July 22, 2008

It has been a long long time and many cities since we last spoke and here is a treat for you, and here he is (Nick the stage is yours)...

-> Thank you, thank you! I will admit when Kelly handed my the journal I threw it on the floor but an hour of it looking at me and realizing I have 8 more hours on this train, here I am...

REMINDER: I AM NOT A BERKELEY ENGLISH GRAD

Since our last journal entry, we have visited Florence, Sienna, Rome and Naples.

Florence: Florence is really neat. Crowded, busy, statues, gellato, shopping and people watching summarize Florence. Everything in Florence is withing a 20-30 minute walk. So the first night we walked. We walked by blocks and blocks of makeshift shops of knockoff purses, 5 euro ties, and leather. Guys would try and get Kel to buy leather jackets and she would reply "TOO HOT! TOO HOT!" It worked, Italians know the word hot! We ended up at the Ponte Vecchio bridge sat down, listened to a musician and watched people give their cheesiest top model pose on the bridge. Out of the hundred of poses and pictures not one person did a jumping pose like we do, weird. The next day we saw Michelangelo's David statue, street performers trying to be statues and Kelly eating gelato. The number of gelato places per square mile has to out number pubs in Ireland. So Kelly decided the places with the biggest, highest stacks and with the largest selection (even though she gets the same flavor every time) wins her heart. Kel finished her gelato, I got a coke, slice of pizza, USA Today and people watched as Kel went shopping. That evening we left for Sienna...

We absolutely LOVED Sienna. Sienna is set up like a fan. Everything is based around the main square and fans out from there. The center of the city has a 330 foot tall bell tower that we climbed, a square called Il Campo where the kids run, couples picnic and everybody relaxes. The square is surrounded by restaurants looking over the square. Once a year they fill the concrete square with dirt, create a horse track, all the city's people fill the center, the restaurant walls are covered with bed mattresses for the many crashes and each of the 17 neighborhoods has a horse to represent them. You know you are in the year's winning neighborhood because all of the shops and restaurants have pictures of the race in their windows. After sleeping in and spending a few hours in Il Campo (main square) we went to the Duomo Cathedral. The structure dates from 1215. It is absolutely remarkable. As you walk in, above you the heads of 172 Popes peer down. Everywhere you look there was something amazing, columns, art in the floor, the dome, stained glass windows, a marble pulpit, statues, and more. Like most of the European churches, you really feel closer to heaven. We had an amazing dinner, went home drank wine on our hostel bedroom balcony and left in the morning for Rome.

Oh Rome! How badly we miss you! Rome is my 2nd favorite city behind Dublin so far. So we got to Rome, saw a scooter rental place and I begged Kelly to let us rent one, just like I use to beg my parents to buy me a goat-cart (go-cart). The thing is I have begged for the scooter in every city but something came over her, "Yeah let's do it!" One problem, Rome has Europe's craziest drivers. Everywhere we read said beware of Rome's drivers. So she called my bluff, do I seize the day and risk our lives for a stupid scooter ride or just try in the next safer city? So the next day the scooter guy is asking me if I have ridden one before, yes I have. (Bike, scooter same thing) We hope on with our nerdy helmets and the guy is watching as I wobble and swerve almost crashing, Kelly screaming (scooter-bike are not the same thing) and we are off! So for the first four hors as we pulled up to the Vatican, cruised by the colleseum, made 5 loops around the round a bouts (not on purpose) and many times of Kelly letting me know of any maneuver she did not approve of by screaming in my ear, NICK! Then during a stop I take a picture of her in the helmet and all I hear the rest of the time as she is looking at herself in the mirror, "Why do I look so good in my helmet and you look so deformed in yours?" Next thing I know she is no longer holding on for dear life, Kel is taking pictures of everything we drive by, looking at the map and I am yelling at her, what are you doing! HOLD ON!

The amazing thing about Romes is you walk down every street and there is a different landmark. The colleseum (which we don't know how to spell) was mind boggling. The age, history and thoughts of went on in there. The glorified death was disturbing. Their half time show was having performers just as we see but when the performer was complete with his act they sent the lion or panther out to kill them. Thought you all would like that. Then the Vatican. The Vatican I feel you need many days to truly experience it. We spent a few hours in St Peter's Basilica and that is absolutely out of this world. 6 acres created to fit 60,000 people standing, many domes statues... just amazing. I cannot think of any words to better describe it. The stairs below the alter leading to the graves of the past popes including John Paul II. It really is soo hard to explain (Look at the pictures!) We spent so much time in here that when we came out the Vatican Museum was closed. So the next day we got up early got there at 8:30 and the line was a block long and only waited 30 minutes to get inside the museum. We went through 20 rooms of art filled rooms, each baffling but we had our anxiety up and our mind on the prize. The Sistine chapel. What a chapel it was. The detail, the art, the holiness. The Vatican does not disappoint. Despite the constant yelling of NO PHOTO we got plenty of photos for you. Add Rome in your travel plans it is a must see. The thing is you have to live their for at least a year to truly experience everything.

Oh as far as Naples. It sucks. Don't go there.

Thanks for strugglin with me... we can now go back to appreciating Kelly.