Pizza. Wine. Gelato. Bruschetta. Crostini. Caprese Salad. Sangria.
I’m back in London taking a break in between classes after three delicious and action-packed days in Roma. First, let me say that Rome has got to be one of the most amazing cities in the world – so much to see in a relatively small area, amazingly friendly people, and delicious eateries. From start to finish, our trip was stress-free. Despite having to wake up at 345A on Friday morning to grab our 445A cab to Paddington Station, I was pumped and ready to go for Friday’s action-packed day in Rome. We arrived in Italy at about 11A (Roman time) and got settled into our super cute hotel, Hotel D’Este, by 1P. The hotels was perfect — we had a huge room and a decent-sized bathroom, plus pretty amazing views of Santa Maria Maggiore church.
Day one, we decided to do a hop-on, hop-off bus tour (€19) to familiarize ourselves with the area and see as much as possible in a single afternoon. Our first stop? The Colosseum!
The Colosseum was breathtaking! We had to pay to get inside (€16 including audio guide), but the views were worth every euro. Check out these views of the surrounding area from the top:
I know this arch is a big deal… Arch of Constantine, perhaps? Beautiful.
After leaving the Colosseum, we hopped on the bus to head over to Piazza Navona for lunch and gelato!
On the way, we saw this amazingness, Palatine Hill – the place where Romulus and Remus were taken in by the She Wolf, according to legend. Pretty awesome sight!
We also caught a glimpse of this amazing building. I’m not 100% sure what it is, although I’m sure the audio guide told us! The backside has a staircase that was designed by Michaelangelo!
We ended up in Piazza Navona for lunch with an incredible view of this fountain that was sculpted by Bernini. His work is incredible! After our jaunt in Piazza Navona, we headed back to get ready for the evening, dinner in Trastevere and meeting the locals. We had a brilliant time practicing/learning Italian while we were there and the people were so amazing.
Stay tuned for Day 2, where we got to see the Trevi Fountain, the Spanish Steps and enjoy liters of sangria. Mmmm!
Lots of love,
To check out the rest of the pictures, see my album on facebook here. I have about 150 loaded!
Posted by Kristian Ulrichsen on November 16, 2009 at 7:39 AM
It is the monument to Vittorio Emanuele II, first king of a united Italy following unification in 1870. It is somewhat derisively referred to as ‘the wedding cake’.
Posted by ShannonElizabeth on November 16, 2009 at 7:57 AM
Yes! Thank you — that DOES ring a bell. I remember a reference to the ‘wedding cake’ but I couldn’t remember what the building actually WAS for the life of me! :)
Posted by When in Rome… (Rome, Day II.) « The Traveling Scholar on November 17, 2009 at 3:56 AM
[...] Talk « Meglio del Sesso! (Rome, Day I.) [...]
Posted by The Traveling Scholar » When in Rome… (Rome, Day II.) on January 14, 2010 at 7:11 PM
[...] Vacations & Leisure | November 17th, 2009 After our fun-filled and relatively stress-free first day in Rome, we had a solid plan of attack for Day 2 of our Roman Holiday: a trip to Santa Maria Maggiore [...]