On my own again...

Well, Jeanette has left and made it home ok. It's weird to think that my visitor is gone. It was so great having her here. We had a great time going to Pisa, checking out Museum's and parks around Florence and touring Rome together.

We ended up heading to Rome last Sunday. The trip itself wasn't so bad but it took about 2 hours to find our hotel and was very very exhausting. We checked in and both decided to take a nap. lol about 2 hours later we got up and thought we should head down for supper. After supper we were both really tired again and decided to just go to sleep early.

Monday we had tickets for going on a tour of the Necropolis (under the Basilica). We finally found our way there with only about 8min to spare and started our tour. The tour was really interesting as we were able to see some tombs and many other historical things. The pathways were very small and it was a little hard to breath but all in all, a very cool experience. After our tour we just walked around the Basilica and then headed into the Vatican Museum and Sistine Chapel. We were a little rushed as the museum closed only an hour after we got in so we did a very quick walk through but it was worth it. Once out of Vatican city, we hoped on the metro and made out way to the Spanish steps and the Trevi fountain. I have to be completely honest here and say that we were both a little disappointed with the Spanish steps. In all of the pictures you see the steps are so beautiful and free of debris and people but what we saw was not how it was portrayed in pictures. We seen about 500+ people crowded on the steps, sitting/eating/smoking and it was very over run with garbage and just not the best picture. We then walked over to the Trevi fountain which was a much better experience. It was a beautiful fountain and we made sure to take lots of pictures and also throw our spare change in. :)

Tuesday was a bit quieter as we decided to book a Colosseum tour instead of trying to do it on our own. We met up with the tour guide at 3 and for about 2-3hours she took us around to some ruins as well as the Colosseum. It was really a cool thing to see and we were both glad we did it with a tour guide. After the tour was finished we decided to buy tickets for the hop on hop off open top buses and tour the city by night on one of those. It was well worth it. The open top double decker bus was cool in itself but to see Rome by night from the bus was a real treat. We got off at a stop near our hotel pickup point and was back at the hotel by 9:45.

Wednesday was a very mellow day for us. We didn't want to do anything to stressful so we decided to go to the zoo. I was very excited about this as I love zoo's. We got a little lost finding our way there but once there it was well worth it! I took tonnes of pictures of the 'rafs' (my nephews nickname for the giraffes). We also seen zebra's, hippo's, elephants, camels and more. It was really fun and I was sure glad we went. After the zoo we walked to the Hard Rock Cafe for lunch (well supperish) and had a great meal. We then just decided to go back to the hotel so Jeanette could pack and we could just relax the night before she left.

Thursday morning we were up early, and at the airport by 10am. I hung out with her until she had to go through security and then I just came back to Florence. I was back here by 3pm. Found out later that night that she made it home ok with no problems (which is always great to hear).

I am definitely sad that Jeanette is no longer here but I have quite a few things to look forward to in the near future and I am really looking forward to them. On the 9th I am heading to see a friend in the Netherlands. We met on my Contiki trip and because he is living in the Netherlands right now (actually from Canada as well) we thought it would be fun for me to come and visit for a weekend. So it looks like my Thanksgiving will be spent with a fellow Canadian in the Netherlands. Weird huh? Then, around the 20th or so of Oct I am going to hop a train and head to Venice for a night. After that I am heading to Paris on the 28th for 3 nights and then my October will be done. Its only 10 weeks tomorrow until I come and its hard to believe.