ROME & FLORENCE

above: The Tiber River with St. Peter's Basilica in background

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above: oldest bridge in Firenze (Florence), Italy ... above: Chris and Nancy inside St. Peter's Basilica ...

above: Nancy on the Palatine hill over looking the Colosseum

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above: ray of sunlight inside St. Peter's Basilica

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above: view of Rome from near the top of the Spanish Steps

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Buongiorno! We have made it to Florence and have found a way to get some pictures on this site. We have two cameras with us and the one we are using today doesn't have so many of the two of us but we wanted to show some of the sites we have seen over the past 4 days. So far most of the trip has consisted of walking, touring museums, eating, and drinking. We have seen many fabulous sites and beautiful things. My favorite site so far would have to be the Pantheon, for some reason the building had a great feel to me. It is perfectly round and has a great open skylight in the middle of it that had a huge ray of sun shining into it. Nancy's favorite site was the Colosseum and the ruins on Palatine Hill, but most moved by St. Peter's Basilica as she kept thinking of her Dad.

We have met new friends along the way. We hung out with a few Australians that are on a 3-4 month trip. We have also met some Russians, other Americans, and brief random encounters along the way. Everyone has been very friendly.

The travels have been as smooth as possible, definitely some issues along the way though. We didn't make our first train as we didn't understand the system, but now we have it down...kind of. We also booked some incorrect dates for one of our hotels. We have traveled by plane, train, subway, taxis, and ... mostly by foot.

The funniest things that have happened to us along the way have to do with the small things. The Toilettes (not the bathrooms) have all kinds of unique ways to turn the water on and off and how to flush. When we check into a room it is a gamble whether or not we will get two single beds or a double/king. We can't seem to get our sleeping schedule straight. We have been going to bed after midnight everynight and sometimes wake up for awhile in the middle of the night. Getting out of bed in the morning has been our most challenging task. We have needed the alarm to wake us at 9am consistently.

Until next time, all of our love.

Arrivederci!