RomAmoR

Considering my last post, I'll skip past the travelling horror and dive into the wonders of my Italian vacation.

We got to our Hotel on Via Serpente and immediately set out to exploring. We had no idea where... or what really.. everything was, so we just walked. It wasn't hard to find everything - the Colosseum is at the end of our street! So we walked past the Colosseum and passed TONS of cool stuff! It took us 2 hours to get to St. Peter's Square and then we headed back to the hotel. I think it was over a mile of walking one way.. but it's so hard to tell when you're soaking in the glory of Italy.

The first thing we do upon returning is buy a map. On the back is a Top 10 list of things to see in Rome... hmm. "Sharon, didn't we pass... wait... 7 of these just barely??" Colosseum - check. Vatican City - check. St. Peter's Square - check. Monument to Emmanuel the II - Check. Saint Angel Castle - check. Pantheon - check. Foro Romano - check. To say we were staying in the heart of Rome would be an understatement. We were staying in the belly! Our location was PRIME!

We had 5 days to visit everything we wanted, eat as much Italian food as we could, and relax in the beautiful city. Thursday we went to Vatican City all day. My favorite part was the top of St. Peter's Basilica. We hiked the 551 stairs to the top of the dome and could see ALL of Rome. Then I sent a postcard from the roof! They had postcards you could buy, stamp and send right there. I guess when we went to the Sistine Chapel that was pretty cool, too. Psh... more like WAY COOL! I saw the Sistine Chapel! I can't even explain it. We could have spent all day walking through all of the museums and chapels. I tried to get an appointment with the Pope, but alas I don't speak Italian, so they couldn't understand what I wanted. So we went and got pizza instead.

We went to an Italian Market on Friday and Saturday morning, toured the Colosseum and Roman Forum, went to the Pantheon, and shopped whenever we got the chance. At nights, we went to the Trevi Fountain or Spanish Steps. You wouldn't believe how many people hang out there every night! It was so fun to just sit and enjoy the people and atmosphere. Not to mention the legend. Get this:

According to the legend of the Trevi Fountain, "One's return to Rome is guaranteed by drinking its water and by throwing a coin into its basin." Needless to say, Sharon and I did both at least 3 times. We're convinced that means we'll return to Rome at least 3 times. And I drank a lot, so I'm thinking probably 4. The fountain at the Spanish Steps also had good water, but I didn't hear of any cool legends. Basically I drank a lot of fountain water this week. If I die of some foreign disease, don't mourn. I enjoyed every ounce of it.

We did so much in the five days that we were there, I can't possibly write everything. We enjoyed Pizza EVERYDAY for lunch - no exaggeration. There were little pizza shops everywhere where they would cut off however much you wanted and then you'd weigh and pay! We listened to Italian accordion street players, ate gelato, bought Italian underwear, ate at adorable Italian family-owned cafes, and walked the beautiful streets of Rome!

At dinner one night, I used our Italian Phrase Book to ask for the Bill. The cute Italian Chef pretended that my Italian was flawless and complimented me. The best part was - he actually DID understand what I said because he brought us the bill immediately!

We also visited the Bocca della Verita. Translation: Mouth of Truth. If you stick your hand in it's mouth and tell a lie, it bites your hand off. I guess you'll have to wait to see me next to know for sure if you can trust me. For all you know I made up this entire trip, I've never been to Rome, and the employees of Ryanair are warm and friendly.

This is the view from the street our hotel was on. That building at the end? That's the Colosseum.

There is a post box at the top of St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City and a shop where you can buy/write/send postcards! Only one mailbox on earth will be graced with the lucky honor of receiving this here postcard. I'll let you all wait in anticipation hoping it's you.  

From the top of the dome! St. Peter's Dome was the most visible, but you could see EVERYTHING from up there!

The fountain at the bottom of the Spanish Steps supposedly has the purest drinking water in Rome. But I'm pretty sure everyone just told me that so they could watch me look like a fool trying to drink it. 

This is the Trevi Fountain. Definitely high on the list of popular tourist hang-out spots. I guess that's why we were there so much... being tourists and all..

THE MOUTH OF TRUTH! I may or may not have lost a hand last week. You'll just have to wait and see when I return! or.. you could just look at the next picture. 

Toss a coin and make a wish...

.. and drink from its basin, and you will return to Rome one day! 

The door to the right of my armpit is where the Gladiators would go and then be lifted into the arena to fight. Seeing this made me want to go back in time so bad! How cool would it be to see this in its glory days?? Except.. actually I'd probably be really grossed out. Minus the fighting/killing part first. 

Our friend the Accordian Player! We passed him everyday on the steps and we'd toss him a few coins. On the last day, he played Let it Be by the Beatles and a man at the bottom was singing it in Italian. I think he did it for me to thank me for the 20 cents I gave him.

This is part of the Roman Forum behind the Colosseum. It was HUGE! Basically there are ruins EVERYWHERE and it's really fun to imagine what Rome looked like 2000 years ago. 

I included this picture because of the green umbrella. It started raining, so I bought this umbrella from a street vendor for 3 Euros. It broke. This was a common theme of the trip: Never trust Italian Vendors.

This is not a toy. This is an actual car that actual men drive. GROWN men.