Rome: March 2014

In March, we left Kason with some friends of ours (Lara & Paul Merten) and headed to ROMA! I had been there before, back in 2013, with my dad & Kason. Rome has always been Brad's numero uno spot to visit. He was excited. (And that's probably an understatement.) I was just excited to have a whole weekend with my main squeeze! 

I tried really hard to limit the number of pictures I edited for this post but, I just couldn't do it. We saw a whole lot our first day there. I think I walked something like 30,000 steps that day. Yikes! 

On our flight there, we had a layover in Zurich, Switzerland. I had heard Switzerland was crazy expensive but, when I went to go buy a bottled water and it cost me $7.00...I finally realized just how crazy expensive it was! The best part about that situation...? The water tasted like tap water. 

Thank you for robbing me Zurich. 

We got into Rome late Thursday night and headed straight for our hotel. 

Friday morning we ate breakfast and headed out to see the city! I love how everything in these big cities is stacked on top of each other.

On our walk to the Colosseum, we walked along the river and passed the old chariot race track. 

Finally! We came upon the Colosseum. The Arc of Constantine (which was covered in scaffolding) is also in the same area as the Colosseum. 

We spent quite awhile in the Colosseum, allowing Brad to take it all in. I think he was overwhelmed with everything. He's a big history buff so, being able to see the Roman ruins was an amazing opportunity for him. 

Next up, we headed to Palatine Hill.

The views from up on the hill are pretty amazing. I loved this fabulous door on one of the churches...

We were walking around the gardens and they had an orange grove. I really wanted to try a fresh Italian orange so, Brad threw our travel book to try and knock one down. Yeah, it didn't work. 

But, I'm sure they were delicious & we had a good laugh about it. 

We finished all the sights of Palatine Hill...

... and headed to get some lunch! We found a 'hole in the wall' place that was recommended by Rick Steve. It was definitely a mom & pop place. When we walked in, nobody spoke English, they didn't have an English menu, and all the locals were there eating lunch. 

It was fantastic. 

They made their pasta fresh right there. And oh-my-holy-yum! It was amazing. 

We weren't sure what we were ordering but, I ended up with a red sauce pasta. And Brad's had...broccoli I think?

I loved this street sign! So clever, those Italians! 

This was the old market place where everyone would come to sell & trade their goods. Kinda like an old school flea market or farmers market! So fun!! 

Another shot of Palatine Hill: 

Even though Rome is made with lots of concrete and rock, it still is a beautiful city, right down to the little details. I loved these water drains!! 

We ended up in the Capitoline Museum and wandered around for a couple hours. This statue was all broken into pieces, it must have been huge when it was still all together. 

(This weird statue has something to do with the legend of the founding of Rome, I believe?) 

This is one of my favorite buildings in Rome. I think it's so pretty! It's a monument for Victor Emanuel II. It also has the tomb of the Unknown Soldier. (which you can see at the base of the statue on the second picture)

On our walk to the Pantheon we passed this great elephant statue. I loved it! 

As we walked up to the Pantheon, Brad said, "I have no idea why this building is so great..." 

(ha! we are so good at our research...)

I loved this building we walked through, on our way to the Trevi Fountain. There was a guy playing the violin in the corner and it was such a perfect moment! 

We had to throw our lucky coins into the fountain. Maybe, someday, we'll be back! 

After people-watching at the fountain for a little while, we headed to get some dessert. (There's always room for gelato before the main course...) 

We read, before we went to Rome, that the majority of gelato shops aren't "REAL" gelato. They have fillers and not really gelato stuff. REAL gelato only has 4 ingredients (milk, eggs, cream and sugar...and the flavoring. So I guess 5.) So, after my gelato research, we found "the best gelato I have ever had in my life." I think we had it 4 times while we were in Rome. I couldn't get enough. They would put this amazing cream on top that was so heavenly. If you're ever in Rome, do yourself a favor and EAT GROM! It won't disappoint. 

I loved this pig...what would you do with a whole pig!? 

We ended up in Piazza Navona as we wandered and enjoyed our gelato. All the local artists set up shop to sell their artwork and their paintings. (Okay, really most of them are reproductions...very few original paintings were there...) Fun, nonetheless! 

We were heading towards this amazing place. I read that Pizzeria Baffetto was some of the best pizza in Rome. It also did not disappoint!! My mouth is watering, just thinking about this place. It was the best pizza we had the whole weekend. So, delicious. It's just off Piazza Navona & if you don't get there early enough after opening, you'll end up having to wait for a table. But, I guarantee that wait would be worth it. Oh geez, it's so good. 

It didn't take us long to demolish both of our pizzas...

I want another one. Now. 

Yuuuuummmy! 

After dinner we strolled back to our hotel after a l-o-n-g day of living like a Roman!