An Abbreviated Account of our European Honeymoon Part 1

Buon giorno from Italy. This is an abbreviated account of our honeymoon to Europe on account of the expensive nature of internet cafes. So...here goes.

Day 1 - Tuesday, July 1, 2008
Travel Day.
Our first two flights to Salt Lake and then to Atlanta were uneventful.
The flight to Rome was delayed about an hour, but once we were in the air, experienced a few unexpeted perks of international travel: a menu, free headphones, earplugs, eye cover, two movies, dinner AND breakfast. I slept and read the book, The Shack (thanks Steve!!!!) and Dave did sudoka puzzles and watched the movies.

Day 2 - Wednesday July 2, 2008
By the time we arrived in Rome, it was 8:30 the next morning so even though it was 11:00 at night according to our body clocks, we were off for an entire day of sightseeing. The entire day was a sort of sweet train wreck trying to get around and funtion in a city that didnt speak out language. Our spirits were high though and we both enjoyed the highlight of the day, finding a fantastic gelatoria....yummy! For dinner we found a fantastic restaurant where we were clearly the ONLY tourists in the building. We had a wonderful salad and authentic pizza. Unfortunately, our biological clocks wouldnt let us sleep at night.

Day 3 - Thursday, July 3, 2008
This was our BIG sightseeing day in Rome. We woke up EARLY because of jet lag and set out after a free breakfast at our hotel. Observation: Italians dont speak one word to each other during breakfast. We rode the metro and then walked to the Vatican. It was good to arrive early because the line moved quickly. Simply put: The Vatican Museum is the biggest and best museum Ive ever been to. Hightlights: Sistine Chapel - thank goodness for audio guides or we would have missed the depth and richness of the paintings on the wall. Unlike most of the Vatican which focuses on the Virgin Mary, this chapel focuses on entire biblical story pointing to Jesus. It was fantastic!!! After the Vatican Museum, we headed around the corner to St. Peters Basillica. The enormity of the place from the outside can knock you off your feet. As you set inside the cathedral, your eyes take a minute to adjust to the grandeur of it all. Noticible Noticings: 1- Michaelangelos Pieta is breathtaking and smaller than in the pictures. Hmmmm..... 2- When a pope dies, his body is preserved in case he becomes sainted. If so, he is taken out and displayed in a case. People take pictures. Hmmm....
Next adventure: Climb the 309 stairs to the tippy top of the cupola to see all of Rome. Very hot, but not too hard.
Next we jumped on the metro and went to the collaseum and Roman Forum. Both were fantastic, but by this time we were so tired that we just wanted to head back to our hotel. Both of us ended up falling instantly asleep and missed dinner completely.

Day 4 - Friday, July 4, 2008
Carrying on from our sleep FILLED night, we enjoyed an extra large breakfast because of missing dinner last night. We headed out to the trainstation to travel down to Pompeii but found out that it was too late in the day to make it there and back in one day. Instead, we decided on another day of relaxed sightseeing in Rome.
Spanish Steps - hhmm....just some steps
Pantheon - 40 foot one piece solid marble columns on the outside and beyond belief architecture on the inside
Trevi Fountain - HUGE - unfortunately they had drained the water in order to clean it.
Piazza Navona - and a wonderful lunch at a roadside trattoria.

Day 5 - Saturday, July 5, 2008
We spent the day travelling to Lucca in Tuscany. We are about to leave the train station to find our hotel. Pending a major strike with the train service (yikes) we will be travelling to Florence tomorrow and then spend Monday on the beach since every museum is closed that day. More to come later. For now, we love you all and ciao!!