Rome, Italy

We originally planned to spend our second long weekend in Budapest and Vienna but we were told there was going to be a public transportation strike in Prague on the day we planned to take the train. After searching the internet for different places to travel we decided to book a last minute flight to Rome. We hadn’t considered going to Italy before because we figured it would be somewhere that all of us would eventually travel. However, this last minute decision was one of the best I have ever made! 

 After a metro, a bus, a plane, a train and another metro we walked up the steps of the metro station into Rome and were immediately greeted with the beautiful view of the Colosseum. Our bed and breakfast was only a few blocks away from the Colosseum, it was truly incredible to walk past such an amazing piece of history everyday. Because we hadn’t planned on traveling to Rome we were a little underprepared with travel plans so we just wandered around the city in awe for our first night. 

Our adorable Italian neighborhood

On Saturday we booked a 3-hour tour of Vatican City, which included a personal tour guide through the Vatican museum, the Sistine Chapel, and St. Peter’s Basilica.  Vatican city on a Saturday in the middle of the summer is one of the most crowded places I have ever been, besides the mass amount of people our tour was incredible. Our tour guide was very knowledgeable about the both Michelangelo and Raphael so it was fascinating to hear the stories behind paintings such as The Last Judgment inside the Sistine Chapel and The School of Athens inside the museum. 

St. Peter's Basilica 

After the Vatican we walked to the Trevi Fountain to participate in the coin throwing tradition. The Italian legend holds that if visitors throw 1 coin over their left should into the fountain they will return to Rome someday. The legend also holds that if visitors throw 2 coins in they will fall in love with a Roman man or woman and 3 coins will end the love.  I figured I needed to ensure my chances of returning to Rome so I threw 1 coin over my left shoulder. 

Trevi Fountain

I'll definitely be back to Rome!

Just down the street from the Trevi Fountain was the Pantheon, we had downloaded a free audio tour on our ipods so we walked over and sat inside while we listened to stories behind the architecture and the previous uses of the amazing building. 

The Pantheon

Sunday we decided to take on ancient Rome around the corner from our bed and breakfast starting with the Colosseum and ending with the Roman Forum inside Palentine Hill. We downloaded a free audio tour for the Colosseum so we walked around listening to our ipods in absolute awe. The Colosseum was unlike anything I had ever seen before, the history behind the building and it’s condition thousands of years later was truly astonishing. Palentine Hill and the Roman Forum are literally across the street from the Colesseum so we spent the rest of the afternoon wandering around the ancient ruins of Rome listening to audio tours.

1st day in Rome 

View from the top of the Roman Forum

View of the Colosseum from Palentine Hill
The words Italy and food really do go hand in hand, my favorite part of the trip was drinking amazing Italian wine and stuffing my face with every type of pasta I could get my hands on. As if the wine and pasta wouldn’t have been enough, the streets of Rome were lined with gelaterias where there were countless flavors of gelato and delicious crepes. 

Lasagna

Spaghetti at the 5th best restaurant in Rome

Banana and Nutella Crepe

Nutella gelato