Ciao from Italy

Ciao tutti,

We're currently about to embark upon our second day in Rome, on fairly sweltering temperatures of 37-38 degrees, which is rather pleasant. I shan't even mention the temperatures back home....
The boys are coping well, and bar the odd blood nose from air con and a bit of diarrhea, everyone is in pretty good health.
Athens went very well, and the boys showed good interest in the sites. Highlights were the Acropolis and Mycenae, and buying trinkets in the Flea Market.
Unfortunately our ferry out of Patras was late by a whopping 8 hours, which has upset our programme a little. We had the option of staying on board for an extra night, but disembarkation was around 2 am Greek time, or 1 am Italian time, in Ancona, sonI thought it better to stick to the original plan, get lots of sleep on the ferry, and then take the horrid 3.50 am train to Rome. The journey was fought, but the sights of picturesque hillside towns like Trevi and fields full of bright yellow sunflowers along the way were wonderful.
The group was pretty tired when we got in at 7.47 am, but we headed out for a full day nevertheless.
After seeing the wonders of Santa Maria Maggiore, the Roman fora, and the Capitoline Museum, we ended with the Circus Maximus before calling it a day. I abandoned getting out to Hadrian's Villa and the night trip as the boys were shattered, so instead we explored places for dinner, and then went to a large ice cream emporium that I remembered and sang happy birthday to Luke while licking gelato. Not gonna lie, the mango was a taste sensation!!
We'll head back out to more churches today, and see some great art and sculpture, and we should be able to squeeze in Hadrian's Villa and perhaps a cheeky night walk to the Trevi Fountain and Spanish Steps, but we'll see how we go.
The boys tell me constantly how much they are missing you, and how dearly they would like to write, but time and fatigue are enormous barriers for them to overcome. I'm sure you understand all too well....
Hopefully more updates soon.

Hope everyone is warm and well,
Warren B