First Full Day in Roma

Whew! We made it back to our room in one piece. What a crazy beautiful city Rome is. We only arrived last night to Hotel Jonico at 11:00p.m. Michael was a little more stressed than the rest of us after driving on the AutoStraude(tolled freeway) for most of the day. The speeds were between 90-100 mph and close quarters, not as close as in the city but we will get to that. We have a penthouse floor with 2 rooms, everything is quaint and close quarters but nice. They didn't have our reservation for the boys but the copy from the Internet did the trick. Right now Michael and Colt are enjoying a beer while watching the Euro Soccer 2004 tournament (the drinking age is either 14 or 16). Unfortunately Switzerland lost while we were in Switzerland, Italy is against Bulgaria 1-1 in the second half. I am the only female watching and it is great to see the emotion all the Italian men show when watching. We all slept in except Michael, but he reoriented himself which was neccessary! So this morining we attacted the public transporation system. By bus and subway we reached the Colloseum, the price of an all day ticket for any type of public transporation is approximately $5/person. The Colloseum was awesome! We were pulled into an English tour, which was very informative and put us at the head of the line. The architecture and ruins are all so overwhelming and beautiful. The Parthenon was also a highlight, built in 27 BC! We also saw the crypt of Raphael who was buried there in the 1500's. Walking down the narrow old streets was just like I imagined but only more beautiful. The sun shone all day and Beau did get tired of walking but as always we did a "forced death march" back. I know I have take way too many pictures which will not even express the magintude of what we have seen today but will remind us of how much we love this city. This is definately a return trip as well as Switzerland. I am going to go finish watching the soccer game, on to Vatican City tomorrow ...