WOW.

Sorry I havent blogged in a while- been a traveling woman this week. And I apologize in advance for this blog not having any apostrophies-I cant find it on this funky keyboard. Anyway, Kelly and I went to Venice and had a great time. I have been there 4 times now and everytime is just as magical as the last. It is such a unique and amazing city. We did the typical tourist things there and had some amazing meals. Then we came to Rome which is where we are right now. Let me tell you about what we did yesterday.
We woke up and went straight to the Vatican so Kelly could see the Vatican museum and the Sistine Chapel and then St. Peters. Yesterday was the single most busy day of the year for the Vatican because it is Easter and its closed on Monday. So instead of about 50 thousand visitors in day there were about 150 thousand. What a zoo. But, we got through and of course it was amazing. Then, we left the Vatican and went for a late lunch next to the Pantheon. It was a beautiful sunny day out and we sat outside next to the fountain and in front of the Pantheon. Lunch was amazingly delicious (Kelly had profiterol for the first time and she actually almost cried when it was gone) and we just relaxed. Then we went back to our hotel (which is behind the Pantheon...pretty cool) and got ready for round two. A couple months ago I had requested tickets for Easter at St. Peters. So last night, Kelly and I went to midnight mass in St. Peters Basilica with the Pope. It was unbelievable. First of all, our seats were awesome. We were dead center in front of the 7 story altar and about 75 yards back. Really close. When they started, they turned off all of the lights and did the candle lighting ceremony for Easter. Everyone had a candle and pretty soon, then entire basilica was lit by only our candles. It was seriously magical, even for a non-catholic like me. I felt really bad though because it is Passover and I have been trying my best to not eat bread, but you can imagine it is really difficult here. Yesterday I had to eat a sandwich if I was going to eat anything for dinner. I felt really bad because I ate a sandwich and then went to Catholic mass...but what can you do...
So, anyway, it was quite a day. This morning we walked back to St. Peters and stood in a crowd of thousands for the Easter Sunday mass that is done in the square, which was also an amazing sight. I have pictures of all of it and when I get back to Florence I will put them on the blog.
So, things are going well, having fun. Happy Passover and Easter to everyone!