5/15: Kim: We landed in Rome at about 10pm (instead of 5pm) due to a flight delay out of Phoenix. Our first task was to find a taxi (it felt like the Amazing Race). We went to the taxi curb and found Fabio who gave us a crazy, insanely fast ride to the flat. We have come to the conclusion that there is fast, and there is "Rome fast". I have never seen crazier traffic than in Rome. Everyone seems to drive 80 mph at any given moment (and that's non-freeway driving) and pedestrians dart in front of these cars without blinking an eye expecting the drivers to stop. So anyway, after a crazy drive from the airport into Rome, we met Stefano at the flat and were given the grand tour. Took about 15 seconds. The bedroom is the living room, the living room is the bedroom, the kitchen is in the hallway and the bathroom is in that room that looks like a closet. It was about 115 sq ft I think. Tiny studio apt but it worked out perfect. Stefano was super nice and gave us some good information, including the fact that the part of town we were in was very historical, so historical in fact that the city does not allow commercial building. Why you ask? Because if they started digging for the foundation, they would find old bones and roman helmets. So to preserve history, they don't allow building or digging. Interesting. To see some pictures of the flat and Stefano click here: http://www.myhouseinrome.com/My_House.html. Other than a leaky shower, dripping faucet and damp, musty smell, it was absolutely perfect. Grazie Stefano. Bella Roma!!

5/16: Kim: Today after waking up at 11:30, we walked to the local market to buy a few groceries for the week. This was the first taste of being in a foreign country. Try reading food labels in Italian. After getting to the register with our food, we found out from the non-English speaking cashier, through multiple hand gestures, that we were supposed to weigh our produce in the produce section, rather than at the register. Once it is placed on the scale, it will print out a price sticker that you place on the outside of the bag. Then once you get to the register, the cashiers just scan the sticker. Who knew? Not us. First "note to self" moment. Later that evening we did a night walk through Rome. It was our first time of many seeing the Trevi Fountain, the Pantheon, the Spanish Steps, Capitol Hill and Piazza del Popolo. The Trevi Fountain was so amazing! We rounded a street corner and BAM! there it was towering up into the sky. So beautiful :)

Darren: Shopping was fun. :) Small little markets that remind me a lot of Chile. I keep trying to speak Spanish to people and only a few words are getting through to them. On the other hand, Kim seemed to understand what they were speaking back to us better than I was.

5/17: Kim: Today we toured the Vatican in Vatican City. We saw some amazing art, tapestries, frescoes and of course, the Sistine Chapel. What can I say other than it is even more beautiful in person. The point at which we looked up and saw the famous picture of God reaching out to touch Adams finger was surreal. It's one of those things I had only seen in text books and on google images, so to see it in person was absolutely inspiring. Michelangelo certainly created a masterpiece. Awesome! After the Vatican, we ate lunch at a nearby ristorante called Perilli in Prati. Our first pizza was the Cappricioso: prosciutto, green olives, artichokes and boiled egg. And the interesting part was (aside from the egg), the toppings weren't spread out evenly on the pizza, they were all grouped into sections. So once slice had cheese and olives, the next slice had cheese and artichokes and so on. Other than the egg, which might be an acquired taste on pizza, it was molto bene!

Darren: It was really neat to be in the Sistine Chapel and see the actual ceiling. I think other than that my favorite was seeing the long hallway lined with tall tapestries depicting scenes from Christ's life. So impressive and full of feeling and expression.

5/18: Kim: The Pantheon, one of my many favorites. The inside of the Pantheon is awesome! I was awed by the oculus in the top of the dome. It is completely open and subject to all kinds of weather. When it rains, the water runs into the drains in the floor of the Pantheon. When it is sunny, sunlight streams through the opening creating a pillar of light through the center of the building. There are statues of various saints around the perimeter and an altar on the wall opposite the door. My favorite part was the dome. The carvings and workmanship is so exquisite, you just can't help but look up and gaze in wonder. Again, awesome! Today we also stumbled upon the Piazza Navona which quickly became our favorite piazza. In the center is the Four Rivers Fountain and the huge St. Agnes church. The fountain was created by the famous Gian Lorenzo Bernini. He's quite the ambitious guy. We heard the name a lot while sightseeing various buildings and sculptures. After the piazza, we ate dinner at a place called Osteria del Anima. Darren got the Margherita pizza and I got the Penne Arrabiata. Yum! After dinner we got some gelato. Double yum!! Before going home we stopped by the Trevi Fountain to toss some coins in in order to assure our return to Rome. We even threw some in for our families so they would be promised a visit :) There was a couple sitting right next to us on the step and right before we got up to leave, I saw out of the corner of my eye, the guy get down on one knee and propose. They were American but he proposed to her in French. Not sure but it was totally cute.

