hello rome....

It's been two months since we were in Rome, how the time

has flown by.  Alex and I were talking about our time there

the other day and wishing we were back there to do some

more exploring and wandering.  That has been our fave

thing to do in our travels is to wander endlessly.

This was definitely a room with a view - no matter

the time of day or night, I loved standing at the

window watching the world go by on our street

In the early hours of the morning I  would go outside

and do a bit of exploring on my own, while Alex was

still resting, that way I can get to know my area.

What I loved about Rome were the buildings and

streets - it's quite the different world than the one

we live in on a daily basis.

Four days in Rome was definitely not enough to even scratch

the surface, but we did our best with our time there.  The weather

was in the mid 80' s - perfect for walking, sitting, eating, drinking

and then repeat that several times in the course of the day!

This is the Piazza Barberini which was literally a few steps from

our hotel - the metro was right there as were several places to

eat, drink, people watch.  We shared a drinks & laughs with

a fabulous couple from Australia heading to Greece that

night for a months stay with their family - very nice!  We

bonded over the delicious drinks our waiter a Mr. Bean

lookalike brought us and sharing stories of our travels

Love.love.love. these little streets, at any given

moment motorbikes would zoom by, they seemed

to come out of nowhere.  I wanted to rent one so much!

I'll tell you about that in a bit!

The Spanish Steps which leads up to the Trinita Dei Monti Church

overlooking the Piazza Spagna

Quite the view from the top!

The crowds weren't too bad at all anywhere we went as it was

August and alot of the residents of Rome leave town for the month

What amazed me the most was the rich history that

this town has.  We come from a very young country so

to see all of the ruins and the fantastic architecture -

well it was breathtaking to say the very least!

We covered all the tourist spots and loved the beauty inside

and out!  From the Pantheon, The Colosseum, The Roman

Forum, Campo Di Fiori (loved.)  All of the plans I had

made went right out the window when we got there -

I love not having an agenda and just experiencing where

the day will take us and that is how we came to explore Rome!

How I loved all the water fountains everywhere in Rome. I refilled by water bottle every chance I got. We were definitely working up a thirst with all the walking we were doing!

What I didn't tell you was the 2nd day we were in Rome - after

we had walked for over 8 hours (with a few stops for food & drinks)

I fell down some dark marble steps at a restaurant and sprained my

ankle.  I didn't let it deter me at all - I was walking a bit slower and

it hurt like he** but I didn't go to Rome to sit around...haha...

The colors, the carvings, the rustic nature = beautiful!

Most of my photos of random buildings that we were passing

that I found pretty & interesting

So many restaurants and delicious food and

not enough time.  I ate dessert every single day

and sometimes twice and not one pound did

I gain on our trip (of course I didn't lose any

either....haha...)

Gorgeous flowers and balconies, all the color everywhere

Fountains galore - I was in heaven!

Piazza Navona = my kind of piazza!

Everywhere we were motorbikes were hanging out We tried renting one after hobbling up a hill and a 15 minute walk, but when they asked if we had driven one recently and we

honestly said NO, they refused to rent us one as they said it was toodangerous - we tried to reason with them as we travel the roads of Los Angeles everyday - what could be more dangerous?  The traffic was very light in Rome due to it being August.  So we ended up walking

over to the Termini (the train station) and catching a cab to Villa Borghese park.  It was so funny watching all the cab drivers - 5 of them trying to figure  out where we wanted to go.  I kept saying the intersection where we wanted to be dropped off and they finally came to an agreement as where to take us. It was truly a comical sight - 5 cab drivers hands flying everywhere! haha..

Love the green on the door!

This was a bridge leading over to the Castel Sant' Angelo

Love this view! 

Heading into Vatican City near St. Peters Square

Castel Sant' Angelo the gate keeper to Vatican City.  The tents

by the river are the restaurants that open up at night - we didn't

ever make it to the film festival - I really wanted to but by the

end of the day, with my foot as swollen as can be, we decided to

stick close to our hotel and relax with some new friends we made

at our hotel that were from Seattle.  Such fun people!  That is

the best part of traveling - the people you meet, the wonderful

conversations over food and drinks - just the best!

The statues everywhere were so wonderful and beautiful!

I love the shape of these trees!

My namesake

An outdoor market by the Castel Sant' Angelo

St Peter's Basilica - amazing and the entire Vatican City

deserves to have a whole day to explore it!

Another fab fountain in St Peters Square

and another drinkable fountain - yum!

Heading towards Piazza Popolo

Down some random streets - we tossed out the maps and just

strolled where the wind took us!

Why can't we have these fountains everywhere - so refreshing!

Here is a view of the Piazza Popolo from the Villa Borghese Park,
with that view comes alot of steps towalk up but it was so worth it!

Ah, hands down one of my fave places in Rome

Villa Borghese Park - we walked all over and

still didn't see it all.  I could spend several days

there and perhaps I will get the chance again! 

We spent a good hour or so, sitting on this pathway watching people walking, skating, running, riding bikes, trolleys, golf carts and segways - it was so nice sitting on a bench under a nice shade tree with my fave guy watching the world go by!  We ended up renting a bike trolley for two with a canopy.  It was wonderful pedaling all over the park.  Alex was the driver and did a great job, except at the end, I think he forgot he was in charge of the brakes and we practically took out a young teenager in the midst.  No one was hurt (except maybe the drivers ego...haha...) It provided a few moments of hysterical laughter on my part and after that episode I thought it was just as well that we didn't rent the motorbike after all....haha...

A young couple lounging

Another lovely area of the park

Love this area, the most!  When Alex saw the boat

he told me not to get any ideas....I think he secretly

wanted to row me around the lake.

We were sitting at an outdoor cafe near the Trevi

fountain in a very narrow alleyway.  Vespas zipping

by, people walking and an amazing saxophone player

serenading us - such good memories!

One of the many gelato shops we visited - too many

to sample, but I tried my best!

A vendor that I bought a print of the Spanish Steps from - this was at

the Piazza Navona in the evening - such a fun, lively and wonderful place

to spend the evening!

This was an outdoor rooftop restaurant we ate at

the night I hurt my foot.  Come to think of it, every

place we ate in Rome aside from breakfast at our

hotel - was outdoors!  Such a glorious way to eat!

The Colosseum - beautiful in a ruins sort of way!

Our time was short in Rome, but we had

the most wonderful time, meeting so many

people who were so kind and made our time

in this fabulous city a memory we will cherish

forever and ever!

Have a beautiful day, my friends!

xxoo