I'm on a Boat!

We knew going into Saturday that this would be our last day together, so we had to savor every minute. The agenda had only 3 things on it: 1. Go see St Marks Square 2. Do a gondola ride and 3. Our Last Supper.

We spent most the morning on the Rialto Bridge taking pictures and bouncing in and out little shops. Things are repeated all thru Venice as in you seen one area of town, you've pretty much seen it all. All the shops on the bridge also carried this running theme of Murano glass pieces, theatre masks - the gorgeous glittered decorative ones, and elaborate jewelry. i picked up a few last minute gifts while Aubrey got the most gorgeous red and yellow mask perfect for next years Halloween (nudge nudge hint hint). Completely turned around and lost we headed back over the bridge and followed the street signs that lead us to St Marks. The square was massive with roman arches that lead into a thousand different stores - and the Basillica commands the most attention with its elaborate gold statues and mix between gothic and roman architecture. We went in the church only to gasp when I noticed the entire ceilings are covered in mosaic artwork detailing saints, angels, and christian figures. It was magnificent. We walked around for a little and mom got this awesome rosary thats beads were ladybugs in memory of my best friend Ali.

Our gondola adventure was to begin at 3:30 so we headed toward the dock and got there with about a half hour to wander the area. It started to get really cold so we huddled all together until it was time to get aboard. There was about 4 other gondolas on our trip and quite impressive how they manuever their way around each other weaving in and out the tiny water ways. Our tour lasted about an hour and we were seranded by the sweet sounds of a man in the middle gondola with an acordian singing in italian recognizable tunes of Dean Martin and Frank Sinatra. It was so romantic and so peaceful for us to relax. And then Aubrey got drenched. No really, we got a little too close to this other boat that was bobbing in the water waiting to dock and one crash down on the water was just enough to spray water all over her :( It was really funny and she got a personal pat down by our gondolier.

We headed back to the hotel, fulfilled by our afternoon and got ready for dinner. Our sexy hotel attendant Luca made reservations are this seafood joint just behind the hotel. We got there right around 7 and were greated by the host, owner and 6 glasses of Prosecco. We feasted like true italian and shared all our plates with everyone. We each cleeeeared our plates. We all agreed that this trip was one of a lifetime and the only thing left to do was to decide where we should travle next. So far we are in a 2 way tie with Greece and Spain.

A little tipsy we saved just enough room for one more more trip to the gelateria and strolled the streets until it was dark. Our hearts and souls were content and we said farewells to this incredible country knowing full well one day we will all be back.

Viva L'italia!

La Vita Dolce

I woke up early on Friday morning and met Amanda at our spot - this rooftop terrace very close to the hotel where we had coffee and fruit and got a chance to catch up more on each other. We talked a lot about me figuring out how to eventually make it to Italy. I knew she had really turned into an italian in the past year when she just said "Just come, you'll figure it out tomorrow." We laughed and caught up and before I knew it I had to race back to the hotel because everyone was waiting on me.

Our orginal plan was to take the 11:37 train to Venezia, but muffy had still wanted to look at handbags and there were these Swarowski rings that we really wanted. The Swarowski shop was just about 2 minutes from the Hotel so we strolled down and were immediately drawn in by the beautiful crystals. Muffy and I got matching right hand rings and promised that we would be true to ourselves and our hearts. We snaked the streets look for handbags and came across a huge square with tons of them. Muffy found this beautiful camel colored bag identical to the one Aubrey had gotten 2 days earlier. Their bags were expertly crafted with the softest leather. Mom and Vig bought a few more souveniers and before we knew it we had to get our bags and get to the train station.

We knew there was a 12:37 train that could get us to Venice before 3 but it was exactly 12:35 by the time we got there and didnt feel like rushing. So we waited in line and could only get on the 3:37 train. With nothing to do and all our luggage we stayed at the train station - got lunch and drank wine for the next 2 1/2 hours. It was so perfect and relaxing. We boarded the trains a little earlier (ps this was the NICEST train I had ever been on period!) and departed for our next destination.

Vig taught Mom how to play Casino Royale and next to them we two older sisters playing cards. Muffy and I saw in them what we would be in 40 years. They were exactly like us - Muffy the comedic heckler and Me the one concentrating on the game! We laughed with them the entire train ride and it was night by the time we got to Venice.

