Had an Awesome Day in Rome

So I stood in one of those "long lines" at the Coliseum, though it really wasn't all that bad. I think I did too much Rome in one day and only did about six or seven hours worth.  I had a great time just walking and walking.

I was able to check off the list -- Coliseum, Palatine Hill, a few of the arches, Roman Forum, Spanish Steps, Fontona de' Trivi (from the movie Holiday in Rome), and the Pantheon. I did eat a sandwich stuffed with mozzarella and mushrooms during my walk --- should have bought one with meat though. For dinner I had an excellent "white pizza", with mushrooms and mozzarella AGAIN, along with nice portions of sausage.

Enjoy some pictures.

Good Morning from Rome

Nothing like waking up in a cabin in Italy. . . The birds were certainly singing to me at 6:45 am.  Now, I am sitting in the little market eating a honey croissant that is VERY DELICIOUS!!! I will take the train into town soon.

Just wanted to share this line from my favorite book with everyone : "when the storm blows hard you must stand firm, for it is not trying to knock you down, it is really trying to teach you to be strong".

Have a good day!

Now for a few pictures from Rome

I think you would recognize all of the places!!

Hello from . . . . . Rome

I've now stood in awe of that which folks have talked about for ages and ages. . . . Seeing Rome in person is something in itself.

Yesterday the hotel internet frustrated the heck out of me in Athens, so I pretty much gave up on making a post. . We did have a fun day of walking through markets though (Aunt Jane, Uncle Jack, and myself). .  We even caught some other ancient ruins by accident. The most exciting part was seeing the guards in their funny little outfits, even though we missed the big "changing of the guard" event.  The National Gardens nearby were great, because they were shady, and made us just sit back and relax.. . . I was wearing down from all the walking we had done over the last few days.   One more thing to add to Sunday in Athens: we had our best meal for our last meal.  Greek Food??? Not exactly. Indian food.  It was wonderful, though it wasn't spicy enough for my liking, I hogged out on Nan, and the three of us cleaned up our plates very well.

                                            Temple of Zeus

                                              Family shot

                                             Aunt Jane and Uncle Jack after dinner

                                            Stuff at Market

                                               Not sure what this sign means -- looks funny though

                                             Signs about the financial issues

                                              Guard

                                             I think I should wear one of these

A few pics from Athens (took forever to upload)

                                                      At the Acropolis

                                          This dog gets to hang out at a cool place

                                             Jack and I at the Acropolis

                                               Sunset from our hotel

                                            Overlooking the city from the Acropolis

Day 2 was definitely better than Day 1 in Athens

So Momma Tower was right about Athens being a dirty place.  Yesterday it also seemed a little unfriendly, and overcrowded at some times as well. . . . Thankfully things were much different today, though some spots were still overcrowded though (esp. that Acropolis thing).

I arrived with no issues yesterday with no issues in relation to all the craziness and protests with Greek's Economic turmoil.  I did see tables and people with signs out, but nothing too out of the ordinary like folks have been seeing on the news this week.

Once I arrived and met with Aunt Jane and Uncle Jack, we spend most of the afternoon just walking around and looking at some of the sites.  The sites were closed by the time we got out into the town, so we were just familiarizing ourselves with the area.  The food we ate for lunch was good (inside a little meat market), but overpriced, way overpriced.  . . Dinner was inside at a local neighborhood restaurant near the hotel. My grilled squid took a little too long to bring out to the table, and then it was drowning in Olive Oil. So much for an exciting Friday.

Today was an awesome day though. . . The Acropolis, Hadies Arch, Theater of Dionysus, Temple of Zeus, and a very sunny day. . The food was much better -- Lunch was a Gyro combination.  Dinner was amazing, in my opinion -- Lamb Fricase' with a side dish of artichokes, from a restaurant called Vyzantino. The server and the manager were both extremely nice, and we even got wine on the house.

I won't discuss the afternoon hike (or what seemed like one), that Uncle Jack and I took, because we were determined to find some soft serve ice cream.  Gelato is everywhere in this country, but I can have that in a few days.  Soft serve ice cream is a little more of a rarity, and after a few km we eventually found some.

Hotel internet, or else Blogspot, isn't working too well.  Sometime before breakfast (Greece time), the pictures will be loaded.

Pictures from Bicycle Tour (now they get uploaded)

                                          Group picture at the end of the night

                                        Two Bulgarians, a German, and an American

                                            Enjoying beers after the ride, and getting to know folks

                                            Riding with Slav before meeting the big group

                                         Waiting to ride (I am in the gray shirt, and blue shorts)

                                            Some of the group I biked with on Thursday night in Sofia