When in Rome...July 2

When in Rome!...I can’t believe I get to say that! So we landed in Rome around noon, after a grueling 18 hours or so of flying… “love it!”… what a joke…Italian men in there navy suits lining the walkways with signs “Hansen Family” “Petersons” I had to laugh, exactly what I expected an Italian man to be like…cliché, but hilarious none the less. We got our 28 pieces of luggage piled into the small van that looked like it had been cut in half…a reason that became very clear to me as we started driving on the very narrow roads of Rome! So squished in this tiny bus; we got our first look at this exciting city on the way to our grand hotel the Atah’s Villa Pamphili…headed upstairs in the “honey I shrunk…the elevator” and ran to the plush beds to stretched for the first time in what seamed like years!

After a quick snooze and some freshen up I had my first Metro experience…oh my, what a party! That first day we all clung the Big D’s knees like 3 year olds, hoping not to get lost or worse trapped between the Metro doors!
Oh wait…since my little cooking chickens will be reading this I should mention I had my first Authentic Italian Snack…Panini!, It was very tasty…tomatoes, mozzarella, great bread, all toasted up by a dark, darn dang adorable Italian man!
Continuing…So we then excitedly exited the metro, la de da! The Freaking Coliseum…that’s what, Oh my beautiful Roman Relic! It’s so striking that in Rome there are these ancient buildings plopped down in the middle of the city!

Okay then one of my favorite travel stories…so we are snapping away, being typical American’s (worse than Japanese at Disneyland) when out of the blue sky comes the darkest, deadliest rain cloud you have ever seen. It came with out warning, without packages, presents or bows! And before I could put on my thin grey sweatshirt (yeah that’s going to keep me dry) I was soaked head to toe…we say under a tree, gathered as close as possible waiting for the storm to die down…but no, then comes the hail, marble sized pieces of ice…lightening (and yes we were at that time still under the tree!) Hilarious moment! Just imagine Whit and I under a florescent yellow poncho trying to keep our purses dry, because our bodies were complete lost causes!But in true Big D style…the travels continue…off to the Capitoline Museum, as we dripped on the marble floors we say awesome pieces of sculpture, beautifully painted walls and ceilings, and breathtaking views. As you enter there are fragments of a giant statue…the bulging bicep, the head…nice eyes, the hand…number one! Then as you enter…the most beautiful painted walls and elegant chandeliers, and city views that took my breath way. One of my favorite pieces was a bronze statue of a boy getting a thorn, absolutely amazing. There were Roman relics through out dating thousands of years! I just can’t believe I’m here, experiencing this…If it weren’t for the goose pumps and tender feeties, I would have had to keep pinching myself!