So much to see!

Spanish Steps: After our break we took the subway to the Spanish Steps. It was really pretty there, with the building behind the stairs and the fountain in front, but what caught my eye was all the people! On the stairs, on the street...There were people EVERYWHERE!!



And even though there were so many people that you couldn't really stand without touching someone else, cars would still drive down the road! People would just herd out of the way and then close the gap again. Crazy.

Colosseo: Next we caught the metro to the Colosseo AKA: The Coliseum. That thing is really big. Period. Big.



There were several people dressed as Gladiators there which was really cool. I didn't get a good picture of any of them because they charge you. Apparently it costs quite a pretty penny to go inside the Coliseum as well, so...you guessed it-we didn't go inside. Next to the Colosseo is Arco di Costantine AKA: The Ark of Costantine. Beautiful. Again, really big. (everything is big in Rome.) Also next to the Colosseo is the Forum. It's basically a big, BIG area just of ancient ruins. This used to be the center of Rome, where all the Caesars and gladiators lived. So, pretty much the most important part of ancient Rome. Super cool. There were a bunch of old columns and broken buildings and I got to see their sewer system! And the coolest part is this: they are STILL digging up new things in the area!

Dinner and "The Walk.": After the Colosseo we went to the internet cafe to update my blog, then went out to dinner. I had Abbacchio al forno con Patate which translates to Roast lamb and roast potatoes. It was pretty good. The potatoes were the best part. For desert I had a peach covered in ice cream, raspberry sauce, and chocolate. YUM!!!! Our final activity for the day was what Grandpa calls "The Walk." We took the metro to Barberini and walked 4-5 blocks to Fontana di Trevi AKA: Fountain of Trevi. This is the famous fountain for throwing coins. If you throw 3 coins in it at once, it means you'll come back to Rome. Guess who threw 3 coins in at once?




From there we walked to the Pantheon which is about 7-8 blocks away. (The thing you have to remember about 'blocks' in Rome, they're never the same size. One block may be the size of a block in Elk Ridge, then the next may be twice as big, and the next half as big as the first.) Anyhoo, the Pantheon is one of the oldest structures still standing in Rome. The only light inside comes from a big hole in the ceiling. So I've heard, anyway. We couldn't go inside because it was night time already and we think they may have been doing reconstruction on it as well. Closed.
Four blocks away form that is the Piazza Navona. We had already been there today but usually at night a bunch of crazy performers come: dancers, fire blowers, comedians, musicians, magicians, etc. Unfortunately for some odd reason, they weren't there tonight. Dang it all. Oh well.





7 plus blocks, the Tiber River, Ponte Sant' Angelo Bridge, Castle Sant' Angelo, and another 13 plus blocks later-and we're finally back at the convent. What a walk. I asked Grandma how far she thought we walked today and she just looked at me and said, "Too dang for." I laughed. :) Tomorrow we'll go to Catholic Mass and then we'll head out to Belforte.

A Gazillion and TEN!!!!!

The Market: What a day. Woke up at 8am, had breakfast (yummy pastries and hot chocolate) at a cute little bar, then we went to the market.



There were TONS of vendors selling all sorts of stuff, but mostly food. There was one vendor selling 7 or 8 different kinds of eggs. The fish section was way cool. Besides the fact that it smelled HORRIBLE! The squids still had their eyeballs, and the big fish (such as the Sword fish) were cut in half right there!



There were big fish heads laying around, too. (Fish heads, fish heads, rolly-polly fish heads. Fish heads, fish heads, eat them up. YUM!) Anyhoo, it was crazy.

The Vatican: We went back to the Vatican and got to walk around St. Peter's Cathedral. The art work there is incredible! I thought the pictures were paintings until Grandpa moved me closer and I could see the VERY small pieces of tile. They were mosaics!!!





It's amazing. Above the place where St. Peter is buried in the Cathedral is a memorial structure of sorts that is 3 stories high. And the dome above that....at LEAST twice as high. The place is HUGE!!! We climbed the stairs to the top of the dome. Well, first we took the elevator past 230 steps, then we climbed the other 321 steps all the way to the top. The view was AMAZING!!!







You can see all of Rome from up there. And all the people below look like little ants. I took lots of pictures, so don't worry. When we went back down, we went down all 521 steps. It was crazy insane.




