Day 2--travel: got into Venice at 5:30PM Italy time and had until 11:30PM to hang out in Venice. (Side note: didn't plan this trip well, so we lose a lot of time with traveling around Italy) Took a bus from the airport to the mainland Venice train station (Mestre), and then to the island of Venice itself (Santa Lucia station). Fog was starting to settle in (VERY Venice-like) and at the moment, our main goal was to get food! Started walking around Venice (got lost JUST a few times---JUST a few---thanks to grafitti artists who put new arrows on the yellow Venice signs that I remembered from 2001 telling us how to get to the Rialto Bridge and St. Mark's Square). After walking all the way to St. Mark's Square from the train station, we didn't think we could get back to the train station on time, so we took a water taxi (freaky foggy ride) back to the train station. Sat there FREEZING before we boarded our overnight train to Rome. Overnight train to Rome: private sleeping berth with 3 bunks and a wash basin--where our tootsies got their 1st bath in 24 hours! Slept about 4.5-5 hours of the 7 hour trip to Rome.the picture's not blurry--that's the fog! Jeff was only about 20 feet away from me at this point waiting for the vaporetto (water taxi)/on the vaporetto and this is how foggy it was! We walked to St. Mark's Square because I wanted to see it lit up at night. It was SO foggy that we couldn't even tell which way we came into the square, much less see the Doges Palace or anything at the square!
A street in Venice--some had names, some didn't. They all looked alike, so it's just amazing that people find their way around this city!
- Picture of the Rialto Bridge--on the vaporetto ride back to the train station from St. Mark's Square (you know...since it took an hour and a half to get there and it was getting foggier!)
Day 3: Arrive Rome/Tour Rome: EXHAUSTED!!! Checked into Hotel Borromeo at about 8:15 AM (perfectly between the main Rome train station (Termini) and the Colosseum. Wonderful hotel by the way...clean, great location, friendly/helpful staff and good breakfast to boot!) Walked down the street to find breakfast/our hop-on/hop-off tour bus and got our day started. (Side note: don't let RailEurope book your hop-on/hop-off: Rome City Sightseeing Tour had the FEWEST busses and longest wait time for touring.) Found bus, went to Vatican City, saw long line, took a few pics and got back on the bus (don't worry--went back on Day 4) to tour a church and the Spanish Steps, walk around a lot, etc. Went back to hotel to officially get into our room, have a nice, unpaid for bathroom break, and then get back on the bus to see the city. At this time, we decided we were in love with the way the Italians drive! By love...I mean be absolutely amazed with and talk in shock/awe each time we see it! Great pics will follow with what Italian drivers look like! Ate at a great little restaurant near our hotel and crashed by 9PM--and by crashed, I mean fell asleep with my book perfectly still held in the air!
Orange juice--Italian style. They use blood-red oranges to get this juice. Tasted good, but it was the first major food shock for us! This was at our "American Breakfast" of eggs, bacon, and toast at a Korean restaurant--:)
It was a beautiful day for touring Rome. Picture of St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican. Went back to actually tour the next day. 
Went inside several churches in Rome and this is one of them. The marble and detail work is beautiful and it's amazing what they did so many years ago with the technology/tools that they had!
CREPES!!! To say I LOVE crepes is an understatement! As thin as a pancake and filled with gooey goodness, what's NOT to love??? This is my friend making my Nutella crepe. Fell back in love with Nutella on this trip (a hazelnut/chocolate spread), so I'm happy they sell it in the states and I don't have to ship any back to myself!Spanish Steps--great meeting point/tourist area in Rome
The Roman Forum--for reasons I'll explain in another post....we didn't actually walk through them, but have a lot of great pictures and this is just one! 
The Colosseum--once again...for reasons I'll explain later...didn't go in. But...just to see it is amazing in itself. Once again....the ability they had to create things back then is amazing! 
Circus Maximus
Side note from Italy--obviously now updated: (I will upload pics as soon as I can to FB--I've got them on Shutterfly, but it takes a long time to upload, so we'll see what I can do! We really have had a great time so far and as of today are on Day 6 and just got to Court and Evan's house in Sacile, Italy after a day of travel. We have had a great time, seen a lot of amazing architecture/history, and taken almost 500 pics in our 3 main days of sight-seeing! Stay tuned....more to come!)
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