We we've arrived in Rome safely. Other than a luggage issue with a couple of bags everything so far has gone smoothly. Tom's bags looked like they were dragged through the dirt and my large main bag had the lock ripped off which damaged the zipper assembly. With claims filed we headed out to find a cab to take us to our apartment.

The question is, how much do two people need to pack for a 35-day trip. Some might say that you should pack minimally and others might say "pack to excess". Deb and I seemed to have chose the latter. Between the four of us we have a total of 10 pieces + 1 which would account for the two small airline wine bottles that contain the four tulips.

As I mentioned earlier KLM had given each of their guests a tulip to celebrate King's Day in Holland. I guess Jamie took this on as a mission. I've got to give her credit because as I type this morning's edition I look down to my right and there on the coffee table are four very healthy (3 red and 1 purple) tulips. Jamie's objective was to get these to Rome regardless of the numerous boardings, disembarkations, passport controls, luggage inspections (the inspectors even had to ask her to dump the water from the two bottles in order to proceed through Passport Control) and the like - but for all of you out there - they are healthy and they do add a little beauty to this apartment.

Back to the taxi loading. As I mentioned we have 10 bags (4 very large) so it was first required to find a vehicle (Fiat and Mercedes don't seem to have very large vehicles here) that would accommodate all the luggage and then work it like a complicated puzzle to make them all fit - but in the end it worked out just fine. Our race car driver Gilles got us here ok at a cost of 50 Euro's for the 40-minute drive from the airport.

Out front on arrival we met Julia who was there to meet us and to open up the apartment. That's a good thing considering that this was booked on line and who knows. After we took the 4 trips in the world's smallest elevator to move the bags up to the second floor we were introduced to a great little home for next two days. It's more than enough room for the four of us with two bedrooms. The main living room has 15' beamed wooden ceilings with hardwood flooring - the most interesting item however is the shower - it's real small - no more than a cruise ship shower but I'm sure will do the job.

Despite the fact that the four of us were like "dead men walking" we decided to head out into the rain and look for a spot for dinner - so we started out in the direction of Piazza Navona. Along the way we found a nice little taverna and we all chowed down some local pasta which was ended up being quite nice.

After dinner (26 Euros for Deb and I) we headed to the Piazza to see what was going on. Things were in full swing despite the spitting rain. People were having romantic dinner's in the square, tourists were looking at their maps and the local street vendors were selling there wares in the dark to any tourist that would listen to their broken english.

After a few late night shots we knew that we had to get some sleep before we all dropped so we headed back to the apartment. A quick shower and my head hit the pillow - BAM - gone until 4:10 a.m. I have to say that these accommodations here win the prize for the noisiest hotel that I've ever stayed in. While shutters look cool - they're not good at keeping the sound down. All night from garbage trucks to the trams wheels grinding around the corner in front of the suite - it's gone on all night.

I want to say thanks to those who are reading this blog - I appreciate it. Hopefully you continue to stay with me for the balance of this trip. I've posted up a few pictures from last night and we're getting ready for our self-guided walking tour of old Rome in a couple of hours once the rest of them get up.

Stay tuned.