August 10- Flight home

This morning we left Rome on Alitalia flight 7710 at 6:10am. We land in Amsterdam at 8:45am. Then we leave on Continental flight 59 at10:10am and land in Houston at 1:30pm. The last leg of our journey is Continental flight 1672 from Houston at 2:25pm to Phoenix and we land at 3:15pm. See you soon!

Our last blog

Well, the trip has come to an end. We spent most of today at the beach soaking up our remaining hours in Europe. We took the train to the beach and discovered that Italians don't really believe in public beaches. Most of the beaches you had to pay to get in and there were a ton of umbrellas and lounge chairs. We found a tiny bit of public beach and it was as crowded as it could be. It was difficult to even walk down to the beach because there was no space between beach towels. Everybody was squeezed in right next to each other. And it seemed like it was all locals there too. It was fun to sit and watch the people. It seemed that most of the people were there with friends rather than family. There were very few young children. In fact, I would say the majority of people were over 30. There was also the usual peddlers trying to sell all kinds of stuff. We just ignored them and they left us alone. After a few hours soaking up the sun, we got so hungry we decided to leave. Because it was crowded, I feel like we really got to see Roman culture up close.

On our way back we stopped at a middle eastern restaurant for a mid-afternoon meal. I know, middle eastern food in Rome? But everything else is closed on Sunday so we didn't have a lot of choices. And it was really delicious! The good thing about going to the beach is that we spent hardly any money today. We realized that we had better use up all our Euros because we won't need them anymore. So we took out just as much money as we would need for dinner and the airport shuttle from the ATM. We calculated how much we've spent and how much we saved, and we went over our budget exactly $35! I am so happy with that. Of course that doesn't include our flight back to Denver, but we didn't include that in our budget anyways.

We're checked into our flight and pretty much packed up. We will get up at about 3:30 tomorrow morning to get to the airport in time for our 6:10am flight. Our flight to Amsterdam is about 2 1/2 hours, then a 90minute layover, and then our long flight to Houston. We have an hour layover there before we fly to Phoenix and land around 2 or 3 in the afternoon. Which will be close to midnight in Europe! But I don't think we will be tired. We will be excited to see our families and wear some clean clothes.

Adios, Au Revoir, Auf Wiedersehen, and Ciao! And goodbye!

August 9- Vatican City and Rome

Today we will finish up Rome and the Vatican City. Anything we didn't get a chance to see before we will do today. We may also do some shopping since we leave tomorrow! Tonight is our last night in Hotel Colors and our last night in Europe.

Vatican City

This morning we woke up fairly early and walked 5 minutes to Vatican City. We met up with our tour. There were less than 20 people o nthe tour which was really nice. Our guide, Steve, was also from the U.S. He has been doing tours in Rome for 6 years. We got little headsets so we could hear his voice right into our ear. That was also nice because we didn't have to be right close to him to hear what he was saying.

We walked to the Vatican right past the HUGE line. It must have been at least an hour wait in the hot sun. But instead we went right through security, through the turn styles and right into the Vatican Museums. Then he sat us down in a shady spot on some stairs and went through the whole Sistine Chapel.

Tour guides are not allowed to talk inside the church, so they have to explain everything ahead of time. He had a little book with lots of pictures so we could see what he was talking about. He knew so much, it was incredible. He answered every single question we had without hesitation. The most interesting thing I learned was that Michaelangelo was picked to paint the ceiling because everybody wanted him to fail. The Pope Julius II asked his head architect who he should ask to paint the ceiling. Everybody but the Pope knew that Michaelangelo was an accomplished sculptor- not a painter. And everybody hated him because he got so much money and was always grumpy and never finished his commissioned pieces on time. So the architect told the Pope to ask Michaelangelo to do it. Michaelangelo couldn't turn down the project because that would ruin his whole career. So everybody expected him to fail miserably. And look what happened! I also thought it was interesting that when he started painting, he made these really detailed small people and crammed them into a small space. Then he looked up at the ceiling and realized he was wasting his time because you couldn't see that much detail from the floor. So if you look at the ceiling, you can tell where he started with lots of detail and then the figures get bigger and simpler as he went along. What Daniel thought was most interesting was the story that all of the panels told and how easy it was to figure it out.

Before we actually went into the Chapel, our guide took us through the museums. Once again I was so glad we went with a guided tour. He told us exactly what was important and why and moved us quickly through the unimportant stuff. I think if we got an audio guide we would have been in there for hours listening to information about insignificant stuff and we would have missed the big important stuff. My favorite was looking at these ancient Roman baths that were carved out of a really hard stone. The stone was so hard that a diamond tipped blade would take 1 hour to cut 3 milimeters into the stone. We have no idea how they carved it: that technology was lost when the Roman Empire fell. Daniel's favorite part of the museums was seeing one sculpture that had the eyes replaced. Most of the sculptures we saw were marble duplicates that the Romans made from Greek originals. The Greek originals were in bronze and painted to look lifelike. So the museum curators added the eyes back into the sculpture to show us what it would have looked like.

