Today we are heading back into the vatican for our last time. We are going to the vatican museums and sistine chapel. Our tickets are for 9:30, so we will be renting bikes again, even though our bums are still sore. If we stand up on the bikes (don't try this at home kids!!), it doesn't hurt, but you have to bike a little faster to maintain balance while standing. Our ride back from the vatican yesterday on bikes while standing was very fast. A good workout too! lol.

Our hotel bed is as hard as a rock. When we were doing the tour of st peter's, a seminarian (a guy studying to become a priest) was saying that when you are on a pilgrimage, there will be suffering. so i guess it is just part of the journey. :)

After the vatican museums today, we will probably have lunch one more time over in the 'cheap' district, and i want to make sure i have all my shopping done while there. then we are going to hmm. well, not sure exexactly what we will do be3tween lunch and dinner, i know we will fill our time though! and for dinner we will bike up to hard rock cafe.

rome has been so incredibly nice. english is spoken a lot more in rome than it was in paris. all the restaurants we have been to have an english translation on their menu, and most waiters when they see us say hi instead of bonjourno.

last night we asked our hotel guy where a good italian restuarant was, and we went there, and they didn't open until 7pm. which is pretty normal for the non-tourist type places. they have lunch hours and dinner hours and close in between. so we walked around the forum. it is a lot bigger than it looks on the map!! lol. i think we walked just about as far as it is to the vatican, just walking around the forum. it was amazing though. one of the many things i wanted to be as a child when i grew up was an archeologist. not sure if i ever verbalized that, but it has always fascinated me. so yesterday with the scavi tour and seeing the buildings and walking around underground, right next to these walls that were older than Christ, and seeing the fenced off area where they are still digging. it is just so amazing. same as the forum. you can see these little areas that look like it would have been a house or a store, and these columns. on the far side from our hotel, (when i thought our walk would never end, but enjoying it just the same) was this room, complete with a doorway, and on the other side of the room was just a hill and grass. nothing else around, just this room dug out from the hill. so when we finally get to the restaurant, it was just like the hotel guy said, very reasonably priced, not a lot of tourists and very good. I have cheese ravioli. i have been looking for that since we arrived in rome. :) we have been trying to find and order fetticini alfredo, but every restaurant we have been to has NOT had that on the menu!! the lasagna is out of this world. soooo good. and the pizza. i always order a cheese pizza. and each one tastes a little different, but is incredible. it will be hard to go home and order a pizza hut or little caesars pizza now.

well, i suppose it is that time i need to crawl out of bed and get ready to head down to breakfast. im really feeling the pain of missing you kids. i'm anxious to be home, to america, with fast food and chain restaurants. lol. no, that part i honestly don't miss. but i do miss you kids something fierce. i will always hold a part of rome in my heart though. i will be very sad to leave rome and st peters behind. i never thought we would ever make it here, but now that we are here, i want to come back again some day in the far, far future, if it be God's will.

i'm finding a lot of comfort in the fact that our train station in rome is big and most of it is inside, so tomorrow if our train does get delayed, at least there are shops and a mcdonalds! and warmth. the paris train station was mostly outside, a small part was inside, but it was very small and there were a TON of people all over. seating was not really an option at that station. ok, i'm off now. i sure ramble a lot. :)

miss you kids!! love you to pieces!! thanks for oovooing with us last night!
Love, mom and dad