Rome sweet Rome

Well, I'm back in Rome. Happy to be back in Rome, actually. VERY happy. Ever since we left, things seem to have been going wrong. I guess if things are going to go wrong, might as well be in Italy.
But today ... I got to sleep in! We're staying in this beautiful hotel. Everything there is real expensive. I took a shower in this jacuzzi shower this morning. Crazy. There is a knob you turn to switch the settings of where the water comes out, the low jets, the high jets, or one of the 2 shower heads. Its a good thing I was the only one in there, because im sure someone watching would have cracked up. it always came out unexpectdly strong in unexpected places. Never the less, i got clean. haha.
Breakfast was not that great. Americans, im sure, have the best brekfasts. its only criossants and fake coffee here. After breakfast, mom planned out a walking tour of all the fountains in Rome. I thought it was a great idea, because there were a few that i still had yet to see.
The weather was great the whole day. it was really refreshing to look at all the fountains during the warm weather. Sometimes, i just wanted to jump in though (not allowed here). Window shopping was great, between all the fountains. shopping here is amazing. shoes ... wow. im so tempted. but ever since the leather jacket, i must refrain.
We ate lunch at this restaurant and the waiters were big flirts. too bad i dont understand what they were saying... till one of them actually stopped and asked if i knew spanish. i saidi knew a little, and then he said that i was a beautiful girl. the other one told my mom he was in love with his sister, while we were on our way out.
In other news, Rome traffic is crazy. trying to cross streets is a life-endangering sport aruond here. i wouldnt even attempt to drive around here! Between the huge busses, the tiny egg-shaped cars, and the millions of motorbikes, there is no vacant street. as long as you keep eye contact with the person thats attempting to run you over, you're usually safe to cross in front of them. its hard to keep your confidence, though. luckily i havent died yet.
Also, im sick of riding busses. its the most horrible way to travel. trains are better than buses, and we even wussed out on the train in sicily on the way to rome. we booked a short flight ... the best decision since Rome. The transportation system here is impeccible. you can get anywhere pretty cheaply. you just never know how smooth or crowded the ride is going to be. Our recent travel mishaps called for a trip to the farmacea. we finally ended up with what i think is the italian dramamine equvalent (motion sickness medicine - a necessary companion to any 6 hour journey). what i think is funny, is that this medicine company sponsors the barf-bags on the plane we took from sicily to Rome.
In other news, we're headed home tomorrow. EARLY in the morning here. We will get home in the afternoon tomorrow, but are leaving from Rome at 7AM (leaving the hotel at 4:30AM). Its going to be a long day. Im happy to be getting home, sad to leave rome. I think i found my favorite big city on this planet.
I used up almost my whole memory card for my camera (500 pictures). plus postcards to make up for the stuff i saw, but didnt get pictures of. btw, im sending lots of postcards. i have no idea if-when they will get to yall, especially the ones i mailed in sicily (where all the post boxes were caked with what looked like 15 years of dust.) but nevertheless, if its the thought that counted, then i guess you can wait a decade for it to arrive : )
ill be home soon. i guess home is where i call it nowadays. san antonio, or something like that. well, off to eat for now!

sunburn and soaked, all in one day.

