Hotel Xx Settembre Rome

... records of the burials lost. It was common during the centuries, as it is today, to unearth spectacular intact Greek and Roman artifacts, like the Laocoon sculpture, commissioned and transported to Rome from Rhodes in the 1st century BC, but lost for centuries under Nero’s Golden House. Its discovery in 1506 became a sensation involving Pope Julius II ("Il Papa Terrible" for his bad temperament), Michaelangelo, Raphael ...

... about 300 photos of the Colloseum. This is what he has been waiting for the whole trip. Alex comments that the city is so much more impressive in real life and provided us with a full history of ROME, all their wars, and tells us now that these were his studies this year. First I am hearing of this, but it will be great to have this extra history lesson since this is my weakness in these places.

We ride for about 4 hours, then check into our ...

... the Chinese bury all public view of it as fast as they can. You'd be hard pressed to find a traditional district left standing there. They think they 'gain face' by emulating las Vegas and turning their country into a Pai Gow pinball machine defined by its bells and whistles rather than its collective soul. Europe doesn't do that, not much anyway, or at least not yet. Luckily for them America's already done it, so that's reason enough to avoid ...

... cowering Pompeians who were buried alive under the ash. Again, it was a scorching hot day and after a few hours of walking around we had to take respite from the heat, jumping in the car and heading 30 minutes away to Herculaneum. Though lesser known, it's perhaps the more fascinating of the two unearthed cities we saw that day. The buildings much better preserved, many still with their roofs and amazing colourful floor mosaics ...

... wait to try some real Italian Pizza! First we get adventurous by trying the house beer - Nastro Azzurro. OMG it was so good and quickly we realized that we will be drinking a lot more of this beer! We also ordered bruchetta and a pizza. The bruchetta came with the freshest tomatoes, white beans and olives. I loved it but Don wasn't a fan of it. The pizza was really good with such a thin ...

... minutes or so we spent staring up at the ceiling of the famous Sistine Chapel where, amidst the endless calls of "No Photo!" I snuck a few pictures (if I go straight to Hell as a result then so be it... and I'll be taking the pictures with me). Spent the evening starting this entry, getting ready for the following days departure to Naples, doing laundry, checking e-mail and realising hey, it's not actually that bad to have turned 32 (see the observations for ...

... the steps themselves are crowded, so again, why the romanticism? We ended up eating dinner nearby there, and returned to the Trevi Fountains for a chance to get a nighttime view. I do prefer the fountains lit up at night to the daytime view. There is just something a little more magical to them when they are cast in dancing rays and fluttering shadows. And then, we were tired again. Can't imagine why?!

... take me to another bus which took me to the airport to pick up ashley. i made it there and waited about 5 minutes and out she came. we got onto a bus her dad had booked which took us back to termini. from there we found her hostel and her room (which was 4 blocks away from the actual hostel) weird science. she showered and we were off again. this time to dinner, well the finals banquet. it was nice, i didnt have a chance to shower so i showed us a little smelly with a flower in my hair ...

... and I was not allowed to fulfill my wishes...at least as far as I understood. So, we passed by, and ended up back in the courtyard behind the basilica....the structure is just massive. I can't even describe it...it's the tallest church I've ever been in, and if I remember correctly, St. Peter's Basilica holds 70,000 people....talk about long communion at Mass! http://www.letsgo-europe.com/Italy/vati can/st_peters.html So, we got in line (AGAIN) to go up to the dome. We paid ...

... about the drive along the peninsular. Narrow road, traffic and steep cliffs right beside the road. After driving Napoli, it's a piece of cake. We reckon that Italy is just made for Peter Mac's driving-he would be at home. Pulled in to a tourist office on the outskirts of Sorrento, where we were given a map. Couldn't have driven through Sorrento, let alone find our hotel without it. It is just a maze of narrow streets that runs for 10 k's or so along the cliff, with ...