{Journaling My Travels - Part I}

As promised - here's evidence of my fantastic Italian vacation ~ enjoy:

Meet Katirina & Marcello {our tour director & bus driver}

{I mean really - how cute is he?}

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TREVI FOUNTAIN

{Trevi Fountain - it was so much bigger than I thought it would be. We all made our 3 wishes (sorry my pic turned out awful) by throwing 3 coins over our left shoulders...I hope they come true!}

SPANISH STAIRS

{Spanish stairs - yep, climbed every stair all the way to the top. Across from the stairs is all the shopping you ever dreamed of doing - YSL, Dior, LV, Gucci..and the list goes on, and on, and on....and on...5th Ave who?}

THE VATICAN

{Growing on the outside walls of the Vatican were these bushels of greenery. We learned that they are actually capers....}

{The Vatican - one of the most amazing experiences I had. To actually go into the Sistine Chapel (so no pics were allowed) was just breathtaking. The space was so serene, and peaceful - it was amazing how everyone paid respect to the chapel by being quiet and just taking in the experience. Man...I so wish I could have taken pictures, and I wish we would have had more time to look around. So peaceful...and calm.

St. Peter's Basilica & Square - where the Pope performs Mass every Wednesday - would have so loved to witness that}

THE COLISEUM

{One of my favorite sites of Rome - my only complaint is that we didn't spend enough time there. It was exactly what I thought it would be, so beautiful. Above is our excursion director, she was great but couldn't stop hacking up all the cigarettes she'd been smoking...}

THE FORUM

{Amazing....that's all I can say. The history is just....wow}

THINGS I LEARNED IN ROME ~ AND IN GENERAL

{Unless you pay a lot of money, hotels are not great. Moving forward I will pay for great hotels in the center of all the action. I must admit I'm a hotel snob, so staying in these hotels were quite an adventure for me, lol!}

{You can buy uhhh...."protection" and even "toys" in a dispenser on most corners. Crazy huh...but maybe a good thing?

They also have the best spring water - you can simply walk up to any of these fountains and fill up your water bottle for the best tasting, freezing cold water you'll ever have...}

{There's lots of graffiti everywhere, which is sad due to all of the lovely buildings and the history Italy has to offer.

Everyone drives smart cars or Vespas.}

{Most look fabulous while driving them...while of course smoking. Speaking of which, smoking is all around you - you can't escape it. People can for the most part smoke wherever they want. It is pretty common to walk out of a store or any doorway and walk right into a cloud of smoke - dislike!}

{Gas stations are simply a pull up to the curb...love it}

{I have a love-hate relationship with cobblestone roads...}

Ok, this post is getting really long - and since I see that you are starting to nod off, I'll wait until tomorrow to complete my journal with our time in the Tuscany region, Florence, Venice and all the lovely stops in between.

Until then...have a fab day!