Venice is incredible. An entire city seperated by waters - but so romantic and peaceful. It took us a while to figure out how exactly anyone gets around here. Water taxi's rule the city - so we all boarded up and took our boat to each dock. Unfortunately we got out one stop before the Rialto Bridge at the Rialto Market and had to walk and literally do relays races taking the luggage over the bridge to the correct side. We checked into the hotel and were beyond relieved that the bellhops would take the luggage up to the room. 600 lbs of crap over a bridge was enough for us.

Exhausted and hungry we ventured out for dinner. I was craving seafood from being so close to the water and we stumbled upon a great little trattoria that had a great mix of everything. Muffy got salmon, I got boiled seafood, mom got a calzone, aubs a soup, kar some tort, and Vig pasta with salmon. We feasted drank a ton of wine and had the best dinner yet. I think we just started feeling like one giant family and shared stories from when we were all kids. It was so much fun to think back to those hilarious times and also see how far we have come since them.

Our first night in Venice and oh what a memorable one.

Umm, we are not hiking.

This day will go down in the history as the longest Thanksgiving Day ... ever. We all darted out of bed at 6am packed a backpacks full of random crap = umbrella, extra pair of pants, bathing suits in case we jumped off any cliffs. etc. i then made sure Muffy was upright and we headed out the door with Vig and the girls. Mom decided she would take the day off to rest her swollen ankles and explore the city on her own.

We grabbed the only to-go form of coffee at the Train Station - thank you McDonalds italia. Feeling confident in our travel skills we bought tickets thru the self service machine for a train that was leaving about 30 seconds after our transaction was complete. Awesome. So, we got everything exchanged and had about 20 minutes to chill before the Real train going to La Spezia was ready to depart.

All aboard, we pretty much dog piled on top of each other and tried to sleep the whole 1.5 hours out there. Right off the train we entered the tourist center where we had to get our 5Terre card which had included unlimited train rides and entrance into the park. 5 cities make of Cinque Terre - Monteresso, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola, and Riomagiorre. Amanda had suggested that we go to the very end town first (Monterosso) and then work our way forward. She had done Cinque Terre completely hungover and said it was a miserable experience and if we didnt want to hike (we really didnt feel like re-enacting a Man vs Wild episode) to take the train between towns and save some time. It was about 20 minutes to Monterossa and our excitement began to build as we saw glimpses of the colorful terracotta bricked town and the huge blue ocean.

The salt from the water hits you in the face as soon as you walk out. With no real idea of where we were or what to do we wandered around, took pictures on cliffs, climbed stairs. We stumbled upon a statue of St. Francis - Muffys name saint and had to take a pic of the moment. At the bottom of the statue we found an small open market that had tons of fresh fruit and vegetables, cheese and meats.. Aubs and i had talked about how much we wanted some good fruit and hadnt found any all week. I ate the best apple of my life along the beach and decided to play in the sand while Muffy collected a ton of rocks.

A good 15 lbs of fruit and rocks added to the backpack - brilliant, right? we decided we'd follow the signs to the next town: Ternazza. This all started out a great idea. I mean walking from one town to the other didnt seem like a big deal since we immediately saw signs pointing to Ternazza at the end of the market. Well clarification, by sign I mean someone had written Ternazza with a sharpie on a rock with an arrow. On the map there is probably a solid 2 inches between dots marking each town. Little did we know we'd be spending the next 2 /12 hours in hiking hell. Aubrey, our fearless leader led us the whole way. We went up stairs, We went down stairs, we shimmied around corners that only had a 2 foot wide path, crossed ravines, Muffy and I would burst into these laughing attacks where we would stop for a T.O. time out and stare at Monterosso from a far and laugh histerically at what we what had no gotten into. This entire trip was the opposite of safe and we kept gritting our teeth and saying "oh yeah, we are so not hiking". Karly pulled up the rear most of the way and just about every time we turned around she had a piece of toast in her mouth. She and her brilliance had prepared themselves for a long day on foot and so she made sure she had snacks and rationed the last piece in case this whole operation turned bad and we needed to camp and send smoke signals. I guess it was a good thing i now had a backpack full of fruit and rocks in case we needed to eat or kill for food.

