I'm really too tired to be clever

Today is another short one, since a lot of what was done is more visual, and I want to leave people with some mystery as to what I've been doing. Otherwise, no one will look at my pictures!

We started with Sunday trip to Ostia antiqua, which is this old roman village that was deserted but still kept intact. Picture like a cheap, obscure Pompeii. Lots of very well preserved ruins. The weather was perfect for it,and we ended up spending about 3 hours exploring under arches and into houses. Sunny, but not too hot, with a little breeze. Perfection. I was also able to get some pictures of the lizards, bugs, and flowers for that biology nerd I like to date. I also may or may not have found some excellent ancient rocks.well see if they make it back to the states.

We came back to the hotel for a short break, which I used to say hello to the boyfriend before he goes on a weekend long conference, and get some gelato from our gelato man. I'm nervous, because Florence and Munich might not have wifi, so it could have been the last time I got to talk to Doug in 2 weeks, but the fact that it scares me so much is probably an indication of how much I need it.

Then we walked to the Bourghese museum, which was a nice walk through the ritzy part of town. The gardens in front of the museum were beautiful, and there were couples scatted all throughout it. I love how everything here is so cliche romantic, but matter of fact. Girls walk around with bouquets of flowers, men kissing women's hands... Italy is making me a hopeless romantic.

The museum itself was alright, but too stuffy for my taste. You couldnt have a purse in case you tried to sneak a camera in, and everything just seemed very possessive. It's a private collection, so I guess that may be why, but the fact that we had to have an appointment time when we bought the tickets just made it all feel very art snobby. The sculptures were great though; it was worth it, to see some of the Bernini pieces.

When we got back, our hotel had arranged champagne for all of us to try with some chips and biscotti. It was so sweet. The people here are so nice and helpful, and can always tell you where you need to go for the best gelato, restaurant, pharmacy- at one point, the concierge told us he could show us where an 80s theme bar was that's very popular. But it was sweet of them to be so generous with us. So if you're going to Rome- I recommend the corona hotel. It has my stamp of approval.

Now I'm back in the hotel, after a pizza run. Everyone is just wiped out today, and we've been dropping out of the lounge to go to bed since 8:30. I'm probably going to do some reading and fall asleep early, too. We're almost done in our time here in Rome, but I can't help feeling a little homesick, even so. I'm making a list of things I miss that I need to appreciate more when I come home. So all you Americans out there; go have a sip from a water fountain for me, and utilize some public bathrooms.