Per l'amore di ITALIA: Roma

Ciao ragazzi!!

On the weekend of March 9th and 10th, my friend Bre and I visited Roma for 2 days, and it was even more beautiful than expected. With 65 degree weather and sunny, our short weekend couldn't have been more perfect!

We started off super early Saturday morning on a 6:40 train. Even though it was supposed to be a 3 1/2 hour train, we managed to subconsciously sneak on a fast train that would have been double the price, and got there over an hour and a half early! ...did I mention it was LITERALLY the Hogwarts Express?!? Another dream that came true on this trip thus far.

First thing on our to-do list upon arriving was getting our sights set. We had bought our Vatican City museo and Colosseo tickets beforehand, which turned out to be a huge time-saver. Since it was already a beautiful day out, we chose to wander a little bit, and then hopped on the metro (the subway) to the Vatican City. Before our tour at 1:30, we grabbed a casual lunch at an outdoor Trattoria. Aka...panini e vino!

Getting the tickets to the Vatican was one of the smartest things we could have ever done. We skipped a long line and got in just as quick. There were so many beautiful sculptures and incredible artwork. Enjoy the pics :)

HOGWARTS EXPRESS

Piazza della Repubblica

The Vatican City Wall

Overview look of parts of Rome from the Vatican Museum

Bre and I

Down to the room where it showcases all of the different vehicles that transported the Pope around the Vatican City

Roman Inscriptions

Kissy kiss to Michelangelo!

Such a swaaag montstaa!

The statue of Hermes

Hahahaha

Just the prettiest ceiling!

ALMOST bought one..

I mean every once of surface area was covered with stunning detail and beautiful depictions.

I mean, come on! SO cool.

No pictures allowed......oops!

Side view outside the Vatican City boundaries

DOn't be fooled, these guys'll knock ya out!

Aaaand....St. Peter's Basilica!

That's the balcony that he stands on every Sunday

I mean that fountain water refuses to land in the fountain!

Another view

By the time we had seen everything, the sun was just starting to set, and we heard from a few friends where it would be beautiful to watch the sunset. So we headed on the metro to Villa Borghese, one of the 6 gardens in Roma, with this one being the biggest. We headed to the top of the hill, grabbed some gelato, and enjoyed the miraculous views.

Villa Borghese

View of the city! that is the Sistine Chapel in the distance.

Reppin' Italia

Funny-lookin tree :)

Then we made our way to the Spanish Steps to watch some more of the sunset. Even more beautiful.

And to finish up, we watched the lights of the Fontana di Trevi turn on as nightfall hit us. The Fountain of Trevi was even more stunning in person. Although Bre laughed at me, my conparison of it to the Lizzie McGuire Movie was much smaller than how the movie portrayed it. Haha. Anyways.....

For dinner, Bre and I found a nice Ristorante where I got broiled salmon and spinach on the side...aka branching out from the pasta and pizza. Then after a long day of traveling and exploring, eaaarly bed time, and it was fantastic.

Sunday morning, after a 11 hour sleep, we get up and immediately head over to the coliseum. SO EXCITING! You are casually walking through the city and look to your left and welp!! There's the colosseum! Very cool. Pictures could never do it's size justice. Pics on pics on pics!

Le strade di Roma

All of a sudden, we made a left and thereee it was!!

The Colosseum!!

Arch of Constantine

Just chillin'

Hahaha! Cute, but 20 euro just for a picture!

Since it was getting to be lunch time, and for the life of us we could not find the entrance to the Roman Forum and Palatine Hill, we gave up and headed toasted the Palazzo Venezia for lunch!

Reaching a perfectly quaint Trattoria Pizzeria, we were seated at a table on their outside patio; another way for us to enjoy the beautiful weather. Bre ended up getting the pizza and I got Fettucine alla Bolognese. INCREDIBLE, Especially paired with the vino bianco a casa :)

Next, since we had basically already hit all the spots we were planning on seeing and had a few hours left, we headed back to the Fontana di Trevi to make our wish!! Then back to the Spanish Steps, which was a perfect ending to an incredible 36 hour extravaganza!!!