Hi Everyone!
Sorry, no local greeting for this one. I don’t yet know what Hello is in Greek, let alone how to type it… I’ll go back to local greetings my next e-mail…
I think last time I e-mailed you I was in Rome. What a beautiful city! I arrived in Rome in the evening and met up with a friend of a friend. I wasn’t expecting that! It was nice to see a familiar face though! Then I had the help of two priests who were in Rome for the Pope’s birthday (and the Jubilee year is this year…). It was great to be on the subway with them, somehow I felt much safer hanging out with priests…
Finally got to the hostel and crashed, I was so tired. The next day Ann and I hooked up with two Aussie girls and we went to Trevi Fountain and the Spanish Steps. Gorgeous. At Trevi Fountain it’s said that if you throw in a coin, you’ll return quickly to Rome. If you throw in 2 coins you’ll fall in love (some say in Rome… but since that implies an italian man, No Thanks… ick.). And one person told us three coins means you’ll get married.  Well, we each threw in 3 coins, but later on in Rome I was told that the 3rd coin means divorce!!!  <laugh>  (what do you think Ann???)
That afternoon we went on a walking tour led by this Irish Guy who’s living in Rome now (I think he studied classical history… not sure though). Walking tours are great because they really make the old ruins come alive. Bob (his name, I think), took us to see the Circus Maxximus, the old Roman Forum, the pyramid and the Collesseum (more as well, but I need my pictures do describe all the place).
One thing I really appreciate about Rome is there are these fountains everywhere to refill water bottles, good tasting water too.
The next day, I spent pretty much the entire day at the Vatican City. I spent most of the morning at the Vatican Museum, which is where the Sistine Chapel is located.  I was absolutely awestruck and couldn’t figure out why people kept talking! I just wanted to spend hours staring up at it.  I bought postcards since photographs weren’t allowed, but they just don’t do it justice! The rest of the afternoon was spent walking through St Peter’s Basilica, where St. Peter is buried.  It is an amazing church, with beautiful carvings and statues.  It was interesting to see the many (and I do mean many) different orders of Nuns here.   We all got to walk through the Holy Door.  The Holy Door is only opened on the Jubilee Years and it is said that walking through this doorway allows you to pass from sin to grace.  (Why? I have no idea, not being Catholic…).  Anyhow, leaving the church I got to walk through the crypts of many popes (and I do mean many).  This is the same area where St. Peter is said to be buried (one of the apostles).
The next morning I went back to the Collesseum, so I could go inside.  It was a huge place, and it was daunting to think of all the bloodshed that went on here over the years.  I spent all of that morning there, and then spent part of the afternoon walking around the city before heading back to the hostel to do laundry.
I left the next morning for Salerno (2.5hrs south, close to Pompeii and safer than Napoli). The hostel was a dive, but at least it was clean and close to the train station.
Pompeii is very cool, and it’s hard to describe the feeling I felt when you could see even the expression on the faces of the people killed by the volcano. (I spent the day there with Kate, a girl recently starting a very long trip from New Zealand.) The houses of Pompeii were amazingly well preserved, and it was easy to imagine myself back then in that city. I was warned about all the stray dogs in Pompeii, and there was no exaggeration. What shocked me, was how healthy they looked. It was sad though that no one does anything for them.
Well, as you know I am now in Athens. It’s weird being in a city where I can’t even understand the alphabet!  Some places are written in the Latin alphabet too, fortunately.  The hostel here is fine, though I almost didn’t get a bed, and would have had to pay double for a cheap hotel room.  I think I may fly away from Greece when I head up to Germany in a week. It’s more expensive, but I spent two days traveling to get here, and it wasn’t pleasant (a bed on the boat was expensive too, so I slept fitfully on a chair). It’ll be 3 or 4 days to get to Germany from here by going through Italy (the safer route), so I may fly where it’ll take 2-3 hours…
Anyhow, time to sign off. I’ll see you all in a little over a month!
Take Care Everyone. Thanks for all the Updates! I know I haven’t replied to everyone, but I’ve enjoyed the notes I’ve received!
Christina.