Ross does Italy.

Ross and I on the 6th floor terrace of our hotel. We had a great view! That is the duomo in the background, and the hills of Florence even farther away.

A beer and pizza for lunch.

In the Duomo in Florence.


Ross taking pictures in Sienna.


The gang walking around the tiny streets of Sienna.

In the square in Sienna.

The lighting was great in this photo. In the streets of Sienna.

On the famous bridge in Florence.

The Cat Sanctuary in Rome. Many, many cats.....Ross loved this place.

The Trevi Fountain.
Ross and I walking around the Roman Forum.

The Coliseum.

Smooch in the Coliseum.
More Coliseum.

Thanksgiving dinner!

Our table setting.


Eat up!
Turkey hands on the dinner table.

Well, the day finally came! Ross arrived in Rome on Friday morning to a rainy day. He was pretty jet-lagged, so we trekked to my apartment and vegged a bit. Later that night we walked around Rome, got groceries, and made dinner. The next morning, we headed to Florence on the 7:55 am train. Our hotel was very nice and in the center of Florence. We shopped and found Ross a pair of skinny 'Euro' jeans. Also, he bought a scarf. He looked very European after the shopping excursion. We had the BEST dinner at night. It was a tiny restaurant, and the price was very reasonable. I had this cheese ravioli dish, and Ross had Spaghetti Carbonarra. Very, VERY good! The next day we took an hour bus ride to Sienna. We sat in the front on a double-decker bus. It was almost like a roller coaster ride, looking down over the cars, riding through the hills. Sienna was a quaint little town. Small streets, and a great view over the countryside. We walked thorough the streets and stumbled upon a flea market. It was nice. We got on the train back to Rome the next day after a little more walking around in Florence. In Rome, we visited the Forum. I took my Rome book, reading of the little descriptions of what things were. The Forum is pretty big, so that took some time. We also went to a place of worship where hundreds of priests' bones line the walls making patterns. I thought Ross might like that. We dipped into a church where Bernini had some amazing sculptures. The next day we toured the Coliseum, and visited the Vatican. The Vatican Museum closed at 1 pm, so we were late to get in, but it was still nice to visit the area. Before I knew it, Ross was on his way back to the States. It was great to see him, and we had an amazing week. He made it home fine. That night, we had an incredible Thanksgiving. It felt very homey, even though none of us were at home. Everyone made their own dishes. They were things like.....Macaroni and Cheese, McDonalds, mashed potatoes, green beans, broccoli salad, pumpkin pie, and apple pie. It was great. We even played charades after. It was a good night. Well, that's a brief overview of what's been happening. Now, I have a lot of homework to do before I leave Rome (4 weeks). It's going by so quickly! Tomorrow I'm headed over to the Vatican to watch a local Sioux City priest become a Cardinal. I get to see the Pope! Talk to you soon, Ciao!