ah, roma

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Im in rome!!! It is just amazing.. definitely the most amazing place Ive ever been to. I dont think Im fully adjusted to the time yet because I only slept about 3 1-2 hours last night. Anyway, Matt and I are at an internet cafe right now thats down the street from the roma termini station... which is a block or so away from the hotel! its 8pm now, which is only 11am on the west coast.

Today, Matt and I started the day by catching the metro one stop to the area close to the colosseum and had a nice breakfast... (i thought the food this morning was good but it got better and better throughout the day)...

After breakfast (at 11 something.. we didnt leave the hotel until kind of late) we walked to the pantheon which of course was more incredible than in pictures, and then got some gelato from a little place closeby that matt found in his rick steves book. he got fruity gelato flavors (you could get 3 in a cup or cone) and i got creamy flavors. THEN, we went to the Cartoleria Pantheon dal 1910, the BEST handmade italian leather bookstore and pen shop. Apparently it was the oldest bookstore in rome. I found the site actually online probably a year ago and have wanted to go ever since. There were 2 locations and we went to both. Even though this was the place that I wanted to go to most, Matt ended up spending about 3 times as much as I did on the leather goods and as presents for people.

Then, we finally started our real site seeing. We walked across the way to the Roman Forum and the Palatine Hill, and strolled around the ancient ruins for some time. I wore high-heeled boots today. Dumb idea. My feet were KILLING ME by the end of the day. I think I have blisters on all of my toes. It was especially bad since the areas we were walking werent paved.. it was almost like hiking up and down on cobblestones. So, tomorrow Im going to wear the walking shoes I bought for this trip.

We ended the day at the colosseum. It was cool, but its too bad all of the seats have been removed. You dont really get a feel for how many people the structure actually sat. I think it was 60,000+...

Then we caught the metro back to the termini station, picked up 3 different panini from a little cafe on the corner, brought it back to the room and ate it... and I soaked my aching feet and took a nap for an hour while Matt watched italian TV (apparently nothing good was on). And thats it! We were going to go on a walk tonight but my feet hurt really really bad. I know thats lame. Its only 8:42 now, so we might get a nice big dinner a little later.

Ok, my digital camera just died so I cant really upload any more pictures tonight even though I had a lot more.

Also, Matt has a funny looking goatee... and goes by "Giovanni"... but promised he would shave tomorrow. Thank god.

Matts travelblog is www.travelblog.org/bloggers/mcgoose

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Photos

Roma Termini Station
right across the street from the hotel

breakfast
my panino isnt shown here but it came a little later. the juice was fresh-squeezed orange juice. tasted like they literally put whole oranges in a blender.

rome streets
our feet... walking.

giovanni leaning on a vespa with his gelato
in front of the pantheon. classic.

using roman water fountain
i had no idea what this was until matt explained it to me.. you put your thumb over a hole and it turns into a water fountain!

Comments

[dad]

sounds like you're having a good time, dont overdo it. buy some moleskin at a drugstore for your feet if you get blisters. you and Matt should take some vitamin c and echinacea daily also to boost your immune system while you're there ,also take the melatonin about 1 hr before bedtime , it will help you get acclimated to the new time zone.

[Andrea Mogab]

great photos!!!
Robyn, glad you made it there safely and your photos and commentary are great. I am looking forward to future posts...have a great time! Love, Andrea