Walking around: After the Vatican we walked by the Tiber River and walked around until we found the Piazza Novana, a square where lots of people set up tons of different art stands. Some of them would draw pictures of people walking through. There were some really cool fountains and a guy dressed as a tree!!! Lot's of people will dress as someone or something and just stand perfectly still like a statue until they get money.
All of these 'statues' are people who just stand there all day:













It's pretty cool. But this tree-guy was balancing a crystal ball on his hands. He would roll it up and down his arms and then stop it on the tip of his thumb and hold it there! It was really cool because he was so smooth. I got a video of that, too. Just be patient.



We just finished dinner (which was heavenly. I had lasagne and patate) and now we're back at the convent taking a break. Cuz all that walking, especially the Gazillion and TEN stairs, has made our legs ache a little bit. HA!!! For a while I thought the bottom half of my body would crumble right under me!

All part of the Adventure

The Train: Well, we were going too fast on the train to see anything except the bright colors of graffitti. Graffitti is EVERYWHERE!!!!! It's really good, too.



We were supposed to get off at a certain stop, but the door we were exiting from didn't work so we tried to hurry to the next one. Grandpa made it off, but me and Grandma were stuck until the next stop.



When we got off, we turned around and hopped on a train going the other way. There was a Gypsy....(yup)...who turned on a stereo playing music and then she pulled out a microphone and started singing! She was actually really good, but she stopped when one of the train workers came over and looked at her really stern-like. When we caught up with Grandpa we switched transportation methods and took the metro. HOLY CROWS AND PIGEONS AND FLAMIGOS!!! It was crowded!!!!!! Really, really tight. I was scared of not making it off with Grandma and Grandpa because I had so much luggage. I learned really quick that in Rome, if you don't shove your way through, you'll never make it to where you are going. Well, we got off okay, then we got on another metro that was much less crowded.

Taste of Rome: After we got off the metro we walked to our convent (a hotel run by Nuns) and had to carry our luggage up a gazillion stairs to get there.



I cleaned up a bit then we went to dinner at La Rustichella where I tried mussels, some weird fish, mini squids (as in, the whole squid was two inches big and I ate it!), calamari, Fizzy water, and Anchovi pizza. YUM!!!!!













I had to gag the squid down, we took a video of it and everything. I'll post that when we get to Belforte along with all the other pics.



Then we went to a Gelato shop and I had delicious, melt-in-heaven Nutella and Millenium Gelato. MMMMMM!!!!!!! It was soooooooo good! You guys are missing out. After that we went to ST. Peter's Square. BEAUTIFUL!!!!! I took a picture of the Pope's window. Teehee! We're going back tomorrow. I cannot believe I'm here!!! WOOT!!! Well, I'm off to bed so I can do a lot tomorrow.

First Flight

Thursday: Well, here I am at the Salt Lake Airport. It's 3:10pm - one hour away from boarding the plane. WOOT!!!! I didn't start getting nervous until I saw the plane. They're a lot bigger up close. My first thought when I saw it was, "There is no way that giganormous thing will fly in the air!" I still have my doubts, but I believe in miracles. This is my first post and we're still in Utah, so it's kinda short. More to come from Paris!

Paris: I have officially decided that I could live in the air. Except for the sitting down for hours on end, that flight was SOOO cool. I absolutely LOVED the view. Even when there was nothing but clouds I was fascinated. There was one time where all I could see was snow! I took pictures of my first view of the ocean, of England, and of France! France looked like a quilt. So now we are at the airport in France waiting for next flight. (We did NOT get to see the Eiffel Tower :( The French language is beautiful! Oh heavens! I could just listen to it all day long. *sigh* I bought a PARIS magnet for the fridge at work, and a post card for the scrapbook I'll make someday before I die. WOOT for France!























Landing in Rome: Arriving in Italy was an adventure. First, they sent our luggage to Terminal 1 which wasn't the terminal we landed in. So it took forever to find our stuff. When we found Grandpa he was soooo excited to see us. Then there were these...cows...yeah. In the airport. It was weird. Grandpa took a picture of me and Grandma in front of them. They weren't real cows. Obviously. Once we got all of our stuff we headed for the train.