Finally...a computer I understand!!!

So this is as far as I made it into Pompeii. We bought these great rain jackets and then just posed in the rain while we waited for the train back into Naples. I really should consider taking up pole dancing...I'm clearly a natural!

The view of St. Peter's Square from the dome at the top of the Basilica. As you can see the climb and the euros were worth it!

This was my first view of the Colosseum. It was on my first morning in Rome. As you can see the sun was shinning. Unfortunately this did not last and by the time I had made it around the Roman Forum, which is right beside the Colosseum, it was pouring!

This is the view of the inside of the Colosseum. It's on a different day than the last picutre though, as you can tell from the grey skies. The building is now just a shell of what it used to be, but the sloped parts would have been covered with seating at one point. It was so amazing to be able to see where certain things used to be. Highly recommended...it's not just a pile of stone!!
The floor of the Colosseum was once covered in sand, but these tunnels were alway underneath it. If you remember 'Gladiator', many of these tunnel lead to trap doors where animals would come out of during certain events. Katy, who I was touring with, was telling me that there was 100 days of events when the Colosseum was first finished. These included events with 'little' people for the children, executions, 'wars' between different slaves, and 'hunting' exotic animals. I think she said that something like 5000 animals were killed during those days. I could be wrong though...don't quote me or anything!
Me in the Colosseum. It's clearly raining. But that's a new Pashmina I'm wearing...5€ on the street...I love Italy!
I met up with Dominique, who I had met in Naples, on Sunday morning in Rome. She and two women from her hostel were heading to St. Peter's Square to listen to the Pope speak. I didn't have any plans so I decided to tag along. You can't really see him, but the darkest window is where he is. It was pretty cool, however I had NO idea what he was talking about. 2 people from my hostel also got up at 5:30am to go and get in line to go to Mass. They did get in, and actually got seats. They said it was worth it...I'll just take their word for it.
This is just a portion of the people that were in the Square to listen to the Pope speak. It was overwhelming!
For any of you wondering, there are just two of the Swiss Guards that I saw. These uniforms are actually quite tame compared to some of the other ones that I saw, but they were definetly all VERY attractive....even with the tights! As I've read, these uniforms were definetly not one of Michaelagelo's crowning achievements!
This is a picture I took in Villa Bourghese. Its a really beautiful park, but the reason I took this picture is to show all you North Americans that the Mullet is alive and well in Europe. They have even taken beyond what we knew it to be. I've seen the side Mullet, party on the left and business on the right, Mullets with braids, rainbow Mullets...you name it, I've seen it!
This is the Cathedrale in Florence. I don't know if you can tell or not, but it is all green, pink and white. It reminds me of a Candycane!
And just to make me feel at home, I was walking up this street for 5 blocks before I really read the name of it. It's the Italian version of Guelph...Guelfa!!!! I love how small the world is!