when in rome...

i hated to bid adieu to venice, as it was everything i'd hoped for and more... the romance of that city will stick with me forever... i capped off my stay with an incredible meal of pasta, sangria, sponge cake and laughs around the huge dining room table at the hostel... then we ventured out to a bar for more drinks and conversation... wandering back through the darkened streets of venice was beautifully haunting... stores had shut their large steel doors, which made entire stretches of street look like they were lined with industrial garages... people waltzed around sipping wine or taking a swig from a beer... music pumped from the discos and people wrapped up their late night meals on patios scattered everywhere...

i woke up bright and early, got dressed and headed to the train station... four hours later i was in rome, waiting for the brother to arrive at our meeting spot... sure enough after about an hour and a half wait, i spotted him walking by... he caught my eye and then sprinted in my direction with open arms... it was so good to see him and we both couldn't believe this was all actually happening...

a quick metro ride and a check of the map later and we were at our hostel... it's not a bad place, although it has strange narrow rooms with beds lining one wall and lockers the other... alas, it is a roof over our heads and a safe place to lock our packs... works for me... we hopped back on the metro and things got real...

walking out of the subway was the one, the only, colosseum... the majestic structure was definitely surreal to gaze up at and certainly larger than life... to be in the presence of something so very historic was simply breathtaking and mind blowing... its crumbling columns, meticulous archways and epic proportions were astounding... like the hundreds of other people in the square, we drew out our cameras and snapped away...

after a little off the beaten track walk and we plunked down at a cafe for something to eat and some catching up... plus, we decided to mastermind the rest of this adventure -- florence, milan, nice, monte carlo, montpellier, barcelona, paris... i'll also hopefully make it to lille, perhaps brussels and then back to frankfurt... now renewed with energy, we hit the metro again with the destination of the trevi fountain... we turned a corner to see hundreds -- and i mean hundreds -- of people snapping photos, kissing in front of the gorgeous statues and tossing a coin over their shoulder into the sparkling water (which we also both did... ryan, a 0.01 euro coin; myself, a 0.05 euro coin for good luck, it being my favourite number and all)

a couple glasses of wine and another detour to scope the fountain lit in the night and it was time for the jet-lagged brother to call it a night... i still can't believe it is all real...