So much to say!!!

So, it's been a loooong time since I've blogged. Finding an internet cafe that lets you enable cookies is pretty hard here, so I haven't had access.

First off, thanks for all the birthday wishes! I've read every one and laughed at a few of them (you know who you are). Thanks for making the big day even better.

So, since we've been in Firenze (Florence) we've gone throughout the old city, taken the train to Pisa and Siena, and made the 11 hour trek by train to Torino. I definitely can say that Torino was the highlight so far!!! We didn't go into the Olympic village, so I got no photos of all that. I did, however, get to see my "family" from Denver! We vistited the YWAM crew in Torre Pellice right outside of Torino and I got to hang out with some of my favorite people in the world, as well as meet a few new ones that I loved hanging out with. I must say that it was worth the 11 hours to get there and the 10 to make it back to our bed and breakfast.

We've kind of figured out why we get stared at so much ... there are Africans here, but I don't think they get a lot of black female Americans here. Most people ask if we're from Central America or Brazil. Well you know me ... I'd claim the Brazil in a heartbeat, but Dianne keeps me honest. We usually say we're from America, but they tell us "no, where are you really from?" We let them know that we're originally from the Caribbean and they all say "aaaaaah". It's cool that they realize that we look different.

Tomorrow we make our way to Venice where I'll hopefully get to do the gondola ride. Yay! After a few days there we will work our way up through Switzerland to Munich, Germany for a week.

As for photos ... let's just say that italian internet cafes don't exactly have high-speed internet. I tried again to upload photos for you guys to see, but it was taking 20 minutes to upload 10. We'll see if I can get that fixed in Venice. Photos in Florence aren't that great, since they don't have teh greatest of weather at the moment ... very overcast. Pisa and Siena are better, so I'll definitely try to get those up and running.

If you want to take a look at some of the Rome photos, here's the link: http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/usvichica/album?.dir=/4506&.src=ph&.tok=phYuzdEBwa_6andP

Hmmmm ... it's almost 7 now, so I'm off to our favorite place for proscuitto and artichoke pizza. Ta ta for now!

Moi

If I ever get desperate ...

So, we went to the Vatican today ... and I now know that if I ever get desperate enough to want the pick of any man who throws himself at me, this is where I need to go.

We already get stared at quite a bit ... no worries there. I don't think they're used to seeing black females that aren't African here. As I was standing in the courtyards of the Vatican, an italian man - probably mid 40s to early 50s, nice-looking with salt-and-pepper hair - approached me and started talking to me about the Egyptian architecture while I'm taking photos. Not a problem ... until he asks me if I'd like to meet him around 5 for dinner. Not really.

I take a few steps more, then am approached by a guy who looks like he's late 20s, early 30s. He's telling me in italian that I'm the type of girl he likes, but there aren't many here in Italy. I feel sorry for him and pretend to not understand ... so he switches to English and asks if I'm a professional photographer. After a bit of chit-chat, he lets me know that he'd like to take me out. I say no thanks and continue taking my photos.

Then, as I'm making my rounds to the fountain on the grounds, a guy who had to be in his 60s asks where I'm from and if I'm here alone. Riiiiight. I figure out that this is where the latin lovers hang out during Sunday mass, waiting to pick up unsuspecting women and quickly tell him my family is standing nearby. So interesting.

So, besides that and a few fuzzy pictures of police officers (what on earth is wrong with me and my camera?????), it was another great day in Rome. Maybe I can get one of the good-looking younger ones to ask me out tomorrow.

Ciao!

Day one ... really!

Can I tell you that my feet hurt! We walked Rome from 10 am this morning until 8 pm tonight. We saw the Colloseum, the Arco di Tito, Monumento a Vittorio Emanuele II, the Fountain de Trevi and the list goes on! We's supposed to make it to the Vatican City tomorrow, as well as see all the sights of northern Rome.

When we left this morning, I looked out the window of our room and noticed everyone in parkas and winter coats. I figured that it must be pretty cool out, but when we stepped outside for the first time I knew I was in trouble. They tell us that the weather here changed this past week ... it was in the 20s, but now it's in the 50s. Let's just say that with all the walking we did I had to take off a few layers. The weather is absolutely perfect!!!

I ate my first italian pizza today with proscuitto ... very different from American pizza, and I loved every bite! I think I'm addicted.

So, since we have internet access for free here, I think I'll try to upload some photos for everyone to see. I took over 100, and it's only day one. I think I'm in trouble!

Having a blast,

Roxanne

We've arrived!

This post was from yesterday, February 17th ...

So, after 9 hours on a very packed sardine can called Lufthansa flight 4481 we landed in Frankfurt, Germany. From there we boarded a 737 to Roma, Italia. We were so amazed that we never had to go through customs ... just walked right out of the airport to meet our contact who was delivering us to our bed and breakfast in Rome (in a Mercedes, no less ... I like that!). I won't lie ... I wanted to walk back in there and ask the guy behind the counter to stamp my passport with the word "ITALIA". His big german shepherd deterred me a bit, though.

On the way to our first home away from home, we got lost (our driver didn't exactly know where the bed and breakfast was located), but got to see many of the primary tourist spots in town. Can I tell you that the Colosseum is much bigger than I thought? We also got brief looks at the Arc de Triomphe, the Piazza Navona and and a few others and will be making our way to the Vatican City before we leave on Monday. It's so strange to see these places I've read about and imagine the lives of the people that lived here centuries ago.

The adventure's just begun!