Using the internet once more before catching the train from Roma to Perugia. Rome has been beautiful... I really began to fall in love with the city as we strolled around last night after dinner. It is amazing to see so many beautiful, old things and places and so many different kinds of people. We feel like we have finally begun to understand the mix between the very old and the very new and how that works in this city. It is impressive. Yesterday we spend the day with Ralph, and it was incredible to see him. We went to the colosseum and toured the Forum and the area with all of hte ancient Roman ruins. It's crazy to be trying to figure out a date on a building, but it's hard because it's in Roman numerals, and then you realize: ROMAN numerals. I AM IN ROME. We went to a gelati place and sat there for so long that we had to buy another helping.... hee hee. But it's Italy, and we had to. We've been eating well, little picnics of food we bring with us for lunch, and going out for dinner. It was pizza the first night and tomato and mozzerella salads the second night. Plus wine of course, and bread, and bruchetta, and chocolate and espressos here and there. The sun came out yesterday and we could really start to see the beauty of all of these buildings. Every time you turn around there is a big old statue staring at you, or something made of marble, and if you can see around the enormous groups of tourists you really get to take in some amazing sights. I am excited to go to Perugia-- it sounds like a small, romantic, classic Italian city. It will be good to stay with Ellie's friend as well, because the hostel worked out fine but it had its quirks, like "Guido," one of the employees there, or freezing showers and wet bathroom floors and a hot water heater on the opposite side of my bunk that made a horrible loud noise any time any of the showers or sinks in teh hostel were turned on. Getting into the groove of this though, strengthening my walking muscles and letting myself get the feel of the city. Not really looking forward to going back to Alicante at the end of this week, but I think that maybe Ellie and I will be able to approach it from a little bit of a different angle now and find a way to make it work better for us, a way that we will be able to enjoy the city and do things there that we enjoy without worrying about finding things to enjoy. Still, I am also excited to return to the states in December... what a crazy mix of emotions that will be! For now though, we are living it up in Italy!