Europe Part III

ROME!!!! We spent 4 days in Rome, and we had a great time. Our hotel (Hotel Panda) that was recommended by a friend, was in a great location of the city, walking distance from everything. We did TONS of walking in Rome. I was so glad I had my tennis shoes! This time we got on the right train from Florence so we were in Rome by lunch time. We ate lunch on the train, arrived to Rome, walked to our hotel from the train station, got our bearings and were out the door to explore the city. We walked here first...

The Vittoriano Museum/Roma dal Cielo Terrazza. It's massive, a little obnoxious, but really pretty. We took the elevators up to the top for some great views over the Colosseum, Forum, and the rest of the city.

The we walked by the Forum of Augustus. This is one of the Imperial Forums of Rome, built by Augustus in around 20 B.C. I couldn't get over how OLD everything was. It was amazing to see it in person.

Then we went to the Colosseum. I have to say, I was really disappointed. They were doing restorations on the Colosseum, the fountain at Spanish steps and Trevi Fountain. So, this is the only part that wasn't covered in scaffolding. The next day once we were actually in the Colossuem it was awesome, and I totally forget how upset I was :) We just couldn't get any good pictures of the outside. Oh well!

Here is what it looked like when we walked up.... 

I love this picture. I must say the Colosseum ended up being my very favorite site in Rome!

We went to Palatine Hill, checked out he palace and the grounds. You had to use your imagination a little but Jerrod was a great tour guide and guided me through it all :)

Here is Jerrod on Palatine Hill, with the Colosseum in the background.

For dinner we went to a little street side cafe that was recommended in the Rick Steve's Italy book. The food and wine were great, and I loved the ambiance with the Pantheon close by! Very romantic city!!! This is us after dinner by the Pantheon. Such a pretty building, especially at night!

4 story Zara at night. I went shopping there one day and didn't even finish going to all the floors, it was huge!

Walking through Palatine Hill

Views of Rome

The Roman Forum

Pretty amazing!

After we finished exploring the Forum we went to the prison cell where Paul and Peter were held. It was very surreal and convicting all at the same time. Luckily we were the only ones in there at the time so we took a few minutes just to do some reflecting and prayer. All I could do was thank God for their lives, and how impacted I have been because of the books of the bible that were written in this cell. My life will be forever changed.

Jerrod couldn't even stand up in here. It was pretty small and underground.

Then we ate some lunch and did more exploring to lesser known sites that Jerrod wanted to see. We stopped by the Tiber River.

Any kind of pasta you could ever dream of!

Fresh flowers at a little market.

A really pretty fountain in the middle of a main plaza. We stopped here for gelato and to take a little rest!

This was the prettiest terrace in all of Italy I'm convinced!

Then we went to the Pantheon so that we could go inside of it.

Back at Roma dal Cielo Terrazza

Views of Rome on the terrace!

Then we went to Vatican City!

Inside St. Peter's Basilica

This is where Paul's tomb was. 

The Abbey of Saint Paul. This is where Paul's remains are preserved. Monks live here and search for inspiration from his teachings.

Then we went to see where Paul was tortured and beheaded. This was a lot further out of town, and it took us a while to find it but Jerrod was determined, and I'm glad we finally found it. There are 3 fountains there, because people say his head bounced 3 times and water sprung up where his head hit the ground. We could hear the 3 different springs still today.

This was what was left of the original column where he was tortured.

The original stones of the exact path Paul had to walk up to be executed. 

Everything about it was so surreal...

For some reason my iphone pics get uploaded last, so these are in a random order.... 

More at the Colosseum....

The ceiling of the Sistine Chapel at the Vatican.

Here we are at dinner one night at this amazing restauarant underground! We found it because it was recommended by Rick Steve's in the book. We loved it, it was one of our favorite meals and we got to meet the owner. He started it 62 years ago!

Hanging out on the Spanish Steps.

Viewing all the sites at night.

We found a place to watch the USA play in the World Cup! Unfortunately we lost this game but we still had fun at the pub.

More pics at the Vatican from my phone....

This cracks me up.... we rented this our last night in Rome because Jerrod told me I really needed to see the city at night. But my feet were so tired from all the walking we did so we rented this! And we peddled our way around the city. I was laughing too hard to peddle much but it was a memory with him I will never forget! Too funny! And it was beautiful seeing everything at night!!

Stay tuned for Part IV that'll recap going down to the Almafi Coast!!!