So i love Rome so much. We just finished dinner at the same restaurant we ate at last night. It was crowded so we kinda shared a table with 2 students from London. They were good company. It was a little ackward at first, because we didnt all talk much, yet we were sitting so close. The food was delish. I came to Italy with the intention of being a wine conesseur, but instead have become a tiramisu expert. I try it most places we go and eat, and it has become sort of a comfort food. All the food here is good. definately a highlight of the trip. Today I flipped a coin over my shoulder in to the trevi fountain, wished to come back. i hope some day i will. someday soon.
We visited a whole lot of ruins today. I love walking around all the ancient building materials. its quite impressive. especially the colliseum. WOW. we went inside and MAN is that cool. Its amazing how little it has been valued over the years. I mean most of the materials were stolen from it and used to build other things. There is so much of it still standing, though. I have heard so much about the place, and to actually stand in there, imagining everything happening. its quite fun. The roman ruins are all in this huge park area. Its so fun to climb up the steps. everywhere you look, you see ancient old columns, remains of buildings, flowers growing everywhere, and large trees providing shade from the hot sun.
Mom visited some art today, while i just sat in the swuare, taking a nap by a huge fountain. This was all around this square that michelangelo designed. also impressive. You could prettymuch see the whole city from the square. A young student was sketching for a watercolor next to me, kids were trying to avoid the police whistles as they wanted to get as many body parts as possible into the cool water from the fountain. People were checking maps, and deciding what part of this great city to see next. I enjoyed myself there. Wrote a few postcards. got a little sunburnt. It started to rain on me, so i took some cover near one of the buildings. it was nice that it cooled off a bit. The weather has been superb...
Until it started raining. We were by the Trevi fountain. stopped at the world renowned best gelato shop ever, and got stuck in there for a while, avoiding the rain. enjoying very hefty portions of orange and pineapple gelato. talk about world's greatest. we got soaked on the way home. purchased our THIRD umbrella of the trip ... thatll teach us to not pack the umbrella in the backpack when it doesnt look like rain in the morning. best 3 euro investment of the trip, though. AND we saw a double rainbow on the way back, and then another one near our hotel. so cool.
well, our travel plans need a little modifying. we thought we could take a night train, but turns out it doesnt leave from the place we're trying to depart from. i dont know how we're going to fit everything in. its possible. definately. but ive enjoyed the multi-night stays at hotels. im looking forward to seeing the coast, and the more coastal towns. anyhow, its 11:11 here, i get to make another wish. and then get some sleep ciao for now!

Resting in Rome

okay, so i was posting then it totally wigged out on me. summary of everything i jsut typed but dont want to type again: we got a lot of rest today.

After our nap in Rome, we got up and went to the ruins. first we got a little lost and stopped at st. peter in chains. actually got lost on the way there, too, but thanks to some old lady in the park, we found our way. then we were looking for the ruins that were supposedly really close ... and suddenly, there was the coliseum peeking out above the trees! we wandered through this large park, first coming upon a church with a lot of elderly people coming out. saw some older men playing some bowling-type game. flowers and trees everywhere. a couple was getting their wedding pictures taken in the park. people were playing pine-cone-fetch with their dogs. lots of lovers. lots of flowers, all against the backdrop of the ancient roman buildings.

Wemade our way over to the roman arches and the closer to the coliseum, and took lots of pictures. Wedding couples were a dime a dozen around Rome this afternoon. dogs, too. everyone has a dog around here. After we had enough of the area, we headed toward the rest of the ruins. its all in like a big park area. huge open space, very hilly. i love it. the entrance was closed, because sunset was approaching. we saw it all through the iron fencing, though. had a great view of the central part of rome. We did a lot of climbing up hills this afternoon. it was worth it, because wherever you looked, things were so beautiful. so many flowers, and trees. so many things were happening in the little parks we walked through. Rome was very alive today. the weather was perfect and the sky has been so blue. I think its becoming my favorite place.

Florence was great, dont get me wrong, just spent a lot of the time tired and worn out. I liked Pisa, but was glad we only made a quick trip there. I think my favorite thing in Florence was the people we met and the library that michelangelo designed.

What else can i say ... ive been taking lots of pictures. i am looking forward to tomorrow when we get to actually go into the park with all the ruins, and check out the other major sites in Rome. I want to take a walk at night, and see all the fountains lighted up. there is a reccomended night walk, and i really want to take it. On Monday, we're visiting the Vatican.

I dont have internet in the hotel, but i will try and stop here tomorrow. this internet place is close to the hotel, so it shouldnt be a stretch to post tomorrow about all the stuff im looking forward to seeing.

Can You Hear Me Now?! Prego?!

Well, I finally found internet again. This computer is so slow and has a bad connection, though, so who knows if this will even post.
Things are going well. We are running around so much. I'm getting tired and worn out. Today is a holiday over here, so we get to visit all the churches nad museums for free! Wahoo!
Well, since I last posted, I have been in Florence. Its really nice here. I like it a lot. There is great shopping ... yeah, i purchased a leather jacket. Its perfect, and i like it a lot. I'm glad i did, though, because it just gets colder and colder here! I also got a haircut ... its shorter. its ... chic.
We went to Pisa yesterday, just ats a day trip. I think the 1 1/2 hour tain ride was my favorite though. We had a sorta tour-guide passenger for part of the time. he kept telling us all about all the little towns we were traveling past. very interesting. he was real kind.
Well, i'm gonna try and post before the site crashes. Sorry its not much! I'll write more and better, as soon as possible!!