It's always a bit strange heading home after a long vacation. You're always filled with various emotions. Sadness that your vacation that you planned for quite some time and looked forward to for even longer is coming to an end. Nervousness, at least for me, about a long travel day ahead with taxi connections, 3 different flights, and long hours sitting in an airplane seat and dreaming about what it might feel like to stretch out and actually lie down. The worst ...

Last day in Rome, wow how did that happen? it's been a great adventure and we finished up our last day seeing some more sights. First off, after cappuccino and a brioche, we headed on Tram #8 across the Tiber river to part of Rome called Trastevere. There was a church there that Beth wanted to see dedicated to St. Cecelia. It's also a neat neighbourhood with interesting shops and stuff. We poked around before hitting a pizza joint on one of the piazza's. Had a gr...

Just finishing up 2 busy days seeing some awesome sights here in Rome. One of the things that we splurged on was arranging for a private guide to take us through some of the sites in Vatican City, in particular the Sistine Chapel. Though the "Walks of Italy" site we booked a tour into the chapel before it was open to the public. Usually you would be shoulder to shoulder crammed inside, tilting your head upwards scanning the ceiling while being slowly ushered alo...

I've been busy telling you all (and maybe boring you) with all the various things we've been doing every day so I thought I would change it up a bit. One of the things that helps me get most out of my experience here it to really try and interact with the local people. However being a little bit of an introvert this doesn't come easy. So to follow Rick Steves advice, you need to become more of an extrovert. In a foreign country. Using a foreign language. Gee than...

First full day in Rome so we thought we would do a walkabout and get a feel for our neighbourhood. We are in an area called Monti, which is quite close to the Colosseum. Also close to a Metro stop (Rome's subway). They have 2 lines right now. They've been excavating for a third line since the seventies but when they dig every 10' or so they uncover more ancient stuff. Slow going. Anyways, our area seems really cool. There are lots of restaurants, shops and of cou...