Stiletto in the Ghetto

We are staying right next the Spire in Dublin. Our crazy Irish tour guide referred to it as the "Stiletto in the Ghetto", but its claim to fame is actually the Worlds Largest Monument. We personally use it as a reference know how close we are to our hostel after walking around Temple Bar.

Meeting Anne Laure

Staying with a French family in Paris has been our best experience since we left NYC. Thanks to the Bodelson's they are treating us like family. This is the best way to travel, and we all decided we would love to do this again. They have introduced us to new cheeses, and are feeding us chocolate at every meal. They have been wonderful.

Remaining Days in Rome

For our last three days in Roma, we took three different day trips. One to a beautiful beach in Sperlonga, one to Pompeii, and on the last day we traveled to Anizar. We met "The Jasons" from Detroit in our Hostel, and they tagged along with us to Pompeii. It was a 3 hour train ride, so the Jasons entertained us by teaching Dayo and I how to play spades, while Jodi dived into about her 6th book of the trip. Instead of paying the extra 3 euros for a guided tour in Pompeii, we decided to make up our own stories to explain the ruins. After not having a map for about an hour, we realized Pompeii was way to large to tackle on our own, and apted for a map to move things a long. (The city of Pompeii housed 20,000 people, anyone would get lost with out a map.)

Spanish Steps

Next we went to Trinita Dei Monti, were several artist were painting and selling their work, which none of us can afford. Then we walked down the Spanish steps, through the tourists, to the fountain. Here is a picture of Dayo and I, half way down, and you can see how crowded the steps are behind us and all the way up the ally. The Spainish Steps are popular spot for tourist and locals. Hundreds of people were down there eating lunch, relaxing, and listening to music.

Roaming Rome

Our first day we bought a 24 hour metro pass, so we used it to see as many sights as possible. First we went to Santa Maria Maggiore. Which is a beautiful church from top to bottom, even the ceiling had detail. Next we passed the parade (because it was a national holiday in Italy) and landing upon the Colosseum and the Roman Forum. For the Holiday the Colosseum was draped with the Italian flag, which was only up for a few hours.

Our First Night

A picture says a 1,000 words

Roma

We just left Spain and arrived in Rome. We will be here for about a week so I will try to keep you all posted.