When in Rome, make sure your taxi plays Christmas music.

HELLO. Guess what. Me and Carrie are in Rome. And what does that mean? It means all of the hours of practicing how to order ice cream are finally put to the test.What else does this mean? Well. I'll tell you.

So we got up this morning at about... 2 30 ish. Why? we had a plane that left at 6. So we went down and waited for the taxi that would take us to the airport. On the plane, we were provided with miniature loves of bread. None of this skimpy cracker stuff. We got the real deal. Then we landed in a wonderful place called...  Duesseldorf. If you've never heard of it, you're not alone. But it is a real place. It is not full of garden Gnomes. And it is not full of elves. These were my theories until we landed, and I realized that everyone was normal sized, and that it was a pretty normal place. However, the pathway to the gate was rather like walking along the yellow brick road through the maze of shops. Now, you think I'm kidding. I am not. We followed the signs. "It was a labyrinth that eventually took us through the center of a department store selling, duty free perfume and stuff." Says Carrie. I'm just glad we got out alive.

On that flight, nothing really happened other than.. we made napkin roses... oh dear.

So here's a challenge. Carrie and I both made one. Which one did I make, and which one did Carrie make? Can you guess? Is it really that hard? Ya. One of us....had a harder time. Guess who.

When we landed, we were greeted by a German sign. Odd, but true. Then we got in a taxi. What was amazing about this ride was the lady and her kids' multi lingual... ness. The lady was speaking Italian with the driver, and German with her kids; but the kids were speaking English to each other. Crazy right? I thought it was. But was was even more excellent was the Christmas music that was playing as we rode. White Christmas was featured. Excellent. It just made the whole terror of driving in Italian traffic all the more enjoyable.

But then we went out for lunch. Can I just say, I was not prepared for just how good Italian pasta is. It was just... I don't know. Noodles made with a hint of happiness. And it had bacon on it. I mean.... it was like the heavens had opened, and unto me was brought promises of peace, joy, and happiness in the form of pasta. It was really, really good.

Then we discovered our place of stay. The B&B Hotels. Their floors are ordered by color and style. We just happen to be on the pink floor, with the marble stairs. the other floors have different stairs, and different colors. The room is super modern. We have the roman skyline painted on our wall, and no garbage can. But it is air conditioned, and that is good.

Then we went on a night stroll through the hood'. We found some nice people in an Ice cream shop that understood the stupidity of American tourists, and were very helpful in our quest to find dinner in the form of a cone filled with Ice cream. The result was kind of fantastic. We continued our stroll and ended up at a church. Churches in Rome, I have decided are kind of like churches in Utah. You don't have to go more than a Quarter mile to find one. We sat at on the steps of a fountain, and watched a spray painter do crazy things on paper. I'm not kidding. I'll just let the pictures do the talking.

this is a picture of the one I bought.  The one above is the picture of  the guy doing his thing. On a cobble stone street. In Rome. In the middle of the night. Outside of a million year old church. You know. Normal and stuff.
It was a pretty fantastic day. Tomorrow? We take a look at the real deal of the above picture, along with a few other things.
However before I end, in the spirit of the olympics, we have decided to award points, which will lead to metals, to the countries of Italy and Germany. Here we go.

Italy:
1 Point: for having a shower that says on the whole time
1 Point: For the Gelato. Unbeatable.
1 Point: For the Pasta. Unbeatable.
1 Point: Shuttle/Taxi adventures.
1 Point: For having drinking fountains.
Germany:
1 Point: Signs and accouterments for transportation. Basically organization in general.
1 Point: For having garbage cans.
1 Point: Chocolate.
1 Point: Variety of Unique foods.
1 Point: Bread.

So as of now, We have a tie. But, this list will be added to. And there will be a determined winner. Maybe.
Ta Ta.