When in Rome…

Ahh…Steve had been waiting his whole life (or at least since he saw “Anchorman”) to walk around saying “When in Rome…”  Did it get old?  For Steve – not one bit.

Anyhow, I know I posted about Italy a few days ago, but now it’s finally time to post about our two-day excursion to Rome.  I must say that we REALLY lucked out with the weather.  It was in the 80s both days that we were there.  We wanted to walk the city, so the fact that the weather was warm and sunny could not have been more perfect.  We arrived by train at about 9:00 a.m., walked to our hotel (with a stop by Michelangelo’s last architectural work, a beautiful church) and checked in.  After dropping off our bags, we headed down the Spanish Steps (literally, within 10 minutes from our hotel), by the Trevi Fountain, in and out of a number of churches, stopped by the Pantheon, enjoyed some delicious gelato while admiring the art in Campo de Fiori, and spent most of the afternoon at The Forum and Palatine Hill.  So cool!!  Of course, I thought I was still young and agile, so I wore sandals…to this day, my ankles are punishing me.

Due to my lack of ankle support and the extra 25 pounds I was lugging around my abdomen, we had to slow down on our second day.  We meandered over to the Vatican in the morning (with a stop for some tasty cannolis), where we waited in a LONG line just to get into the Basilica.  It was super impressive inside, but way overcrowded.  Then, we went to the Vatican museum and were SO grateful to Kristi and Davide for telling us to get reservations.  Totally worth it!  Of course, with the crowds, it took us a while to get through, but we had the headset tour, so we kept ourselves busy.  I was most impressed with the Roman art and statues.  Steve loved the still-life art.  Both of us were slightly disappointed in the Sistine Chapel, but mostly because it was hot, stuffy, way too crowded, and smelled terrible.  I think the actual chapel itself was probably very lovely.

After the Vatican, we went to lunch in Trastevere and wandered over to the Colosseum.  Over all, it was a fantastic day!

We miss Kristi, Davide, and Italy!!!