I don't know what this is, but it was a part of the Vatican museums and looked cool













The ONE Italian man taller than me LOL












We went to a grand opening part of the huge gym/country club Stefania's boyfriend and his friend go to and this is the group













me and my gym party ticket


















This is Giuseppe, my hilarious host, working out in the yard. He used a weed-eater or whatever to mow the entire lawn, just for the fun of it LOL

Her family has 2 dogs and 3 cats. This is Lucky, my favorite. I also like their cat Virola, because she's cross-eyed which is what her name means. LOL














We went running around their little town and stopped to have some gelato and caffe latte. Mmmmmm











This is the beautiful watercolor painting I bought in the city on the first day :)
It's of Vatican City from a distance

















Tatiana, me and Stefania on the train back home

Hahahahahaha I just HAD to have a pic of such ridiculous outifts. Scary guards, huh???

Our first day in Rome (in the city) we went to the Vatican, and this is outside overlooking the plaza.














This is us having dinner with the family... from left to right: Simone (Stefania's boyfriend-they broke up yesterday though), Stefania (Tatiana's cousin), me :), Perla (Tatiana's aunt), Tatiana, Giuseppe (Tatiana's uncle)













Tatiana, me and Perla enjoying a frozen coffee, called Caffe del Nono, or Grandpa's coffee











me and my Caffe del Nono

Entering the mall :) :)

Porta di Roma

I just HAD to get this on up ASAP. Today we took a trip down to the Almafi Coast, which is south of Naples. I don't even need to describe it because this photo speaks for itself.

Well, yesterday we were supposed to go into Rome and do the Colosseum and stuff, but I wasn't feeling well - I have a sore throat/cold thing, and Tatiana had a stomach ache. SO, we spent the morning in bed, again. lol. We got up, had lunch and did some running around the little town they live in for some shopping. We didn't buy anything, but stopped in a "bar" (cafe) and had a cafe latte and gelato. Mmmmmm. I've had gelato and pizza pretty much everyday since I've been here.
Then, last night we went to this party at the gym Stefania's boyfriend goes to. It was a sort of grand opening thing. We payed about 12 euro and got to eat pasta, drink some nasty beer, watch synchronized swimming (LOL) and a fashion show. Oh, and we got to watch the routine used in the salsa fitness class, by the salsa fitness class attendees. Needless to say it was very interesting, and we got videos and photos. Then we danced a little and left! I met my first Italian man who is actually taller than me!!!! Hahaha... he's a trainer at that gym and he hosted the party. I took a picture with him. If you saw the size of men here, you'd understand. I TOWER over everyone. When we are out in a group, I don't worry about getting lost because all they have to do is look around and my head is sticking out of the crowd lol.

Today we are in Rome, staying at Tatiana's friend's apartment in the city. She is here in grad school and lives close to the metro so it's easy to get to and from tourist places.
We went to the Sistine Chapel today... WOW. It was unbelievable. We just sat there for about half an hour trying to soak in every painting but there are so many scenes painted that you can't see them all. We also spent about 2 hours walking through the vatican museums, seeing sculptures, paintings, tapestries, etc. We were so tired from all the walking and the heat that we came back to Maria's apartment early. --I had pizza twice today and gelato once. LOL.
Tonight we are going to have a stereotypical italian dinner at a restaurant, complete with an accordion player and all, hopefully, and then maybe see some Roman nightlife.

More to come! Hopefully I can post some pics up soon

Arrivederci!

I almost forgot to mention this about the subway/train ride! I was almost ROBBED!!! lol
They have groups of 4 seats together, two facing two others. I was sitting in an aisle seat, with Tatiana next to me. Stefania was sitting across from Tatiana and a young guy sat across from me. I saw out of the corner of my eye he kept looking at my bag, and especially when I would get something out of it. Because of that, I stuck my hand through the handles and held it with both hands... more like rested both hands on it so I didn't look obvious. Then he asked me if I had one euro for him. Of course, I said no. Then Stefania told me to be careful because he was going to try to rob me. I sat there thinking, hmmm, should I use my good hand to hold my bag so if he yanks on it he can't take it, or should I use my good hand to punch him in the face after he tries? LOL too funny. He got up and left though, at the next stop and the guy who was across the aisle from him said to us that he was watching out for us because that guy and his friend (who was across the aisle from me) looked like they were gonna rob me. HA. Take THAT eurotrash! You didn't even get ONE euro!!

Yesterday we went into the city and to the Vatican! It was really beautiful, almost surreal. I've never seen so many sculptures, collectively, EVER, much less in one place. We walked through some hallways and along the sides are the tombs of past popes, with a special one for the pope that just died. Forgive me for not knowing his name, or the name of the current pope. I'm not catholic and just don't care that much! We weren't supposed to take pictures but I just carried my little video camera and swung it around. Mwua ha ha ha ha. While we were there, we sat through about 10 minutes of mass held in the Vatican, in latin... pretty cool! I took about 80 pictures in a 20 minute period. The one thing I couldn't stop thinking was money, though. The two girls I was with are catholic and are in awe over the vatican and the pope and everything, but I just thought that all the marble and all the gold could be sold to, I don't know, help people???? It was still cool, though.
After the vatican we did some shopping. I got a beautiful painting of the vatican in the distance, with a bridge and water in front of it. It's a watercolor painted and sold by the artist in the street. I also got a shot glass and a magnet.
After shopping we went to the Trevi Fountain, which I think is my favorite so far. It's sooooo beautiful. LOL Outisde the fountain were people dressed up. You throw change at them and take a pic. One guy looked like he was from the movie 300. I got him on video. TOO funny.
OOOOOH We also had gelato yesterday. YUM!!!! I could live off that stuff.

Today we went to the beach. It took about 1 1/2 to get there, by train and subway [vomit]. People here smell SO bad and we are all crammed into a tiny subway. I just wanna stick my head out a window like a dog. ...Speaking of dogs, they get to ride the trains and subways, too, and not like in the states-in a cage. They walk on with a leash. Lola should definitely be here. LOL.
The beach was not impressive, and neither were the boobies. Yes, boobies. Although they were better than the ones on South Beach, we were not impresseed, as foreigners. Hahaha.
So far I have decided that I was definitely born in the right country. Although I love it here and it's beautiful, I like the more comfortable life in the US. I like my car, my 'normal' sized roads, and central AC.
Tomorrow, weather permitting, we are doing the colosseum and the sistine chapel. Then tomorrow night, Giuseppe and Perla (aunt and uncle) are having a little get together at the house. Should be fun!
This has been a good segway into spanish for me. We speak spanish the whole time, with random italian words thrown in by them. But I'm thinking I'm starting to sing like they do when I talk. We're gonna get to Spain with a really funny accent. lol

BTW, Mom, wine is TOTALLY acceptable at lunch. We drink it everytime. :)