Rome wasn't built in a day; even though we tried to see it in a day

Hello everyone!!! Here we are in Roma - together finally!!!!

Yesterday Tibby arrived just in time to experience a glorious bus-ride to our hostel. Some guy tried to pick-pocket my purse and we were surrounded for the entire trip amidst a sea of sweaty, smelly, loud Italians.

It was a perfect welcoming committee...

However, the city made up for itself with some lovely scenes in Trastevere and a delicious dinner at a cute little restaurant near our place.

Tibby tried out some fettuccine and she has decided that America knows NOTHING of what real fettuccine is!! I myself enjoyed a huge personal pizza with the perfect amount of cheese, fresh tomato sauce, and leaves of basil - all prepared in the wood-oven stove at the back of the house. 

Tibby also enjoyed some wine and together we decided it was just what the doctor ordered. 

By the time we finished our meal, it was around 11:30 so we headed back and basically crashed, dreaming of what would await us the next morning!!

And that brings us to today...boy oh boy was it a FULL day. Full of sights, humidity, food, and men dressed as gladiators. We started the day off by filling our tummies with free breakfast from our hostel, and then we made our way to the historic center. On our way, this guy dressed as a gladiator insisted that we take photos with him, and then he charged us 5 Euros each... if only it had been Ben Hur...sigh. Anyways, our first stop was the HUGE monument to King Vittorio (Italy's first king). Lets just say this guy had an ego issue. Anyways, it was only a hop, skip, and a jump away from Trajan's column; another masterfully crafted ginormous piece of marble. From there, we only had to walk to the end of the street to see none other than the most infamous sights in all of the world...the Colosseum! No matter how many photos you see of this place, once you see it in person, the photos can never truly do it justice. It is simply astounding how enormous and magnificent it is now, even in ruins. It's fun to try to imagine it in its heyday.  From there we trekked over to the Capitoline Hill and Roman Forum.  The Forum definitely makes you feel small, and far younger than you can even imagine. You're looking at something that is literally thousands of years old and has seen more of the world than you have. Incredible. The Romans sure could build things that could last a million bajillion lifetimes.

After that, we spent quite some time inside the Museo Capitolini. While the somewhat air conditioned building was a treat, it wasn't our only purpose for entering. We saw giant heads of marble (and by giant I mean 9-ish feet), transcripts from past centuries from all around the world, and ancient mosaics made with the tiniest little shards of stones you've ever seen. 

But eventually, our stomachs took over and we had to venture back out into heat and humidity to find sustenance. We didn't have to go to far when we found a lil shop that sold some interesting looking sandwiches. Kyla grabbed one that had some cheese and fresh tomatoes, while I grabbed one that had some sort of lettuce type vegetable and tiny prawns. Both were delectable. We then decided we HAD to have some gelato, because I hadn't had any yet! Again, it wasn't too long until we found some, ordered, and my life changed. Kyla had cookies and cream and some sort of "crispy cherry" flavor. I also had the cookies and cream, but I also snagged some nutella gelato. And OH. MY. WORD. I cannot believe I have lived this long without gelato!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! But that's ok, I'll just eat a ton of it over the next few weeks to make up for lost time!

While snarfing down our gelato, we made our way over towards the Pantheon. On the way, Kyla pointed out to me some flood markers from centuries past on the wall of Santa Maria basilica. Eek, no fun. But then, we came to the Pantheon!!!!! Wow is it stunning!!!! We took our time admiring from the outside before heading inside to scope things out. I found the ginormous marble pillars to be so awe-striking. It's truly a sight that you could sit and marvel at all day and be completely content. Although we didn't sit all day, we did sit for a spell and watch two musicians (one on a violin, the other a guitar) play several songs that included Hotel California, Roxanne, and Let it Be. 

After a few minutes of soaking in the Pantheon, we strolled over to Hadrian's Temple...or what's left of it. The Italians have literally built buildings right up to the marble pillars that are still standing. After that we walked over to another infamous tourist stop, the Trevi Fountain. It was bustling with people but we managed to find a spot to toss in our coins over our left shoulders; ensuring a return to this marble city. Moving on from the fountain, we found our way to the Piazza Navona. This present day market place and public square used to be the stadium of Emperor Domitian. We once again saw the two musicians from the Pantheon performing here. 

It was at that point that our bodies were crying for food, a shower, and rest. So we slowly wound our way around the streets to find a grocery store (that Kyla knew of) beneath a clothing store. Bizarre? Yes. But totally fantastic. We bought all of the needed fixings for delicious salami and prosciutto sandwiches. Then we made our way back to the hostel, had our sandwiches, we have both showered, and now we are yearning for sleep. 

Who knows what adventures await us tomorrow?

P.S. We will be posting videos soon!! Keep a look out for those!!