There were 3 highlights to this hike. 1 was a family of cats we found. Someone had left 2 buckets with a printed sign that said in both italian and english "if you happen to stop please feed the unwanted cats" This was probably the most memorable part of Muffys trip. Highlight number 2 was a dog named Jake that found us. This dog and its British owner were playing in a ravine aka when the dog ran by us on these 2 ft paths - wetness all over my legs. Highlight number 3 the mere fact we survived the afternoon. I swear we all thought everytime we'd round a corner a town would be there and instead it was more green or more stairs to climb. Massive disappointment. We made it to Ternazza and had just enough strength left in our legs to make it into the closest restaurant. We feasted. CInque Terre is knowing for its Pesto so both Karly and Muffy got Pesto Trofie - homemade worm looking pasta and amazing pesto sauce. I took over muffys plate and decided to play in pesto - writing her name my name everything. The Chef took a liking to one of my designs and came out and took a picture with us. Exhausted and sore we were beyond excited to hear that the train station was 45 seconds from the restaurant. In the train station we met some 5 girls who were Americans from the east coast that taught English on a military base in Germany. They were going to Florence that night so we gave them some great recomendations for places and made some new friends. Our whole reasoning for going to Cinque Terre was to see a path in the first town called the Tunnel of Love. Shannon, Muffys friend had said it was a Must, that we'd all love and so we had just about 1 1/2 hours before we needed to be back in La Spezia to get the train back to Firenze. We got the local train to Riomaggiore and immediately saw signs for the Tunnel of Love. Everyone should go see this someday - in fact Muffy now swears her wedding will be held here. Grafetti coves every wall with people's names, when they were there. Messages of love, thousands of locks are clipped on the fences.. its just a magical place. It was dark now and we had just enough time as it started to rain to turn around go back to the station and get back to Florence. Our train home took FOOOOREVER. I think part of it was we had been moving constantly since 6am and we were now sitting and absolutely spent. We got home around 8pm and filled Mom in our our day. She spent the day relaxing and shopping. She strolled the streets and read her book and rested her baby tootsies.

I bailed on a shower, while Aubrey and Karly washed all of Cinque Terre off them. Mom Muffy and I went to dinner and got a chance to talk as a family. A deep well needed conversation about our futures and what we are doing with ourselves. We took a stroll after and found a church who had an open organ concert. I think one of the only reasons Moms goes to church is to listen to the organ - so this was such a treat for her. A final cup of gelato and I swear i was going to fall over if i tried to keep my head up any longer. When we got upstairs all i wanted was a hot steamy shower. Of course my luck would have it that ALL the water in Florence had been shut off due to sewage problems. Pissed I washed my face with a bottle of water and passed the f out.

We wake up tomorrow and say Arrivederci to this amazing city

Where is the effing elevator?

Okay so when Aubs and I planned this trip we didnt exactly plan on working out for 10 days straight. However that has now become inevitable. We knew we had 2 missions for our first day in Firenze: 1. Climb the Duomo and 2. Go see Michelangelo's David. Right off the bat, task 1 requires work, but little did we know ahead of time that task 2 would require twice as much.

We had breakfast at the hotel early Wednesday morning and as soon as I had a free moment I darted back to one of the shops we had seen the day before and got me my BOOTS! So incredibly fulfilled and done with obsessing about Italian boots, we set out North toward the Duomo ready for the task ahead. I had remembered the thousands of people out front waiting to get in the Catherdal in April, but this time of year it seems the city is dead and so we walked right in no questions asked. The Santa Maria del Fiore is not at all close the the ornate church that is St Peters but it does have some character to it. I lit a candle and prayed for my family and friends and that Karly and Muffy would make it up to the top of the Duomo with out passing out. Mom stayed and looked in the gift shops while me, muff, aubs, kar, and vig took our crazy asses up all 463 stairs .. Karly and Muffy had a little panic attack as we walked out to the plexiglass enclosure that went around the balcony in the dome. oh yes, the only thing keeping us from become a postcard on the floor of the alter was this 1 inch of plastic. Totally safe. Vig, Aubs and I went all the way to the top up towering staircases and finally outside. Once out you over look the entire city. The sight is so sureal.

We raced down to find Karly and Muffy playing with this mangy bird Muffy had found right outside. This thing was hilarious - all mangled and crockety it was like the heah gang member patrolling the turf. We were quickly sidetracked by the Polizia trying to bust these guys selling knock off prints in the square - something that i would never guess was so highly illegal that the police would actually hunt you down in the streets. My security rose then about 10 levels.

