Rome!

Rome!!! After Florence we traveled down to Rome and were pleasantly surprised with our apartment.  It was huge!  It even had a doorman and a courtyard :)  We were in a somewhat interesting area, kind of like the chinatown of Rome but you could look right out the window and down the street and see some ruins (the temple of Minerva) and we could walk to the Colosseum in about 10-15 minutes, or better yet, to the metro station in about 3.

in the elevator

A rainy day in Rome

We had mixed feelings about Rome when we got there.  Compared to Florence, it's much bigger and not quite as pretty.  Not to mention we both got sick during the first week we were there.  And it rained quite a bit.  But once we were feeling better and went out to explore the city we appreciated it more and more.

We got some enthusiasm from these guys in the Count of Monte Cristo :)

Around our neighborhood we found many intriguing things, and this dog leash attacher thing I found at the grocery store was very entertaining.  It's shaped like a dog!  Love it!

We also ventured out a little further and one of the things we found was the address from Roman Holiday, Via Marguetta 51!  It was somewhat disappointing because it has construction scaffolding in front of it, but it's now an art museum, and the little street it's on is super cute and walking down it was a nice break from the dodgeball game of the main Via del Corso walk.

51

adorable street!

We made our way all the way up to Piazza de Popolo, which we nick-named the "flower attack square" because we were accosted by not 1, not 2, not 3 but 4 flower salesman, who basically shove the flowers in your hand, while trying to snap a few pics here.  Lesson, try not to make eye contact.

Erin will forever love Piazza de Popolo however, because there's a shop up there that may be the only place in Europe you can get Dr. Pepper.

Walking around Rome is a bit daunting but let me tell you there are famous things and landmarks everywhere.  We ventured out at first to go find the trevi fountain, but we got a little lost after we got off the metro and hey, happened upon the Spanish Steps.

 At almost every piazza you come to there's some kind of old ruin, famous building or beautiful fountain.  It's really quite a trip to walk around and explore Rome.  We also found some not so famous but completly charming stuff along the way, like a book sale right in the middle of the street, or some awesome stars on the ground by some of the government buildings.

The other great thing about Rome was that the weather was really warming up and things were in bloom everywhere! Several of the streets near our apartment were just lined with beautiful trees and flowers and made it a beautiful place to walk around.











Rome also has water fountains everywhere that have drinkable water that is actually awesome!  It's so clear and super cold!  Some of them look like regular little spouts like this, and some are elaborate fountains built into walls. Most of them even have a little hole on top so when you stop up the main part with a finger it shoots out the top like a drinking fountain and you can drink right from there!  We learned how to do that after seeing a little boy on a school trip do it.  The things you learn.

Another famous sight in Rome is the Bocca Della Verita, or the Mouth of Truth.  It's at a small church near the river and was a fun thing to go see. We actually cought the line when it was very short, but it was still nerveracking taking the pictures, because there's a whole line of people and there are signs that say "1 picture per person!" so theres some pressure to make it count.  















Luckily ours turned out great, although we did cheat a little and each take a vertical and horizontal pic, you never know which one you'll want right!?

After the mouth of Truth we walked down to the Tiber River and walked along it for a while.  It was cool to see the ruins of the old Roman bridge right along side the current bridge.  Not to mention walking along rivers and bridges is always fun because artists and musicians always seem to gather there so it makes for an entertaining stroll :)

  

  

One thing Rome has is an abundance of churches.  When you're walking by something and you're not sure what it is, it's probably a church.  I have to say though, they are beautiful. Intricate details and decorations just cover every surface in most churches and they are always a peaceful break from the bustling city.  One of the most famous is Santa Maria Maggiore, which was close to our apartment so we walked by it a lot.

Another great thing about our apartment was it was just down the street from an awesome gelato place, which is "the oldest gelato factory in Rome."  It was an experience ordering gelato there, because you pay first, then take your ticket to the gelato counter, which is usually crowded with people and it's like trying to get the bartender's attention in downtown scottsdale. When you do get someone's attention you then choose cup or cone, and the flavors you want depending on the size you paid for.  We always got smalls, which gets you two or three flavors (and a dollop of whipped cream!)  The other challenge is ordering the correct flavors, as it's a gamble if they understand English or not and some of the flavors can be tricky to pronounce in Italian, not to mention the added obstacle of the mass of people desperate to get their gelato order in next.  We were successful every time but once, when Erin ended up with chocolate instead of pistachio. But it was still super yummy!



Remember those fountains I mentioned?  Well Piazza Navona has some of the best ones.  It was a little rainy but it gave us a chance to sport our sweet umbrellas.

 As I'm mentioning fountains, I guess I can't leave out this one. The Trevi fountain is pretty awesome.  Maybe epic.  Although it was completely crowded and I have to confess, while we were sitting in front of it I did have a feeling like I was in Vegas.  We went by the Trevi fountain several times while we were in Rome, and we made sure to toss some coins in so we could come back someday :)

It's pretty spectacular at night too.