What a day in Roma!! It started out right with a chocolate-filled pastry (paste) from a cute Italian bakery on the corner. The sky was blue without a single cloud and the temperature reached a warm 80 degrees.
With missing a day of sightseeing yesterday, there was much to do.
We began our adventure touring the Palatino and the Colosseum. How incredible it is to stand alongside such historic and dated architecture. It is something that makes you feel so small. Staring at the arena of the Colosseum, it is difficult to fathom the amount of men and beasts killed there. It is also a challenge to imagine what it looked like thousands of years ago in its glory.
After the tours we traversed around the city and grabbed a little sandwich and a granita (a frozen fruit drink; like a slurpee, but better) which was just what we needed to bring up our energy levels after being in the hot sun.
We eventually found ourselves at Piazza Navona – a beautiful city square with outdoor vendors, music, restaurants, and a breathtakingly ornate church which I believe honored Saint Agnes. It was incredible. The paintings high in the dome were unreal. Ever been in the Capitol building in DC? It’s got nothing on this church! All I could do was stare and bask in its beauty. Is it possible to fall in love with architecture?
Tammy and I moseyed to Camp de Fiori where we ate a pasta dinner at a recommended restaurant. I was brave and ordered a mixed seafood pasta. Uhhhh… Look at the pictures below. When our food was served, we almost died. Our seafood might as well still been alive. I barely knew how to approach eating it. Well, it was an experience. Good, but nothing like I’ve ever tasted before. When in Rome!!
We then went to the Pantheon . I can’t get over how huge and old everything is around here. It was another piece of architecture that made me feel so small and new. I also jumped with excitement when I saw that the Pantheon is the final resting place of both Rafael and the first king of Italy.
BUT my favorite part of our time today was getting chocolate hazelnut + mint gelato and eating it in front of the Trevi Fountain . It was much grander than I had expected. Tammy and I just sat there eating our gelato in the warm weather at sunset in front of this immense fountain. I promise my smile was so big. This is probably going to be one of my favorite moments in life.
Well, we are about to head back out for the evening. Enjoy the photos!!
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