The Internet is Back!

We have left Roma and are in Napoli, at a hotel with internet! So I will be more connected in the next few days before we go to Todi to work on a farm for 2 weeks starting 1 March.

But enough of the future, let's talk about the past. I am going to do a few days in Roma at a time.

Our first days in Roma were really great, but getting over the jet lag was not so fun. I'll start from the beginning to avoid totally confusing you and me. I am a little tired at the moment, so please bare with my stream of consciousness writing and my train of thought getting lost mid sentence.

Day 1: 10 February

Aaron and I are on the plane to Switzerland. As I already mentioned Swiss Air was great. Our seats were the first in the economy section, so we had these fun fold out tv's. It took us, and everyone else sitting in our row a bit to figure it out, but lucky for me and everyone else in that row, Aaron pushed a button! The tv's came out. We had some tv dinners, little did we know what little tv we would be watching for the next two weeks. I would have enjoyed it a little bit more. Then we got to Zurich and got on our plane to Roma, took a train to Trastevere and walked about a mile to our apartment. It was a lovely little place with a kitchen, bathroom and bed/living room. After I figured out that you had to hold the knob down for the stove to stay lit, all was great with the place. We went out for one of our few meals out in Roma that night. We cooked dinner most other nights, and packed picnic lunches for most days, so it was a great way to eat cheap in a city where food is really expensive. Just ask all the older British couples we ran into. They complained about the cost of food too.

Day 2: 11 February

We started out our first day with a trip to the Monument to Vittorio Emmanuele II who unified Italy with a bunch of other dudes. He has a big white monument. It looks like a cake, and hence is either called the "layer cake" or the "wedding cake." It is tall, we got some nice views of the city. Then we wandered around and started getting accustomed to the very narrow windy streets without sidewalks and with tons of mopeds. It was carnivale time as well, so we saw a lot of random street performers. It was fun to see a play in Piazza Navona, even though I didn't understand a word of it. In Piazza del Popolo, which is further north we came across horse dancing. It was weird. There was a person on the ground and one on the horse. They did a funny dance together. I don't have a good picture of it, but if I get the chance I will put the video up. Here is an image of the police horses and a little dog. The dog was keeping the horses in line. It was funny.

Day 3: 12 February

It snowed in Roma. It was the first time in 30 or so years. The place shut down, Aaron and I slept through it. We were suffering from some jet lag and not feeling great. We did, however, make it to the Pantheon. AWESOME! It was the first ancient Roman thing I saw here and it was great. I am standing in front of one of the columns, and it just shows you how big it is. Also, thanks to my former co-workers at Wellspring for the coat. I certainly do stand out in the crowd, but it is a great warm coat for the odd snowy day in Roma! Thanks again everyone! Then we went to the Capitoline Museums. I wasn't the biggest fan. Before you get all up in my grill about it, we went to some other museums that I thought were better, and I just wanted to get rid of my headache the whole time I was there, so it might have been a good idea to go back, but I certainly didn't want to.

Day 4: 13 February

Super touristy, but quintessential Roma stuff. Colosseum, Forum, and Palatine Hill. All amazing. The forum was by far my favorite of the three. I think I am a sucker for temples. This is a picture of the Palatine Hill. I have about 150 pictures of all the places. They are all amazing and a must see for anyone in Roma. Although you should go to the Palatine Hill first then the Colosseum because the ticket works for all three places and the line is shorter there.

I think I will pick up where I left off tomorrow evening. Ciao for now! It is nice to have the internet again.