We set out for lunch and go terribly lost as Aub led us to a panini shop she had been recommended. Once we found it - it was a good hour until we finally got in the store and panini's in our belly. They were amazing however I could of eated sawdust and said the same thing right then. SO HUNGRY!

Fueled and ready to continue we set out for the David. Little did we know this would be an entire second phase of hiking for the day. We had to get out of the city, cross the bridge, walk to a new town, climb a mountain full of stairs all to finally come upon the statue of Michelangelo's David all green, tarnished and unkepted. I can definitely vouch that he does have one rock hard ass. wooo!

My Mom just about had a stroke on the way up but we all survived and walked home with just enough time to rest and get ready for the evening.

Amanda met us at Garga and Mom had decorated the whole table in bithday galore. I was so surprised and felt so special being there with all my favorites. The Garga boys hadnt changed a bit since I last saw them. We had amazing food - chicken, pesto, tortellini and I got a full on happy birthday song (in English nontheless) from the staff with homemade cheesecake. it was by far the best birthday I had ever had -- and probably will never be topped.

amanda and I immediately caught up like old times. We had so much to talk about but we morphed right back into our old ways.

I feel hard for the city last night. I mean Hard. i love it here and have a feeling one day I will call it home.

Boots with the fur?!?!?!

One final thing i forgot to mention on our stroll back to the hotel last night... we spotted the most amazing boots in the window. Trying to be courteous I asked when they closed and she responded "3 minutes"... Now i am pretty fond of impulse decisions - i mean 2 -- no 3 of my tattoos came out that way. If you really want to look at it square, my flight to and from Italy - another impulsive decision, and more times than not jump off the bridge without really look at what's below. Why of ALL times I decided to be responsible now - over a pair of beautiful blue italian boots is continuing to haunt me every waking moment. I literally google earthed the store today to try to find the name to see if I could call and special request them. But apparently they are so vintage that they do not even come up in google. So I am still sitting here agonizing over these boots.

Uhhh, mmkay so back to Italy. We got up early this morning, had our once again smorgasboard of breakfast and coffee with extra crack in it... basically mud with a splash of water - and got ourselves checked out of the hotel. I was quite proud of us all that will a combined weight total of nearly 500 lbs of shoes, clothing, and other random shit - we successfully got ourselves to the bus, to the train station, and on the train to Florence. Mom, Vig, Muffy and I (the adults, Kar and Aubs being under 25 are considered Youths haha) rode in the same coach and played 7 card Gin Rummy for the full hour and half. Momma G, the cardshark she is, took us down one by one .. final score Cathy 160 Muffy 160 Vig 245..... Mom 315. Really?!??!

We made it to Florence and it quickly became apparent that map skills had lost its edge. I took us the completely wrong way with luggage (oh yes remember Muffys 55 lbs - well now 65 with gifts) down random streets and then back tracked it all the way till we got to the hotel huffing and puffing. Bags dropped we got upstairs and situated in our rooms. Side note, when I first stayed at the Hotel Maxim in April my single room was about the size of my NYC bathroom - which really is absurdly small.. so I had sorta feared the rooms would just as small for all of us together. To my utter AMAZEMENT we got the freaking master suite with a King Bed, two twins and 20 foot ceilings. Like hello, where was this 6 months ago????

No joke, the Gribaudo/Dreker clan take up the entire west wing of the hotel.

Hungry and Thirsty again we walked into the Piazza della Republicca just behind the hotel and got lunch at this great outdoor patio. Right beside this patio is an crazy cool Carousel that lights up and I am dying to get on and sit with Muffy in the love boat :) After another late lunch we decided we'd all split up and wander the streets each of us with our own mission. Mine of course, resuming Boot Hunt 2009. I didnt find exactly what I was looking for but am now obsessed with a new pair of badass motorcycle boots that I will be racing out the door first thing in the morning for. I spent a good part of the afternoon chatting with my good friend Amanda who we'll all be meeting tomorrow . Mom and Vig had a chance to talk women to women , while Kar and Aubs got lost in Firenze.. shocker.

