A day at the Colosseum

What a great day in Rome.

While Nancy and Bruce were at their morning Italian lessons (way to go on the test Nancy), Jim, Jan, Bill and I wandered over to the market where we purchased yet more wares. After doing all of the bargaining that we could, we made our way over to the Colosseum. What a spectacular view. We wandered around the area and then stopped at an Italian eatery for, you guessed it, pizza and vino. After a hard morning in classes, Nancy and Bruce met up with us.

Afterwards, we made our way to Via Condotti where the shops are very high end. We left the boys at a local bar and wandered down the streets dreaming of what we would buy if money were no object. We saw a group of what looked to be secret service men surrounding a short little man walking down the street. We are fairly certain this man was Italian President Burlusconi. Following the entourage, were two high security vehicles. It appeared he must have been doing a little shopping for himself (or for one of his Italian sweeties).

Next it was over to the Spanish steps where we did the obligatory climb and shot some photos. (I am now at 720 photos on this trip -I'm a bit ashamed, but it's like eating the bread here -I just can't help myself!). Don't worry, I will not torture any of you by making you look at all of them. But I will post the best on Facebook sometime soon.

Next stop was a quaint little outdoor restaurant for an afternoon happy hour of wine, beer and the standard "olive munchies" that they give free with drinks. I could so get used to this lifestyle.

So, soon, we will head over to Marco's neighbourhood coffee bar where we will have a little shot of Espresso and some Grappa. (After all, we have to do a little final damage to our livers before we board our flight tomorrow morning.) Following our pre-dinner drinks, we will head out for dinner at the respectable time of 8:00 pm or later. Then it's home for a quick snooze before our 5:30 a.m. wakeup for the airport.

As we fly home tomorrow, we will not only pack many souveniers, but also dozens and dozens of life lasting memories. I will take some time on the flight home to consider my top ten list for Italy and post it some time on the weekend.

My final thoughts for this final "official blog" is that if you have ever had the desire to travel through Europe, don't wait! You never know what will happen tomorrow. Many thought that we were a bit crazy to attempt 3 countries in 2 weeks. But, if we had it to do all over again, not one of us would change a thing. We are completely satisfied with our experience. Amazing sights, fabulous new family and great friends!

Ciao -see you back in Canadian cyberspace soon!