Joel and I at the Colosseum
Joel and I just returned from a whirlwind trip Rome. We left Prague on Saturday at noon and then left Rome on Sunday at 3:00. It was a VERY short trip, but we had a fabulous time! Joel had been in bed with pneumonia for the last 3 weeks, so I’m pretty sure he was ready for a vacation, as was I. Things in the kindergarten have been a bit stressful the last few weeks, I won’t go into the boring details, but needless to say, we were both in desperate need of a Roman holiday.
When we arrived we checked in to the Fellini Bed and Breakfast which was just a two minute walk to the Trevi Fountain. It was the best location! I was an adorable little place, the room was great and everything was new. It had great old Fellini film posters decorating the hallway and the breakfast was delicious. After dropping our bag off we headed straight to the Trevi Fountain, which is my favorite place in the world. The people watching is phenomenal! I could sit there for hours on end just watching everyone around the fountain. We stopped for pizza along the way, the first of many delicious things we had to eat. And the first of many pieces of pizza Joel would consume. Before we even got to the fountain we had to stop at another pizza place for another slice for Joel. We stopped briefly at the Trevi Fountain and then continued on the Pantheon. Unfortunately we were not able to go inside because they were holding some sort of special event inside, but Joel was able to stop at yet another pizza place nearby for his third slice in less than thirty minutes. After some picture taking at the Pantheon we headed for the Colosseum. We walked past Vittorio Emmanuel and the Forum on our way and were able to see both of these before it got dark. We made it to the Colosseum just before dark, but were not able to go inside because it was already closed. We spent a bit of time wandering around there and buying illegal mini tripods. Joel had been eyeing these mini tripods that these guys were selling along the street and managed to get talked into buying one. But in the middle of the purchase the police came so the vendor had to run, leaving Joel and I to follow along a safe distance behind to finish up the purchase once the coast was clear. It was quite the shady dealing. But the tripod made him happy, especially since he said now we no longer have to ask people to take our picture for us. He would rather take the time to set up the tripod and set the timer. Asking people to take our picture for us has become an ongoing battle. If Joel had it his way we would have no pictures together this year, except for the few occasions when someone comes to visit. But according to him, this problem is now solved!
After our time at the Colosseum we made our way to Campo de Fiori. It is a wonderful square that has big flower markets during the day. We got very lucky there, as a few of the flower markets were still open and they were beautiful. We found a cute bar in the square and had some drinks on the heated patio before heading over to another restaurant on the square for dinner. We had a delicious dinner and a wonderful time sitting on the patio looking out onto the square. We got very lucky with the weather this weekend. It was in the mid 50s both days which felt quite warm coming from the Czech Republic. We’ve had some pretty cold and snowy days in the last couple of weeks so the Roman sunshine was a wonderful change. After dinner we were exhausted from our day of travel and sightseeing. Joel was especially tired because this was his first outing in several weeks and we were moving at a fast pace to see as much as possible.
On Sunday morning we woke up early and headed over to Vatican City. We skipped the museums because of time, but we did go inside the church. I have been there twice before, but it was just as amazing as the first two times. The whole place is incredible. It wasn’t too crowded so we were able to wander around without feeling claustrophobic. They did still have their nativity scene up inside the church, which I thought was kind of strange, even for the St. Peters. It was a beautiful nativity scene, but February is pushing it, even for the Pope.
From the Vatican we took the metro over to the Spanish steps. From there it was back to the Trevi Fountain for our last pizza lunch and some fabulous hazelnut and coffee gelato. After a bit of people watching at the fountain it was back to the train station to head to the airport.
We were a bit hesitant about booking this trip because it was such a short stay, but it was definitely worth it. We enjoyed every minute and were very sad to leave. I think we should go back next Saturday…
Enjoy the pictures!!!!