Sheesh... will I ever get caught up on my trips?

Italy... I'm still not done with Italy.
On Thursday we were able to spend time being LOCAL. We went to the market.
You should have seen Mike and I trying, with the help of Annie's little phrase book, to try to get Lamb Chops.
Agnello. But lamb here is adult Sheep meat (usually called Mutton) and in Italy it's actually baby meat and small and almost white. There were no Lamb Chops. Only legs of Lamb. They came with hind-quarters. And Kidneys. That was weird.
The butcher chopped them with a mighty cleaver so that they were portion sized pieces. I took them home. I also bought fingerling potatoes and rosemary. Tomatoes. Peppers. Garlic. Arrugala. And capers.
We did some shopping too. Joe and Clare were there and we had a lovely lunch together. We walked and walked and walked.... The lunch was in a little working-class "deli" that served fresh baked breads, wine, and an array of hot dishes that are dished up either to-go or plated for eating in the back of the "house." This food was so amazing I would have eaten there over and over. We ate for about 19 Euro... about $25. Wine and food for four people. It was lovely.
Joe and Clare try to pay for everything when you are with them, so I had to sneak up front to pay. That's weird, but I got it done by pointing and smiling and waving cash. Joe said I was, "Not Nice." But it doesn't matter.
That afternoon we went to Santa Croce. This is the place I really wanted to see. A somewhat opulent church, the attraction nevertheless is not the five million artistic adornments. No... this is the place where Michaelangelo and Dante and Machiavelli and others are buried. All those famous folks in one church.
Mike bought me a rosary. I carry it everywhere I go as it is small and fits in my purse. Afterwards we walked to the glass and bead shop where we did some shopping and Mike checked email across the street at the Internet cafe.
That night. I roasted lamb with garlic and capers (salted). I roasted potaotes with garlic and rosemary.
I made a salad of tomatoes and arrugala, parmesean cheese and oil and vinegar.
It was all extra good. Even though it was not LAMB CHOPS.
Friday morning we got up at the crack of dawn and took the bus, in the right direction this time, to the station. There, we boarded a fast train to Rome. It doesn't stop and we got there in 1.5 hours... going like 150 miles an hour.
In Rome, we boarded the subway and went to the Vatican. We wandered around the outside and finally realized that you have to enter at the back.
Did you know that the Vatican is 160 acres and it's an independent country?
More on the Rome experience later... I have other things calling my name.