Arrived in Rome!

From Deb -- We left on a 6am flight from Barcelona to Rome, took a long bus ride from the airport to the metro, squeezed into a metro train with all our luggage, rode about 10 minutes, walked to our flat, and made it to paradise. Bruce had booked a beautiful, little, old flat with glass doors that open up to a tiny patio with views of the Vatican. We unpacked and took a walk until we saw a pizza sign (which didn't take long) and had the best pizza we've ever eaten. Then, Bruce took the boys back to the flat for studies while I had a coffee break and went grocery shopping. Oh, and had the best cappucino I have ever had (Stumptown is a close second, though -- thank God!). Shopping was fun for me, trying to guess what things were and feeling just a taste of what my refugee friends in Seattle felt like when they first arrived. The grocery store was hilarious; when I first walked in, there was a huge shelf filled with pasta, olive oil, and pasta sauces. Around the corner were lovely cheeses and meats. Then a long row of wines. And a great section of fresh bread. And a monstrous selection of olives. Hmm. The weight we lost in Spain will quickly come back here. We will focus our studies on Ancient Rome, Sacred Rome, and Artistic Rome. Trips to the Colosseum and the Vatican will keep us busy for the next two full days, in between stops for pizza, coffee, and gelato.