Rome, Day 3

The day started early for us, up at 7 a.m. and in the breakfast room in the lobby by 8:30 or so. Typical fare if you've been to Europe, sliced meats and cheese, yogurt, breads, hard boiled eggs, pastries, etc...

After a hearty breakfast we headed to the bus stop for the Campo Di Fiori where we strolled through a farmers market. Cheese, pasta, oils, vinegars, lots of fruits and vegetables, flowers, and a great stand we stumbled upon that let you sample limoncello and other cream liquors which were all fantastic. We will be going back there on our final 2 days in Rome to pick up a few bottles along with some of his aged balsamics.

Here are a few pictures from the market:

We finished at the market and started heading toward Piazza Venezia and stumbled upon a Roman ruins site that appeared as it was still being excavated.

This was pretty neat as traffic was buzzing past all around and yet this amazing archeological find just sits, in some cases somewhat undisturbed after all of these years. A few more moments of taking it all in and we continued on towards the Piazza and were greeted by a monstrous building ahead:

Inside was a huge museum which we didn't even bother spending any time in except to use the bathroom... Which of course there was a line, and was very clean, and cost us about 1.50 American to use. Then we discovered something cool. On the backside of the building are two elevators that take you to the top for this amazing view that is almost unheard of. While in the elevator, the elevator operator was enamored with Claudia and flirted with her all the way to the top. An older married couple were in the elevator with us and they laughed the whole way up. They even sang a song which sounded like a smooth, Italian love song that made the situation even funnier. But all was forgotten when we stepped out of the elevator and saw this!

We enjoyed the view and slowly headed back down (avoiding Claudia's new boyfriend) and made our way towards the Roman Ruins and the Coliseum. The ruins were almost out of place, however at the same time, the city seemed out of place around the ruins. It is almost unexplainable how you just stop and become awestruck at just how amazing the ruins are and just how historical all of it really is.

It is so amazing... we were going to buy tickets to explore the ruins and the Coliseum, but we only had about 40 minutes for both and at 15 euro each... this was not something to be rushed. We opted to come back after a trip to the Vatican on New Years Eve or Day. However I must say every tourist known to man kind is here and they are either at the Vatican or the Coliseum. It was a mad house of people, but so much fun to people watch!

We strolled toward the Coliseum and just couldn't believe what we saw... The size and scale and magnitude of the Coliseum is unreal. Just truly unreal. We sat and stared at it for the longest time, both saying to each other, "This is amazing!"

By this time, our feet were pounding in our shoes and our tummy's were announcing themselves loudly. We found a hop on/hop off tour bus and purchased the 48 hour ticket. This took us to all the major sights in Rome with the privelege of hopping on or off as many times as you like in those 48 hours. We rode it around 1 and a half times... Mind you the top of the bus, where we first sat was open air... open air as in cold air. Open air as in our toes and hands froze. We promptly moved downstairs when seats opened up below, however we were cold to the bone by then. We took the bus to the Piazza Di Popolo again to go back to the cafe where we had cappuccino's and little pastries and sat inside.

The restaurant nice and the food was stupendous! For an appetizer we shared an italian salami plate with fresh rosemary bread. Then for entrees, I ordered risotto with truffle oil and shaved truffle chips on top and Claudia ordered a fettucini plate with olive oil, Italian mushrooms, and chili peppers. Let me tell you... Italian mushrooms are like butter... or if you are a steak house person and love the bone marrow some of the high end places serve... THAT is was these mushrooms tasted like. Oh and the risotto... There are no words in the English language that would give it justice!

A glass of wine and some laughter and reminiscing of the events of the day, we bundled up again and made the 10 minute walk back to our hotel room. I promptly set out to blog... and Claudia... well, she's out like a light. It was a long day, and I better drift off to sleep myself. It is an early day tomorrow... Ciao!

Rome, Day 2

After 14 hours of sleep... yes, I said 14 hours of sleep we awoke at 1 pm in Rome starving! Showered and bundled up for the cold day, we headed for Piazza del Popolo for some people watching, and some food/coffee. The Piazza was great, there were marching bands performing, dancers, street performers, young lovers cuddled up along the fountain, families walking dogs and people on the go... It was so much fun to see it all! We then headed up several flights of steps to a great lookout point where we got some great pictures of Rome from above. Below are some pictures of the Piazza and the view from above:

The view was amazing and the walk was enjoyable. The air is cool and brisk here, probably in the low 40's or high 30's but it feels great! We then headed to a cafe for our coffee and tasty snack of petite pastries:

Cappuccino with whipped cream and four delicious pastries... The roses seen in the photo are from a young man in the Piazza "giving them to us" and then asking us to "help him out as a favor"... Anything for a Euro.

