Rome take 2

You're going to read this post and think, "Wait, didn't I already see these pics?" The answer is kinda sorta. We went to Rome for Valentine's Day, stayed in the same area, and saw very similar things. We both really love Rome, though, and didn't mind seeing the city again with Daniel's family. But yes, even though we already took pics 4 months ago of all of the ruins, food, and architecture, we couldn't help but pull out our cell phones to take pictures of the impressive sites. 

Since we had already done the main tourist things, we mostly wandered around aimlessly, gelato in hand, walking in to random shops and churches. 

Also, it rained a bit while we were there, which actually turned out to be a blessing as it cooled everything down from the normal 100 degrees to about 75. 

Our flat was literally 3 buildings away from the Pantheon. Under our flat was a little restaurant that actually had some pretty good food and wine. Daniel chose to get a beer the size of his head! We probably ate there everyday, just sitting outside and watching all of the people! 

We walked with the family towards the Colosseum, even though we weren't planning on going in again. Even though I had seen these sites before, they were still just as impressive!

We also devoted a day to just go into churches in our neighborhood. After about 5, they all started looking the same!

This one had the best ceiling

And of course, we have a strong belief that when in Italy, you must eat gelato at least once a day. But it is perfectly acceptable to have it both after lunch and dinner.

 And the food was just extraordinary! Carbonara, pizza diavola, focaccia, ravioli, lasagna...everything was delicious! Not to mention you can get a liter of wine for less than 6 euros at most of the restaurants. My kind of place!

I think Rome was our favorite destination during the Bond trip extravaganza and it was hard for Greece to compete with it. I'll post next time about Athens!

Ancient Rome

I might have just watched about 30 minutes of Eat Pray Love. I bet you can guess which 30 minutes it was. I can't help it...cannot stop thinking about what a great time we had in Rome! 

On our last full day, we walked through Ancient Rome. It's just so neat how this urban, loud, pulsating city has grown around the shell of what it used to be. There are flats and little bistros right next to the ruins, people walking past them to work while on their cell phones, cars zipping by in a hurry, blind to the remains of an incredible empire. 

I'm not quite sure what this all was. There was a park on the way to the Colosseum that we walked though to see all of these sights.

Despite the hour long wait (can't even imagine how long the wait would be during the summer), I really enjoyed seeing the Colosseum. A part of me wishes I would have purchased the audio tour, because things weren't very well labeled. Daniel tried his best to be my tour guide and explain all of the parts of the old theater (I think you automatically become a certified Colosseum tour guide after seeing The Gladiator ). 

Not that you can see it in the picture, but we spotted a kitty cat slinking around the bottom part of the Colosseum like he owned the place. People are not allowed in that area- we think he was showing off.

Of course an Aggie would deface a 2000 year old Roman ruin. I am proud to say longhorns have the common decency to not vandalize one of the Seven Wonders of the World. Or at least, not that I saw ;-)

The only picture I got of Daniel not making a frowny face in order to try and stay off the blog. I think this is a half frown/ half trying not to laugh while being a ridiculous grump.

I don't think my words can give the Colosseum any justice. All I can say is, it was very impressive and to me, worth the wait.

And that concludes my posts on Italy...until next time!

Wandering Around Rome

 

This post is dedicated to my favorite thing to do while traveling (other than eating, of course): just walkin' around and exploring a city. We at times have a destination to get to, but often times, we just like to wander around aimlessly and come across unplanned sights. 

Rome was surprisingly such a great walking city. I had read that it wasn't, and I really have no clue as to how people came across that notion. Maybe the heat during the summer? Nevertheless, with staying in the city center, nothing was more than a 30 minute walk away. However, it usually took us much longer than that, because we were so busy detouring to view churches, shops, and taking millions of photographs! Pair gorgeous sights with heavenly weather, and you can understand why we enjoyed wandering around Rome!

Rome is definitely a sight to be seen at night. Especially on a Thursday night in February, when the streets aren't as crowded as they would be in, say, July. 

 

The Pantheon was behind our flat (and again, I really suggest staying in this area if you are to visit Rome), so we enjoyed sitting by it at night, whilst listening to a man playing the cello and another playing the guitar. Romantic, indeed!  

We were also very close to Piazza Navona. The area was very touristy during the day, but around 8, it wasn't too bad!  

I absolutely love the narrow, cobbled streets of central Rome. I really was shocked that cars would drive down these streets- the streets looked more like sidewalks! And people would just walk in the middle of the streets, cars tailing them at a snail's pace. I couldn't deal with that if I was driving in Rome!  

These were sights on our way to The Vatican. Closer to the the Vatican, it was just sooooo congested with people trying to sell rubbish. That, along with the hundreds of gypsies, was our least favorite thing about Rome. We pretended that we didn't speak English so that they would stop harassing us. 

 Checking out the Spanish Steps wasn't on our itinerary, but it ended up happening, anyway! 

 

The views from the top made it absolutely worth it!

Just a cute group of buildings on a cozy little street

 

While walking towards Ancient Rome, we passed the Tomb to the Unknown Soldier. Totally didn't even know this existed, but holy cow was it impressive. It puts all other memorials of the same sort to shame. 

View from the top of the memorial

But the greatest lesson to learn from wandering around Rome is to go into every single church you pass. Every.Single. One. It was more ornate than any English palace I have ever been in, and they are FREE! 

Only in Rome will you find an archway made of chandeliers in a church 

I have one more post on Rome for you then it's back to life in dreary London. Seriously, the taste of sunshine that we had in Rome is making London seem that much colder and more depressing.