When in Rome...

I just spent the last 3 days in Roma, Italia...and I already can't wait to go back. Rome is the most beautiful city I have ever seen. There are countless, old bridges, drinkable water fountains and ruins all around the city. We were so lucky that the weather was perfect the entire time we were there. For starters, we couldn't of asked for a better hotel, the 4 star, "nh Leonardo Da Vinci" hotel. Besides how big and beautiful the room was with the perfect view of the city from our window, the breakfast just made it that much better! They served eggs and bacon (finally!) and they had personal cappuccino makers and nutella with toast...Delicious! (Rome is crazy about nutella.)

The first day we saw the "birthday cake" of Rome called Vittorio Emanuele II in the Piazza Venezia. It is so big you can see almost the entire city from the top. Our next stop that day was the Trevi Fountain which we ended up visiting all three days we were in Rome, it was my favorite sight to see. Either in broad daylight or at nightfall, the Trevi Fountain is always packed with people and is beautiful. It is said that if you toss ONE coin in the fountain you are wishing to return to Rome, TWO coins is to fall in love with a Roman and THREE is to marry a Roman.

All 3 days I also experienced gelato...YUM! I tried coconut, caramel, white chocolate and nutella flavor (coconut was the best.) No words can describe how different gelado is from regular ice cream. Since we were in Italy, of course we had to have pasta and wine. The first night I had a small bottle of white wine and a spicy penne pasta for less than 10 euro! The next night was a little more expensive because we went to the original place that Alfredo sauce was invented, very good but very expensive. A cannoli was a must as well. For 6 euro, I got a cannoli stuffed with white cream and chocolate chips.

The next day, our program provided us with a panoramic tour around the city which brought us to the famous Colosseum. Then since it was a Sunday, we persuaded our tour guide to take us to Vatican city so we could see the POPE instead of our scheduled visit to the Capital which we visited on our own the next day. One of the best experiences of my life that I will surely never forget!




The following day, we went back to Vatican city to actually go inside and see the Sistine Chapel...amazing. Nick snaped a few pictures even though he wasn't supposed to :) Then we made our way to the Capital, the Spanish steps, the Pantheon and then did some shopping. We ended the day by going to look at the Colosseum lit up during the night before we headed back to the hotel. What a perfect day. 


During our final, day since we were checking out at noon, a few of us decided to get up early and visit Saint Peter's Basilica before we left. I am so glad we did because I have never seen such a beautiful church. Although it was down pouring on us the entire time, my wet shoes were worth the visit. 



Before our trip, we had heard from many people that Rome was a dirty city. However, I couldn't have imagined Rome any better. I even "attended a wedding." Nick and I loved it so much that we are planning a trip back to Italy next month hopefully to visit the very small, old city of Venice. Ciao!