Honeymoon2

ancient roman aqueduct and lush, green mountains. It was very hard for us to leave this room, but by dinnertime we decided to venture out. While walking down a dark winding road we were stopped by a little old Italian man who welcomed us to his town. The cheerful fellow gave us a wonderful restaurant recommendation, and we spent the rest of the evening dining on truffles and wild boar. The next morning we went for an early walk across the aqueduct and hiked up to a couple of small castles in the mountains. Then we went back into town and toured the Cathedral before departing for Rome.

Umbria

A stop in the town of Assisi was a priority on Tina's list. Sitting high atop a hill and surrounded by a protective wall, Assisi is closed to public traffic and requires strong calf muscles to get around. We toured the Basilica di San Francesco and hiked up a myriad of hills to reach the town square and amphitheater. Our feat was rewarded with beautiful vistas and gorgeous architecture.

Next, we headed to Spoleto, a charming Umbrian hill town full of ancient art and architecture. Our drive up the winding roads to the top of the village brought us to The Hotel Gattapone, where we stayed for the night. We read that this is one of the most romantic spots in Italy, but we never expected to see such amazing beauty. Our hotel room was enormous and the front wall was a huge window that overlooked an

Considering the driving experiences we had encountered in Milan and Florence, we were very apprehensive about driving in Rome - even if we were only driving to the flat to drop off our luggage and then to Avis to drop off the car! The flat was a cute 1.5 bedroom apartment with a kitchen and a balcony that possessed a splendid view of the dome to St. Peter's Basilica. We enjoyed some fine Italian wine on our balcony every evening we were in Rome. Of course, some of that may have been because we were so hot from walking everywhere, as Rome's public transportation is not the greatest.

After dropping off our car (an experience that was not nearly as dreadful as we had imagined), we toured the Basilica de Santa Maria Maggiore (some big church, as Jim would say) on our way to the Coliseum. The Coliseum (which we would later tour) was absolutely amazing and the Roman Forum was equally as impressive (and FREE, if you can believe that!) It was very

interesting to watch archaeologists excavating around us as we toured the ruins. The most remarkable aspect of Ancient Rome was that it is absolutely everywhere - you cannot walk down any street and not see a piece of history. Though we have tons of photos, you really can't capture the atmosphere that accompanies the view of seeing such an historical location. Of course, we also toured the other key aspects of Rome: We visited the Pantheon, threw coins in the Trevi Fountain, ate gelato in Piazza Navona, climbed the Spanish Steps, walked through Circus Maximus, drove past the (modern) Olympic Coliseum, ate lots of great pasta, and consumed

one or two liters of wine. However, one of the highlights of the trip was the Vatican. We attended a Papal Audience in St. Peter's Square on Wednesday morning, so we have videotape and photographs of the Pope- incredible in and of itself. But, it gets even better! At these events, ministers from various countries (Germany, France, England, Spain and of course, Italy) will introduce pilgrimages to the Pope, and

pilgrimages were the last ones mentioned and when the final group was announced, they all stood up, removed their hats and sang "God Bless America" in its entirety to the Pope! Further, when the rest of the Papal Audience (several thousand spectators) realized what was going on, everyone stood up and those that spoke English, joined in singing! It will probably be one of

when each congregation is called, they usually stand up and cheer or wave flags at the Pope as he sits on his throne in front of the Basilica. (The Brazilians did a salsa dance/song!) When the English speaking countries were called, the United States

the greatest memories we will ever possess in our lifetime, and we have never felt more proud to be an American.

After the Papal Audience had concluded, we were left with a tough decision: wait in line for 1-2 hours to visit the Vatican Museum or head back toward Ancient Rome (about an hour walk). Not wanting to lose the time in traveling and realizing that Ancient Rome needed at least a full day, we opted for the Vatican Museum - a decision which would be well rewarded! After viewing the amazing Raphael's and seeing all of the incredible art, we finally arrived at the Sistine Chapel. It is hard to imagine Michelangelo painting that ceiling- the exquisite detail is breathtaking! Well, as we were admiring the awesome beauty of the Chapel, several police officers

rushed into the room. Tina initially thought we had a security breach but after a moment, it became clear that they were bringing someone famous into the Chapel: Bill and Chelsea Clinton! While he is no George Bush and certainly no Richard Nixon, it was still captivating to be within two feet of a former President of the United States, especially in light of what had just transpired at the Papal Audience! Bill was very unassuming, although not appropriately dressed (jeans and a collared shirt) for the Vatican, and Chelsea was not as ugly in person as she is on television. Ironically, Chelsea was wearing the exact same outfit as Tina! They had a few secret service agents with them but nothing extraordinary. Needless to say, there was an incredible buzz in the Chapel (you're usually not

permitted to talk) and many people were taking pictures of Bill (again, another HUGE no-no). After about 15 minutes of this, Jim decided that he shouldn't be left out so he snapped off two quick pictures of Bill and then stole a quick photo of the ceiling- a picture that could easily pass for a postcard! Our running joke was that we possessed a role of film which contained the Pope, Bill Clinton and the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. Pretty amazing to have just one of those things, but to have all three on the same role of film was extremely rare, if not impossible! We were very protective of that particular role of film!

Departing Rome was a bit sour because we were hassled by security at the airport. Apparently, the airline and the Rome airport thought Tina and Jim were potential terrorists because we fit the profile- young, American couple on their honeymoon with 6 bags of luggage between them. After a thorough search of our bags (we weren't about to allow a strip search, should they have asked!), we were allowed to check in on the flight. The flight itself was relatively uneventful until we arrived in New York City. Then, while going through customs, Jim was, once again, detained by the authorities. At this point, Tina was very concerned about her new husband's previous life! Apparently, Jim is cursed with a common name and because he has lived in every city in the country, he is often confused with convicted felons on the lamb. Nevertheless, after about 45 minutes, the authorities were convinced that Jim was not their target and we were permitted to leave JFK.

New York City

We had to spend a night in NYC on the return from our honeymoon because of the many cancelled flights spurred by the September 11th tragedy. We were fortunate enough to land a very inexpensive room at the Waldorf Astoria and when we told the reception clerk of the difficulties at the Rome and JFK airports and explained it was the last day of our honeymoon, she was gracious enough to give us a free upgrade- to a $500

per night suite! The room (more like

an apartment) was incredible-

antique furniture, two fireplaces,

plush linens, marble bathroom...

amazing! We celebrated with a bottle

of wine and then ate dinner in the

hotel's sushi restaurant. We could

not think of a better way to cap off

such a memorable trip! We then

arrived back in Los Angeles on Saturday, October 27th without any further hassles or security issues and began the finalization of our California Reception plans for November 10th.