Arrivederci Firenze..........

Today we had an early train ride scheduled from Firenze to Roma, so last night we had to deal with the fact that we have to leave this beautiful city. Even though I have visited here 4 or 5 times now, I don't think I will ever tire of coming here. There is so much to do and so much to see..............

When we left on this 3 week trip, we purposely packed light (1 bag each) as we knew we were going to be moving around a fair amount, especially by train. Knowing that I had a business conference that was going to last 4 days, I brought 1 pair of black pants & 1 pair of blue pants figuring that I could bring multiple shirts to wear with those pants to get me through the conference. Well, that decision came crashing down on me last night. Knowing that the blue pants needed ironing and that they were a material that required a cool iron, I plugged in the iron and almost immediately starting ironing thinking that it had no time to really heat up yet..............WRONG!  I touched the iron to the pants and.............sizzle, burn, F@&$#@***!!! So, now I am left with one pair of pants to make it through this conference. DOH!

The train ride to Roma was fine & uneventful. However, when we got to Roma, the city was a mass of people. Apparently, this is a big holiday weekend and not just any holiday, but a religious holiday (All Saints Day) in the city that is the seat of Catholicism. It is hard pack people everywhere!

We took a cab from the train station to the Excelsior Hotel on the Via Veneto which did not seem to be that far of a distance. The cab fare was 40 Euro, which is about $55. Judy insists we were ripped off. I tended to believe her until we checked into our room and saw that the American Breakfast that we could get delivered to the room was 42 Euro.  Yeah, that's right....42 Euro for coffee, juice, eggs, ham & toast.

Judy & I ventured out for a walk towards the shopping area to see if we could find a pair of blue pants to buy before our group tour to the Vatican. We got to the bottom of the Spanish Steps and were overwhelmed by the amount of people everywhere. You just couldn't move. Craziness! we quickly abandoned that idea.

Our group tour took us to the Vatican where we saw some beautiful works of art, sculpture & architecture. It is truly a unique collection that really should seen by all. Words really cannot adequately describe it.

One of the best things about these conferences is touching base with the many friends we've made with people from all over the world. The highlight today was seeing our good friend from Chicago, Danielle, who had brought her 7-month old baby, Mirabelle, who we had not met. This little girl was an absolute doll and was the hit of the conference. Everyone was gathering around her watching her smile & laugh which she did so readily. It was really a treat playing with her.