When in Rome...

Hello once again.


I got very lucky in finding another Internet Cafè, this time with a joint snack bar AND washers and dryers, which I know we all needed for sure. There are a couple of places here where internet is more accessible, which is surprising considering our luck in other countries.

Currently, we are in Rome, Italy, which is absolutely gorgeous. I would have to say that it is one of my favorite places so far, but there is one downfall that we haven't really had to deal with much in the other places - extreme humidity. And when you are trying to drag your luggage from the train station to your hotel in the heat of the day, it creates a minor issue. But that didn't seem to be enough even. When we were in our first day in Paris, the bar on my rolling suitcase decided to snap off when I was going down stairs with it, which I usually do all the time. But of course, when I need it the most, it breaks. Thankfully I have a little handle that I have been dragging it around on, which will do until the end of the trip.

But since I have a little bit of time, lets back up a little to London.
We flew in, like I said in my last entry, a little delayed, but smooth nonetheless. We stayed at the Kensington Close Hotel which was really close to the Metro Station (Europe's underground rail system that is really fast and efficient!). We couldnt sleep once we got there, although we really wanted to, because we had to get used to the time change, which is 8 hours ahead of you guys back at home. So we dropped our bags off at our hotel and started exploring right away. Its definitely a busy and fast moving city, but everybody who we ran into seemed really nice and helpful with directions. Plus, it helped that everybody spoke English, unlike our experiences here in Rome and in Paris. McDonalds is very popular here, however its a lot more upscale. About 3 times the prices as American McDonalds and it is rare to see one with just one floor. Usually the food is ordered on the first floor, and seating is available outside and upstairs, which also has WiFi. Its very clean and seen more as a resturaunt setting rather than fast food, which was different to see. In addition, Starbucks still reigns its power over here too, but instead of STARbucks its more like TENbucks, literally. Everything was and is very expensive. While we were in London, we saw Westminister Abbey, St. Margarets Church, Big Ben, the Houses of Parliament, the London Eye, the London Tower, Abbey Road (where the Beatles dedicated their number one album and the exact crosswalk they used for the front of the album cover), the London Tower (which is commonly misjudged for the London Bridge), Buckingham Palace, and Piccadilly Circus. Whew! While we were at the London Tower, we saw a huge exhibition that they were featuring on Henry VIII, which had a bunch of his armor, weapons, and a complete story on his life, which was interesting. We also saw, inside the Tower, the House of Jewels, where they keep the largest perfectly cut diamond in the world, the Star of Africa. This thing is literally the size of my fist! Its HUGE! While we were at Buckingham Palace, we saw the changing of the guard, which was a lot of fun to listen to, at least. I couldnt see anything because of the massive amounts of people gathered around the gates. The band was great. After they played all of their "official" music for marching in, they played Mama Mia and Star Wars. Hilarious.

Next stop was Paris, France. We took the EuroStar rail there. This is when the bar on my suitcase broke, right as we were trying to get to our hotel, of course. The train allowed us to see a lot of the beautiful countryside as we came through France, and when I was awake, I got to see most of it. Paris was a lot dirtier than I had expected though. I was kinda shocked. All of the trash cans that I saw while I was there were practically overflowing and the streets had a lot of garbage everywhere. Its too bad because a lot of tourists come through there expecting a lot out of the city, like myself, and I know that I was silghtly disappointed by thinking it was going to be clean. But, truly, its an awesome city for its sights. I mean...the Eiffel Tower? Incredible. Going to the top of the Eiffel Tower? Even MORE incredible. And dont worry, I have already taken almost 1,200 pictures, so you will all get to see it :) it was a struggle having to find people who speak English, which was very few, but thank goodness for English/French dictionaries! Thank you Kelly family for saving our lives!!! Without that thing, we would have been helpless in so many situations, including eating. In addition to the Eiffel Tower, we saw Champ-Elyesedes (which is like the Rodeo Drive of Paris, apparently), Notrè Dame Cathedral (amazing), the Arc de Triumph (Kelly family, be sure I tell you about my experience there), Versailles, and the Louvre. Its really hard for me to pick a favorite in this city because there were so many things that were really, really awesome. But like I said, the Eiffel Tower was beautiful, in addition to Notrè Dame! The outside was beautiful enough, but inside was even better. I wish there would have been some kind of choir while we were there because the accoustics are...wow. The artwork we saw in Versailles and the Louvre really made me hit the wall. A lot of the things we saw and have been continuing to see are things that I though only lived inside my Humanities book, but Im seeing them! The real things! It has really changed my perspective on myself, where I live, and what the American lifestyles are like because thats all Ive known for so long. I am extremely grateful for being able to see these things.

When we left Paris, we stopped in Zurich, Switzerland before catching an overnight train to Rome. Sadly, it was a bank holiday when we were there, which allowed all of the clothing, gift shops, and banks to be closed for the day. Just our luck, right? I liked being able to see the town while it was quiet though. The weather was perfect because we were up near the Alps, so it was still warm and sunny, but no humidity. We had a great time while we were there. We took our overnight train, which was equipped with bunk beds and a small sink for each room, so it actually wasnt too bad of a journey. We got there on time and safely, and found our hotel to drop off our luggage until check in at 2:00. Problem we discovered rather fast? Our hotel was up a massive hill and it was very hot outside. We made it there very sweaty and went to explore. We saw the Trevi Fountain (which is convieniently just down the road from our hotel), the Spanish Steps, the Colosseum, the Pantheon, and today the Vatican City and the inside of the Colosseum. The Vatican City was really interesting this morning. We saw St. Peters Basillica, St. Peters Square, and the Sistine Chapel, which was very breathtaking. We werent allowed cameras inside the Chapel, but we saw Michaelangelos best paintings that he was called to do in his career, which made me again realize that this stuff doesnt just live in Humanities books. Incredible.

My time is almost up, but thankfully you guys are all up to date now! I will update whenever I can, no matter how big or small my time slot is. Please please please continue to pray for us! We have been so lucky to be safe and healthy and could use all the help we can get. We are doing a lot of walking everyday and we have been having to buy almost all of our water to stay hidrated. Pray for us to get lots of sleep and have a great time. Next stop is to Florence the day after next!


Love,
Em