Our first day in Italy has been a MAJOR blast!!! And we haven’t even broken a sweat!! 

Aside from a bit of a bumpy flight out of Chicago to get here- it’s been smooth sailing! Baggage claim.. Taxi ride to hotel…all good!  

Here we go!!  We’ve decided on the, ‘No rigorous structure’ route for this adventure SO!! Basically,  “we are chillin!!”

Now if you’re wondering how a local TV reporter (me) and an exec with  Ebony Magazine (Ce), wound up on a trip covering Rome, Florence (and maybe the Isle of Capri) came to be??

Well, easy.

First- we are homegirls who hail from Fort Worth, Texas… AND have been besties since we were 16!! 

Next – we simply proclaimed we would do this to celebrate our milestone birthday this year… and we are simply sticking to our guns!   

  
These are Just a few scenes from today…

 The Coliseum… (Or as locals refer to it, Colesseo)  literally took our breath away!! 

  

We learned that Celia can get directions at the Metro, eat a muffin bar AND have cute hair ALL AT ONCE! 

 

 
We also learned this ‘experiment,” of a pic of Dionne sitting in the middle of a million stairs constructed centuries ago in Rome… is pretty darn cool!! 

All and all, we have not even been here full day and, yet, we have decided…Rome is TRUELY breathtaking! 

   

  

Oh- and one observation! The tourist ‘selfie stick’ hustle here is in OVERDRIVE.  Droves of somewhat ‘pushy’ folks try and sell them to you. At one point when a group of them started crowding us… we laughed and said to ourselves.. “Hey! Dude! We’re from the United States, our country invented the hustle, step back!!”  

  

And last but not least… dinner, the first night, at a restaurant called ‘InRoma’ seemed perfectly appropriate! The outdoor table in beautiful 77 degree weather, made for beautiful scenery.  The homemade pasta and friendly staff, well- you get the picture!!  

  

Join us tomorrow night…our plan is to go in search of a little retail therapy for all that ails us!!  Meantime peace out from Rome-y Rome!!!