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The first step in the Caesar Shuffle is the Colosseum. I had seen pictures of the site on TV as early as February and I was not expecting to be “Wowed”. I figured the pictures and guide books only showed the good side and the rest would be tumbled down. I was mistaken and I [...]

I have a new found respect for Italian women (minus one - I’ll explain in a minute) for two reasons:

Cobblestones meet high heels. Italian women do not let the cobblestones of Rome deter them from their right to wear fashionable footwear. All sizes and shapes of heals are the rage here with high-heeled boots winning [...]

One thing you know I had to have noticed is dogs in Italy. When dogs are such a big part of daily routine, it is hard to be away for any length of time without experiencing pooch withdrawal. You begin to look for furry surrogates to pet and you can usually work up to the [...]

Our fourth day we woke (very) early and caught the express train from Rome down to Naples. We thought we might snooze on the way but ended up in a compartment with fairly talkative Americans. George and his friend “Sid” (Some Italian Dude) were both from New Jersey. George had been backpacking around Europe for [...]

I love coffee in Italy. I’m a light coffee drinker, and enjoy a good espresso from time to time, but more often favor sweeter drinks like lattes and mochas. I try to frequent independent coffee shops, but Starbuck’s is fine in a pinch.
In Rome coffee shops are little bars. You pay the cashier for what [...]

St. Peter’s Basilica; Yeah it’s a church… I especially liked the comparison of the largest churches in Europe laid out with markers on the floor showing how much larger St. Peter’s is by comparison. It’s the proverbial pissing match of Christendom. Seriously though, there is no other way to really grasp size and scope [...]

Finally got the Flickr upload to work, so our pictures are showing up at http://www.flickr.com/photos/moriartys/sets/72157607419883044/ if you want to see them.  They are also linked from the front page of the blog.  We’re trying not to flood anyone with everything we’re taking, just some of the more interesting ones.

Today we took on theVatican and the many papal interests and intrigues within. We did not have an audience with the Pope. I was surprised as we had Tweeted that we would be there. It was beyond rude… I mean, are these people not connected? You think it’s a coincidence that all 10 commandments are [...]

I just have to rant on how hard it is to get on the Internet over here.  It’s nuts. You can pay tons of cash for phone access, but we’ve put on miles… sorry, kilometers… trying to find a place with a WiFi zone. Many are broken, or only have terminals. We finally found a [...]

We’re headed to Italy for a little over a week, and I may need a separate suitcase just for all the freaking power cables and connectors.  iPhone, Kindle, netbook, camera, and I don’t know all what else.  It looks like a gangly plastic squid died on our kitchen table as I sort it all out [...]