Catching Up

Hello all! Finally, a time to sit down and fill you in. The plane ride, my first, was so much fun! The landing in Munich was a little sudden (and scary) because of the fog, but other than that, what a roller coaster! When we got to the Rome airport, I was so tired! I didn’t manage to sleep on the 8 hour 20 minute trans-Atlantic flight, so the nap was well needed.

The next day (Dec. 31) my friends and I traveled all the way to the Coliseum and Ancient Rome. It was so unreal. In the morning, we went to Mass in an English speaking church. It was very similar to Mass at home, but the view was undoubtedly better. Afterward, Father Graham and Father Hentges led us to the Pantheon and the Piazza Navona . The Piazza had their Christmas fair going on; it was so interesting to see all of the vendors and performers. Somehow we went south and ended up right at the steps of the monument of Victor Emmanuel. It was breathtaking. The contrast of the white stone and the red city is so obvious, the building just pops where ever you look. Despite all of the happenings during the day, night and the New Year’s celebration was spectacular. On the roof of the hotel, we could see fireworks from all directions. I could not think of a better way to bring in the New Year.

On the first day of 2007, we ran into some problems. Most of the areas we were scheduled to visit were closed! Sad day! But that didn’t stop us! We trekked over to the Botanical Gardens. They were closed too, but there was a path along side. We stood on our toes and hung our arms over the fence to get great shots of the trees. Coming out of the Gardens, we saw the Garibaldi Monument. Garibaldi fought for the free Republic of Rome. It was so interesting to see.

So, now that I am done checking in (I am okay Mom), I am going to go rest my feet until dinner tonight! Will write soon! Nina