Our last day in Europe!

Hey all - It's Wednesday morning, our last day in Europe.  Actually we're not absolutely certain of anything, since we don't have a confirmed flight out.  The latest is that we have a possible flight at 6:45 tomorrow morning, which means getting up at 2:00 a.m.  If that's the case we're thinking we won't bother going to bed!

As Laila said, we all love Rome.  The weather seems very much like Bay Area weather.  The people are friendly, the crowds are large but manageable.  Italian is enough like Spanish that we can understand enough to get around quite easily.  And we're located such that we can walk or take short bus or metro rides to most places we want to see.  I wish we had more time here - there is SO much we won't see/do.  But I have a feeling we'll be back some day.

I'm posting photos - we've taken hundreds already, and will certainly do more today as we go to St. Peter's Square, Trevi Fountain, and maybe the Vatican Museum.  Maya has made a connection with St. Peter - see her HIGH FIVE with him in the photos - so she says she's going to see her homeboy's crib today! Also note Love Duck's visit to the Colosseum and his anti-smoking message.  Love Duck feels strongly about this.

As an English Teacher, I was excited to see the Roman Forum, the Senate building, and the burial place of Julius Caesar.  And it was amazing to see several of the 13 oblisks taken from Egypt around the city.  Some were just taken and some were given for diplomatic purposes.  In any case, the crowns and crosses placed on top of them to signify Christianity's domination of all other religions is very telling.  One more note - we have been overwhelmed with the violence in the art.  So much suffering and bleeding and fighting.  It is glorious and disturbing.

We're all excited to be in LA for a few days, and to see Hilmi and Cynthia before Mexico.  There are shoes and clothes to buy, and restocking of various items - we're all very tired of our wardrobes by now.  And I can't wait to start on Spanish.  We've learned to say hello and goodbye and yes and no and a few other things in so many languages, and it will be good to really dig in with the expectation of becoming conversant.  So we'll post next in L.A., unless someone wants to post our photos from today later.