I don't know what to say about Rome.

I am sitting on a wall that runs perpendicular with the Ponte Vecchio along the Arno River. I guess I am able to use the WiFi of the surrounding houses here. I hope they don't mind.

The sun is out and I have forgotten what it feels like to be warm. A pretty exaggerated statement, but I am sure you can understand coming from someone who lived in San Diego where the weather is perfect year round. And that is hardly an exaggeration. Don't get me wrong either. I'm not complaining, it's hard to believe that only a few days ago I was having snowball fights in San Gigminano. If the river didn't look so murky, I would be tempted to jump in for a swim. Probably not a high percentage move there. If weather permits though my friends and I will be going cliff diving in Cinque Terre on Sunday. I suppose I can wait a few more days.

***

It is so surreal to stand in a building that has been perfectly preserved since the Second Century. And to call it a building would be a gross understatement. The Pantheon in Rome is enormous and has the largest freestanding dome in the world. You see pictures of these places and you don't believe them. I can't even begin to know what to think when you actually go to them.

The city is dreamlike. Even more so than Florence. The amount of history there is so overwhelming.

I was getting dizzy from leaning my head back. Either the place really was one of the most incredible things I have ever seen or the lack of blood flow to my brain caused me to think so. Or maybe it was a little of both. Either way, I will never forget seeing the Sistine Chapel for the first time.

Or the minute when I first stepped into the Colosseum. Amazement turns into disgust after listening for someone talk for two minutes about the horrendous events that took place there. You can't believe-You don't want to believe that you are part of the same race that showed such cruelty to one another. And then you realize that you are standing where it all happened and your mind is blown all over the stadium. It's not comprehensible.

Then you walk to the spot where Julius Caesar was betrayed by Cassius and Brutus and you see cats running all over the place. Cats. Everywhere.

And then you step over the line separating Rome from Vatican City, technically a whole other country. You don't have to be religious to appreciate that this place is sacred or know that you are somewhere that has such an influence on so many lives today and throughout history.

I don't know. I want to draw some conclusions about this place. But I don't know how to make sense of it all. I don't know how to get your head around all these things. I could say it was amazing, but amazing is just a word. I could say I loved it, but love is ephemeral. I could pontificate forever about it, but I know you don't want to read that. All I know is that I don't know how you are supposed to go back to real life after this.