London

We left Sheffield on Monday to head to London for our last few days in England. We said sad goodbyes to John's family and took the train to London. Once we arrived in London we checked in our hotel and headed off on the tub to meet up with John's friend Arthur. Arthur had a great day planned for us. First we met up with him in Little Venice where we took a boat ride down one of the canals in town. The boat tour dropped us off at Camden Market where we ate lunch and walked through several of the interesting shops in the market. We left the market and shared a bottle of wine while we waited for Arthur's girlfriend Sara to get off work. Sara is Arabian so she took us to an Arabian restaurant for dinner. It was a new experience but I really enjoyed the food! Later that night we said goodbye to Arthur and settled back into our hotel for a good night's sleep.

The next morning John and I decided to take a tour around the city. Before we got on a tour bus we walked around town and saw several sights. We saw Big Ben, the London Eye, the Horse Guards, and Buckingham Palace. Afterward we went into Churchill's War Rooms which are bunkers under the city where Churchill and his staff stayed during the bombing raids on London in WWII. Next we wanted to see the Tower of London so we hopped on a Double-Decker tour bus to take us around the city. We saw many sights and learned a lot while we were on the bus, but due to traffic we ran out of time and had to get off before we made it to the Tower of London...I guess that will have to wait for another trip. We were in a hurry because we had a dinner and show to make that night.

After a quick shower in the hotel we headed off to meet John's brother Matt, his cousin David, and David's fiance Helen for dinner. It was really nice meeting them and I hope to see more of them in the future. After dinner Matt, John, and I headed to Her Majesty's Theater to see the Phantom of the Opera! John's dad treated us to tickets and I was ecstatic! The show was amazing...like I knew it would be. There is nothing better than seeing Broadway shows live! The band, the singing, the stage! I LOVE IT! I will be going to more shows in the future!

This morning John and I woke up early, 4:00 AM London time, and headed off to the airport to go back to America. We decided to hire a taxi service since the tub didn't run that early. I will preface the rest of this paragraph with this phrase...I have NEVER been so scared in my LIFE! Our driver was a maniac! First, he almost got us T-boned within the first 2 minutes of the ride because he ran a red light. Second, he drove 50 mph around the city of London weaving in and out of traffic. Third, he reached speeds up to 100 mph on the motor way (interstate). John just had to shut his eyes and put his head down because he was so scared for his life. Luckily, everyone survived the journey besides the two unfortunate pigeons who dared to get in the way of our out of control taxi driver. After a long flight we finally landed in Atlanta! Well, this concludes our month long journey of England, Scotland, and Italy! I hope everyone has enjoyed reading my blog! Ciao!

We arrived back in England Thursday and John's mom had a nice Lasagna waiting for us. John refused to eat any more Italian food so he went to the fish shop to get himself some fish and chips. We shared our trip with them and then hit the sack.

The next morning we lounged around the house until we decided to go play 9 holes of pitch and putt...which is golf where you only play with a pitching wedge and a putter. John gave me a 3 stroke handicap for each hole, but unfortunately for him I didn't need a handicap. We put 25 cents on each hole and I ended up winning 2.50 because we went double or nothing on the last. I wasn't as good as John obviously but he did say I was great for a beginner. I think I may take up the game!

Otherwise we have just spent the last few days relaxing. We had a great time in Italy but it was not a relaxing vacation and we were exhausted afterward. Tonight I am making Poppy Seed Chicken for the family...if we can ever find poppy seeds in England. Chao!

Things I have learned abroad

I am going to steal this idea from my sister and clue you in on the things I have learned abroad.

1. All the public restrooms in England only have scalding hot water in the faucets....I can barely keep my hands in long enough to clean them!
2. Apparently graffiti and litter are not illegal in Italy
3. Italian waiters in general are not as polite as American ones
4. You will be hard pressed to find a good tour guide in Italy
5. You can be killed by a vehicle just walking along the sidewalk in Italy...I saw cars driving on sidewalks and apparently the scooters don't have to follow ANY traffic laws
6. ALWAYS barter for prices in Italy...usually you will get things cheaper
7. Women really like to wear tight, white, see-through clothes in Europe
8. You don't need to learn any other language because even if you try they will speak to you in English anyway
9. Even if Italian food is your favorite you will get sick of it eventually
10. Even if you walk everywhere you go you can still gain weight on vacation!
11. Italy is just as hot or hotter than Georgia during the summer time!
12. Kidney is an acquired taste
13. If a man hands you roses and says they are for good luck, don't think they are free...he will want money from you (that is their go-to line)
14. It is not a custom for everyone in the world to wear deodorant
15. England doesn't believe in traffic lights or stop signs...whenever there is an intersection they just slap a traffic circle in there and a few yield signs

