Trina's brownie was pickpocketed in Milan

We picked up Mom (YAY!!!) on her birthday in Zurich and headed south. She's pretty funny. We keep losing her places, because she gets stuck standing there staring at everything! We had a fantastic 3 hour birthday dinner for her in Milan. We got an English menu, but then our waiter didn't know what we were trying to order, so we had to sit and match up the English and Italian.
Milan was gorgeous. And fun. Mom took her first subway ride with our bags during rush hour. She stood there gaping at the swarms of people and said, "Marie, can we get ON that???" Trina had to get behind Mom and shove her on the train. I was standing on someone's foot and Mom was smashed up against someone's back. Sweat was POURING everywhere. It was pretty funny first subway experience. Then we got to the station and there were MORE problems with the train tickets. So while we were coping with that, Trina felt in her jacket pocket and realized the brownie she had bought was gone! It was about the same size, shape, and color as a brown leather wallet. Her brownie had been pickpocketed!!! So now Trina and Mom have spent the last two days glaring at everyone they deem remotely suspicious. Even the dorky Danish guy who gave us a business card with a squirrel on it was a probably a pickpocket!

The sunglasses, the shoes, the shouting, the cigarettes, the vespas! Everyone is SO Italian. We're in Rome now and it's such a chaotic vibe. It made me feel very un-Italian at first. But now I'm shouting and making hand gestures. I'm loving getting in touch with my Italian roots.

This morning we took an amazing tour of the Colloseum and Forum. It was just incredible. For lunch we grabbed Caprese paninis and beer and ate in a park with a view of the Collosseum. Last night we drank wine at a street cafe while the sun set over the pantheon. I don't think anything can beat this.