-Italy Update-
November 30, 1999 - December 4, 1999

	One day I got a little crazy during my daily procrastination ritual and dumped one of my drawers out on Amy's bed and proceeded to place every hair clip I own in my hair. It's crazy the things we do on this ship for some new and interesting entertainment. The day before Italy we passed Stromboli, one of the most active volcanoes in the world. It was blowing a few thin puffs of smoke as we went by.
	I took a tour of Rome, Pisa, and Florence in Italy. In Rome we had a crazy tour guide, Leila. She reminded me of Mrs. Hegge, my middle school choir director. We toured the inside of the Colosseum. This ancient stadium has been standing for over 2700 years.
	These men dressed as crusaders were outside the Colosseum for the perfect picture op. Remind you of Joey from Friends?
	We only had one day in Rome, so we had to see a lot of the sights while driving by in the bus. Leila would tell the bus driver to slow down enough so we could take a quick drive-by picture, but we never stopped. Here are two different views of St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City. The drive-by dome view, and the close-up walk through view.
	At night we took a walking tour. The biggest disappointment was that the Treve fountain was drained and under construction as is most of Rome. Y2K is a big year for the Roman Catholic Church because it is the Jubilee year, so almost all the big sights were under construction to get ready for the new year. On the right we have a view of the Pantheon at night.
	We had a couple of hours our second morning to tour the Vatican museum. It's unbelievable how much art there is. There are beautiful frescos, sculptures, paintings, carpets, and more all over the museum which is basically the entire Vatican city-state.
	That afternoon we drove to Florence by way of Pisa for a quick tourist stop. We had time to snap a couple of quick pictures and hit a couple of shops 5 minutes before they closed. Yes, the Leaning Tower of Pisa really does lean.
	We spent a day and a half in Florence, which was long enough for me to see the Duomo, Michaelangelo's statue of David, and a few other statues and decide that I definitely want to come back very very soon. I spent some time the second day walking around by myself enjoying the atmosphere, and it seemed like all roads lead to the big Dome of the Duomo.
	This is the inside of the Duomo's dome with a Fresco by Michelangelo and Michelangelo's Statue of David.
	Michelangelo's Statue of David used to be ouside in this square, but it was replaced with a replica to preserve the original. These four statues are positioned so you can see all four when looking at them from the side.
	There are several different kinds of police in Italy. These policemen wear fancy uniforms and ride around on matching horses in the center of town.
	We rubbed this boar for good luck, and then put coins in his mouth; if the coin slid out of his mouth and fell directly into the grate down below, it means that you're coming back to Florence by the end of the year. These statues are actually people. These people struck a pose and held it until someone dropped money into their bucket, at which point they would bow to acknowledge your contributions and strike another pose.