When in Rome...

Ciao Everyone! I am so sorry it's been so long since my last post...oh wait, no I'm not, I'm in Rome. :-)

Well, Rachael and I nearly missed our train to Rome (long story), sat on the train next to a very handsome and quite helpful with unloading our luggage Italian young man, and got into Rome while it was raining. Mind you, we never thought it would rain in Italy, so we trecked through Rome in the rain...exciting times. It was actually kind of fun. Then, we got to our bed and breakfast, dumped the luggage and walked to the Tiber River. I have some hilarious photos of our arrival, but alas, this internet cafe is not nearly as user friendly as the one in Florence, so you'll probably have to wait til I get to Oxford to see them. :-(

We are totally and utterly exhausted from all of the travel. Even as I type, I am willing my fingers to work. But we love Rome. Last night, we journeyed to the Colosseum and just stood and stared. It is indescribable the feelings that run through you when you're looking at something with such history and importance. We had to go to the bathroom for close to an hour prior to seeing the monument, but stayed and stared and pondered for a little over 2 hours once we got there. Then, we saw glimpses of the Roman Forum and other ancient sites while dying because we REALLY needed to go to the bathroom by that time. Then we were hit on by a really handsome Italian cop, hit on again by really annoying Florentines and finally got to a restaurant and found relief.

Today, we're going back to the Colosseum to go inside, then we're off to buy tickets to an opera we're seeing tomorrow. After that, we're going to St. Peter in Chains where we'll see the prison that Paul and Silas and Peter were all thrown in a number of times. They also have the chains that apparently held Peter when the angel lead him out of prison. Then, we're going to the most beautiful monument dedicated to unknown soldiers. Then we're going to the Borghese Gallery. I feel like I'm leaving something out.

Oh!! Did I mention that we saw the Sistine Chapel yesterday!?!?! Again, no words match the experience. I stood in awe of that room. We also went to St. Peter's Basilica which is the site that Peter was crucified upside down. His remains are also in the church. That was quite possibly one of the heaviest experiences of my life, knowing that one of the rocks of the church as we know it today was killed by order of Nero there.

Anyhow, I've got to get going. Keep the emails coming. I really won't have time to respond until after the 31st, but I love reading them. Pray for our physical well being as our bodies are just tired of traveling with all our luggage. We are having a fabulous time and are sad to leave Italy but very excited about the next leg of our journey...another ancient civilization and world power, England.

Until then. Much love,
Emily