Finally we navigated through the crazy crowds and made it to the Sistine Chapel. It was full of people, you couldn't even move. But it was incredible. I love the iconic panel of God holding out his finger to breathe life into Adam. Steve, our guide, told us that this panel was scandalous because God's legs are showing. We couldn't even get into the chapel if we were dressed like God! And there is a part of it that shows Bartholomew holding his skin (he was flayed alive for being a Christian) and Michaelangelo showed the skin as a self-portrait. That was his way of saying he's so tired and beaten down and oppressed. He was a grumpy man. The guards tried desperately to make everyone be silent, but of course everyone talked anyways. And we saw a guy get kicked out for taking a picture.

Finally, our guide led us around to Saint Peter's Basilica. He described some things to look for inside it and then let us go to explore it on our own. I loved Michaelangelo's Pieta. It was so beautiful. Our guide told us how a crazy guy tried to hack it to pieces in the 70s. And incredibly many of the "paintings" in the Basilica are actually mosaics made with really really tiny tiles. That was cool to see as well.

So you can see how much we learned today! I want to write it all down so I don't forget, but that's not possible. Anyways, I wrote the highlights. So we were done around 2 and found a place to eat lunch. I had pizza again. It was still really good. I just love Italian food I think. We found the main shopping street that goes from the Vatican to the river. It was fun to look in all the stores. We found ourselves right back at our hotel without even realizing it. So we stopped there to take a break from the hot Roman sun. We ended up napping for about an hour and a half. Rome has been so busy, we really needed the break. In the late afternoon we set off for Piazza Popolo.

We got there around 7, right when the church closed so we didn't get to go inside. I thought this Piazza was the most beautiful in Rome. It was a big circle with a fountain in the middle. Unexpectedly, a huge crowd came walking in from a side street. They were singing and waving flags. They were all wearing light blue. We recognized the Italian soccer team's jerseys that a lot of the people were wearing. So somehow we ended up right in the middle of a big pep rally on the street! They started to set off firecrackers so we got out of there. We walked down the center street that leads to the piazza. It was lined with tons of stores. We got gelato along the way for dinner. Where else would you get gelato for dinner but in Italy? It was so delicious! We found ourselves back in Piazza Navona, and it was crowded! There were tons of street performers. The most interesting ones we've seen yet I think. Lots of musical performers, artists, dancers, and the typical "human statues." We sat down at a table and ordered the house wine and just sat and watched all the people go by. There was a particularly entertaining old man right in front of us. He sat on a bench with an amp next to him and a microphone. He was playing a CD of an Italian singer and lip syncing along really terribly. It was obvious he was not actually singing. He waved his arm around. It was so funny that he actually thought people would think he was singing!

It was such a great morning learning so much about the Vatican and Michaelangelo, and a beautiful evening enjoying the fountains lit up and all the street performers. Today was a great day! We asked Steve what to do tomorrow. On Sunday everything in Rome is closed so we had no idea what to do all day. He recommended going to the beach and told us how to get there. So we'll sleep in and soak up the sun. Then the morning after we're off to the airport around 4am. What a fabulous weekend in Rome!

Ancient Rome

Today was a yet again a very busy and exhausting day! We woke up a little late at around 9 and had breakfast. After that, we headed towards the Coliseum. We took the metro since it is on the opposite side of Rome from Vatican City, where our hotel is. When we first saw it, we were astounded. It is a huge structure! There were tons of people taking pictures. We couldn't even figure out where the entrance was. As we walked around the side, we noticed a guy offering guided tours in English. We were very tired of the audio guides and decided that we wanted a live guide this time. He told us that it was 11 euros admission, plus 10 euros for the tour. The tour included the Coliseum, and nearby Palatine Hill and the Roman Forum. And we didn't have to wait in line at all since we were going with a group. The individual line was about 45 minutes long! We were already planning on seeing Palatine Hill and the Roman Forum after the Coliseum, so we went for it. We were both a little nervous because it seemed kind of sketchy. I mean this guy was just standing outside the Coliseum yelling out "English tours!" But it worked. And we were so happy we did it. The tour guide knew everything not only about the Coliseum, but about ancient Roman life. He described to us the different social classes in ancient Rome and all about the training of Gladiators. I thought it was all fascinating. I couldn't begin to tell you everything we learned, but here's some of the highlights:

The Coliseum was built around 70 AD and it took 8 years to build. It can hold 50,000 spectators. Each level was for a specific social class, with women of all social classes sitting at the very tippy top. Tickets didn't cost any money. The Emperor paid for it all. When the Coliseum opened, there was 100 straight days of games and festivities. There were 80 separate gates that people could enter through. We learned about gladiators too: They were runaway slaves, or convicts, or soldiers that deserted. Being made into a Gladiator was a serious punishment. They had to endure hours of grueling physical training every day and were fed only barley and wine to make them big and strong. After winning 11 or 12 fights, they were sometimes awarded their freedom by the Emperor as a reward. But most of the time, they didn't survive that long or weren't good enough to ever get that many victories. The games consisted of gladiators fighting each other, or wild animals, or reenacting a hunt of some kind. They shipped in exotic animals from all over the world like tigers from India and lions and ostriches from Africa to be used in the fights. They starved the animals so they would be hungry. The animals and gladiators were kept under the stage and there were 40 elevators that could raise up an animal or gladiator to the stage. Our guide especially liked describing the gory details of the games that took place in the Coliseum. It was a terrific tour and we really enjoyed it.

