Rome....if you want to.

Well the posts will be quite out of order, but here goes the play by play on our recent trip to Italy. It was a most enjoyable trip, and all the fears of dying mid-flight did not keep me from having a fabulous time. My thanks go out to a wonderfully patient husband who calmed all my nerves by taking every necessary precaution (just in case my plane went down over the Atlantic or I was kidnapped by angry Italians demanding the recipe to my mother's yummy spaghetti) AND thanks to a certain President of US Foodservice wife who gave me that magic little pill to aid in my pleasant carpet ride home (wink, wink).

Day 1: ROME TOUR

The first full day in Italy was spent seeing all the amazing places around the city. There were so many places we saw that day, but a few of the highlights were The Colosseum, Trevi Fountain (where I witnessed my first pick-pocketing), The Spanish Steps.....and that was only the tip of the iceberg on stops. Stunning!

Day 2: FLORENCE

See this tall building? See the little viewing deck at the very tippy top? Would you believe there are 536 steps to get to that tippy top? How do I know that interesting fact, you ask? Well, BECAUSE I CLIMBED EACH AND EVERY ONE OF THOSE COTTON PICKING STEPS. That is how!

I guess we should taken the clue when the tour guide told us she had lived in the city for over 30 years and had once tried to climb those stairs only to get 100 steps in and have a panic attack. You see, not only are there 536 steps, there are 536 steps that wind around and around and the space becomes smaller and tighter with each flight. By the end of the climb, you are literally on hunched over with walls all around you closing in, much like being birthed all over again. But, oh, oh......here is the best part that NO one told us about. Not only are you dying, claustrophobic and desperate to get out by the time you near the top, you now have to figure out how to get by the people coming back down the stairs!!! That's right, the last 150 stairs have two way traffic and enough room for a only one small toddler to pass. Good times!

Here, in the first few hundred steps, Doug looks hopeful as he counts stairs.

One of the more "breathable" portions of the tunnel of doom.

Okay...the views were worth it.

When alas, we touched ground once again, Doug was overcome with joy...he dropped to his knees and kissed the ground....and frightened many tourists in the area.

Other highlights of Florence include:

Visiting the Statue of David (sorry, NOOOO PHOTOS! as the Italian guards told us over and over). We also went to the replica of David in his original location.

Shopping

Lunch in an awesome square with statues all around

Churches...Italy has a LOT of these, and they are beautiful!