Last day in Italy

The morning started off early due to our 9:30 appointment with the Pope. When we arrived at the Vatican I had a minor melt down due to the fact we couldn’t remember where we to meet with our guide. John just said that we should leave because we had seen the Vatican from the outside so that was enough. He was ready to leave because he had to wear jeans and it was really hot outside. We finally found our meeting point and were taken into the museums and the Sistine Chapel. Afterwards we looked around St. Peter’s Basilica. It was cool to be there and of course think about the history that had taken place there, but we were both ready to leave due to the fact we were losing half our bodies’ water content in sweat. We left and John immediately changed into shorts behind a dumpster while herds of nuns walked by. My advice to anyone visiting the Vatican would be to NOT buy a beat the line ticket because the lines really aren’t that long, and for the boys it is ok to wear shorts as long as they go to your knees.

After grabbing a bite to eat we searched with no luck for a street market and then hailed a taxi to take us to the Catacombs. The Catacombs were great! John loved it! It was really cool to see where all the Christians were buried and even the Roman crematorium. The one we visited was the sight where the apostles Peter and Paul were temporarily laid to rest. If you’re curious about seeing the inside of the Catacombs but can’t fly out to Rome its ok! We have you covered. John broke the rules and took several videos and pictures inside much to my protest. At least he had good intentions. He wants to show the video to his students because he teaches about the Catacombs.

Once we arrived back at the hotel we took our daily nap and then got ready for a nice night out. We decided that at least one night of the trip we should have a really nice meal since John’s dad told us to and kindly financed the meal. We booked a restaurant the night before but when we arrived the terrace was closed and the inside didn’t look too nice....so we headed off to the Spanish steps to eat at a restaurant we saw there at the top. Unfortunately, the restaurant was all booked up so we had to find someplace else. I was getting frustrated because I was starting to sweat off all my makeup and my neatly fixed hair was getting curly and frizzy with the humidity. The guy at the last place recommended a nice restaurant down the road so we headed there. When we arrived they fortunately gave us a table and we had a really nice meal and a good time. After leaving we decided we weren’t ready for our last night in Rome to be over so soon, so we headed to Piazza Navona for some after dinner wine. Around midnight we decided to call it a night which ended our time in Italy.

Ancient Rome

Well today was definitely one of the most interesting days so far. We had a great lie-in followed by a great breakfast of bread, coffee and more bread. After breakfast we decided to visit Campo de Forioi which is an ancient fruit market near our hotel, as it had been at least 45min since we had breakfast we felt it was necessary to have a fruit snack. Now energized by our fruit snack we walked across the city in the sweltering heat to the remains of the Roman Forum, Palatine Hill, and the Colosseum. It was amazing seeing the scale on which it was all built and discovering more about the history of the city and how the remains are so fragmented due to years of plunder up until the late 1700’s. After looking around the Forum and Palatine Hill we walked on to the Colosseum which is incredible! We took an audio tour which explained all the history, along with many unbelievable stories, such as how they once found a whale on the coast; brought it into the colosseum; filled it full of live bears; hoisted the whale up onto the Colosseum floor; and then opened the mouth for the bears to escape and attack the gladiators!!

After leaving the Colosseum we walked back to the hotel for a customary nap before dinner. Following our nap we decided to go for a stroll to see the River Tiber and then find a restaurant nearby. Somehow we managed to find this tiny restaurant down a small quiet backstreet. The waiter was so nice he gave us a free appetizer and set us at his “most romantic” table. We enjoyed the appetizer, a 1/2 bottle of wine, and then our meal. After 8 days in Italy this was definitely the BEST meal we had! Not only did we get a great meal, but we also had good company. Towards the end of our meal an Italian man sat next to us and we had a great conversation. He was from Milan and he was one of the top violin makers in the world. He was a very gentle and friendly man, but at one point in the conversation he made a very good observation. He said that with most Americans he has seen, the girls seem to always put effort into the way they dress and look, but the boys seem to dress like slobs. For example...John. I was wearing a nice dress and John was wearing a soccer t-shirt, shorts, and tennis shoes. I guess he had a point. We enjoyed chatting with him but soon decided it was time to head back to the hotel to get a somewhat early night. Tomorrow is the Vatican and the Catacombs :)