We meet back at the Carousel around 6 and Aubs had purchased this beautiful black purse - so her and so to die for. We went back to the hotel to rest for a bit. Amanda had made us reservations at the famous Acqua al Due... that which was recommended by Karly and friends. We had a true family style Italian meal: Sample platter of salad, sampler of pasta, secondi course and 2 bottles of wine. It was aaaaaamazing. 3 different types of salad, 5 different types of pasta, chicken with porcini mushrooms and Santa Margarita Pinot Grigio.. we ate like little princepesa's :) I said my personal goodbye to the owner and we shared a kiss of the cheek goodnight.

We all wandered back to the hotel close to midnight and I am beyond excited for what tomorrow will bring. David, boots, and my Italian Amanda.. I cant even begin to explain how nice it will be to see a good friend who I completely envy for being able to live, eat, breathe this city every flippin day. Hot damn.

For the Love of PETE!!!

Another rocky morning, we discovered that 2 of the 3 bags had been delivered to the hotel. Mom 2 Muffy 0.

A trip to the roof top terrace and we were once again reminded why we were here..to enjoy Rome. On top our hotel was this amazing rooftop terrace overlooking a beautiful part of the city. Literally all it takes is 5 minutes up there and all your worries seem petty because you are in the heart of this magnificent city. We decided to not let this baggage debacle ruin the trip and went down to get breakfast. A sorta strange combination of food - cereal, ham, cheese, yogurt, coffee on crack, juice on crack, and muffins we filled up to prepare for a long day ahead in Vatican City.
We made it out the hotel about 20 steps and stumbled upon a huge open market right in the square we had dinner the night before. A perfect place for souvenir shopping we knocked out a lot of gifts in one round. The Dreker's found this amazing tent with fresh made sauces jarred for traveling and we all sampled and stocked up. They made the trip back to the hotel room to drop off all our gifts while we stayed in the square and made friends with the civilizians. I played a violin with some street musicians and we goofed around and took pictures. Ready to take on the city, I lead us out the west side over the bridge and directly into St Peter's Basillica. Taking the advice of Erik Schafer we got the audio tour .. but entered on the completely wrong side of the church. Instead of using the audio tour right away we some how got in the line for that takes you to the top...upon that realization we quickly darted out and walked down some other roped off pathway that lead us into the catacombs of the Popes. It was a sight to see - needless to say I think the only Pope anyone knows of is Pope John Paul II. I say this because he had his own special guard and fan club surrounding the tomb with lots of people on their knees praying, saying the rosary, etc. Aubs and I darted across everyone as if we were escaping being caught in a picture and everyone seemed to follow. The majority of the catacombs are just marble tombs, ruins, columns.. nothing too crazy. Nothing like the badass bone designs we saw before. For the record Monks are way cooler than Pope's, just saying.

We finally made our way out and realized where we should of started and began the audio tour. It wasphenomenal. St Peter's like the Big Daddy of all churches. I mean okay I guess that makes sense being the Vatican and all - but it BLOWS your mind. I remembered our taxi driver saying that 60% of the art is in the Vatican city AND he sure wasnt joking. I recognized so many sculptures and paintings, Bernini's baptristy,Michaelangelo's Pieta, Di Cambio's St Sebastian. I mean Holy - HOLY - effing cow. We spent a good 2 hours in there 1 1/2 look at art, 1/2 trying to find Aubrey who was marching around to her own drummer haha. Ignoring the rumble in our bellies, I really had wanted to see the Sistine Chapel... little did i know we have to walk a good 2 more miles of endless wall-my direct quote " oh my god, is there really more wall around the corner, crap!" We FINALLY get inside and discover its 16 euros to view the whole Vatican Museum. We were all so famished that 16 Euros to see the Sistine Chapel for 10 minute or 16 euros for some pizza. Pizza 1 Sistine Chapel 0. Mom bought some rosaries outside the Vatican Museum and we found a cafe close by to eat at... It was nearly 4.30 at this point so we made our way back, we bumped into Vig's friend Father Glen along the way (so awesome for Vig to see a familiar face in such a foreign city) and he followed us back to the hotel. We greeted the doorman and muffy's 55 lbs of Suitcase Madness... I highly doubt there is anything left in her closet back at home. As soon as we got in, we all rested upstairs as Muffy hugged and caressed every item of clothing in the bag. One mention of the word gelato and we all were out the door. Mom,Muffy and I met Vig and Father Glen downstairs and took a walk up to the Trevi Fountain again so that mom could get some water and we could get some amazing gelato. More of our lifesaving thrown into the TreviFountain we all made more wishes for love and happiness and scooped up some gelato for the stroll home. When we got back we had been told Aubrey and Karly were in the square so we detoured back out onto the streets and back to the square. Caught red handed we found them at the closest happy hour (this immediately became so obvious they'd be there, duh!) and we all joined them for yet another wonderful full bodied glass ofmontepulciano and free snacks! Muffy stayed with the Dreker Drunken Duo haha and i made it way back with the old ladies to the hotel. We went to bed happy satisfied and ready to wake up tomorrow and say Ciao to the eternal city.

