Rome, Italy

Richard and I decided a few months back to take a cruise throughout the Mediterranean Sea and with great recommendations on a cruise line and ports from Henry and Lauren, we booked it and were ready to see the world.  Since the cruise left from Rome, Italy, we decided to spend one extra day before the ship left, obviously not enough time to truly see Rome but a great experience within itself. We arrived around 7:30 a.m. Rome time and hit the streets immediately .

 

Our transportation from the hotel dropped us off right next to the Roman Forum, the city center dating to over 2,000 years ago.

{Where Caesar was killed}

 

We then walked a mile or two to see the breathtaking views of the Coliseum. We didn't have enough time to take a tour, but having the opportunity to stand within feet of one of the most recognizable monuments in the world is a wonderful experience even though we went to Rome when they had a heat wave and felt as though our feet were melting to the hot ground.

 

{View from the other side}

After getting water and cooling down, we walked to see the Pantheon, which is a building that was rebuilt in 126 AD by Emperor Hadrian for Romans to worship their gods. The Pantheon has a central opening (oculus) to the sky and is still the world's largest unreinforced concrete dome. 

Afterwards, we walked into the square called Piazza della Rotonda, which is the square in front of the Pantheon where we had our first true Italian meal that  consisted of bruschetta to start and penne pasta with homemade sauce for Richard and the classic margarita pizza for me, which could have been shared between 3 people.

{Piazza della Rotonda}

Once we filled ourselves with a delicious lunch, we walked to both the Spanish Steps and the Trevi Fountain. However, we went to Rome at the wrong time because both the fountain below the Spanish Steps and the Trevi Fountain were under repair (disappointing). To make us feel better... we stopped for gelato.

{View from the top of the Spanish Steps}

{The Trevi Fountain without water}

{Our pit stop for more gelato}

  Our last trip of the day was to see the Vatican- the longest walk of the day. Even though we didn't have time to go in or see any Swiss Guards, I was able to send a postcard to my parents from the post office in Vatican city, which I thought was pretty neat.