Rome was not seen in one day

Rome is kind of big and there are lots of ancient ruins so it took a few days to see just a bit of the city.

On the day we arrived we immediately headed out on the Rome underground train system to the Coliseum where gladiators fought to the death in ancient times. The metro stop is right opposite the ruins and so we walked out of the station and saw just how big it is. We didn't get to see inside immediatteely because there was a huge thundestorm and we were soaked trying to get back to the metro. When we toured inside the next day though I was actually surprised how small it seemed. The stadium held about 45-thousand men and about five thousand women when it was full. The Romans didn't charge an entrance fee either.

Nearby the Coliseum there are ruins of a palace and also the remains of arches and a little bit of marble that wasn't ripped out and taken away by looters or the catholic church for the Sistine Chapel. A lot of the history of Rome is the fight between christianity and those who followed the gods of Rome.

Anyway, the second day we were in Rome we took the metro to St Peters Square in the Vatican. We were there really early, and stood at these barriers thinking the Pope would make his usual Wednesday appearance and we could at least get to see him but it was way better than that. The Pope went around in his litle golf buggy with bullet proof glass and went past within two metres of where we were standing - and Daddy has the photographic proof!

From there, we walked around to the Vatican museum and went through looking at the paintings and other works of art with one goal in mind - the Sistine Chapel. I thought Michelangelo's Last Judgment was very cool although my enjoyment was reduced by one of the guards who kept saying: 'Shhhhh" and "No photo".

That night we stumbled into the Trevi Fountain and the Pantheon while following Mama on her shopping expedition. (Daddy's note; Who would have thought, shopping as an educational experience)

From Rome, we caught an overnight sleeper train to Lausanne in Switzerland. It was a very small compartment and when Mama spilt her beer all over the top bunk within the first hour the place was also very smelly.

The next morning we woke up in Lausanne and spent the day looking around another Swiss city beside a lake. I think all Swiss cities have a lake beside them. When we went down to the lakeside, there was a big chess set there and I challenged Daddy to a game. Of course, I beat him easily.

We then went onto the nearby Olympic museum. There was plenty of stuff there including Cody (?) who I remember from when Patrick Luke's mum came in for a chapel service to talk about her Olympic experience in hurdles. I discovered some of the information wasn't up to date. I couldn't get any information from the computers about Michael Phelps and not only about his eight gold medals in Beijing but his efforts in '04 as well.

After a glorious 24 hours in Lausanne we hopped on another train, this time the really fast TGV and it was on to Paris.

MILKSHAKE

Okay, I have to admit I have been really slack in pursuing milkshakes but there are two really good reasons. One, they aren't easy to get in Europe and two, I have discovered the joy of a Starbuck's hot chocolate! And so a milkshake wasn't found on this leg of our trip but the hunt goes on.

Mac