It is like Space Mountain....

Hello readers, we are finishing up our time in Rome. I am in an internet cafe again, with another foreign keyboard, so I will have to keep this short. Here are some thoughts:

1) Rome is everything people say it is -- beautiful, fantastic, chaotic, and brutal. It is a lot to take in, but nighttime in Rome is really magical. Just finding a small alleyway or square that is away from the roar of the cars and vespas makes everything worth it.

2) While the UK is having record flooding, the record heatwave that is over Eastern and Southeastern Europe continues. It is sort of our luck that we travel in it, but honestly, 95 degrees feels downright pleasant after the 110 degree heat in Budapest.

3) For the Serra High readers: Every time I see a man with white hair, a beard, and a Rick Steves book I think it is Mr. Stankhe. Mr. Stankhe is here in Europe. I can feel it.

4) The one truly cliche Eurotrip moment we have had was at the Vatican Museum yesterday, and it might have been one of the more trying travel experiences I have ever had. Getting off the metro, we see the line and think, it cannot be that bad. Little did we know that the line to get into the Vatican Museum (and the Sistine Chapel) wrapped around TWO of the outer walls of the Vatican. Ok, no big deal. It is like Space Mountain, Todd says. You know it is the best ride at Disneyland and it always has a long line because it is the best ride, and you cannot go to Disneyland and not ride it. So you cannot go to Rome and not see the Sistine Chapel. The really stinky thing is that it is 95 degrees out, you are waiting in the sun for over an hour, and oh yes -- you are wearing pants and short sleeves because the modesty requirements of the Vatican say that you cannot bear your shoulders or show any skin above the calf. Unfortunately all the skirts I brought are knee-length, and they must be below the knee to get into St. Peter's. Needless to say we sweated like pigs. And once we got in, they hearded you in large groups like cattle for the next FOUR miles, with no places to stop and sit or drink water. It's nuts.

5) Ok, God can strike me down if he wants, but I have some beefs with the Catholic Church here. First of all, they charge 13 Euros per person (that's about $16) to go into the Vatican. Once you get there, after you have waited in line for hours, they have no A/C, and no water fountains inside. Tens of thousands of people visit the Vatican everyday. At 13 Euros a pop, they can darn well afford some A/C and water fountains. It is almost a health hazard to allow that many people in. Along those lines (I can feel God striking now), as beautiful as all the churches are, I can for the first time in my life see where Luther was coming from. After the 100th ornate, gold-covered church, I can't help but wonder what good that money could have used towards --feeding parishioners, clothing the needy, etc. If the money had gone to the ground level it could have really done some good. And while it is all so lovely, I just have very mixed feelings about all of it.

6) On a lighter note, there are definite advantages and disadvantages to being a woman in this country. The advantage of being the fairer sex means that I have paid half as much to go into museums as Todd, and have been given free food, and particularly attentive service. The flip side is that Roman men really will follow you. I understand that it is part of the culture, but from where I come from, following someone isn't the way to win a girl's affection. It's a way to get pepper spray in your face.

My time is about to run out, so I have got to go. We leave for Florence tomorrow, and I hope to post then. Let me know how all of you are doing!