A Taste of Honey

We are back from Rome! I don't think I can put into words exactly how wonderful it was, but I will try. When we woke up Friday morning, there were a couple inches of fresh snow on the ground, so we were ready to get out of town! Both flights (Oslo to Frankfurt and Frankfurt to Rome) went well. After our landing, we bought a map and headed to the train. We took a train into Termini station, then hopped on the Metro to the Piazza di Spanga stop. After marveling at the beautiful weather and the incredible Spanish Steps, we set to finding our hotel. About an hour later, we finally made it there. Little did we know that the street we were looking for was located at the top of the Spanish Steps!

After dropping our stuff off in the hotel, we started to wander around to find a restaurant. We both enjoyed our dinner (but not the neighboring table, who proceeded to argue with the waitstaff about their bill.) After eating, we found a bar/restaurant to have a few more glasses of wine. Well, next thing you know, one bottle turned into two and it was time to get some rest before our first day in Rome!

Pasta and Wine (oh, how I love wine!)

The Spanish Steps were just a few blocks from our hotel

Our plan for Saturday was to see the Holy City. We took the Metro there and followed the droves to St. Peter's Basilica. We decided that the line to get into the basilica was too long, so we headed to the Vatican Musuem, which is home to the Sistine Chapel. After the museum, we stopped into a bar for a fantastic panini and a coke. The grand total? 5 euros!

St. Peter's Basilica

Vatican Museum

Forbidden photo of the Sistine Chapel.
Somehow, I missed the five guards shouting "No photo!" every ten seconds.

We did stop back at the basilica to see if the line died down at all, but it got even longer. We headed on to Castel Sant'Angelo then got some gelato. YUM! 

Castel Sant'Angelo

Gelato! I got chocolate and cookies and cream.

After gelato, we went to the Pantheon, Piazza Navona, Campo dei Fiori, Piazza del Popolo, and Villa Borghese. After seeing all those sights, we were pretty hungry, so we got pizza to refuel. It was delicious!!!

Piazza Navona

View of St. Peter's Basilica from Villa Borghese

Margherita pizza-- my favorite!

We went back to the hotel for a much-needed siesta then walked all of five minutes to Trevi Fountain. Travis spotted a restaurant nearby, and we had a delicious dinner of handmade gnocchi and rigatoni. After dinner, we strolled around and stopped into an Irish pub for a pint of beer before turning in for the night.

Trevi Fountain

My favorite meal of the trip!

Well, that is enough for today! Considering I had to sort over 150 pictures from just Friday and Saturday, I'm kind of pooped. I'll write about Sunday tomorrow.