When in Rome

After 7.5 hours of flying, 3 airplane meals and 2 hours of sleep, we arrived in Rome at about 7:20 am. After departing the plane, we collected our luggage, exited customs and made our way to the metro station where we took the train to "Rome Termini," the main station in Rome (no gypsy kids). From there we began our trek to the "Yes Hotel." With failing backs , wobbly legs and 70+ lbs of luggage we climbed about 200 stairs and walked up 5 blocks of cobblestone street and finally reached our destination. To our surprise, the "Yes Hotel" is actually very nice. We have a suite with 2 rooms, 2 showers, 2 hair dryers and 3 beds. This will be very helpful when 4 girls are trying to get ready.

After finding our home for the next 2 nights, we walked to the train station and headed to Ancient Rome to see the Colosseum, the Roman Forum and Palatine Hill. The Colosseum was astounding. We took an audio tour here which was informative and a good thought, but after 32 hours of nearly no sleep and a monotone voice, this did not prove to be the best combination.

Then we headed towards Palatine Hill where we were able to see many of the ruins before a small rain shower moved in. After being offered thousands of umbrellas by locals, we decided the most economical option for saving Molly's white shirt was to find shelter under a nearby tree. Luckily we only had to stay there for about 15 minutes. After the shower passed, we walked toward the Roman Forum. It was magnificant to see the marble columns still standing after the test of time.

But enough with the history...reality is we were exhausted. We came back to the room to freshen up and headed downtown for some shopping, real Roman gelato (yum yum) and ended up in a recommended genuine Italian restaurant.

Thanks to Erin, we were able to conquer the language barrier and place an order. This restaurant supposedly has the best ravioli on the planet to which Molly and Meredith are albe to attest. The restaurant was run by an old man and woman, where he helped the customers and she did the cooking. Now we can say we've eaten authentic Italian food in Italy--while this was a greater experience for some than others (Allayna!)

Now, we are back in the hotel room....not doing as the Romans tonight, as they are just beginning. However, we will be bright-eyed and bushy-tailed in the morning ready for our trip to the Vatican City, that is if we can get this posted without deleting it AGAIN! :)

Buona Notte! (Goodnight! in Italian)