WOWZA! What a day so far! We've seen more than I can even list here! I was downstairs at about 8:15a. We left about...9a? First, the Colosseum. What a heart racing THRILL! My heart just got going! We walked the 4 blocks tops over to the train station (ha ha ha ha) and hopped onto the Metro over to the Colloseo. Sasha (Maestro) had ALL this figured out. When we came up from the depths...there it was. Breath taking. To think, Gladiators fought and died there. Thousands of years ago...and here we were...standing the the exact same spot. Mind boggling. Seriously. Pictures do NOT do it justice.

From there, we walked over to a beautiful little church and lit a candle. I said a prayer, let our trip be awesome and let the boys want me included - wow! It works! Sasha made me walk between them a lot so I wouldn't get lost and when we got back to the hotel, Evan asked what my plans were for the rest of the day. I feel more included than yesterday!! Anyway, from there we went to Ancient Rome and saw a lot of the ruins (The Roman Forum) VERY COOL!! From there...wow, it's at this point that I've become overwelmed and I can't remember - when we walked up the giant hill to the church, tho, I remember the beautiful smell of Fall...crisp leaves. I breathed deeply (as I got out of breath from the steep climb) up and down. From here on, I'll write not in order of what we did, but as memories come to mind.

When we went to the Fountain - where legend has it if you toss a coin in, it guarantees you will return to Rome - my heart SWELLED as I threw my quarter DEEP into the fountain. tears come even now as I think about it. I WILL return to Rome. I am in love with Rome. I will bring my Love to Rome and Eric and I will enjoy the city together one day...My heart leaps with joy even now at this thought.

We went to the capital - Ceasars capital - where Ceasar reigned and looked out on Rome. I climbed a bazillion steps and rose high above the city. We saw the tomb of the unknown soldier and caught the changing of the guard right when we got there.

We went to the Pantheon - a basilica where martyrs are buried. The dome on that ancient building! HOW did they accomplish that!?! Thousands of years ago!!? There is a hole in the center of the dome for light to come in...It's just amazing!

We saw beautiful ancient churches and even heard the beginning of one service. It's amazing how the street is SO noisy, but you walk into the church and.....complete silence. You could hear a pin drop. Walking out again almost hurts your ears. It's almost an abomination!

We saw the Egyptian Obelisque (statue - stick) that was stolen from the Egyptians and erected in Rome. It has Egyptian hyroglyphics on it. We walked thru the financial district, past what we figured to be the equivilent of the FBI of Rome (men in black all OVER the place) and the Rodeo Drive area.

We walked and walked and walked and finally at 2:30pm, we found ourselves at the twin churches which were actually on tomorrows itinerary. At this time, Sasha and I both said "I am STARVING!" so we headed back to the hotel, where we found an inexpensive dinner. I had penne arribiatta and 1/2 L of white wine for 9 Euro (about $11) tip included.

OH! The Metro! A TOTAL experience in itself! It's called - How many people can we cram into a subway car? I held onto Sasha's arm for balance and so I wouldn't lose him. Evan says he got butts and bellies beyond belief! I've never been so crammed into one space! I had a grip on Sasha's arm, though. He wasn't going anywhere I wasn't going! Luckily I had that money thing around my neck and over my shoulder and under my coat. I don't think anyone knew I had it.

For breakfast today was cappuccino (x2), a croissant with a sweet glaze, cheese, oj (delish!) and a yeast roll. Oh, and a little Nutella on my roll. I grabbed a Nutella to bring home to Mary - individual servings! I'll get some more tomorrow - she'll get a kick out of the Italian version, I think.

Tomorrow, we hit the Vatican. We're hoping the Pope pays a visit while we're there, but hey...anything. The crypts underneath that they just opened to the public will be way cool, too. We plan on spending most of the day there, but we have one or two other spots to hit. Maestro has it all planned.

This is TOO COOL!! I have to hit a couple of shops still, too.

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Ok, I got bored reading and wanted a gelato, so I went and knocked on the boys' door. We sat and talked for a little, then decided that we could sit at a table and watch people go by while they drink beer and be happier than sitting in a room...so out we headed - laughing our butts off already. They got their beers to go as we decided where we'd land. We wandered and wandered. Evan said he gave up being in charge the minute we left the ship. Maestro says he got off duty when the sun went down and that I had the night shift, so I said "fine" and headed down the street. Then, I said, "Ok, boys, find me a gelato place." and they were happy to have a mission. We found a good one and I joyfully bought 2 scoops for 1.80 Euro. Evan took a picture of me with my gelato in front of all the flavors and then laughed and laughed at how ecstatic I looked. Ha Ha! Then, they figured out that it was my plan all along to get them to take me to get a gelato and we laughed about that for a while. I said "Sit down, boys! I'm busy eating and we're not budging until I'm done!" After I finished, we wandered around some more - laughing and having a GREAT time. We passed a jewelry store with a silver elephant in it. Evan said 50 Euro and I was like NO WAY! Not worth that much. So we stepped in to find out how much. We walked out straight faced and then broke out laughing at the gall of the guy thinking he could get 450 Euro!

After we wandered around for a couple hours, Evan decided he wanted to go get one of those gyros from the Istanbul shop. They had no veggie pizza, so I went across the street to the pizza shop and got a roasted pepper pizza (2 slices) for 4 Euro. I was STUFFED and actually tossed the last 2 bites. It was extremely good! We stood in a doorway and talked and laughed while we ate. Then we started back toward the hotel but turned back to hit the store first - they for beer, me for water. Evan said to me "Laura, you're a real trooper." and then we talked about how both of them were pleasantly surprised with how well I kept up with them today. Not only the massive mileage, but the terraine was brutal! Hills, stairs, etc. He's impressed with me. I've surprised them both. Answer to prayer...The boys want to include me more because I'm not such a stick in the mud and I'm not slowing them down.

Oh, and Sasha found out today I used to be a cop. HA! It worried him a little at first. He said "Cops don't like me...but YOU like me." and he looked a little concerned and I said "YEAH! I'm and EX-cop, that's why." and he laughed and said "OH! THAT'S why!"

Now, 10p, read a little, see if I hear from E (I sent him a text message earlier) and up around the same time tomorrow for the Vatican.