An E, two triangles and some squiggles

Alrightly then. We have no Internet connection in Greece at the house so we will try to blog whenever we get the chance. We made it to Greece safe and sound and as the title mentions, the phrase... It's all Greek to me.. has taken on a whole new meaning. Sometimes we aren't sure if we are looking at some type of picture or if it's writing. But the tales of Greece will come soon- let's finish up with Rome first.

So Sunday morning we woke up and Emiliano our couch surfing host brought us espresso and croissants in bed. I don't think he drinks wine like we savvy travelers do since he still was wearing his sunglasses inside- never a good sign. We all hung out and talked during the morning before mel and I took off to walk around the sights outside of the Vatican before meeting up with Emiliano and the family with whom he was giving a private tour. We grabbed some pizza for lunch and absolutely drowned them in vinegar our new favorite condiment. Pretty sure we will eat it with everything when we was back home. I also discovered my love for anchovies on everything. I think it is the saltiness that gets me. Then we met up with Emiliano who was with a candian Iranian family from Britian. We seem to find these melting pot people everywhere here. The mom was a hoot, she knew a lot of facts about roman history and the Vatican itself- we were way impressed. Even her 10yr old son knew stuff we weren't sure about. Us stupid Americans haha. The museum had gorgeous statues and tapestries by Raphael and we saw lots of incredible art. There was a bathtub pool made of the now extinct purple marble from Egypt which is one of the most expensive things the Vatican owns. We walked through the Sistine chapel which truly lives up to everything anyone has ever said about it. The artwork and detail as well as the amount of stuff to look at was breath taking. You could stay there and stare at the ceiling til your neck breaks from lookin up. They have specially trained shh'ers because you aren't allowed to talk or do anything but look. Eventually we had to move on and we went inside st peters. The size of the cathedral in general is enough to astound you. The letters along the wall apparently are 7.5ft tall which was unbelievable until we saw ppl up on a balcony to compare it to. We seperated from the family on the tour and Emiliano so we could go to the mass held in st peters. When in Rome right? It was completely in Italian, plus mel and I both aren't catholic but we enjoyed listening and just staring at how ornate the walls were in front of us. Once mass was over we met up with Emiliano to grab a drink with 2 of his girl friends he worked with. Though we found Italians to be much nicer then the French, these girls were not the nicest. They seemed a little fake towards us and then though they all spoke perfect English (one was American) they spoke almost all Italian while we sat there. Not a fan. Emiliano took us back home on his scooter so we could make dinner at his apartment. He made some pasta and we had some gelato and then he tried to have us watch this horrible movie that made us both want to die. Something about asian ninjas who have powers while fighting or something. We were
wiped out so we went to bed. We got up early to head to the airport on trains that were so packed you could barely board them. We were tired irritated and homesick for our non foreign friends who act more normally and understand social cues since we have learned that Italians do not. They are quite an egotistical and pushy culture. Not every Italian is the stallion they think they are haha. French guys are definitely the most hot of Europe, not counting austrailians :). We got to the airport an 1.5hr wary and waited in ticket and security lines which had some of the stupidest ppl we have ever met within them. It was a struggle for people to understand coming 30mins before their flight is not ok nor is wearing your metal studded belt, wallet And sunglasses through the xray machine. A long time later we made it through. Mel and I miss what we now know is American smarts and much more travel experience. The flight went well and the airplane was very nice for a budget airline (easyjet). Stelios, my family friend who lives in Greece whom we are staying with, had emailed me amazingly detailed directions of how to take the bus from the airport to the stop where he would pick us up. We love him already. Stelios and his girlfriend picked us up and we went to the house where we would be staying. So nice to be in a house! We went grocery shopping and then out to dinner to meet up with some of their friends who are all really nice. We ended up goin to a Mexican restaurant where we all had margaritas and nacho and chips and salsa which mel and I had been craving. A perfect end to the day. I forgot to say how we all had slovaki (sp?) a Greek sandwich for lunch which was really delicious. We might get them for lunch today too. The beds were amazing and we already like Greece the best- even though we keep saying that about every place. It is a holiday today so most things are closed so we are laying low- tomorrow will be the acropolis and the parthenon and things like that. We are planning on a day trip to Greek ruins and also a boat tour of 3 of the islands on 2 of our days here as well. Love to all!

<3, Karin