Hey Guys! We’re picking up where we left off on our blog series about our trip to Europe; on the agenda today- Rome, Italy! We took off on the train from Florence in the afternoon. The views on the train were breathtaking . . . kind of like the views you’d see in a film like “Under the Tuscan Sun.” Once we arrived in Rome, we took the subway to a location where we could catch a bus. The bus stops routes were rather confusing for first time Rome city bus riders who are English speaking and without a map. And . . . well . . . we got a little misplaced. 🙂 Whoops.
It’s a very long story, but all you need to know is that we had been walking around Florence all day with ALL of our luggage, had ridden the train for a couple of hours, had ridden the subway, had ridden the bus, had gotten off the bus at the incorrect stop, and were waiting for the bus to return so we could get back on to find the correct stop all while STILL holding ALL of our luggage. The bus did not come again for over an hour. Then, to make the situation just a little bit more interesting, it got dark outside. By the time we got back on the bus, got to the correct bus stop, and got off the bus, it was pitch black. We were staying in a hotel outside of the city so it was pretty dark out there. Streetlights were few and far between. You might be thinking, “Why didn’t they just use their Google Maps app to figure out where they were?” Great question! We didn’t want to use data while in Europe so we didn’t use the Internet on our phones unless we had access to free wifi. At this point, we had already been in Europe for a week and a half without using data so we didn’t want to break down and use it then. I realize now that this is pretty comical looking back on it. Josh & I can laugh about this situation now, but when we were in it, honestly it was a bit nerve wracking. We finally found the road that our hotel was supposed to be on & it was excessively dark, creepy, and narrow. So dark, creepy, and narrow, in fact, that I told Josh, “If a car drives down this road while we’re walking on it, we’re going to die.” I was being slightly dramatic, but I believe it was warranted after all we’d been through that afternoon. We still weren’t quite sure if our hotel would even be on this road as we cautiously walked down it, our legs and feet extremely exhausted. When we reached the end of the road & saw the dim lights of a new luxury hotel (that our Italian travel agent in Munich booked for us super inexpensively!), we both breathed a sigh of relief. After that ordeal, we were so tired and agitated that we decided to order pizza from the hotel restaurant and eat in our hotel room. It was early, but we were exhausted and drained. The pizza was just a tad tastier than the cardboard box it came in, but it was food & we had a place to shower & sleep.
The sun came up bright & beaming the following morning, ready to eradicate any of the anxious feelings we’d harbored from the previous evening’s events. We both fueled up on the hotel’s breakfast buffet & prepared ourselves for a day full of Rome.
The view from our hotel was very pretty each morning we awoke.
Demonstrating my extremely long wingspan. 😉
Our first full day in Rome, we enjoyed the Vatican Museum.
The weather was gorgeous, we had a new-found ability to navigate the bus system ( 😉 ), and we were ready to see as many sights as we could!
The Vatican Museum is a huge maze full of various statutes, mummies, and ancient artifacts to explore. We were there for three and a half hours.
Wouldn’t you just adore an ornately carved marble bathtub in your home?
All of the art was impressive & Josh & I liked to talk about what we remembered from our art history courses.
Josh really liked the detail in the paintings in the Raphael rooms leading up to the Sistine Chapel.
No photography is permitted in the Sistine Chapel so you’ll have to believe us when we say that experiencing the art in person is unlike anything we’ve seen. It’s vast & astounding. Imagining Michelangelo tirelessly painting that entire ceiling is awe-inspiring. Our necks were sore when we turned to leave & it was difficult to force ourselves to walk away; there was just so much to look at & so much intricate detail to admire. After gazing at the ceiling in the Sistine Chapel, we rounded the corner to the right of the room & continued on to St. Peter’s Basilica, an unbelievably immense & resplendent place.
We walked to the top of the dome to overlook the basilica. Then we realized we could walk even farther to the very top of the building to enjoy amazing views of Rome.
We walked to the top of the dome . . . all 320 steps around a winding, tightly cramped staircase FULL of other people. . .
to see THIS:
Who walks up . . .
. . . must walk down.
It stunk. Others’ lack of deodorant on an 80+ degree day in cramped, unventilated quarters is a recipe for stench.
Remember when Josh was working hard photographing people in St. Mark’s Square in Venice? Well here I am working hard for these two nice ladies. 🙂
The ceilings in these churches. *Sigh* There aren’t adequate words to describe these places. . . the vastness alone is utterly astonishing, not to mention the ornateness.
After our hike up and down the stairs, we were glistening with beauty. 🙂
And here we are in St. Peter’s Square.
All of that walking and climbing definitely worked up our appetites so we chowed on some bruschetta and pizza.
That building is Castel de Sant’Angelo.
There it is from the front. Also, please note the cool tourists on segways. How can they NOT remind you of Gob Bluth if you’re an Arrested Development fan?
When Josh & I neared the Castel de Sant’Angelo as we crossed the tourist-trap pedestrian bridge full of segway riders & Romans selling their plastic wares from China, we heard a sweet & homey sound that reminded us of America- classic rock. These two guys were jamming out! We sat, relaxed, and listened to them for awhile as the soft breeze and familiar music soothed our weary travelers’ bodies.
Then we made our way around the building to sit on a park bench and chat about our lives. Can you spot me in the photo below?
That evening, we dined at Hostaria dei Bastioni, a family-owned and operated restaurant recommended in our Rick Steves’ travel guide. Josh had spicy spaghetti, and I had lasagna. It was just what we needed to replenish our energies spent throughout the long & enjoyable day. Then we shared a tiramisu. Delightful! Every time we had the option, we ate outside at the tables on the sidewalk to watch passersby and enjoy the outside air. We did just such that evening.
Our hotel had a beautiful courtyard to enjoy so when we arrived back we chilled there and talked, laughed, and relaxed. While we were talking, a 10-year-old Italian boy named Dario walked over and struck up a conversation with us. We could tell he was excited to practice his English speaking skills with Americans & that he was super impressed with Josh’s koi fish tattoo on his arm, as the hotel’s koi pond nearby had some just like it. 🙂 He was only slightly phased when we told him that we were NOT One Direction or Justin Bieber fans. 😉 His grandparents were enjoying a retirement party in the hotel’s banquet room, and he was the only kid so we and the koi fish were his friends for the evening. All in all, our first full day in Rome was unforgettable.
Since our trip to Rome was very photo-heavy, we’re going to share it on the blog day by day instead of all at once like we did with Munich, Venice, and Florence. Stay tuned for our other Rome experiences. Thanks for reading about our travel adventures!
You can see our photography work here:
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