At long last...

Back in Rome after 12 days (more or less) on the road!

I've been keeping a journal the whole time, but haven't had much Internet access to post anything here. I'll give more details later, but in a nutshell, I've seen...

In Rome...

• Colosseum (inside and out)
• Roman Forum and Palatine Hill
• Mouth of Truth
• Pantheon
• St. Peter's Basilica (I climbed all the way to the top of the dome, EP! What an amazing view!)
• Vatican City (and the museum) and the Sistine Chapel! But no Pope.
• Spanish Steps
• Trevi Fountain (every time I go by, I'm compelled to toss in some coins...it's like at the Glenbrook Mall fountain, but much worse...)
• Piazza Navona
• and about a million other places in Rome!

Other notable places...

• The Duomo in Florence (I went to Mass there)
• The Academy in Florence, where we saw the David (he's better-looking in real life)
• St. Mark's Square, The Bridge of Sighs and the Ponte Rialto in Venice...and we took a GONDOLA RIDE!!!!! (Highlight of my life, I think...)
• The Basilica of St. Francis in Assisi
• Pisa and the Leaning Tower!
• Verona
• Pompeii
• The beautiful hill towns of San Gimigano and Urbino
• A winery in Tuscany to sample the local Chianti (YUM!!!)
• Lake Como, one of the most beautiful places I've ever seen
• Sorrento and the island of Capri (two of the other most beautiful places I've ever seen...we swam in the beautiful blue water and took a boat tour around the island and into the Blue Grotto)

That's not even all, but that'll give you some idea why I haven't had the time or motivation to find an Internet cafe! Tomorrow morning, it's back to Madrid for a couple days, then off to southern Spain for some last-minute sightseeing before I head home on August 13.

Arrivederci, everyone, and thanks for all the comments and e-mails! I'm getting through them slowly but surely. :-) Check back for updates soon...because I know you've all been starved for entertainment lately.

And how about those Cubbies getting Nomar!? Allow me to mourn the loss of Alex Gonzalez's pretty face for a moment...but I guess that's not a bad trade. ;-)