Rome: Day 2

On Day 2 we set out with no real plans of Rome. I really didn't put much planning into Rome since it wasn't high on my to-visit list so we just tended to wander around and decide to go places we were interested in. We did plan a tour of the Vatican on our third day by using our credit card points!! WOO! We also knew we'd want to save the Colosseum for our final day in Rome.

 

Since we were so close to the Castel Sant'Angelo, we were really intrigued. We also realized that it was the final scene in Angels and Demons where the intercept the bomb from Ewan McGregors employee and enter the tunnel that goes into the Vatican. Which is actually pretty true because the Castel was used for Vatican purposes. It was actually built between 123 and 129AD as a mausoleum for Emperor Hadrian. It later fell into Papel hands and became a fortress. It's now a museum and it was a really cool museum with GREAT views of Rome. It used to be the tallest building in Rome!

The Ponte Sant'Angelo bridge is made up of 10 different angels representing the different aspects of the Crucifixion of Christ. They were commissioned by Bernini.

 

Then I had to get gelato right?! I made it a point to get gelato practically ever day..

 

After gelato we set off for lunch and shopping because I desperately needed new shoes because my toes hurt so bad from all the walking through Europe. Since I had to throw some of my shoes away after playing golf in France.

I surprised myself because I couldn't find shoes I liked and I knew I wanted some kind of sneaker so I settled on a leopard van that I thought would be fun with black! Ha!
 

We got suckered into going into a museum dedicated to Leonardo DaVinci. Turns out it was more of a replica kids museum because you could touch and play with everything in the museum.. Ah you live you learn. Dillmans 0 - Rome 2.

Then we were able to make my hubby happy by watching one of the first NFL games of the year while in ROME.. Turns out we were NOT the only Americans that had the same idea. We met exchange students and even honeymooning couples!

After the game we heard great things about walking around Ancient Rome at night while it was lit up. It was beautiful, until we realized it was close to 11 and hubs mentioned that the metro might close early like it does in Boston.. but it couldn't right?! This is a huge tourist destination right?! OH BUT IT does close early..... Dillmans 0 - Rome 5, after we have to take a taxi from the train station which was further away than when we hopped on the first metro.. My thoughts of Rome were quickly dwindling.. Not to mention all the broken glass on the ground and pushy wait staff and pedestrians that come straight towards you on a sidewalk when no one is around... UGH! In the mean time, some pretty photos for your viewing pleasure.

xoxo,
Amanda

Rome; Day 1

After our wine tour day in Tuscany, we hopped the train early in the morning from Arezzo to Rome. Rome is interesting for me to talk about. I never really had an urge to visit Rome frankly. My husband really wanted to go and I wanted to go to Florence. I also really wanted to go to Venice, so I let him have his Rome. I found a B&B on Tripadvisor (of course), OM2Rome, close to the Vatican for our accommodations because of their reasonable prices and relied on their metro system to get us from the train station to our B&B. The beds were nice and comfy, we had a large room, the breakfast was decent but definitely not the best. I think maybe next time we'd stay closer to ancient Rome versus the Vatican but you learn for sure! It was still a walkable location for us, but by the time we made it to Rome my feet were really starting to not be happy with me.

We arrived in Rome pretty early so we dropped off our luggage at OM2Rome and headed out for a day of exploring and eating. We didn't really have anything on the agenda, we just sort of set out walking. We stayed really close to the Castel Sant'Angelo next to the Tereve river so we crossed it every day on our walk towards Ancient Rome.

Piazza Navona, home of the Fontana dei Quattro Fumi, Fountain of the Four Rivers designed by Gian Lorenzo Bernini in the 1600's for the Pope.

The Pantheon, built in 128AD, it is one of the best preserved ancient Rome buildings, and you can see why. It really was in impeccable condition for being that old, but it still blows my mind how modern buildings really eclipse ancient Rome. When I mean modern buildings, obviously these are a 100 to 200 years old, but in perspective I still can't get over how much it encroaches on the ancient.

Below is the Piazza Foto Traiano, or the Trojan Forum ruins that was inaugurated in 112AD.

 

After we wandered on the ground level we headed up the Capitol Museum (the large white building you saw in the above photo) and captured some beautiful views from above the Trojan Forum and the Ancient ruins.

 

After exploring we headed off for lunch! Of course I had to get pizza and the white pizza with proscuitto was one of the best! I wish I could find the same thing here in the US and I've tried but it's no where near the same.. Sigh. Then I got gelato of course..

 

After an exhausting day we went to dinner at a local mom and pop restaurant that had come recommend to us and then we decided to walk towards the Vatican to see it at night. They say Rome is quite the sight to see at night because of all the lights. The Vatican was surely beautiful at night. We had arranged a tour for later in our stay.

 

Rome is definitely an interesting city. It was the most dirty city we visited, lots of trash, graffiti and broken glass. Such a shame to see honestly. It was also the most touristy place we visited, even over Paris. The pace of Rome is also much more pushy than Paris is, especially the waitstaff. It was definitely an adjustment after having such wonderful experiences everywhere else we had visited in Europe. What do you think of Rome?

xoxo,
Amanda