We arrived in Rome by early afternoon, and drove straight to the airport to leave the car.  From that point on, we were dependent on Rome's train system to get us from point A to point B.  The hotel, arranged through my conference, was nicer than the others we had been staying in.  It was nice, because it was only about 10 minutes walking to the conference.  We made it to the Colosseum that first afternoon, and learned a lot about the events that happened there so long ago. There were labryinth-like halls beneath the floor, and they would surprise the gladiators by popping new animals up through a system of pulleys... I can't imagine the brutality that took place there in the name of entertainment. 

We had dinner at a pizza place along the road, and it was quite good.  We also tried the Italian favorite, Limoncello.  It's good.  And strong.  First taste-- tastes like burning.  But, it has a nice flavor.  Just remember, kids, it's strong. 

On my only full day of sightseeing in Rome, we headed to the Vatican.  After only 1 hour in line, we made it into the Vatican city walls.  What an impressive, awe-inspiring display.  The museums were stupendous.  There were so many paintings, and the best collection of sculptures I saw in Europe.  I got to see the unequalled Sistine Chapel.  I think my first words in there were "Oh my, wow."  And second, came "I thought it would be bigger than this."  I could have stayed there all day.   There was so much going on, on the walls, the ceiling, all over.  I feel like I only saw a fraction of it, and we were in there for a very long time.  There's a nice picture of me in the newest group of me, gazing at the ceiling.  Thank P for that one. 

Thanks to the quick thinking of P and B, we blended into a tour group to get to St. Peter's cathedral the 'back way', without waiting in line at all.  St. Peter's was so impressive, and St. Peter's throne was one of my favorite parts of the church.  Truly awe-inspiring.  After an overpriced lunch in the city walls, we headed back to St. Peter's to climb hundreds more steps, to the very top.  It was by far the most claustrophobic of the climbs, since the walls were actually slanted at one point, and given my height, I had to bend at the waist to make it work.  Deep breaths, and thinking of a happy place got me through there.  :)  Again, it was totally worth the view.  Some of my favorite photos from the trip are from the top of St. Peter's.  I learned something new while waiting in line (and nearly slayed P in embarrassment), when he explained the reason there were so many paintings of Jesus handing a key to someone was that Peter is considered the father of the Catholic church.  A good way to embarrass P: announce loudly, in the Vatican, in line for St. Peter's, "So, is Peter, like, important to Catholics or something?"  Yeah, I wasn't even trying.  Unfortunately, I had to leave the guys at this point to get to the opening night reception at the conference. 

The conference-- I was pleasantly surprised to run into a second friend from grad school at the cocktail hour.  I knew a friend, B, who now lives in Shanghai, would be there.  But, R, who lives in Chile, was there too!  It was great to catch up with these old friends, and good to see some friendly faces.  I'm pretty new to this area of economics, and so haven't built up many contacts in the field. 

The conference was fantastic.  I learned a lot about this new field of mine, and made some new friends.  I also think I made some great connections, and hope that I can find new research tracks with these new colleagues.  It was tough to not know many people there, and I was bummed that I couldn't join P and B for more sight seeing, but this transition back to work was helpful in getting me back to thinking about research. 

After long, full days of economics, on the Sunday I flew back to Germany, P and I (B had to catch an early-morning flight) went to see the Trevi Fountain, Spanish Steps, and Pantheon (or is it Parthenon?).  I think it was P's 4th trip, but he humored me by taking me there. 

On the train ride to the airport, I made an Italian enemy.   P and I jumped on the train, and the only seats that would accommodate our luggage were across the aisle from each other, and each of us sat in a four-seat row with another person.  I got my luggage out of the aisle, and tried to slip into my seat.  I misjudged the distance between the arm and the seat, and ended up sitting like I was sitting in an inner tube, butt on the seat, and feet hanging over the arm.  The woman in my row was clearly NOT amused, and I think P laughed for the first 10 minutes we were on the train, both at this woman's frustration, and my helpless embarrassment.  I was trying not to laugh, since I figured that would only further piss her off, but I had no options!  Separate terminals led to us parting ways, and it was the end of an unforgettable Italian adventure. 

I spent the night in a very sketchy German hotel that smelled like a Chinese restaurant.  No, I'm not being un-PC-- the hotel was run by a Chinese restaurant that was next door.  I had dinner at the only restaurant in the town that took credit cards, and it was the best German food I had.  I was happy to get on the plane to come home in the morning, and the rest, you've already seen!

I hope you got some enjoyment from following my trip.  :)