When in Rome

Getting to Rome was just about as difficult as Romans defeating the Carthaginians in the Punic Wars. Mom and Muffy barely made their flight in Dallas. and by barely i mean i was on the phone with American Airlines tracking them like a Doppler system waiting for the agent to tell me when their tickets got scanned so i knew they made it. I met my favorite frenchman Julien who was going home to Paris at JFK for a bite to eat and to celebrate my excitement that WE ALL were going to finally get to Rome.. Karly and Vig were the first to get in around 12 pm, followed by Aubrey at 2:10 and then me at 2:20. I slept both entire legs of the flight and decided that once i made it that I would wait to surprise Mom and Muffy by waiting for them at baggage claim. This idea i thought would be quite helpful ya know - help them with their luggage... Would of be even awesomer if their luggage had actually made it. After cursing British Airlines for a solid 10 minutes we pulled it together, and got ourselves a shuttle to the hotel. With us was a big couple from Houston who picked a hotel on the outskirts of the city... as our driver said as we dropped them off "Okay, Now we go to Rome..." He was the nicest man offering a full history lesson, scenic tour, dining recommendations, and advice against the gypsys for our trip... along with a few laughs. We finally made it to the hotel around 6pm. Starving we said our hello's and hugs to the Drekers who had been walking around the city for sometime. We dropped - well JUST my bag off - sprayed on a ton of perfume and made our way out the door. The streets are just like you would imagine - small, cobble stone, paths that would murder a pair of Christian Louboutin stelletos in 15 minutes. We found right off the hotel a bakery and winery that had been suggested to us. It being too close and us only having a 3 second taste of the Roman air we walked on and snakes the streets for 10 more minutes..our stomachs grumbling we stopped at the sight of the freshest looking pizza on the planet. Works for me. We kindly asked if we could sit outside to admire to dogs, lavish dressed italian women, and watch everyone walk hand in hand down the street. Our meal in a word - FREEESH. We had bruschetta and split salad with shrimp, margharita pizza and lasagna. You cant help but eat the food slowly to allow each taste bud a fair chance at experiencing the orgasm inside your mouth. it was so simple, the small pizzeria on the street, but a gastronomical experience. We loved it. Our hungry fully satisfied it was time to feed our souls with some Montepulicano wine bought at the winery we passed on the way over. We had them cork the bottle for us (idiots we came to Rome wanting to drink our faces off and forgot to bring a corkscrew.) So bottle corked we stole some plastic cups from the bakery bar and made our way back to the hotel. We greeted the Drekers and shared our bottle in our first toast to a great trip. The night was so beautiful we had talked over dinner about going to see the Trevi Fountain at night. Everyone rallied and we took a stroll up to the Fountain. A bustling Saturday night in Rome is quite the site. Thousands of people fill the street eating, drinking, waiting to get inside the disco's... it felt just like being in New York -- but sexier. We found some great souvenir shops along the way, got great ideas for our friends back home and before we knew it we were gazing at the most marvelous fountain in the world. 1 coin is tossed so that you return to Rome 2 coins are tossed so that you find great love and 3 coins are tossed so that a marriage or divorce is in your immediate future... we each threw in 3. At night the lights cascade across the marble and reflect in the water. Everything looks so serene and crafted so delicately.

The Drekers we on their way to dinner while we Gribaudo's do what we do best: SHOP!! We found great stores, got great ideas and made our way back before the gypsys got to our handbags. Day on in rome a success we went to bed fulfilled.

