Off to ROMA! Long flight... woah! We took a red eye last night and landed in Italy at 9:30am this morning. We slept the majority of the flight so we landed rather rested. We were excited to FINALLY be in Europe. Ben and Laura negotiated our taxi using their penny pinching skills to get to the hotel. We checked into , dropped off our baggage and went off sight seeing. We fell in love with the transportation-- well, that's after the first night of getting lost! The answer to your travels is a train or bus! Sometimes a little of both but after the first night we tracked our steps for a safe return home! Every one in Europe is active and the majority-- healthy. It was a breath of fresh air! There wasn't a handicap sign or a Jazzy tooling around any where is sight!
Our first attraction landed us at Trevi Fountain ( I knew exactly what I was looking at thanks to good ol' AP Art History that I never thought would pay off! ;). It was INCREDIBLE! It is at the junction of three roads hence the Trevi. It was one of the ancient aqueducts that supplied water to ancient Rome. A traditional legend holds that if visitors throw a coin into the fountain, with one's right hand over your left shoulder they are ensured a return to Rome. Two coins will lead to a new romance and three will ensure either a marriage or divorce. (I guess whatever you are dying for at the time-- haha!) An estimated 3,000 euros are thrown into the fountain each day. The money has been used to subsidize a supermarket for Rome's needy.
As we were walking the streets we noticed crowds of people coming out and police officers blocking off roads. After translating some broken eng-talian we figured out the pope would be coming for a visit at 4 o'clock. It was December 8th, the first day of Christmas celebration.
Then we walked to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. The monument is built of pure white marble. It has stairways leading to the arch, tall columns, fountains, a huge sculpture of Victor Emmanuel and two statues of the goddess Victoria riding a chariot. The monument holds the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier with an eternal flame, built under the statue of Italy after World War I.
WHERE ARE THE REST of your pix from Europe??? I've been waiting for two months now... PATIENTLY! haha! We are really just jealous! Now that we have heard all about your trip we want to see the action. Lets get together and double soon!
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