Bell'Italia!

Buongiorno from the beautiful country of Italy! This is our third day in Rome, and before this we spent a day in Milan, and two days in Florence. In Milan, we ran into some rain, which luckily has been the only time we have, save for a brief thunderstorm last night. We saw the Duomo, or church, in Milan which was great to see as well. We also spent a couple of hours catching up on laundry...

So, moving on to something a bit more exciting...

The Duomo in Milan

In Florence, we stayed busy every hour we were there. Upon arriving at our so-called 'hostel,' we realized that it was actually a budget bed and breakfast, which turned out to be very comfortable and nice to stay in. Between the two days we were there, we saw the Uffizi Gallery and the Gallery of the Academy, where we saw many famous pieces of art, including the sculpture of 'David,' by Michelangelo and the 'Birth of Venus,' by Botticelli. Additionally, we climbed to the tallest hill in the city and reached the top by sunset to watch the sun go down on all of the buildings, monuments, and the river down below. The duomo in Florence was also incredible to see, with intricate patterns covering it entirely. Oh, and of course we tried our first gelatto, which was to die for.

The Duomo in Florence

The Pietà Bandini, also known as the
Deposition of Christ by Michelangelo

Mmm...

The city of Firenze, Italia

A replica fountain of David
...we couldn't take pictures of the original...

It was sad leaving Florence, but we were excited to see what Rome had to offer. The minute we got here we saw how much fun the city could be. People were on every street corner it seemed, shopping, dining, and touring. We decided the best solution was to head out and walk around to get oriented with the city and we were impressed to see all of the ruins and the Colosseum in the distance. We went to the Colosseum yesterday and it was eery to see in person with the knowledge of all that went on there during its time. After, we passed the Arch of Constantine and the Circo Maximo, where chariot races used to be held.

The sunset over some of the ruins of the ancient city

Outside of the Roman Colosseum
Inside of the Colosseum--note the labyrinth located
under the floor. The floor has since been eroded away.

Today, Kris and I toured the Vatican, going inside the Basilica and the tombs of the popes, where we saw Pope John Paul II's tomb among many others. The walk to, from, and around the Vatican wore us out, so we are going back tomorrow to tour the Sistine Chapel. On our walk back from the Vatican, we passed by the Roman Pantheon as well, where we incidently ran into the filming of 'Angels and Demons,' with Tom Hanks and Ron Howard standing near by. What are the odds? Tonight we are going to relax and splurge on an Italian meal at Campo de Fiore, a populated, yet quaint city square with numerous sidewalk cafes.

Vatican City--The Basilica

Statue of St. Peter...it is a tradition to touch his feet
in passing through the Basilica. It is also said
that the tomb of St. Peter is under the church itself.

The Pantheon

And last but not least...Tom Hanks!

Ciao!