All Roads Lead to Rome

Well, we are back from all the traveling. It was a well-needed break and we had a fantastic time. Rome was amazing. We got a hotel right at the top of the Spanish steps, and it was fun going down (and up) them every day. Our hotel had a full-length window we could open to see out to the street and watch all the crazy smart cars and scooters try to beat each other around corners, etc. Let me tell you, there are CRAZY drivers in Rome.

Our hotel was really fancy, and our bathroom came equipped with a bidet. I've never seen one of those before. We had great breakfast every morning and I had about 2 pieces of coconut coffee cake each day - yum! I also got to try a whole bunch of cheeses. We had fun learning some Italian so we could speak to the concierge and to our servers at the restaurants. There is a restaurant or 2 along every single block. I know Italians supposedly eat pretty late, but each time we went out to eat we were the only ones in the restaurant. It was quite nice, actually. They all bring you bread - and no butter, so we quickly learned the word for butter so we could ask for some with our bread basket.

We got to see the Colosseum, Palatine Hill, Vatican Square, the Spanish Steps, the Pantheon and my favorite, the Trevi fountain. It's so relaxing just to sit and stare up at it - it's huge.


We did a lot of walking around the cobblestone streets. They are very narrow (about as narrow as an alleyway), and the buildings are very tall, so you don't get too much sun. Also, cars share the streets with you so when they turn down the street you have to move out of the way.

There are also lots of street performers in Rome. They dress up in funny costumes like egyptian mummies or the statue of liberty, and when you put some euros in their cup they bow, or wave, or move in some way. It's really neat.

Another funny thing - since there are churches everywhere they also have shops for priests to get their fancy clothing.
We also had a wonderful time meeting up with some family from Australia. One night we met at the Pantheon and all 12 of us managed to practically fill a little cafe. I ended up ordering a marinara pizza, and it came out with all sauce and no cheese! I had no idea they made pizzas with no cheese, so if you are headed to Italy, be warned. :) The whole family was extremely fun and it was nice to meet all of them. Hopefully we'll all catch up again when we head to Australia in the future. (Unfortunately I don't have any pics of everyone!)

And finally, here are some other cool photographs I took.