Roaming in Rome

  Look, I'm posting!  Ha!  And you people didn't believe I would.  So, I though since my last post was something recent I will make this next one a catch up of sorts.  Many of you may already know, but J and I went to Rome this past fall.  We actually went in October for our ten year anniversary.  I never imagined that we would be spending it Rome, but it was incredible and I am sure glad we had the opportunity.

  So, if you watch for deals and don't mind no frill flying, one can actually travel through Europe fairly inexpensively.  It also means that for the most part you are waking up and godly hours and running to multiple transportation systems to get there, but hey, you GET there!  So, the trip to Rome started just like that, waking up before the butt crack of down so we could run to the metro to grab the first train of the morning in order to get to the bus that takes you to the airport with enough time to get patted down and hop on (hahahahaha)!  This trip actually starts my streak of pat downs, I think I'm going on 5 now, whoop!

  To properly explain, let me take you back before October.  J, some visitors, and I were at a French flea market and I was lucky enough to snag an old school Iron Maiden shirt for 50 centimes.  Needless to say, it is my favorite shirt and I wear it everywhere.  So, of course I wore on the plane that day.  Well, turns out the guy controlling the traffic through the metal detector was a huge, HUGE Iron Maiden fan.  He was busy listing every song and record to me.  Me, on the other hand, have like zero Iron Maiden knowledge, so I let him do the talking.  So, in his excitement he fails to adequately control my moving through the metal detector inadvertently waiving me through when I clearly should not have gone.  At least that's what the woman on the other side was saying as she gave the "I know you are a terrorist now" stare.  So, pat down commences.  She evidently was not a fan of Iron Maiden.   I was surprised I didn't make it on some type of list that day because I was also carrying a dangerous weapon in my purse, a corkscrew (in France you never leave home without it).  But, before you know it we are on the plane and on our way to Rome.

  Rome is an ah-mazing city. It doesn't take much meandering around the city to get a feel for how truly old this city is.  Old isn't even an accurate statement, Paris is old, but Rome is ancient!  There are ruins from hundreds and thousands of years ago.  Every once in a while you come across where they have dug up a bit of the city only to have unearthed a remnants of another city below.  I told J I bet global warming is in part due to the fact that we are so much closer to the sun now than people so many years ago.  I'm sure you'll be hearing breaking studies on this very theory soon enough.  Take note who you heard it from first!

Some unearthed part of a building near the Forum.

  Rome is a small city and easy to walk, but nearly all the roads and sidewalks are cobblestone which made for sore feet at the end of the day.  I ended up blowing up the pair of shoes I brought, they made a weird squeaking sound for the rest of the trip which J seemed to really enjoy. 

Cobblestone.

  Since we were there just for a long weekend we made sure to hit up all the major attractions.  We saw the Colosseum (pro-tip: skip the tour and don't get suckered into one at the last minute, you'll probably just end up ditching it), the Forum, Vatican City, Trevi Fountain, the Pantheon, a good dose of churches, and a bunch of Roman architecture. We did get a tour for the Vatican  and it turned out well worth it.  We were super lucky as our tour consisted of J and I and one other American our age on a European tour.  It turns out his next stop was Paris, so I got a chance to show him around a bit while he was there.  It's crazy making random friends all over the world, but there just seem to be so many chances here! 

Trevi fountain - It's said if you trow in a coin then you are guarnteed to return.  We threw one in!

Not sure this needs a caption...

St. Peter's Basilica, this place was MASSIVE!

  We also found some time to hop on a train and head a bit south to the beach.  We went to the city of Anzio.  Even though it was October and the beach business was essentially closed, the water was plenty warm for our Ohio weathered bodies.  It was actually really cool to swim in the Mediterranean.  I'm pretty sure it would take a lot of effort to drown there, I could barely dunk my head under the salted water.  Where we were swimming was not only the home to Nero's villa way back when, but also a sight of an American beach invasion during WWII.  There is an American Cemetery in Anzio also, but we didn't have time this trip to visit it.  It would have been nice to have spent a bit more time in this town, it was somewhat off the beaten path, especially with the it being past the beach season.  We did stop for lunch and had some amazing super cheap pizza by the slice. 

  I really could go on for longer about Rome, it really is an incredible city with a great vibe.  We liked it so much that we are planning on returning to explore more of Italy this fall.  I can't wait for the trip and hopefully I'll blog about it in a more timely manner than this trip!  Hold your breath!

Happy travels, L