R O M E
Our first full day in Rome started with a group tour of the breathtaking St. Peter's Basilica! We had never been in a building so massive or so beautiful. We had the opportunity to climb to the top of The Dome and we took it! I had been practicing purchasing our tickets with the help of my Rick Steve's pocket Italian phrasebook and was so proud to have communicated in only Italian, (even if it had a little Texas twang.) We climbed all 551 steps to the top of the Dome. That may not seem like much, but our calves said otherwise!
Basking in the beauty of St. Peter's and enjoying the view of Rome from the top of the Dome.
The rest of the afternoon and evening were ours! We decided to have a quick lunch then game plan at the hotel while connected to the wifi (remember, we were wireless!) We found a little cafe on google maps that served fried pizza and thought it a worthy destination, knowing there would be tons of sightseeing and getting lost along the way!
Here you can see Henry really embracing the culture! In his defense, he was excited to taste and compare cheeseburgers abroad. He'll share his notes later on.
We walked four miles to find this fried pizza drenched in basil, lime, mint, and sundried tomatoes. Heavenly.
Gelato numero uno and admiring the bougainvillea.
Around mile six on our journey back to our hotel, we were in desperate need of Gatorade. We stopped in a tiny shop and discovered our new favorite flavor-Aperol spritz!
Completely unplanned, we found ourselves wandering near the Roman Forum which we were to tour the next day. Dusk was setting in, and a violinist was playing beautifully as we walked cobblestone streets almost completely alone near Mamertine Prison where the apostle Paul was held during 64 AD awaiting his trial before Nero. This was the first of many moments experiencing an overwhelming gratitude to be exactly where we were in time.
Our group spent the third day in Rome with our fabulous local guide sight seeing at the Colosseum, learning about the Vestal Virgins at The Roman Forum, and having lunch and gelatos number 8 & 9 with our new friends Johnny & Rebecca!
After a whirlwind 3 day start to our adventure, it was time to retreat from the city life and say, "Ciao!" to Tuscany!
