would you like some Ruins with those Basilicas?

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To finish summing up Florence, i am glad i went, i am glad i aw all that great art and the duomo, but i won't go back for a long time.

Rome.... didn't expect to like it, but i really like it here. this city is great except for the public transit and where we are staying of yeah, and it is really hot. minor details, cause the rest is so good.ù

Rome has personality and atmosphere, you can just walk around, and that is an activity. The combination of the Roman tradtions and the Catholic stuff provides great variation, contrast, and a rich atmosphere. So far we have been to the National Muesum, which had great archeological artifacts and gorgoeus mosaics.I really like the mosaics, they are all over the place and fantatically intracate. For dinner, we had the best pasta since Lucca, Fetticuine with Zucchini Blossoms in a fresh tomato sause, yum.

We spent most of yesterday at the Vatican. St. Peter's is HUGE. There are free tours through there, cause all the guide want to take you to the Vatican Museum/Cistine Chapel. It was good to get the history or i wouldnt have appreciated it as much. Its all bronze and mosaic and carved sculpture. The huge fascade is actually stone stolen from the collesium, which is kinda sad... the popes did tuff like that for a while, telling artists to steal material from ancient sites. Its kinda sad what was lost to make other beautiful things. There is no negative space in St. Peters... that is, for all you not thinking in an art mind at this moment, every single inch floor, celieng and walls is covered. In away it can be a lot to look at, not blank space to ret your eyes.
Much of the Vatican Musuem was simmialr spacially, every inch of rooms are covered in intracate designs. woah, sensory overload. Went into the Cistine chapel and all that. It really is pretty. Tania stole Toilet paper from the bathroom (long story, but we needed it) at the Vatican. It was avalible.
We went and saw the musuem built on the baths, but it didnt have much on the baths. Went to a crypt with designs in bone... more than i could handle there.Chinese for dinner as everyone else needed a break from italian food. it was really good. Got profiteolle for dessert... yummmmmm.
on that note i miss orange juice with ice.

Today was all about Ruins... the Collesuim, Palintino Hill, the Forum.... WOW. After Tanias comment about ruins in Lyon, she and i agreeded that these deserved the title of ruins. I took tons of photos and we had a great time wandering the sites in the swealtering sun. There is so much great ruins, we found some in a Piazza on the way here... seriosuly cool!
Today we are celebrating my birthday, as tomorow is Pompei and then they head to Greece and i to Rome on the 14th, so we are celebrating a bit early. I will miss them when we head in different directions. The group thing i fun, but can be frustrating, mainly good though.
Rome rocks 😊

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