

Trevi Fountain Longest building I've ever seen. Not sure what it is, but it was several blocks long:

Dirty feet:

Yum, Yum

We’ve had some pizza, which is different (very thin crust), but really good and absolutely huge, which made us both happy :o). We also had their famous gilatto and that is some good stuff too, kinda like sorbet. We are very happy to have made it through our tourist day….we were lucky not to get run over, pick pocketed or taken. They have street vendors selling all kinds of things. While I was getting some gilatto, a local struck up a conversation with Ryan and when I turned around, he was putting a bracelet on him and wanted over $8 for a piece of string. I told him no way, we would give him 1 euro (about $1.50) which it wasn’t even worth. He said no and I told him to cut it off, which he did, but he told Ryan to get a new one and pointed to me! We both had a good laugh. Our hotels have been very nice, but none have had screens on the windows. We had a huge bug issue in Germany, but not since. The fresh air is a must, but it is kinda noisy-lots of sirens that remind us of the movies. Our hotel here in Rome has a Bidet and curiosity got the best of me and I had to try. Was interesting, but not sure I’d go out and get one! TV has been lacking. Only Norway had English speaking channels. Ryan was just flipping through the channels here in Rome and came across Scooby Doo….Reggie would be happy here, but not able to understand anything! We are having a bit of a lazy day today, heading to Milan later. We found a local market which was interesting to see the lack of choices, but we were happy to get some fruit and veggies :o). On the home front, Reggie is still improving, but will probably be awhile until he has fully recovered. Mom had a little more excitement with dad as they went to the ER last night because dad couldn’t pee. Turns out his prostate is so enlarged that he can’t go to the bathroom, so now he has a catheter for who knows how long. Good thing we’ll be home in a few days…..not sure how much more grandma can take!

From Rome, we flew to Milan. Milan is a very big city and we were on the edge and since Ryan had to work, we didn't explore at all. We stayed at Hotel For You and it was very modern, so much so that we couldn't figure out how to get the lights on and off. I had a very nice, relaxing day, exercising, reading my bible and finding a local grocery store while Ryan worked. That night we went to a real Italian restaurant. It didn't even open until 7:30! There was much more of a language barrier there, but we managed with the help of some nice locals. That was a treat to see. The funny thing was that no one ordered pizza! They were all eating piles of meat, bread and cooked mozzarella. Our pizza's were delicious :o).