we started in rome. our hotel was on a main street and we found the trevi fountain and the parthenon right away.
nick @ the parthenon
liesl @ the trevi fountain
we spent our first full day in vatican city. we took a lot of pictures in st. peters and the vatican museum, but couldn't take any pictures in the sistine chapel. the crowds were a bit overwhelming, but it was incredible seeing all of the sculptures and paintings.
st. peter's square
our second day in rome we went to the borghese gallery and liesl fell in love with bernini. we couldn't take any pictures in the museum, but we had a very entertaining tour guide showing us around.
our final day was spent at the colosseum and the forum - it was very hot and we had to take a break in the middle of our visit to the forum so liesl could eat! we saw augustus' house - we had no idea that the frescos were so well intact, so we got a few pictures, but they didn't turn out as well as we'd like! we did get a ton of pictures of the colosseum and the forum, though.
@ the colosseum
from the colosseum - i like the pretty trees
damn, you found me! (nick hiding in the forum)
the day we spent in the forum was probably the hottest day on our trip so far - and of course there are no water vendors in the forum. everyone was drinking from the fountains that are all over, but we held out as long as we could. this is almost near the exit of the forum, but we needed water! so we filled up our bottle from the fountain and took pictures of us being brave!
liesl first
and nick!
after rome, we took a train to florence. the train ride wasn't that long, but the train stations are not very english-friendly, especially for two travelers who aren't really familiar with train stations in general! but we made it to florence. liesl was a little worse for the wear - look at the toe!!!!!
today was our first full day in florence. we went to the galleria dell'accademia and saw michelangelo's david - but again no pictures. there's a replica in one of the piazzas, so we'll take a picture before we leave. we also went to see the duomo - the 4th largest church in the world.
nick being blessed / cursed by one of the statues outside the duomo.
our hotel is right next to the river arno. we took a walk along it tonight, and walked across the ponte vechio - the oldest bridge in florence (the only one the nazi's didn't destroy when they fled italy after wwII). nick took some artsy pictures.
and now we're going to head in for the night. we got to sit outside on the balcony of our hotel room and check our email. we tried to take a couple pictures, but had trouble getting us both in the light.
nick in the light
liesl in the light
nick really annoyed with liesl's mad self-photographing skillz... or just really annoyed that she's using the flash.
we have two more days here: tomorrow we are going to the uffizi gallery and a mid-day excursion to chianti, and our last day will be more sight-seeing and relaxing in florence.
we miss tonks and can't wait to be home where people understand what we say.
