Friday morning we woke up and took a bus to the airport. The airport was really modern and was like a mini-mall. After the short flight, on which we saw 8 ridiculously ripped, attractive, metro Italian men (probably models) we took a bus into the city and headed to our hostel. The hostel staff was really friendly and excited that we were staying for 5 nights! Our room was more similar to a hotel room with our own bathroom, but there were four beds so we had a roommate the entire time. We walked around the area by our hostel and had our first Italian meal, right across the street : ) we roamed so far... ha. ha. ha. The next morning we got up and experienced our first breakfast at this hostel - rock hard bread, "coffee," and cereal with weird warm milk. Yum. After this delicious feast we took the metro to the North side of the city and walked through a huge beautiful park. There was a pond that looked like a Norman Rockwell painting. Gorgeous. We worked our way South through the city, stopping at the Spanish steps (we've seen and hiked more impressive steps) and the Pantheon. We walked along the river and made our way to the main plazas or piazzas, all of which contain an Egyptian obelisk. The trevi fountain was one of our last stops of the day and it was quite the crowded spot. On the way home we heard some loud music and headed toward it, of course we must follow when our ears perked. It ended up being a fabulously colorful gay pride parade, glad we got to witness it.

We've found that people in Rome are very pushy and impatient (especially on the metro, which only has 2 lines), somewhat like New Yorkers. But we got of the city the next day and took a day trip to a small beach, yet one of the most crowded we've ever seen (after being denied entrance to a private beach). Melissa tried some coconut and we all had our daily dose of Gelato. We witnessed many a man wearing a speedo and many women wearing bikinis, some of who should probably invest in a onepiece. After the most ridiculously crowded and hot train ride ever, literally we were like sardines with our faces pushed against the windows, we stopped in a small ancient town of Ostia Antica. Of course, again denied entry, this time because they had closed at 5 pm and it was now 5:45. We could only peak around the front gate at the ruins toward the front. Womp womp. That night we ate at another small cafe, this time we got bruschetta on the house! We've found that nothing in Rome is free, which is why this is the first city we haven't done a free walking tour. Good thing we had Rick Steve's corny joke invested podcasts for the following days.

Monday we got up bright and early and headed toward Vatican City. Our mission was to hit up the Vatican Museums and see the Sistine Chapel. Little did we know that on the way was a minefield (as Kristi put it) of harassers offering private tours "to skip the two hour line." Literally they followed us relentlessly and tried to lead us astray, pat on the back to us for getting there on our own and waiting in the 45 minute line - yes, we timed it. We went through a few exhibits on the way to the Sistine Chapel, which was stunningly realistic, the paintings looked 3D. Kristi had the Rick Steve's podcast so she filled Melissa and Dana in on the history. Even though the cranky security guards told us not to, we managed to sneak some pics of the ceiling. College has taught us well.

After we emerged from the museum, we were on a quest for food. We proceeded to a cafe where we had the most expensive meal of the trip, not to mention we were shoved in a corner with all our seats in a line and Dana staring directly at a wall. Quality meal time. Then we ventured over to St. Peter's Basilica where we went through security and headed right in. Dana's jaw literally dropped when we entered. Melissa had the podcast so she filled Kristi and Dana in on the details. We saw the Pieta, where St. Peter was buried, the preserved bodies of 3 popes and Michelangelo's dome. We also saw Swiss guards and their amazingly colorful uniforms, which were designed by Michelangelo and are a little behind the times. A new fad? Possibly next fall.

We headed home to recharge and then got dinner at another cafe before heading back to the Trevi fountain to see it at night. It was less crowded so we got a seat and watched the sun set behind it. Awww, so romantic. Then we headed back to the spanish steps and ate gelato on them. Still not that impressive but we gave them a second chance. We walked home and hit the hay. Tuesday morning we headed South to Palatine Hill and the Roman Forum. It was surreal to see all the ancient ruins and where the Roman Empire originated. The best part was trying to imagine how it was thousands of years ago. After a quick bite we went in the Colosseum, where Dana and Melissa kept envisioning Gladiator. Rick Steve's was again useful with his podcast : ) It was an awesome stadium but we'll stick to football and keep our athletes alive.

For dinner we headed to a small pizzeria and grabbed a delicious (and cheap) dinner. Dana even found a Pepsi! Hooray! We chilled in the bar in our hostel and played cards for about an hour. So cool, we know. We packed up and went to bed. This morning we took about a four hour train ride to Pisa where we stopped for a 3 hour tour. We walked up the plaza and around the tower, we weren't able to walk in it because the 30 person tours were full until after we had to leave. We had a great time taking pictures and walking through the lush grass!! Grass we could actually walk on! The town was really cute and it was nice walking around. Tomorrow is a light festival in Pisa so we were able to witness part of the festivities with a parade of small children dressed up in maiden and knight attire. It was super cute. We took two more trains to get to Venice, where we are staying for 2 days. We love it already. More to come later!

Ciao for now!