Summer 08 ... European Vacation

This summer we are in Europe and having a great time! This is what is happening so far:

Day 1 - Saturday: We arrive in Frankfurt after a LONG but great flight. Hey, the airline food was actually good for a change, and the wine was FREE!! After a 4 hour layover in Frankfurt we were airborne for Rome. What a beautiful place! We are staying at a 60's themed bed and breakfast named Il Boom. The building was built in the late 1800's, and our room is up four flights of beautiful marble stairs. The rooms all have high ceilings, beautiful crown moulding, and huge windows open to the street with no screens. The whole place is FABULOUS!! There are three hotel cats and four turtles that have the run of the two outdoor decks. Speaking of decks, they are amazing with peach and lemon trees, tomato plants, flowers, and lots of cactus plants everywhere. We were pretty worn out after the long trip, so we hit the bed around 6:00 local time. Needless to say, we were up VERY early on Sunday morning!

Day 2 - Sunday: We hit the ground running on Sunday morning walking all over the city for the entire day. We saw lots of beautiful things today - The Vatican, St. Peter's Bacilica, the Roman Forum, the Pantheon, the Colesium, and lots more. Don't worry - pictures will follow because I know that I forgot to mention some other great places that we saw on this LONG day. We probably walked more than 50 blocks today, and our feet know it! But it was an awesome adventure to be sure. After a brief rest back at the hotel, we walked several more blocks and ate dinner at Il Boom's wonderful restaraunt tucked away in a very old building in Trestavere. We had champagne, wine, beer, fried eggplant and a delicious chicken dish. YUMMY. After dragging ourselves back to the hotel, we pretty much passed out from all of that fun!

Day 3 - Monday: We decided on a little slower pace after yesterday! AND, there was a bus and train strike, so we were pretty much forced back on the street on foot. We spent the day poking around the shops and churches in the neighborhood. What beautiful churches - one in particular was the oldest in Rome. Again - pictures will follow, probably when we get on the ship and have more computer time. Today we ate pizza from a little deli on the street, and Edwin had a couple of different brands of Italian beer. We also visited the local produce stand and bought big, fat fresh peaches, strawberries, and a huge juicy tomato. At the grocery store, we stocked up on beer and wine to have here at the hotel. After a little afternoon siesta, we will be ready to go out on the town tonight looking for more delicious Italian food, wine, beer, and some live entertainment. This place really comes alive at night!

If the transporation strike is over tomorrow, we plan to take an open bus tour of Rome and go back to the Vatican and take the St. Peter's Bacilica tour.

We were lucky enough this summer to take the vacation of a lifetime! We left on the Tahitian Princess from Honolulu and sailed to Kauai, Kona on the Big Island, and Lahania on Maui. From Hawaii, we sailed to Christmas Island, Bora Bora, Raiatea, and Tahiti. Everything was so beautiful, and we had a GREAT time! Take a look at our videos!