Sunday

Completely thrown off by time we started our next day a little late. Out the door around 11 we had to start the day with coffee.. Romans do coffee unlike Americans. You'd think Starbucks was on to something making coffee seem so european and exotic. Total crap: the tall, grade, venti rule does not apply here at all. The "caffe" mom ordered was simply a half shot of espresso. Thank heavens we had the water bottle with us to turn it into real coffee. Us girls got a caffe latte which resembled something more to an actual beverage and not 3 melted coffee beans.

With a rough idea of our day we headed north again and stopped to see Trevi by day. Still just as majestic we took a few pictures and continued north. Our goal was to find the Spanish Steps. My friend John Vricella had said some of the best shopping was around this area so we figured why not - when in Rome! We made our way and continued to walk all the way to the top. Along the way we stopped to take pictures from the various heights that overlook the street and city. From the top looking down is an amazing sight. All the locals and tourists walking, mopeds buzzing, and the sun gazing down upon it all.. Johnny V ha said their was a beautiful jewelry shop close by that has some unusual pieces..unusual as in i'd never wear that unless i was 90 years old. We got suckered in by the old lady working the shop who told us her life story and then continued with the life story of her children. Practically family at this point ,we bid farewell and made a B line for the closest restaurant. We literally took over this panini shop. In true form Muffy, Aubrey, Karly and I ordered wine with our sandwiches and ended up spending a good hour and half talking, drinking, siesta-ing if you will. It was such a fun meal and we could tell immediately that we were with the perfect company for this trip.

Trying to plot the rest of our afternoon I realized we were just streets away from the Covento Capuchini that I had so badly wanted to see. The top of this church had remained untouched for 200 years - but beneath was what we were really aftered - the cementary. In the lower crypt of the church was the bones of the monks that had lived there for hundreds of years. It was nothing like anything we had ever seenin our lives. We made our way out and to the Piazza della Republicca which is where the Roman govt would make announcements back in antiquity. Not too impressive we sat on the stairs and had a photo shoot. Our next stop not too far down the way was the Colesseum. We got there right as dusk as the lights went on the and entire night sky turned black. We wandered thru the forum, took pictures of the ruins that had been left for hundreds of years, the column of triumph, the theatre and then made our way back to thehotel. Bags again not arrived, we settled that dispute. We hope they get here in the morning or else 3 free flights are going to be demanded by 3 angry italian women. we went to dinner in the square, had wine, pasta, mussels, and watched performers in the streets spin fire and tap dance - "a lost art" as muffy called it. Everyone made there way back to the hotel but muffy and I continued our jouney wandered the streets with no mission, no obligations, just free spirits. This day was incredible. Filled with laughter and frustration and food and wine and haaaandsome men :)

Tomorrow we attack Vatican City for one final day in the homeland.

I hate you Murphy and your stinkin LAW :o(

I have no idea why but when it rains.. it doesnt just pour - it floods. And in my life I need more than an arc to get out of it - i think an unlimited bank acct, box of tissues, private jet, and bottle of wine would fix everything much faster. This week has been nothing but a complete disaster.

Muffy got her passport all of 10 days ago. Aubrey just about gave some lucky passenger free will to her life savings by hoping in our cab Wednesday morning. Zion and his allergies have resurfaced and gone apecrazy. My flight gets cancelled and has been cancelled since May 30th completely unbenounced to me. Aaaand Muffy is eating pain pills every free chance she gets in order to keep her tooth from exploding. Needless to say we are not off to a good start and it has us all a bit freaked out that all these problems are happening (but being resolved) mere DAYS before the trip. I cant exactly tell which way the signs are pointing? Are we just not supposed to go? Aubs and I have both packed stuffed animals to make us feel less alone as we are now departing on different flights in and and out of two different cities.. all to wind up in Rome 5 minutes apart.

WHAT DOES IT ALL MEAN?!?!?

My only hope is that we are all supposed to experience something different. Maybe Aubs will be sitting next to her husband. Maybe I will actually read a book rather than bugging Aubrey the whole flight. Maybe we both can figure out what the hell we are doing with our lives in the 9 hours we have.... ehh, who are we kidding probably both gonna get a glass of crappy $8 wine and pass out. true story.

Just about time to go to the airport and play my favorite game "Cathy vs Plane : 156th times a charm"

See you in Roma my loves!