La Dolce Vita!
As most of you know, I spent the last two weeks of my summer in Italy with Jeremy, Dean and Suni. Jeremy came to Moldova for almost three weeks and then he and I packed up and headed for Bucharest in Romania to catch a flight to Rome. EVERYONE at my house in Moldova was sad to see our big Bebalusi (baby!) go, but I didn't think Alexandra was going to let him leave at all. Below is a picture of their final farewell. Just one more pinch of those big American cheeks!
We left Chisinau the next day on an overnight train. It wasn't a bad way to travel. We had a compartment to ourselves and a bed to stretch out on. If only the window would have opened. We had to get up several times during the night to ring the sweat out of our clothes and grab some real air. The trip took about 12 hours, 4 of which we spent at the border of Romania where they lifted the entire car (each and every one!) and changed out the undercarriage on each car. It seems that the gage of the track changes between Moldova and the rest of the world, so every car must have the wheels changed to be able to go from west to east. This happens at about 3 in the morning, so it is all a bit surreal... Below is Jeremy chillin' out and doing a little writing before I whip his ass at several hands of rummy!
Below is a picture of the greeting in the book that was in our room at our hotel in Bucharest. I particularly liked that we were being invited to dine in a "worm" environment and were assured that we "can't"be served breakfast, lunch or dinner!
This is a statue of a broken man that is a memorial to the men and women who were killed during Ciaucescu's leadership of Romania. Right behind it is the famous balcony where he gave his famous speech and was then helicoptered off the roof to safety from the waiting mobs.
This next picture finds us in Rome. We had a great apartment right off the Tiber near the Palace of Justice. It was our mission to drink enough prosecco (and other wines!) to satisfy my love of Italian wines. This was the first afternoon. Jeremy, Suni and I arrived first and then Dean arrived three days later. We decided to collect the corks for the time we were in the apartment. I am embarrassed to even tell you how many we collected during our seven days...
Suni, don't be mad, but I am including several pictures of you on the blog. Don't worry! No thighs! 
Speaking of Suni... She had a great idea one night that we should go out and eat African food. It was amazing and a nice change from delicious Italian food.
Dean's first "taste" of Rome was a trip to the vatican for a special tour with an art student. We got an amazing tour, and he was adorable to boot! Very cool and Roman. He even managed to show me some things I had not seen on previous tours...
...like, a statue that looks just like Bill Clinton that is in a niche in one of the papal apartments! The resemblance is uncanny!
The three amigos in front of the forum of Rome.
One of my favorite restaurants in Rome "La Carbonara" is right on the edge of the daily market in Rome called Campo Fiori. It was just as wonderful as I remembered, but man! the dollar sucks right now! The waiter helped us out and took one of the few group pictures of our trip.
Dean wanted to see the coloseum, so the coloseum it was!
This was a dream of mine... I wanted a romantic picture with the love of my life in front of the Trevi fountain. Here you go!
This is our amazing bed and breakfast in Orvieto. Over the rooftop you can see the old city perched on top of the hill.
Dean relaxing in the corner on Suni's fabulous balcony!
Jeremy chillin' under the grape vines in front of the house.
This is the most beautiful cathedral (in my humble opinion!) in all of Italy. It is the duomo in Orvieto. I believe that I have another convert to the love of Orvieto. Suni mentioned on the phone that she adored it as well.
Leave it to the two Arkies in the group to find a razorback to pose with!
This trip was great on many different levels. One day Suni and Dean were too tired to go out, so I took off on my own and explored a town near Orvieto called Pitigliano. It is another one of those towns perched on the tufa hills. I had a great time exploring the town and just having some alone time.
The three amigos in Montelpuciano.
The next series of pictures is from Pompeii. Below is a plaster cast of a pregnant woman that was perfectly preserved by the "pyroclastic cloud" (Dean gave me a little schooling on the nature of volcanic eruptions and corrected my assumption that it was the lava that killed people. He told me it is the cloud of ash that gets people!)
...a man caught in the cloud...
