Milan and Now Rome

Milan was great. I met up with Anna and she showed me around the Duomo, Galleria, and LaScala Museum.

It was great to see Anna and get to see where she is living in Milan and where she goes to class etc. I'm a lucky guy huh? Milan is a great city with tons of shopping. There is also graffiti everywhere which is sad. We went on top of the Duomo before I left Milan. We had to walk behind some Spanish or Mexican rockers the whole time. It was crazy. It was about 80 degrees and they were wearing this stuff:

I really enjoyed my time there and was sad to leave. It was tough leaving.

I took the train to Rome yesterday evening and got to the hotel a little after TR and Ajay. Our hotel room is pretty amazing. We are spending a bit more money, but our location can't be beat. We have a laptop in our room, but it is really weird. This post is not very good due to this being the third time I have tried to post this entry. I will put up my pictures and everything when we get to London. Last night we went to the Trevi Fountain and the Spanish Steps. It was beautiful at sunset. We got pizza at a nice little cafe and headed home.

We woke up early this morning and went to the Vatican passing the Castel San Angelo on the way. We saw various sights from the book Angels and Demons along the way. We toured the Vatican and the Sistine Chapel. There were some serious lines, but we got through most of them pretty quickly. La Pieta is still one of my favorite statues there.

After the Vatican we were really hungry and headed towards the Piazza Navona. Food is really expensive here. We are talking around $10-20 for a cheap meal. I had a cheap hamburger and Ajay and TR went for a pizza. We then walked to the Campo de Fiori where they were taking down the market.

I should also add that we have taken a water bottle everywhere we go and have enjoyed filling them at every fountain we see. The water is clean, cold, and straight from the ancient aquaducts. Great stuff.

From the Campo de Fiori we walked to the Area Sacra and saw two old temples. From there we walked to the Pantheon. Ajay continually called it the Parthanon and we had to remind him which country we were in. Easy mistake to make though. There was an American band playing outside the Pantheon. We enjoyed singing American songs and at the end of the Star Spangled Banner I yelled "GO AMERICA." It was weird hearing those songs in front of the Pantheon. As we were listening to the music, we ran into Anne from the hostel in Munich. What a small world!

We walked with Anne to the Italian Parliament and decided to meet back up for dinner. Ajay and TR saw protesters and decided they wanted to protest the Catholic Church taking the marble from the Pantheon and Colloseum for the Vatican. I told them I think I will stay out of that.

We went back to the hotel and I read for a bit a took a nap. We are trying to take good care of our feet due to all of this walking. So rest time is crucial. I finished Boomsday by Christopher Buckley- the same guy that wrote Thank You For Not Smoking. The book is hilarious and was a great read for this trip. Now I am almost finished with The Road by Cormac McCarthy. It is a dark book, but very good. I highly suggest both. Oprah also suggests The Road if that suits your fancy. Anyway...

We got up at 8 and met up with Anne at the Spanish Steps. We then ate a full Italian meal. It was excellent. From here on out we will be eating cheap though. The meal did us in. We then walked to the Trevi Fountain and enjoyed it at night. This place is beautiful with so much history. If anyone likes history, the movie the Gladiator, and Rome, then you should check out the HBO show ROME. I have appreciated different aspects of it being here.

Well we are now watching the Republican Debate on CNN World in our hotel room and it is late. I better turn in. I'm sorry I couldn't put up the pictures, but I will when I can.

By the way, TR and Ajay are promising a battle in the Colloseum tomorrow. This should be interseting...