At the end of the Coliseum, our guide told us that we would meet our next guide at the top of the stairs. A girl named Jill came over and introduced herself. She sounded like she was from the U.S. Later we found out she was from North Carolina. She walked us right next door to Palatine Hill. We already had tickets to get in and didn't have to wait in line again. She told us all about the ruins. Palatine Hill was the place that all the Emperors built their palaces. We saw the remnants of arches and temples that they built. She also explained a little about the history of the Roman Empire and how it came about. She made it sound like a juicy soap opera. Emperor Augustus, the first emperor, divorced his wife on the day she gave birth to their first child and then ordered his best friend to divorce his wife so he could marry her to gain more power and prestige. That was just part of the story. All the following emperors built on top of the previous Emperor's palace to associate themselves with that Emperor and gain more prestige and fame. When they became Emperors, they became Gods. So when the people went to the temple, they prayed to the Emperor and paid money to gain favor with the Gods. In addition to taxes, the emperors had this great source of income to pay for the army and keep their kingdom. This was why they didn't like Jews: Jews only had one God and therefore would never pay money to worship the Emperor. It was all so interesting! So she showed us where the cobblestones were that Romans walked on thousands of years ago, and where the houses were of all the rich and famous ancient Romans. One of the most astounding things she told us is that ancient Romans were very small. They were only the size of a 10-12 year old child today! Can you believe that? Julius Caesar was a giant to them, and he was 5'6"! So she told us not to be afraid of Gladiators, because we could beat them up in a second.

So after the tour was over we wandered around the grounds a bit more to discover some of the ruins Jill didn't mention. It was already about 1:00pm by the time we were done with the tour. Our hotel receptionist had told us that just across the river was the best area to find good restaurants, so we walked there for lunch. By the time we got there it was past 3. We found a restaurant that was still opened and got a quick lunch. Then we explored the neighborhood a bit. It's called "Trastavere." We looked inside a church and discovered a wedding taking place. This church was the site of the very first Christian church. We walked up a big hill and sat at a fountain. Daniel dipped his feet in. It was so unbelievably hot today. All day we went out of our way to stay in the shade and went through bottle after bottle of water. It must have been 95 at least. And obviously very humid. The fountain helped cool us off. I was so tired from walking all day and the heat I just wanted to rest for a while.

About 5:00 we left the fountain and walked back across the river to catch the metro back at the Coliseum. We took the metro over to Plaza de Spagna to see the famous Spanish steps. We were pretty unimpressed. We didn't quite understand why the steps are so famous. They were much smaller than I pictured. The plaza was so crowded with people and the same annoying people selling junk. After 4 weeks, I am sick and tired of people begging for money and even more sick of people trying to sell junk. They get up in our faces and try to convince us that we need this little toy or a flower for the pretty girl. We just want to be left alone! Anyways, we didn't really understand what all the hype was about. But we took some pictures and then walked through the streets trying to find a place to eat.

We found a little restaurant a couple blocks away and got some dinner. The service was pretty terrible. I think they only had one waiter for about 8 tables, so he was really busy. But the food was good enough that we still enjoyed it. And once the sun went down, the heat wasn't so unbearable.

Overall, it was a great day. I enjoyed the ruins so much. My favorite part of history is learning about everyday people and that's exactly what we heard about today. It's fascinating to think about how those people lived and walked on the same steps that we walked on. It's too bad they weren't more well preserved. The Coliseum was severely damaged by an Earthquake in 1430-something and the Popes encouraged people to take whatever they wanted off the building for a couple hundred years (they didn't like the Pagan symbol it represented, so they wanted to get rid of it). Imagine what it would look like if people didn't take chunks of the marble out for their own houses!

Tomorrow we are spending the whole day in Vatican City. We are going with the same tour group through the museums and the Sistine Chapel and Saint Peter's Basilica. So no waiting in lines for us! I'm so excited.

August 8-Vatican City

Today we will spend the whole day in Vatican City. We will hopefully take a guided tour. We also want to light a candle for Daniel's Abuela. She is a devout Catholic and is very happy that we are visiting the Vatican City. Tonight we will stay in Hotel Colors.

August 7- Rome

Today we will continue to see all the popular sites in Rome. These include Campo de Fiori, Santa Maria in Trestevere, the Jewish Ghetto, the Catacombs, Pantheon, and Piazza Navona. We will stay in Hotel Colors again tonight.