All Roads Lead to Rome

Where to begin…

As husby reminded me, Rome wasn’t built in a day. True. But we tried to see it all in a day! Mass craziness, I tell you.

We started at the Vatican and St. Peter’s Basilica. Travel tip? We pre-reserved our tickets online to the Vatican and the Colosseum and also booked the Roman forum and Palatine Hill Tour, easily saving us two hours of standing in ridiculously long lines. Visit sites like AllWorld to read online articles to help plan your next adventure.

Once inside, we could’ve spent the whole day getting lost in Raphael’s art leading to the Sistine chapel. Wall to wall and ceiling after ceiling painted in exquisite details (a’hem… if I might add… if I make it to heaven, I know who to subcontract the walls of my home to! ha!). Then came the glorious Sistine chapel. Marveling at Michelangelo’s piece of art history, I contemplated what inspired him and how did he accomplish such grandeur? It’s almost miraculous. Chills from head to toe, my friends!!

Then we were off to the top of the Vatican. No lie, we literally ran up the 1,000+ steps to get to the top of the Basilica dome, all to see the view of the city. Talk about huffing and puffing (yes, and profuse sweating…Ew). But definitely worth the view once we made it to the top! I begged for an elevator for the way down. But to no avail, dagnabbit!

Next stop? The marvelous Colosseum. I could almost hear the roar from a packed stadium of spectators gazing upon men fighting for dear life. There’s almost a solemn feeling associated with this place.

Afterwards, famished and feeling faint we made our way to Piccolo Buco, a local gem that didn’t disappoint. We walked in and the place was packed with locals. Obviously we stuck out and were given stares like, “Um. Look what the cat drug in! How’d you find us.” After exchanging many smiles, we warmed them over & somehow became apart of their Italian family. Grandma took our picture… The papa showed us how to make pizza sauce (including his secret family recipe), and the Mama made sure we promised to come back. Oh sweet sweet lasagna, I will never forget you!

The Pantheon is one of those things you see & think, “Seriously? The sure genius of keeping track of time using the Sun!”

The Trevi Fountain, was so incredibly romantic. If only we were able to see it again lit at night…

Tired feet, full bellies, and a day that I dream about often.