totally in Rome

Hey! So things sure are hard to find in Rome, as things apparently close randomly for no good reason all the time, but after no small amount of wandering, we've managed to track down an internet cafe. So here we are. Great story, I know.

First off, hey mom and dad, we're safe and sound here in the City that Never Stops Sweating; haven't heard anything about a crash in the Italy/France tunnel (nor did I know such a thing even existed. Are you sure it was between those two countries?) No, rather, we got up at 4:45 this morning to catch a shuttle bus out to Beauvais-Tilles airport--which, at over an hour's drive out of town, is only a "Paris" airport insofar as it's in France and closer to Paris than, say, Edmonton. Once we got there, we were informed by Ryanair that the super-cheap discount price we paid would not be the only thing we were paying, as there is a strictly enforced 15kg maximum weight on all baggage; every kg thereafter would cost us an extra seven Euro... which for Kristine and I cost about 91 extra Euro. Stu-pid. But still cheaper than flying a big, far more convenient main airline, I guess.

So yeah, a landing and a shuttle bus and a metro ride later, we got to the B&B, which is right by the Spanish Steps and really, really nice. (It's even got one of thsoe balconies with the opening doors that overlooks the street below; very neat.) But before all that, our last night in Paris was a good one; after an afternoon at Montmatre shuffling around with the attendant sea of tourists, we went out for a Korean BBQ at this restaurant in a out of the way little square full of restaurants in Bastille called Place de Saint-Catherine. Totally had some wine, some great food... after that we walked down St. Antoine and had some more wine. Very what you're supposed to do, I guess. Oh, and the night before, we went down to see the Eiffel Tower again at night, and wouldn't you know it, not only do they light the thing up, but that fucker sparkles. With something like 10,000 strobe lights all going off randomly. It was beautiful, and it made for some great pictures.

BUT! Now we're in Rome, and we've yet to see very much of it besides a quick walk past the high fashion shops of Via Condotti and the Trevi Fountain just a few minutes ago. Yep. Pretty big. Full of water. Really old-looking. This is what we paid for, folks. Old, watery things.

Anyhow, we should probably go get something to eat now, but tomorrow we're going to head to the Vatican (we figured we'd get the big touristy things out of the way early when I still have some patience for throngs of sweaty crowds taking pictures of the entire world. (even more retarded, in my opinion, are the people with video cameras--man, I bet Uncle Steve and Aunt Suzie can't wait for you to get home so they can crowd around the TV and watch you jerkily scan the ceiling of the chapel at Versailles for 15 minutes. After that, I hope they kill you with their fists.) So yeah! More to come, as usual. Can't believe this trip is already two-thirds over.