ROMA

hey yall. we are having an amazing time in this beautiful city. we are staying in a lovely little apartment right outside the piazza of santa maria. our days are filled with strolls along the cobblestone streets through the various piazzas and ancient churches, tours of the roman forum and the colesseum, pizza, cappacino, wine, wine and wine. quite often we find ourselves hopelessly lost on some random roman street only to turn the corner and happen to come upon something as grand as the circus maximus. yesterday was sort of a surreal experience standing in st. peters square-which is round incidently-then climbing the everlasting winding-and nauseating-staircase to the tip top of the dome and looking out over this ancient city. the roman skyline is brilliant-filled with domes and steeples set against a gorgeous blue sky. the weather has been perfect for us, chilly in the mornings and evenings and quite warm in the sun. our evenings have been special, eating gelatto in front of the trevi fountain and enjoying dinner at quaint italian restaurants. our attempts at italian have been hilarious, but we are making it. people take pity on us quite often and offer to help us find our way. here are some photos for your viewing pleasure. ciao!

this is a nice picture from the caffe right by our apartment where we have cappacinos every morning. very fun place. can save good euros by eating at the bar.

this is us inside the church above the spanish steps.

us at the circus maximus. courtney wanted to run a lap, but im too old.

courtney inside the ruins of casa di augustus. for those of you that dont speak italian, that means courtney inside the ruins of the HOUSE of agustus.

rip at the colloseum.

courtney eating nutella in st. peters square.

view from the top of st. peters basillica. climb up the stairs is nearly physically impossible, and we took the first half by elevator, but the reward is pretty amazing. best view ever.