Rome, Italy

So much to do, so little time! Tony and I had made BIG plans for our visit to Rome; we wanted to do it all in one day! I can now say from my personal experience that there is no possible way you can come close to seeing it all. I could spend a week in Rome and still not see everything.

The first thing we did do upon arriving in Rome is drive to the Vatican and St. Peter’s Bassilica. We jumped out of the car and made our way through the crowd and actually got to see the Pope speak! The city was packed and the pressure of seeing “everything” was quickly starting to stress us out… so in true Claire and Tony fashion we opted out of sight-seeing for the afternoon and spent the majority of our afternoon wining and dining at a charming little Italian restaurant.

We were able to sit outside and enjoy the gorgeous weather and people-watch. Our lunch consisted of two bottles of red wine, a platter of mozzarella, prosciutto, and other cured meats, a spaghetti al carbonara, and a linguine al pesto. Our simple pasta dishes were fabulous and by far the tastiest carbonara and pesto I’ve ever had! Also, the red wine from Italy… Amazing. I’ve never been a fan of red wine but then I tried it in Italy where it’s made without sulphates– no headache, no hangover, and the taste is 10x better!

After we downed two bottles of wine and our troubles were far away we decided to take on Rome again and venture over to the Trevvi Fountain. As we made our way to the fountain we passed by dozens of gelato shops and we couldn’t resist… Unfortunately, we chose one of the most expensive gelato shops in all of Rome. Scratch that… I think it was the most expensive ice cream I’ve ever had. Tony and I were too excited with all of our gelato flavor selections that we didn’t pay any attention to the price—by the time we got our waffle cone selections we had spent 32 Euros together! We spent $40 on gelato… That’s impressive.

We visited the Trevvi Fountain and threw our coins in, browsed different art galleries, sat down for an espresso and coffee, and explored the streets of Rome for the rest of the day. Our last stop in Rome was a beautiful vista point where you could see the entire city of Rome and all of its historical monuments—a great last vision of Rome!