... this person seems to have know it was his last few moments on earth...
One of the most interesting things I saw was a preserved... uh... whorehouse! There were little chambers where the women entertained their clients and above every door was a frescoe with the specialty of the woman that worked within!
It is not so easy to tell, but this is the kitchen of a public restaurant. Did you know that for the Pompeiians there was a close connection between food and sex? In their public kitchens they often had a statue of a penis for luck and health. Guess where Suni is sitting? Oh the scandal of it all!
Suni may have petit feet, but there was the dust of a thousand Pompeiians on it at the end of this day!
Finally, Deno and I were the last of the four left in Italy and we headed down to the Amalfi coast. The sky was blue, I was with my love, and I was in Italy. It just doesn't get any better than that!
Now it is time to get back to my life in Moldova and finish up my service here. It was great to see everyone, I had an amazing time in Italy, but I am happy to be back in Moldova with the amazing people I have met here. I will be back in the states for Christmas for sure, so I will post my dates so you can be sure to come by and see me while I am home! Love to all!
Speaking of Suni... She had a great idea one night that we should go out and eat African food. It was amazing and a nice change from delicious Italian food.
Dean's first "taste" of Rome was a trip to the vatican for a special tour with an art student. We got an amazing tour, and he was adorable to boot! Very cool and Roman. He even managed to show me some things I had not seen on previous tours...
...like, a statue that looks just like Bill Clinton that is in a niche in one of the papal apartments! The resemblance is uncanny!
The three amigos in front of the forum of Rome.
One of my favorite restaurants in Rome "La Carbonara" is right on the edge of the daily market in Rome called Campo Fiori. It was just as wonderful as I remembered, but man! the dollar sucks right now! The waiter helped us out and took one of the few group pictures of our trip.
Dean wanted to see the coloseum, so the coloseum it was!
This was a dream of mine... I wanted a romantic picture with the love of my life in front of the Trevi fountain. Here you go!
This is our amazing bed and breakfast in Orvieto. Over the rooftop you can see the old city perched on top of the hill.
Dean relaxing in the corner on Suni's fabulous balcony!
Jeremy chillin' under the grape vines in front of the house.
This is the most beautiful cathedral (in my humble opinion!) in all of Italy. It is the duomo in Orvieto. I believe that I have another convert to the love of Orvieto. Suni mentioned on the phone that she adored it as well.
Leave it to the two Arkies in the group to find a razorback to pose with!
This trip was great on many different levels. One day Suni and Dean were too tired to go out, so I took off on my own and explored a town near Orvieto called Pitigliano. It is another one of those towns perched on the tufa hills. I had a great time exploring the town and just having some alone time.
The three amigos in Montelpuciano.
The next series of pictures is from Pompeii. Below is a plaster cast of a pregnant woman that was perfectly preserved by the "pyroclastic cloud" (Dean gave me a little schooling on the nature of volcanic eruptions and corrected my assumption that it was the lava that killed people. He told me it is the cloud of ash that gets people!)
...a man caught in the cloud...
... this person seems to have know it was his last few moments on earth...
One of the most interesting things I saw was a preserved... uh... whorehouse! There were little chambers where the women entertained their clients and above every door was a frescoe with the specialty of the woman that worked within!
It is not so easy to tell, but this is the kitchen of a public restaurant. Did you know that for the Pompeiians there was a close connection between food and sex? In their public kitchens they often had a statue of a penis for luck and health. Guess where Suni is sitting? Oh the scandal of it all!
Suni may have petit feet, but there was the dust of a thousand Pompeiians on it at the end of this day!
Finally, Deno and I were the last of the four left in Italy and we headed down to the Amalfi coast. The sky was blue, I was with my love, and I was in Italy. It just doesn't get any better than that!
Now it is time to get back to my life in Moldova and finish up my service here. It was great to see everyone, I had an amazing time in Italy, but I am happy to be back in Moldova with the amazing people I have met here. I will be back in the states for Christmas for sure, so I will post my dates so you can be sure to come by and see me while I am home! Love to all!
