Hit the ground running....

Well, we made it back from Italy. We got back and immediately started running again. Kaylee, our 5 year old niece, is staying with us this week. Needless to say, I have had no time to post. So, to catch up on what all has been going on....Going to Italy was an awesome experience and I cannot be more thankful for Karen, my sister-in-law, who so graciously offered us this opportunity. It is truly a remarkable and magical place. For those of you who are curious of the itinerary, here is a run down from day to day. I am starting with Rome, this will have to be a three part post. I will start with Rome, then introduce Florence and Sienna. Lastly, day trips in Tuscany. SO, here is a run down of Rome.
Tuesday 6/10/08 12:20 pm (Houston flight to Atlanta that was to then connect to Rome at 3:45) ( we missed that flight thanks to the lovely weather in Houston that day)
Tuesday night 8pm made the next flight, not as many passengers, got the middle three seats all to ourselves...SCORE. Still slept terrible. 11 hours... man, it was rough. And those of you mission people who have been on like 20 hour flights, give me a break, this was my first international flight.
Wednesday oneish- we arrive in Rome. Get to the hotel. Meet some nice people from San Fransisco on the shuttle (rip off)...not the people, the shuttle.
Wednesday 5 pm -first walking tour of Rome with an Aussi named Jo from Angel Tours Rome. Good tour, lots of info, visited the Trevi Fountain, the Pantheon, Spanish Steps, Campo di Fiori and Piazza Navona to name a few. Back to the hotel after an interesting study of Rome metro system and city buses, got some cash and went back out to get some dinner. Went close to the hotel to a little trattoria ( small restaurant that serves home cooked meals, often the establishment is in the back of the owners home ). It was really good, the waiter spilled my drink on me and he looked terribly embarrassed. We were so tired and once we were well fed, we headed back for a much needed nights rest. Pantheon Trevi Fountain
Thursday 9 am -after our AMAZING continental breakfast ( with the best coffee I have ever had, yummy pastries, eggs and interestingly enough, Agar agar, an Asian seaweed dish) we
headed to the Colosseum, got hooked up with another tour company and signed up. Side note: As we signed up, we were told we would get a free picture with a guy in Roman Soldier get up. Stephen took my picture first, my glasses fell off and the soldier grabbed them, while apologizing to Stephen, saying he was only helping. When Stephen walked over to take his picture, the guy said, as he moved his sword in, (imagine an Italian accent with this), "do you know? Lorana Bobit?" I shot the picture, it was too hysterical to pass up. This tour was WELL worth the time and money. An unbelievable (probably one of my most memorable) moments, walking out from the metro, turning to the left and seeing something that massive, that was completed in 80 AD right in front of me in the year 2008. Crazy moment. We then had a short break after the tour of the Colosseum to get some water before the Roman Forum tour. AWESOME. Our guide was a local ( as was the Colosseum guide ) but he had a true love of history. He made the tour really great. Later that day, we walked across the city, and had lunch, saw President Bush's motorcade drive by (for the first time) then ended up going to a performance of the Georgetown prep schools choir at one of the churches. It was a nice concert. We then went to dinner and headed back to the hotel. Exterior shot of the Colosseum just outside the metro exit.
Jody's "Roman Soldier" pic
Stephen's "Roman Soldier" pic
Interior of the Colosseum. This is a picture of the underground working halls the gladiators and animals would emerge from using dumb waiter type systems. The Romans were geniuses. The Roman Forum. The guy in the straw hat was our guide, Eugenio.
Stephen and I in the Roman Forum, picture courtesy of a nice older couple from England.

Friday 9 am - Grabbed the metro headed for Vatican City. We enjoyed our Roman Forum tour guide so much, that when he began advertising for the tour of Vatican City the next morning, we said we were in. Found out once we arrived, we would have another guide, who was not so great, but we were OK with it. He was late. So apparently if you are late in Rome, you have to buy people drinks. So the guide company walked us down to a breakfast shop and we all got a free drink. It was nice. Afterwards we got to see St. Peters. CRAZY awesome church. Amazingly huge and makes you feel very small and unattractive...in comparison to its massive beauty. The pictures do NOT do it justice. We saw Michelangelo's Pieta. After that, we had a short break for lunch. We sat with a couple from Melbourne Australia that were really nice people. It was a nice lunch. We then went through the Vatican Museum, which according to our guide, if you spent 60 seconds on each artifact or piece of art in the collection, it would take seven years to see it all. NUTS! After all that we went through all the hallways to see the Sistine Chapel. I was sad to see it in such conditions, but understood the reasons. There were guards, shushing you constantly, because it is a holy place that requires reverence. There was very little light and the windows were not allowed to hold the daylight they could ( they were shrouded on the exterior of the building, so you could see the stained glass, but not its brilliance) This was all of course to protect the images from any damage or fading. There were hundreds of people in this little chapel with no furniture, only one row of seats along the walls. It just seemed to suck away the majesty of this amazing work of art for me. Anyway, enough of that. I got to go upstairs and see the paintings by Raphael, that I REALLY wanted to see. My favorite of all time, "The Freeing of St. Peter" and also the well known "School of Athens". Headed back to our hotel, changed and then went back over to take night pictures at the Colosseum. Had dinner, the best I had so far, Stephen and I shared a salad and four cheese pizza. Then went back to the hotel to pack.
St. Peter's Bascillica.
"The Freeing of St. Peter" by Raphael.
The interior of St. Peter's. The sun was coming through the upper windows and it was so angelic and holy. It really set a feel of reverence and beauty. I was so happy that the sunrays were captured on film.Last night in Rome in front of the Colosseum at night.
Stephen's awesome pic of the Colosseum at night.

Saturday 10 am - headed over to the train station ( not a far walk from our hotel ) to catch the train to Florence. We sat with a very nice couple from Pennsylvania. Stephen slept as I furiously looked through books to figure out what I wanted to see in Florence. I would love to go back to Rome later in life. Rome, for me, really was extremely magical. I kept visualizing how it all must have looked when Paul was there and how things have changed....and how things haven't. It is strange to be in a place that has history that can be taken back to those who lived in biblical times. I guess living in such a young country, I have nothing in which to compare. I truly enjoyed it and if you are one who loves history and wouldn't mind seeing some of it come to life for you, seriously, go to Rome. It was an awesome experience for us. See pics, and please forgive the long post, I just don't know how to condense such a great experience.