Day 1 & 2: Rome

Here are our pictures from our trip. At least the first installment. There are a lot of pictures, so be prepared. I took over 200 just in Rome. I was a complete tourist and I'm okay with that. :) So, here we go.

DAY 1

At the airport getting ready for a very long flight. Very, very long flight.

On our flight from Boston to Rome.

The main train/bus station in Rome. We spent A LOT of time here. Connecting from bus to bus, waiting for trains, standing in hot lines, and seeing nude butts.

We got to our hotel about 9 am (Rome time) and, of course, had to get some pizza for breakfast.

First on the list of site-seeing: The Vatican Museum and St. Peters Basilica.

This is the line to get tickets to get into the Vatican. Good thing we bought ours in advance!

We actually had to go around to the back where there weren't any lines to get in and on the way we passed Danny's favorite gelato place, so of course we stopped. It was so good! And yes, I remember what I got. It was vanilla. Mmmm.

Here we are taking the shortcut to the Sistine Chapel. Supposedly this is the way Michelangelo took every day. Crazy!

There is really no way to describe the Sistine Chapel. So beautiful. And HUGE.

In front of St. Peters Basilica. I don't have any pictures of us inside. I think because I was totally distracted and overwhelmed. I think the building had no end. It just kept going and going. The inside is huge and full of art and entombed popes. We saw Michelangelo's Pieta and I loved it.

This obelisk supposedly marks the spot where Peter was crucified. I still can't believe we actually went here. It was slightly surreal to be in a place that I've seen in books and movies. This place was here before our country was even made. Amazing!

Second on the list to see: Piazza Navona

This is the Four Rivers Fountain by Bernini in Piazza Navona. This piazza was probably my second favorite place from the whole trip. At night it fills with artists and exhibitionists and lots of opportunities to people watch.

Other than the pizza in Napoli (to come later) this was the best food we had on the whole trip. Thank you Rick Steves! It was a couple blocks off of Piazza Navona and it was so good. We actually ordered dessert first and the waiter thought we were kidding. He was laughing when he brought the dessert and we asked him and he told us he had never known anyone to order dessert first. That's my dad for you! The creme brulee was the best I've ever had! I didn't take any pictures of our food because I was too busy eating baked eggplant. Delicious!

Day 2:

First to see: The Colosseum

Again, amazing and huge. Those Romans really liked the buildings to be massive.

Second to see: The Pantheon

Originally built in 27 B.C. and rebuilt in 127 A.D. I still can't get over how old it is! I'm still wondering what happens to all the water that comes in the oculus.

Outside the Pantheon.

Outside the Pantheon again. This is the only picture of the whole group.

In front of the Trevi Fountain. It was hard to get a picture because there were so many people there. But worth it. I just wish we could have gone swimming here. It was so hot and humid!

My first piece of pizza. Margherita with tomatoes and basil. My favorite kind of pizza.

At the bottom of the Spanish Steps. Again, tons of people. We didn't walk to the top because we were all tired. Instead we walked a couple blocks over to the most lavish McDonald's in the world and used their free restrooms.

Last but not least, the train ride from Rome to Pisa. I'd never ridden a train before so I was actually excited (sounds dorky, I know). Needless to say, by the end of the trip, riding trains and definitely lost it's luster.