Day 1: Roma

Yes, I know it's a bit pretentious to use the Italian names, but lets face it - they sound cooler. So I will use the Italian city names in my blogs. Recap from the flight - I got 2 hours of sleep, Danielle managed four. Some teenager in our row was fascinated with the sun that rose as we came closer to Europe - that woke us up.

It took us until noon to get situated. Warning: The train connecting the airport to city center has no air conditioning. First train ride in 90+ degree weather without A/C. That was rough on us, but we made it to our hotel.

After getting situated we sought out food. We had a couple of thin crust pizzas with mushroom on it. They were delicious, the sauce was great! Before the pizza came, the host brought us bread and a slice of eggplant to put on the bread. The eggplant had been marinating in oils and salts and was amazing!

After lunch, we toured the Colosseum and Forum. It was pretty neat to think that the ancient Romans had lived in those structures. It's amazing that some (parts) are still standing today. After that we took a siesta nap. I almost didn't wake up, but Danielle forced me. We took a walk to the Pantheon which was a sight to behold - that building is a beautiful piece of architecture. We then wandered the streets of old Rome and took in the small, winding, cobblestone roads. After wandering for a couple of hours we had some dinner. We split an appetizer of tomato and mozzarella, then each had a first course. I had some wonderful lasagna and Danielle had a tasty ravioli. We were full before we could move on to a second course. We wondered, do Italians really eat appetizer, first course, second course, and dessert in one meal?