The very dangerous rapids of Niagara Falls

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Niagara Falls

We are spending the weekend in Niagara Falls, Ontario. We just got off the Maid of the Mist boat ride and it took us right under the falls! We got wet, but what a blast!
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Just the beginning of the Gardens

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Palace of Versailles

This morning we took a plane from Rome to Paris and spending out last night a walk from the Palace of Versailles. The place is so opulent--we toured the enormous gardens and watched the water fountains set to music-just beautiful. Today must be 90 degrees out and we easily walked 5 miles today. The kids have been troopers-even though this is no Disneyland. They have seen lots of stuff and so have we. We leave for home tomorrow--and there is nothing like sleeping in your own bed!!
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Inside the Basilica

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In front of the Swiss guards that protect the Pope

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St. Peter's Basilica

We finished off Rome with a tour if the Vatican Museum and the Sistine Chapel (AMAZING) and the Grotto of St. Peters where all of the popes graves lie. It is all just unbelievable to see the opulence. I have to say we are toured out!!
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More bones

Today is our last day in Rome, and Italy. Finally a completely cloudless day (it rained on us pretty good yesterday afternoon). We just plan on making our way to the Vatican (we missed the Pope speaking on the Italian holiday by one day!) and seeing the Sistine Chapel and St. Peters Basilica. We head to Paris for a final night tomorrow and then home.
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Capuchin monk cemetery

Everything from the picture frames to the light fixtures here are made of bones from 4000 monks that departed from 1528 to 1870--kind of eerie, but with this and the torture museum we went to in Siena, we are keeping the kids interested!
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Throwing our coins into Trevi Fountain so we can return to Rome someday

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Trevi Fountain

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At the Coliseum

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Eating more Gelato-and it was free!! Today is an Italian holiday

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Another incredible tasting Italian meal

We are in Rome now for the next 3 nights. We are staying right in the heart of the city by the Spanish Steps. We plan on touring the city in the morning and taking it easy tonight.
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Fresco inside the brothel of Pompeii

There were several raunchy frescos inside the brothel of Pompeii-crazy!!!!
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The Ruins of Pompeii with Mt.Vesuvius

Today we drove about an hour to see the ruins of Pompeii. Mt. Vesuvius erupted in 79 AD and completely covered the town of Pompeii, leaving the residents covered in ash and many bodies preserved when the town was discovered many years later. We saw several bodies they had restored back with plaster--very eerie. It is pretty amazing to see all the frescos still on the wall and the tiled floors in houses that many years ago.
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Buon Giorno Italia!

We are enjoying an evening on our hotel balcony--with kids locked in the room (just kidding Grandma). But really, after a long day in the car, and getting lost, just a little....we are enjoying some -Italian wine on the balcony of our hotel. The roads in -Italy are very good and fast-but you pay for going the speed. We have spent $40 alone today on tolls to take the autostrade-but it has been worth it. EVERYONE, has been nothing but nice here and completely accommodating to our lack of Italian, always happy. Prego,prego....
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The Amalfi Coast

Here we are on the Amalfi Coast staying here for the night. We drove down here from Siena today, about a 4 hour drive through Tuscany. We are headed to Pompeii tomorrow.
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