Last Couple Days in Europe

Well as I'm writing this last post for Europe, I'm sitting at my gate in Philadelphia waiting to board the plane to San Francisco. The last couple days we basically were traveling from France back to Italy in order to catch our flight from Roma. I have to say that we had mixed emotions on Friday and Saturday. Part of us was super excited to know that we'd be back home, but the other part was sad that our vacation was over. 

Our trip really was flawless. We didn't miss any trains or get on a wrong train. No one in any of the countries we visited were rude to us and were very friendly and accommodating. We did our best not too stand out and made an effort not to act like typical American tourists. We wanted to blend in and I believe we succeeded very well.

I fell in love with Rome. Italy is an amazing place and was my favorite out of the three countries we went to. The history of the place is apparent everywhere and you can feel it as you are walking through the streets. I loved the pace of things, the way of life, the beauty of the city, and the wonder of it all. I wish we could live in Italy someday; no, I want to live in Roma.

On Friday we arrived in Milano after a 6 hour train ride. We got something to eat, watched "The Bourne Ultimatum" on my laptop, and settled in for the rest of the day. It was a day to hang out and relax.

On Saturday, we got up and caught the train back to good, old Roma Termini- our old stomping grounds. We checked into our hotel and got lunch, then we headed over to the metro and went to the Trevi Fountain. IT WAS AMAZING! I've always loved fountains- part of the reason for my disappointment that the fountains at Versailles were not operational-and the Trevi fountain is a wonder to behold in person. Photographs don't capture the beauty and feeling of the place. It was one of my favorite places that we went to.

After the Trevi fountain, we wondered down to the Pantheon- the oldest Catholic church in Rome, and also was a temple to Zues and the other "pagan gods" before that. It was truly a marvel and I was glad that we got to see it before we had to go home. My reading of Angels and Demons as we traveled through Rome gave me a new appreciation for the things we had seen and it was cool to discover that the Raphael is laid to rest in the Pantheon. 

Well I have to board the plane now. See you all in a few hours, or in some cases, a couple days!