Rome

We spent our first two nights in Rome. Here are a few impressions and memories...

- The CRAZY taxi ride from the airport to our hotel...cost us $75. The driver hit speeds of 180 km/hr = 100 mph! We learned very quickly that we were going to have to be attentive pedestrians in this fast-paced town.

- The heat...the day before we left weather.com said it would be 67 degrees and rainy...not so much...it was completely dry and 90 degrees!

- The food...our favorite pizza was in Rome. A can of Sprite cost $5.00...no free refills here thanks.

- How old everything is. It was amazing to see where modern civilization started.

- We saw all the main sights in a day and that night we watched them all on the big screen in Angels & Demons or Angeli e Demoni as the signs all over town advertised. We loved the movie...I think it is one of my new favorites. I read the book on this trip too. There were several nights I didn't fall asleep until 2-3 am. Guess that is also why I wake up around 4 am now....I am thinking this may pay off in time for spin class though.

- Running into some missionaries as they were on their way to sing hymns on the street. It really is amazing how small the world is and how powerful the missionary force is.

- How huge St. Peter's Square is. The line was so long that initially is scared us off, but it moved quickly so we hopped in it. I didn't see the Sistene Chapel so we will put that on the list for the next time. (I promised Kyle no art history this trip...I have already dragged him through too many museums in Europe I guess.)

- The Pantheon. The best preserved building in Rome. Has been in continual use since it was built. It is amazing to see how 2000 years of civilization have built up around it...making it look like it has "sunk".

- Having internet access so I could stay in touch with home. Little did I know it would be so hard to come by after we left this amazing city.

- Kyle lists this now as his top big city in Europe...I would say it is in a three way tie with Paris and London.