An Evening in Roma

After a very unique airport experience (think total chaos security line with 5 tour buses worth of field-tripping middle schoolers and security workers who just give up and start chatting with each other and let everyone run through the metal detectors) and a very unfortunate bus ride (think what should have taken maybe 20 minutes ended up taking around 2 hours) we made it to Rome!

And what better to do in your first few minutes in Rome than visit the Trevi Fountain?

Side note: we actually spent our first few hours in Rome getting totally lost and taking wrong trains trying to find our hotel. But who wants to hear about that saga? Back to the fountain...

Legend has it, if you throw a coin in over your shoulder, you're sure to return to the city again. You're supposed to throw it with your right hand over your left shoulder... woops! So we might not be guaranteed a return.

I seriously asked like 7 different people to take a picture of us with the fountain. Somehow the first 6 could only manage to get us OR the fountain. Why does taking a picture have to be so hard? 

You can't go to Italy and NOT get Gelato every day. Here's round one:

People will give you funny looks when you set up a self-timer shot on the Spanish Stairs. Do this at your own risk… I was so nervous someone was just going to steal our unattended camera!

We made it to the steps right at sunset, and it was beautiful!

And then we dined to accordion music. Perfection.

Day two started with another unfortunate bus ride and a trip to the Vatican.  

The highlight of the Vatican is the Sistine Chapel. To get there, you have to wander through about 7 million rooms of statues and busts and crowds. You gotta make the most of it!

Along the way, you do get to see the School of Athens painted by Raphael, which is pretty cool.

This is not the Sistine Chapel. You are not supposed to take any pictures inside the Chapel, so we didn't. It was tempting though. It's simply breathtaking!

More Vatican shots:

A few years ago I was in Rome, and a friend showed me this little bakery with the most delicious sandwiches: buffalo mozzarella, sliced salami, and fresh-baked flatbread. I'm so glad I was able to share it with Andrew! Good food has to be one of the best parts of traveling. 

We continued our jam-packed day with a visit to the Colosseum. 

I had no idea how much Anj loved old things! He loved seeing the Colosseum. I'd never been inside before and it is actually pretty cool. Fun fact: though the colosseum could seat around 50,000, it was built in a way that it could be emptied in three minutes! Take that every stadium I've ever been to. 

Seriously. Everytime we ever asked someone to take a picture it was just a huge struggle. Forget it.

#selfie

I ran ahead and was posing like a statue, and I thought Andrew was taking a picture of me… Then I looked over and it was actually a totally random person taking a picture and Anj was nowhere to be found. Awesome. I remade the shot for Anj though.

Extra points if you can keep your eyes open!

Ruins, ruins, and more ruins!

A day in italy is pointless if you don't have gelato! This time we stopped at a rome favorite, Giolitti.

So. Many. Flavors. 

We both got the nutella. WOW. Just wow. 

We spent our last day exploring and eating. 

This gelato was my favorite.

 Pinapple mint. Rasperry sage. 

Gelato genius.

Look a blurry picture of cats! There is this one ruin where hundreds of stray cats live. Seriously. There is a stand where you can donate to have them spayed/neutered. Or you can just adopt one. It's wild.

How many can you spot?

If you know me, you know my favorite thing to eat is caprese salad. 

While in Rome, I was on the hunt for the perfect caprese, and I finally found it:

I think the caprese angels came down and smiled upon us. It was SO good.

And if that wasn't enough, I got to eat the most perfect, pillow-soft gnocchi I have ever had. 

It was smothered in a tangy pear gorgonzola sauce. Yum!

This guy had some delicious pasta too, but I was too busy enjoying my gnocchi to remember what his pasta was called.

 I'm pretty sure it was tasty though.

Although getting a picture with the name of the restaurant was a failure, I definitely think our Rome trip was a great success. We saw the sights, we ate good food, and we tried 13 flavor of gelato in 2.5 days. Mmhmm. Success.