I am the luckiest person in the world, truly. Ok, most of you reading this probably think its because we are traveling around the world...and while yes, that is part of it, what I really feel blessed about is my loved ones. Meeting my mother in Rome has been the absolute best. She is so considerate, loving, motherly, and giving to both Troy and I; she is making Rome more like home! While we have encountered our stressful moments like Italian transport strikes, me getting sick, finding the apartment, communicating with the locals, my mom and Troy have both been amazing to be around.

Meeting her was a little tricky as we had no internet ( contrary to the ad for the hostel) and no communication the days before she was to arrive. She knew I knew when her flight was, but other than that we had no real plan for meeting. Unfortunately, the designers of the Da Vinci airport didn't think to put arrival and departure screens in all common areas, and the airport personnel didn't care to include all flights, so you can imagine the hide-and-seek-fun of searching the airport for hours most of the time just feet from each other :-)

After we ( *ahem* Troy) carried my mom's MONGO hardtop suitcase through the cobblestone streets of Rome for a bit, we thankfully arrived at our gorgeous Vatican Apartment. Its really big; sleeps five and with a washing machine, YAY!

That night we went to dinner in a small trattoria where Mom was accosted ( well really it was more of an aggressive sexual leg thrust?) by the owner who had the hots for her. Unfortunately ( or fortunately??) he spoke no English. He simply returned to the table every 2-3 minutes for another free shot of Lemoncello, uttering sexually "limonchello, cheen cheen", which is Italian for "cheers"...

Today we were surprised with an Italian strike ( we are fast learning that Europe has a lot of holidays, and a lot of strikes) of all public transit, so our plans to check the colliseum were dashed, as we were all the way west by the Vatican.

We walked around St Peter's cathedral, St Angelo's Castle ( where we found Antonio Banderas' twin working the door)and down to Piazza Navona and past the Pantheon. The rain was intermittant, thankfully, and we were able to stay dry the entire day :)

Mom cooked a delicious italian meal ( pasta and garlic bread) MMMMM, and we had a wonderful time joking and chatting. I love home cooked meals :)

Tomorrow we will try to brave the ridiculous line for the Vatican Museum and the Sistine Chapel...