Pompeii and Naples

Today was a great day! The day started early, we were picked up at our hotel at 6:30 AM by a taxi to take us to the bus which would take us to Pompeii. We finally started our tour around 8 AM on our 3 hour bus ride to Pompeii. Our tour guide was funny, interesting, and bilingual. John and I were both very impressed that she was translating everything she said in English, Spanish, and German! We were really excited because this was the first decent tour guide we have had in Italy. Well, on the way to Pompeii our tour stopped in Naples for a 1 hour tour around the city. In Naples we got a new tour guide who was a local. She took us to a few places but she really was an awful guide. She would take us to a square and say, “this is the square...it was built in the 16th century” and that was it. We were not too impressed with Naples but I don’t think we had that great of an introduction. We got back on the bus and drove the 45 minutes to Pompeii. There they took us to a place where they showed us how they make jewelry out of shells, but it was very short and I missed the whole speech because I went to the bathroom. Afterwards they fed us lunch and prepared us for our trip to the ruins. We were sad to hear that we would have the same guide as in Naples, but we decided to try it anyway. All I can say about Pompeii is WOW! It was so neat to see the ancient town and how it worked. They had streets with crosswalks, indoor plumbing, a sauna, bars, swimming pools, and central heating! We could see the mosaics they had on the walls and pottery/statues. We also saw the human remains of people who were killed in the eruption of Mount Vesuvius along with the remains of animals. I was in awe by it all. We did have one embarrassing moment during the trip. Our tour guide was wearing a microphone and we were all wearing headphones so we could hear her easily, but whenever anyone was close to the tour guide her microphone would pick up their voice too and transmit it to all of the members of the group. Well John, the tour guide, and I were the last ones walking through the brothel remains and we were shocked by the pictures of sexual positions the Romans had painted above the rooms. We got to one pretty graphic one and John, who was standing very close to the guides microphone, said “This looks pretty graphic!” But for some reason he must have mumbled or something because to me it sounded like he said, “This looks like us!” The guide must have heard what I did because she immediately said, “Oh, are you two on your honeymoon?” I was mortified as I thought everybody in the group of 20 people heard this whole conversation! As soon as we got outside I whispered to John, “I can’t believe you just said that!” He was very confused as to why I was so embarrassed. After I explained to him what I heard he explained what he really said which made a lot more sense.

After the tour of the remains we hopped back on the bus to head back to Rome. As soon as we arrived back in Rome John and I decided to go out for a small dinner and call it an early night. After dinner however we decided to find a pharmacy because during our trip to Pompeii John’s frail English skin on his feet got a pretty severe burn and we wanted to get some cream. We go into the first pharmacy we find and ask the pharmacist if they have any cream for sever sun burns. He brought us a 15 Euro bottle of Aloe Vera, which we felt was too expensive. I was bound and determined to find John some cheaper cream so I set out to search the store for the aloe cream. Unfortunately, I do not know Italian and therefore was unable to read/understand the labels on the bottles. I eventually stumbled upon a promising looking bottle that had the words Aloe Vera written on it. I passed the bottle onto John who took it to the counter to pay. John asked the pharmacist how much the lotion cost, and the pharmacist gave him a little smile and said, “Are you sure you want this?” John said yes and the man said, “Well you know this is soap for your genitalia.” John, who was a little embarrassed, said no thanks and we left the store. As we were leaving John started laughing and then explained to me why he didn’t buy the product. I told him I was wondering why sunburn cream was in with the tampons...I guess I know for next time. Anyway, we are off to bed. We have ancient Rome to discover tomorrow!

Roma!

The next morning we woke up really early to pack and catch our train to Rome. We arrived in Rome around noon, and after catching a taxi to our hotel we dropped off our bags and headed out for a stroll of the city. Within a 1 minute walk we found ourselves standing outside of the Pantheon! It was incredible to see the inside which is a 2000 year old building. The inside was all marble and stone and was gorgeous. It is crazy that the Romans were able to create such a feat of engineering at that time. As we walked out of the Pantheon we were accosted by a gypsy dressed up as a Roman soldier who wanted to take pictures with us. We reluctantly agreed and took several pictures in different poses. We were going to give him a tip but then he said, “10 euros....5 each.” We thought that was extremely steep so we bartered him down to 5 Euros...which I still felt was steep. Afterwards we grabbed a bite to eat and headed to Piazza De Navona which is a minute walk on the other side of our hotel. Literally everywhere you turn in Rome is a famous ancient statue or building! It is honestly overwhelming! It would take a month to properly visit all of these places. Afterwards John had a short nap while I planned some trips for later in the week. We then set off again to see the Trevi Fountain and the Spanish Steps...with of course a bunch of lesser known monuments and buildings on the way. Rome is truly amazing...far better than we expected! I can’t wait to explore it more in the coming days. Tomorrow we are headed off to explore Naples and Pompeii! I will be sure to give you a detailed report when we return!