Coming Home Soon

Well, this Saturday, we are coming back to the States. It's been an AMAZING trip and honeymoon, but it also made us realize how much we LOVE California, and that our life is pretty darn good, back home in the USA. And yep, we are proud to be Americans! 

We'll have to post our pics of our last week here in Paris (Jim Morrison's and Oscar Wilde's Grave, Man Ray's Studio, Top of the Eiffel Tower) when we return... our old little laptop is about out of memory. 

But for now, check out our tour of Rome....

Love, 

Anne and Jacob. 

Around Rome

From Genova, we took a high speed train 6 hours south to Rome. It rained the entire time, and the country side was totally flooded. So we were happy we opted for Rome instead of continuing on our journey down the Riviera, because the weather would have been less than idyllic. 

The train was pretty gross and dirty, but it was an easy and cheap way to reach our destination, and took us right to the heart of Rome, where we found a cheap hotel that was a good central base for foot exploration, and wondering around the streets. We explored Rome for 3 days. 

I always wondered where priests got their fancy robes... I thought they were custom made or passed down by the church. But nope, they sell em' at stores outside the Vatican city. Seeing all the "ceremonial" gold cups that hold that are meant to hold "blood of Christ" during communion on sale really shattered the sacred misconception we had of these items. It seems, if you have 400 Euro, you too can look like the pope, and perhaps perform an exorcism with a kit that you picked up on sale across the street from the church. I was pretty crazy to see all of this for sale...

This is where the Sisters do their shopping. 
No monument of ancient civilization seems to be complete without the token McDonalds sign. LOL! 
The Pantheon! I was very excited to revisit this cool place, and Jacob loved it too. 


The Oculous (sp?) in the roof of the Pantheon. The dome is soooo tall that when it rains the rain never hits the ground, it evaporates first. The coffers (the square divits in the ceiling) used to be filled with gold stars, but these were pried out and melted down to coat the dome of St. Peters Basilica, in the Vatican City. 
Another cute Roman Car! 

THE VATICAN

I (Anne) have been to the Vatican before, but Jacob hadn't. He was really expecting a "religious" experience, filled with nuns and priests, smiles and blessings, and good vibes to boot. But we both agreed, in the end, that the Vatican seemed to us, (and this is only our opinion) to only be a symbol of the gross excess, flaunting of wealth and endless greed of the Catholic Church. It's hard not to ponder the Church's justification for all that art, gold, and souvenir shops placed in EVERY quite corner within the Vatican buildings themselves. You have to wonder, did God plan to see his image on a coffee cup a foot outside of the Sistine Chapel? Nevertheless, it was interesting, and really awesome, somehow, to be standing in a square that we've seen the Pope bless on TV so many times over the years, and in the place where people make pilgrimages to from around the world, and consider one of the Holiest places on Earth. 

Totally inappropriate floatingChrist pose in the Vatican Courtyard, where the Pope meets his public. 
A beautiful park in the Vatican, that would have been nice to sit in, only it's totally off limits to the public. 
Crossing the bridge to the Vatican City from Rome. 
A priest we saw... he asked a passerby to take his picture with his cell phone. 
The beautiful Sistine Chapel! (We actually weren't allowed to take pictures in there, but Jacob managed to get this one) 

ROME

The highlight of our 3 day trip to Rome was the Colosseum and Forum! We spent hours walking around both ruins. 

The Arena in the Forum


I didn't know about the beautiful garden on top of the hill at the Forum. The air was filled with the smell of oranges from the citrus groves and roses blooming in the garden. 
An incredible fountain, still fed by the ancient aquaducts. A statue used to stand where I was standing.












A beautiful tile mosaic in the Colosseum. 
Looking out from the Colosseum from within. 

Jacob getting his education on, on an Audio Tour! 
This is where they kept the beasts and Gladiators. 
And here is the inside of the Colesseum. The platform in the back represents what the floor covering the basement used to look like. Then the basement is exposed, where they kept the beasts and gladiators. 








Our first night in Rome, we went to the Trevi Fountain, which was great for me, because I've only seen it in the daylight. But it's much better at night, especially with two beers in the Grotto. 


We found a quite little spot in the grotto all to ourselves, where we watched all the tourists. It was great. 
Throwing a coin into the fountain... hope my wish comes true! Last time it did.