In Florence

Absolutely fantastic day in Florence, after an absolutely ridiculous one in Rome. Wow, never enough time to write full entries here, both due to busy schedules and shared computers. I am going to have to dedicate a week or so after I return at this rate to do these stories justice!

For now I will just say that our bike ride around Tuscany was GORGEOUS and wonderful -- many pictures to be posted -- and I am super excited to explore Firenze further tonight!

And, I love my friends. :-) This trip was seriously the best idea ever.

A pickup truck in Rome.

This one is for Kel!

I was a little disappointed with Rome when I found a pickup truck the first night.

It looked ridiculously enormous next to the others. As it should. :-)

Three Lapsed Catholics at the Vatican Museum

You cant take us anywhere. ;-) Photos from the Vatican Museum.

Me, aiming to look demure with my covered shoulders.

Grade: 10. That backside was sculpted with care.

Feeling sexy.

Who wants to see art photos on a travel blog anyway, right?! But, of course, the Sistine Chapel (which you have to go through 30 minutes of walking through other galleries to see) was beautiful, and there were many other beautiful works of art there as well.

A busy but great first day: Ancient Rome

Okay. Redo.

I have made the executive decision to pretend that all of yesterdays travel mishaps did not count toward the trip day count. (I have also made the executive decision to try to avoid contractions because I cannot figure out how to use an apostrophe on this frickin Italian keyboard!) So, though we still have no luggage (we were told it is officially in Rome, but no idea when it will arrive -- hopefully soon since we already leave for Florence tomorrow morning!), we have had a day of thorough tourism.

Hmmm, my parenthetics run a little long.

Anyway, today we got up early, with our first official stop being the ancient city -- the Colosseum, the forum, and Palentine hill. I am currently exhausted but will post a few pictures. Backstories to come.
This photo (with S for scale) shows the enormity of the ancient temple which once lay where these ruins are today.

Us in the Roman Colesseum.

In Rome!

Finally in Rome! But our suitcases arent. All I can say is, thank god we are traveling with another girl, who made all her flights and HAS her luggage, and whose clothes we can kind of wear! Although, worse things than buying a new wardrobe in Italy, I suppose!

K, me, and S, in S-owned dresses on arrival day, post much-needed showers.

I will try to write a more complete update soon, as we have a lot of stories to tell! :-)

Crazy travels, but almost there!

After weather delays, missed flights, crazy rerouting, and many kind flight attendants, we're finally almost in Rome. In Amsterdam for now (detour), but flight leaving soon! Picures to come. :-)

Stuck in Philly :-( but with Captain Doctor Kelley

Our flight from Philly to Detroit was supposed to take off about an hour ago, yet here we are, still grounded. My friend S, flying from Minneapolis to Detroit so we could fly together to Rome, has been grounded too. So.... we'll see. Hopefully we won't miss our connection or time in Rome.

Before I cast this time as a total waste, there HAS been one highlight: K and I were given a tour of the plane's cockpit! Officially only children were invited, but fortunately we have no shame. ;-)

We met the Captain, D.R. Kelly, whom I want to imagine his name is Donald but K is calling him Doctor Kelly. Why not? :) We learned Dr Kelly has been flying planes since the 80s, and apparently the autopilot does everything from flying, takeoffs, and landings, except under extreme weather conditions. Not sure that's reassuring, but okay.

In any case, we took pictures with Captain Doctor Kelly, and it was nice to have a distraction adventure while we sat on the runway!

(Update: turned out that runway sit was an hour or two longer than expected....)

On my way to the airport!

This message is mainly a test to see how well emailing entries to my blog works out. I'm currently on a train to Philly, where I meet one of my traveling companions and fly to Detroit (meeting the second friend), and then onto ROME!

Wishing myself happy, mishap-free travels!

Ha, right. ;-)

Heading to Italy!

So excited.... tomorrow I'm off with two friends for a 10-day, much needed vacation in Italy! More specifically we'll be heading to Rome, Florence, the Cinque Terre, back to Rome, then back home again. I won't think too hard about that last part though... right now, adventures lie ahead!

The Euro is up to $1.2989 from its recent low of $1.19 at the end of June, but I'll just savor the fact that it's still a better situation than previous trips to Europe. :-)

Up ahead:

• 2 days in Rome (Roma)
  
• 2 days in Florence (Firenze) and Tuscany (Toscana)
  
• 3 days in the Cinque Terre (meaning "five lands")
  
• 1 day back in Rome
  

We've been doing what we can not to overplan, but with all the possibilities it's hard to hold back! Hoping to post regularly... check back in to learn more about our Italian adventures!