Italia!

Greetings from Roma! It's good to be back in Rome; a familiar place and familiar faces. I share a common language with London, but Roma feels more like home to me and it will probably continue to feel that way, as strange as that may sound to you.

The greatest thing about London, and Europe for that matter, is how cheaply you can fly or take a train from one great city to another. My round trip ticket from London to Rome was probably more on the expensive side--$150. But if you time your trip right, you can easily purchase a round trip ticket for a long weekend for less than $100. We also took a day trip to Pompeii from Rome; three one-way train tickets from Roma to Napoli was a bit over 60 Euros. It's just absolutely amazing and awesomely cheap how I can travel from city to city. If I wanted to take a train from DC to New York City, I am looking at spending at least $100. A round trip plane ticket from DC to San Diego cost about $400, but a round trip plane ticket from London to Prague can be around $200. It's a shame that I can't explore my own country for cheap.

I have been to Roma 4 times now, I've been to Pompeii twice, I paid my last respects to Pope John Paull II when he died in 2005--I have never been to the Sistine Chapel. I hope to cross that off my list tomorrow with Clarke. Friday I celebrate my cousin's 18th birthday (eep!) and then on Saturday I return to the rain and clouds of London. Buona sera a tutti!