Darren: Walking into the Pantheon through the massive doorway and seeing the dome just continue upward each step you take was one of my first breathtaking moments of the week. Best word to describe it: massive. We also tried out the audio guide on our iPod/MP3 players that was really cool. So much better when you know what you're looking at plus a little history lesson. The second breathtaker was walking down a little cobblestone passageway and then having it open into the Piazza Navona with a huge fountain in the middle. You just can't help stopping and staring with your mouth wide open. Wow!! :)

5/19: Kim: Today was the Colloseum and Roman Forum. The Colloseum was so huge! The arena floor is missing so we could see the various passageways and elevator shafts used during the various fights and events. This is how they could get animals and other fighters to pop up randomly around the arena. We downloaded an audio guide onto our iPods from ricksteves.com. Good 'ole Rick Steves. Our travel companion through audio and book. It helped to listen to the history while wandering around. Seeing the structure, the labyrinth flooring and hearing the stories really brought the history to life. I have such a hard time understanding how people can be so cruel. One part of the audio described how workers would bring in perfumes to spray around the arena in order to cover the smell of blood and death. Sick! After the Colloseum we went to walk around the Roman Forum. After spending a good 20-30 minutes under the Arch of Titus during a rainstorm, we went on to see where Julius Caesar was burned after his assassination, the main square of old Rome surrounded by temples, columns and arches, The Temple of Vesta and the House of the Vestal Virgins. If you haven't heard the story of the Vestal Virgins it's quite interesting. Vestal Virgins were chosen from noble families before the age of 10 and served a 30 year term (keeping the sacred flame burning inside the Temple of Vesta). Vestals took a vow of chastity. If she served her term faithfully-abstaining for 30 years-she was given a huge dowry and allowed to marry. But if they found a Virgin who wasn't faithful, she was strapped to a funeral car, paraded through the streets of the Forum, taken to a crypt, given a loaf of bread and a lamp, and buried alive. Doesn't that sound like fun? Um...Vestal Virgin? No thanks. I'll pass.

Darren: The next installment of my breathtaking moments...The Colloseum. We were getting off the Metro rail and Kim says, "Look there it is!" It was right there as you came out of the tunnel. I liked how it felt so similar to the layout of Chase Field. Walking in a corridor under the seating and then passageways out towards the arena. There idea of sport was a bit different than baseball though. ;) Pretty gruesome history. The other things I remember about that day was the loud cracking thunder and bright lightning that we experienced while under an ancient arch. We kept going the wrong way to find an entrance to the Forum and must have walked 10 miles by the end of that day. One cool thing was on one of the mistaken paths we chose we stumbled onto a little chapel and went on inside. Why not right? It was really cute to see Kim so reverent as we stood looking from the back and hearing the soft music playing over the speakers. Think it was one of the first like that she'd ever been in, and the first time she'd ever checked out what a confession box looks like. I would have waited outside if she'd have wanted to clear up that heavy conscience. Just kiddin', babe! ;) Lastly, we watched American Idol that night on the computer. Little taste of home, nice. :)

5/20: Kim: Today...The National Museum of Rome. The most interesting part for me was the collection of ancient coins. They ranged from modern times to ancient Rome. The oldest one we found was 210 B.C. We took a picture of one that says Julius Caesar. Awesome! It was fun to see the different sizes and pictures. Tonight we ate dinner in Tratesvere at a pizzeria called Dar Poeta. Our favorite was the Ruspante: potatoes, mushrooms and ham. Yummy!! Today was also extermination day at our apt. Apparently it only happens twice per year. How we were lucky enough to be here during this time I'll never know. Imagine walking outside to see the sidewalks covered in dead cockroaches. Disgusting!! Just one more fun memory I guess :)

Darren: Yeah the cockroaches thing was pretty bad. I was outside that morning and the neighbor lady told me with gestures that the guy was going to spray and that I'd probably want to close the front door cause it was gonna smell. Those little critters sure do try and run and scatter before they all drop dead all over the walkway. When we came outside later I had to make sure to tell Kim not to freak out about what she was about to see. Watch your step!! :)

5/21: Kim: Today was laundry day. So our plan was...wash some clothes in the sink and hang them out to dry. Well after washing a pretty large batch of clothes we decided it would take too long to dry (crazy humidity), so....we put all the wet clothes in a duffle bag and laundry bag and carried them to the fermata (bus stop) and on to the lavanderia. You should have seen the faces of the two workers. haha Duffle bags dripping down the sidewalk. Crazy Americans!! Who brings their clothes wet just to dry them? Love it! What can we say...we needed clean underwear :)

Darren: Don't know what Kim's talking about, all my clothes were smelling like roses. ;)

After laundry, we took a train to Ostia Antica. It's about a 30 minute train ride from Rome and was once the major port town for Rome. Wandering around, we saw warehouses, apartment flats, mansions, markets, and baths that once served a population of 60,000 people. It is now a ghost town but even the rumble left behind allows for ones imagination to go wild. It's fun to imagine what it would have looked like 2000 years ago. Our favorite part was the theater. As we sat on the benches overlooking the stage and ruins of the ancient temple, it was fun to imagine what it would have been like to sit here and watch a play so many years ago.

