Roma

"Rome wasn't built in a day," as the old saying goes. But we did see Rome in about a day and a half. This being a culinary tour, we didn't plan to spend much time with history and monuments, ruins, etc... so we didn't plan much time in Rome.

We got in around noon on Tuesday, and checked into our hotel, a few blocks from the Colliseum. The hotel was nothing to talk about, just a decent place in a good spot. Then we walked across the city and over the Tiber to the Vatican. We got there just in time for the daily English tour of St. Peter's Basilica. Our guide was a young priest in training from Minnesota. The tour was fascinating, with a great blend of history and trivia about the cathedral and the various pieces of art. It was the best free tour we've ever had. The Basilica itself was incredible. It is absolutely huge and filled with art. The highlights of the tour included the spot where they believe Peter the Apostle is buried, Michaelangelo's Pietà sculpture of Mary holding Jesus's body, and a bronze statue of Peter that they believe to be over 1000 years old. We were here only a few days after the beatification of Pope John Paul II, so there were a lot of signs and banners all over the city about him. They had just moved his tomb from the crypt of St. Peter's, up to the main floor of the basilica. So that was also an attraction that drew a lot of people as well.

After St. Peter's, we went to a little neighborhood down the river for dinner, where I had some great gnocchi, and Emily had an interesting octopus salad. Pictures are below.

On our second day, we saw the colliseum, Roman forum, Pantheon, Spanish steps (which we climbed), and the famous Trevi fountain. With the exception of the Pantheon, we didn't go into any of the attractions due to time constraints (colliseum and forum) or steep fines (Trevi fountain). We didn't have enough time to spend half a day in the colliseum and forum, so we just took a stroll around the outside. It was still pretty amazing to see this massive stadium as big as most modern stadiums, but built thousands of years ago. Although we weren't planning to see much of the ruins, it was fascinating to see the little that we did, and to imagine what the ancient city must have been like it its height. We had pizza for lunch, and you'll see a picture below of my arugula topped pizza. They call arugula "rocket" for some unknown reason. I've also included a picture of Emily with a delicious cappuccino.

As I write this, we're sitting at the Rome airport waiting to board the flight home, though, I won't post this until we find an internet connection.  Stay tuned for a trip retrospective.