July 28, Rome to Fondi-Sperlonga and back We set the alarm for 8:20 am to get ready for a day at the beach. We headed off on a 25-30 minute walk to the train station, bought tickets and boarded the train for a 70 minute ride to the small town of Fondi. From Fondi, we boarded a bus for a 20 minute ride to the beach town of Sperlonga. There is a long sandy beach here stretching along the Mediterranean. Being a Saturday and about 36c, we were not the only peopl...

July 27, Rome Today I decided to let us sleep in after yesterdays exhausting day. I set the alarm for 10 am. We took our time and left for the day sometime around 11 am. Our first stop today was The Pantheon. It was originally a temple built for Roman Gods in 27 BC and rebuilt around 126 AD after it had burnt down twice. You enter through a porch supported by huge columns. The circular interior is 142 ft in diameter and the dome is 142 ft high with an ocul...

July 26, Prague to Venice and Rome Well in the middle of our night Christine informed us that Riley had cancer. We were all devastated. Brenna and I wanted to be home so bad. In the morning we packed up our bags and left the hotel to catch the subway and bus to the Prague airport for our flight to Venice. Riley continued to get worse. By the time we reached Venice, it was decided that Riley would have to be put to sleep since he was in so much distress. Ch...