The street leading away from the Piazza were full of people window shopping, street performers, the aroma of pizza and pastas and small Italian deli's if you will shown here:

We stumbled upon this place and were immediately in love... An array of wine and cheese and meats from all over Italy... along with chocolates, dried pasta, olive oils, balsamic vinegars, olives, pestos and the like... If you're a foodie, this a great place! We opted for some garlic and black pepper salami and some pecorino cheese. You will not get meat or cheese like this in the states, I guarantee it. It was delicious!

We then strolled along the stores and stumbled upon the Piazza de Spagna (or Spanish Steps) and just stopped and stared. The throngs of people walking to and from the steps along with some young Mexican men in their early twenties were chanting in Spanish some songs that both Claudia and I could recognize. We headed in their direction and got a great view from above and below:

The energy here was alive and fresh, however relaxing at the same time. People were taking pictures, families were sitting together talking and taking in the sights, and young men and women drank wine and beer while chatting away in Italian... We loved it!

We then strolled along some more and headed for the Trevi Fountain which is an amazing sight. The carvings in the stone are larger than life and just seem to captivate everyone who takes a moment to take it all in. Legend says that if you throw a coin over your shoulder into the fountain and make a wish, it will come true.

The picture above is me throwing a coin over my shoulder into the fountain... Let's see if my wish comes true! We sat for some time just talking and looking at the fountain and the people coming and going taking pictures... I love people watching!

We then headed through the streets some more and came across the Pantheon, however it was pretty dark and the side we were on was being renovated so we will be heading back later this week to get pictures during the day time. Then we went on to the Piazza de Navona where it appeared a small carnival was taking place. Small vendors and game stalls were setup around the area. You could buy leather goods, candies and nuts, hats and scarves, and cotton candy. We came across a candy stall that was selling European Drinking Chocolate... it was like liquid pudding of delicious silky chocolate. I opted for just chocolate, while Claudia did 50/50 of white and dark chocolate. The cups were so clean by the time we were done they could have put them back... It was so amazingly good we are actually thinking of heading back there when we go to see the Pantheon in the day time.

We stopped in at Valhrona Chocoates and picked up a few samples there too... SO GOOD! (Yes, we are eating our way through Rome.)

The night quickly set in and shops started to close and bars and restaurants began to fill up by now and we then started back in the direction of the hotel passing by Castel Sant Angelo, which was a small but beastly castle that was closed but does have a museum to explore - we may try to head back there before heading off to Florence on Sunday.

As we got closer to the hotel, we knew we needed to actually dinner and not just snack our way through Rome, so we found a small restaurant and had pasta and a glass each of red wine, very delicious and satisfying. Pasta here is al dente and the sauce in not so "red" like it is in the States. It's more of an orange/brown color and not red at all... and it was thicker than sauce I'm used, and not heavy at all. Plates are generous portions and piping hot. I almost finished mine while Claudia ate just over half her plate and was done. We sat and talked about the day and finished our wine, then headed for the hotel room to kick off our boots and get ready for bed as we are heading out early tomorrow for a farmers market at Campo de Fiori.

I hope you enjoy the pictures in the gallery and I will continue to add more... Ciao!

Made it to Rome safely

So our day began in San Diego, CA at 3:30am... showered, dressed, packed, ready to go! Drove up to my parents house where my mom came with us in my car to drop us off. We arrived at the airport with plenty of time to spare, and we saw no delays to our flight. We boarded the plane, stowed our packs, buckled in, started to relax.... "Passengers, please be advised there is a delay into Philadelphia of about 2 hours and 45 minutes. Please grab your belongings and head back to the terminal for more information.

We headed back to the terminal and waited about an hour and were then allowed to board the plane... again. While waiting to board, I saw this man who looked so familiar... and I couldn't place where I had seen him before. Then he turned his head and I got his profile....... it was Ryan Phillipe. A few people walked up to him to "introduce themselves" and shake hands... but I didn't.

A long bumpy flight to Philadelphia... and when we landed we thought for sure we would have to run, OR have to rebook our flight. It was 6:15pm and the scheduled (delayed) departure was 7pm. By the time we walked from one side of the Philly airport to the international terminals... it was delayed until 8:30. Managed to find out a friend was stranded at the airport also but on the opposite side from us. Would have liked to have met up!

Finally boarded the plane headed for Rome, at 9:15 (originally should have been in the air at 6:45pm) and actually didn't take off until 10pm. Two Excedrin PM's and a yummy airplane dinner later, I was asleep. Tossing and turning in discomfort... but I slept. I had a bit of a headache when I awoke, but I awoke to the stewardess offering me coffee and annoucing we were 1 hour from landing... I killed about 6 or 7 hours of an 8 hour flight in a cramped sleep! I was so excited!

