Italia

Sicilia
Italy comes in many flavors. This last week we were in Sicily, the farthest south provence of Italy and man..what an..umm.. adventure. It seems that the further south you go in Italy the more impoverished it becomes. They say it's like the Appalachians of Italy. There are certain pockets that are nice though... we got to see Taormina, a very picturesque beachside town, and Syracuse. Also got to see Mt. Etna but we never made it to the very top since it was really cold and windy.
Special thanks to Den & Nano for coordinating everything and helping us adapt to the Italian ways! We had a great time with you guys and we miss you already!

Pompei

After Sicily, we took a train to Pompei. Some of you may wonder... how in the world do you take a train from Sicily to the mainland? They actually board the whole train onto a ferry and boat it across the sea, along with ferrying cars and people. Kind of like going to Balboa island I guess.

Anyway, we got to see the Pompei ruins where you can see how the people lived right up until the volcanoe blew. For such an old civilization, they were very advanced. It was amazing to see their homes... kitchens that had marble countertops! and we even got to walk through the town's whorehouse. You could tell what it was from the paintings on the walls (i.e. all the various positions!!). And the people... still preserved, in the very positions they were in when they died. Dogs too.

Speaking of dogs, Pompei is overrun with stray dogs, hundreds of them, but they are all very well behaved and polite. Yes, polite. Its kinda like Caesar Milan (aka the dog whisperer) meets Pavlov. It seems, having been ignored most of their lives they have tuned themselves into the human psyche and have learned to read our slightest signal and gesture. They have even learned to cross the road by watching and waiting for cars..kinda strange and interesting to see actually.

We also had a chance to visit the Amalfi coast. Very pictuesque... cities on cliff sides... kinda like Laguna Beach, but 10 times prettier! Definitely a nice retreat if you want to get away from the hustle and bustle of big cities. Unfortunately, we only had a day to visit so we only saw Positano and Amalfi which are overrun by tourists.

Roma

From Pompei, we took a train to Rome which is where we are now. We can't wait to get into St. Peter's Basilica and the Vatican museums and the Sistine Chapel! There is something to see everywhere you look.... churches, castles, Roman ruins, statues, etc etc etc! Too bad everyone else in the world is here to see the same stuff. It is very crowded everywhere you go. And lines to get into everything. We expected lots of tourists, but not this many! Strange enough it all seems like Disneyland.

Tomorrow we are planning to get to the Vatican museum by 7am (ayayayy) to wait in line until it opens at 9am. We were told that if we get there anytime after it opens, we could wait in line all day. And it takes several hours just to really take it all in. On top of that, Pres Bush is supposed to be arriving tomorrow or Saturday to visit with the Pope. The city is already preparing for his arrival, as well as the people... the streets are lined with anti-Bush and anti-war posters. They are expecting an anti-American protest right outside the Vatican... which should be interesting since that is where we are staying.

PS. HAPPY BIRTHDAY SHAWN!!!!!