I could get used to this...

Sorry for no updates yesterday--both of the internet cafes closest to our house were full, so I gave up and went to bed. Lots to catch up on today!

Today was our third day in Rome. Yesterday, we walked. And we walked. And we walked. And then walked some more. We started the day with a guided tour of the Ancient Roman structures--the Colosseum, the Roman forum ruins, etc. Our guide spoke impeccable English and we all learned a lot (or at least I did!) After the morning tour, we explored the city more, with stops at Campo de' Fiori, Piazza Navona, the Pantheon, and Piazza del Popolo. Maybe it was the afternoon sun, or maybe it was the 1.80 Euro lunch, or maybe it was the fresh flowers for sale... but whatever it was, I totally loved Campo de' Fiori. We all ate lunch there and wandered around for an hour or so before continuing our walk. At every stop, Jean would have some interesting info to add since she is in the middle of reading Angels and Demons (the prequel to The Davinci Code) which takes place in Rome.

Today, we took a bus south to three garden stops: the Villa Aldobrandini gardens in the village of Frascati, the Giardini della Landriana (private gardens developed in the 20th century), and the Torsanlorenzo Nursery (one of the largest nurseries in the world!) My favorite was the second stop: the Giardini della Landriana. The variety of plants was incredible, and there were tons of flowering plants and things that, to me, are exotic, like olive trees. The nursery was interesting because I, for one, had not thought much about plants as an industry. We saw many different types of palm, orange trees, lemon trees, fig trees, olive trees, Bouganvilla, and tons of other plants. We found a bunch of lemons on the ground that had dropped off the trees, and the tour guide said that we could keep them, so Allison peeled one and gave everyone a slice. A few minutes later, the tour guide told us that their plants do not have many problems because they use so many chemicals and fertilizers. Because of this, they don't suggest eating the fruits. Oops. Too late.

All right, that's it for now. Several of us are off to see the Trevi Fountain all lit up at night. I'll leave you with a few pictures... The first is of a bunch of the group taking pictures and hanging out in Rome. The second is of the gardens at Villa Medici in Rome, our first garden tour!