Currently in Paris!

Hi everyone -

It's absolutely mind blowing to think that I will be home in three days - such a short time after four months abroad! Leaving Rome yesterday marked the end of my stay in Italy - very bittersweet. I don't regret studying abroad at all and I'm going to miss Italy a lot, but I am looking forward to getting home and seeing my family.

I'm going to keep this short - honest this time! But I just wanted to say that Jim and I are still having a blast together! We spent a few days wandering around Rome, and saw lots of churches, including the gorgeous Santa Maria della Vittoria, and St. Peter's Basilica. We walked around the inside of the Colosseum, checked out the Pantheon, and ate Pizza and Gelato. We also went to the Vatican Museum to see the art and the Sistine Chapel - with NO LINE! I kept hearing to expect 1 1/2 - 2 hour line for the Vatican, but apparently the trick to literally just walking in is to go during a Wednesday Papal Audience.

We spent today in Paris! The morning was spent wandering and getting lost around Montmartre - finally ending up at Sacre-Coeur, the beautiful church on the hill of Montmartre. We then went to my personal favorite church in Paris - Notre Dame! When you climb to the top, you can get right on level with the gargoyles and even see the large bell. Afterwards, we walked to the Eiffel Tower, and climbed the stairs to the second level of the tower. We hung out in that area until 10:00, when the tower lit up and "sparkled"!

Tomorrow: more of Paris, and Sunday: London!