Darren: So, Kim made us burritos that night. Now that doesn't sound very interesting but with the limited burrito-making items found in their little market to make these burritos it was actually pretty amazing. Garbanzo beans, red beans, provolone cheese and prosciutto all rolled up in the tortillas. Excellent!

5/22: Kim: Today we went for a walk along the ancient Appian Way. This was Rome's first and greatest highway and once ran from Rome to the Adriatic port of Brindisi, the gateway to Greece. In its day it was the largest, widest, fastest road ever, called the "Queen of Roads." It was built in 312 B.C. and eventually stretched 430 miles. Today it's fun to walk over original paving stones and visit crumbled monuments along the way. Along the way we took a tour of the Catacombs of San Sebastiano. This is an underground tunnel where early Christians were buried. It's crazy to think of how many miles of tunnels exist underground. It was eerie but definitely cool to see.

After the catacombs (and almost dying while trying to find the bus stop along the crazy highway), we went to St. Peter's Basilica. This place is massive. Just the atrium itself is bigger than most churches. We saw the Holy Door (a door covered in gray concrete, only opened on the dawn of the Jubilee Year, every 25 years), Michelangelo's Pieta, the main altar which supposedly sits directly over St. Peters tomb, and the place where Peter was crucified, upside down. We even took the chance to attend mass. It was very thought provoking to sit in St. Peters Basilica listening to a Catholic Mass, looking up into the faces of the saintly statues above. It made me truly appreciate the gospel in my life and the feelings of peace that come from the Holy Ghost. I can't really explain it. It was just the feeling of appreciating the gifts of the spirit and the gospel and how grandeur and riches aren't needed to achieve this, in my own opinion. It was a neat experience.

Darren: Just one additional thought on St. Peter's, my favorite part of mass was when the choir would sing. The sound echoing in that massive place was really fun to hear.That night was fun, we went back to Piazza Navona and watched street artists sketching people. There were a few that did funny caricatures and others that did amazing true likenesses. Fun to watch.

5/23: Kim: Today we attended church in Rome. We met a couple of older couples from Utah on vacation. It was funny to have to wear headphones and listen to a translator during sacrament. First for me :) Going back to my prior experience, it was awesome to be in such humble surroundings yet feeling the presence of the spirit. After church we took the train to Orvieto. Beautiful little hill town with rolling, green hills in every direction. We stayed at a B&B called Casa Selita. Cutest little villa with flowers everywhere. More details on this place later :)

Darren: Just out of Rome on the train both Kim and I had a huge exhale moment. It was an amazing week in the city but I really think that the "small town" inside both of us wanted to get out to the country. So seeing the buildings turn into green hills, grass and vineyards was a figurative and literal breath of fresh air.

Funny stuff from the trip
*The words: Colli Albani (one of the stops along the subway line. It was just the way they said it. Sounds like Coleeeyyyy Albaaaaaahneeeee. Sounded funny)
*Different ways to flush a toilet or turn on a sink: Yes there's more than one. 1. foot pedal 2. dual push button on the wall, one for #1 and one for #2, at least that's our best guess 3. tank mounted on the wall above toilet. Has a push lever on the bottom. 4. round metal button on the wall, no tank. 5. some toilet paper dispensed in little squares, not long rolls. Very inconvenient.
*Bidet's in every bathroom. We're afraid to try.....
*Darrent's fav quote from Kim: "You know it's a real pizza when it's not a perfect circle...and that's okay" :)
*Kim's fav quote from Darren: "I'm sweatin' like a prosciutto"
*The number of times the phrase "that's disgusting!!" was used in everyday conversation.
*Things learned while eating out: 1. Not all ristorantes offer tap water thus you must order water for 2 euro per .5 litre. And if you don't specify "aqua de rubineto", they will be bring you aqua naturale, with or without gas, and charge you for it  2. they do not bring you your check at the end of the meal until you ask for it. You could possible sit there for hours waiting. You must ask "il conto per favore. Grazie"  3. If you order a pasta or meat dish along with a side salad, you will get the salad at the end of the meal. Just kinda odd, at least for an American :)

Things we like about Italy (so far)
*flower boxes
*brick buildings
*big window shutters
*green olives in salads
*cute, quaint alley ways
*perfect weather
*yummy food
*nice people
*old, historic churches
*Grancereale cookies and succo di Ananas (pineapple juice)
*gelato