Landed and headed to the nearest airport bathroom for some freshening up and then through customs. Quick and easy! On to the currency exchange, then baggage claim. We landed in Rome at noon. It took like 1 hour to get out of the airport, then a 30 minute train ride to the main train station hub in Rome. Talk about busy! People were everywhere! Smoking, talking, running to trains, it was so chaotic, but so much fun to watch! We had our tickets validated for our Florence and Venice trips, so we can now rest easy and just board the train after New Years. We made our way on the Metro to our exit near Vatican City and walked to the Hotel 21. It is a small hotel, clean rooms, and cleaner bathrooms. I don't have that feeling of cooties crawling on my skin... so that's a plus!

Claudia showered and discovered the bathroom will flood when one takes a shower. So 5 towels, 1 cleaning lady, and concierge man later... a technician will be out tomorrow to fix it. Good. I managed a quick hot shower, then off to the streets of Rome for some food. We were both starving!

We walked along store windows full of shoes, clothes, tobacco, chocolate, gelato, pizza and pasta, more gelato, more shoes, and more clothes. Lots of hustle and bustle on the streets... but nothing we couldn't handle. We happened upon a small storefront of pizza and pasta, and stopped in and split a plate of pasta with tomatoes and prosciutto and a small margherita pizza with blue cheese. We rinsed it all down with a carafe of their house wine... Not too bad!

Then on to a small shop of cookies, canolli's, cream puffs and the like... We each indulged in a canolli and bought a small bag of biscotti for coffee in the morning. YUMMMM!!!

Then we walked towards the walls of Vatican City... and took a right. Had we made a left... we would have walked right to the entrance. Instead.... we went right and followed the walls ALLLLL THE WAY AROUND. A nice log walk, but it was cold and uphill. And we decided to indulge in gelato while it was in the 30's outside. Crazy... I think so. But when we finally made it to the Vatica, we got to see this....

That is the Vatican. It is amazing to see up close and personal! Then you could see that the Pope was in as his lights to his apartment were on...

It was cold standing amongst all that stone, but very majestic. There was a nativity scene in the middle of the square that was really neat and drew a bit of a crowd. We squeezed in and got a few photos... Those can be seen in the gallery.

Then what we thought was a long walk back, was quite short... until you realize that you are a bit underdressed for the weather and are getting extremely cold. But in no time, we were back at the hotel, in our warm room, and Claudia was snoring. She hit the pillow and was out like a light. I'm in a dark room, watching TV in italian, and writing my blog.

So day 1 was successful... more to come tomorrow! Stay tuned!

Good night all!

Currently packing

I am packing up my suitcase, making sure I have everything I need. I had a wonderful Christmas and could not ask for a better family. My parents are so wonderful, and never cease to amaze me. My cousins always make me smile, and my aunts and uncles always show me so much love and support.

I hope your holidays were as wonderful as mine. As I pack up my suitcase I can't help but smile and thank God for my family and friends. I am truly blessed.

My next post will be from Italy... God Bless and Happy Holidays!

A week from today

I will be in Rome, probably in the hotel room exhausted. Starting to get really excited!

So, it appears I'm having laptop malfunctions at the moment. If they are not resolved by the time I leave, there may be very little blogging/picture show and tell. I will be diagnosing the rest of the week hoping for a solution.

If you scroll down to the post "Home for a while now" you will see at the end of the post that I mentioned I just may end up blogging from Italy the next time we all revisit the blog. I guess it's true, what you put out in the universe can easily come true.

Looking forward to Christmas with my family... then Italy here I come!

Countdown begins...

The infamous September 2009 vacation seems like it occurred yesterday. Three weeks of cultural exploration through Europe... what more could you ask for?

Well... you only live once right? So to end 2010 with a bang and begin 2011 with carbohydrate overload, yours truly will be in Italy from December 27 through January 8.

And yes, this means New Years Eve countdown in St. Peter's Square. This means a gondola ride through beautiful Venice This means the statue of David in Florence.

Why not? A girl has to live her life to the fullest. I will do my best to blog through the trip as I really enjoyed blogging through my last trip. Which by the way, you can relive by reading older posts in this blog. I renamed this one My Vacation Blog, as I will just use this as my main source of sharing my explorations and experiences with you.

Hotels are booked. Flight is booked. Train ticket between Rome, Florence, and Venice... all booked!
Christmas will come upon me quickly... I need to get my rear in gear with gifts, wrapping, and baking!

I look forward to sharing my adventures with you.