When in Rome....


Two weeks ago I was in Rome, Italy and it was wonderful. Emilie, Guillaume, and I all agreed that it was the most magnificent city we have ever seen. Literally. Even if you're not a history lover there is no way you could not fall in love with Rome!

I was able to take this delightful weekend adventure because Emilie was invited to a party of a co-worker... at a castle on the outskirts of Rome. Talk about awesome. It was an all-expenses-paid and work-free family trip for me! Again, talk about awesome. The only "work" I had to do was stay at our apartment in the city center on the night of the party. In the beginning, I was going to join Emilie and Guillaume for the party but we decided that the kids should stay and go to bed early and that I would stay with them, of course. So, it wasn't actually work but I didn't go to the party. However, I had pizza and wine from the little pizzeria below our apartment and watched Netflix in my bed. I was totally fine, I promise.

So, our apartment: we rented a little place above a pizzeria in the center of Rome. It was SO CUTE.

It had two bedrooms, a tiny "living room," bathroom, kitchen, and study/entryway. As I said, it was above a pizzeria so it was a bit noisy at night but that can hardly be avoided in Rome. The streets come alive at night and many of the apartments are nestled in these busy streets above bars, restaurants, shops, etc. 

We were only there for Friday night - Sunday night so we could not possibly see and do everything that we wanted, so to avoid the stress I spoke of in my last post (not experiencing the adventure fully due to a short amount of time) we mostly wandered around the city to see what we would run into. We did not try to do anything specific because of the short amount of time and the fact that we had a 2-year-old and 4-month-old with us. They can get cranky at any moment. Overall, the kids actually did pretty well. It was a bit warmer than I would have liked, and I would love to spend more time there but it was a wonderful weekend.

We saw some beautiful sites including:

Piazza Navona

The Colosseum: 

The Trevi Fountain:

The tradition with the Trevi Fountain is the stand with your back facing the water and toss a coin with your right hand over your left shoulder and it will ensure your return to Rome! I tossed a coin for a sweet friend of mine who is actually from Italy but currently living in the states. 

For you coffee lovers: the espresso is "delizioso!" The one pictured is actually a lungo, believe it or not. I liked to call it, "tiny mouse coffee." You can order an "American coffee" but its still going to be pretty small. Haha. 

Guillaume got Augustin to give me a kiss in front of the fountain! Isn't he sweet? He took his hat off and everything. Such a little gentleman. 

View from our window. 

I took a lot of pictures which I have uploaded to my Facebook but there are far too many to use here. Unfortunately, none of the pictures do the city justice. However, the city is probably much like you imagine: tiny roads with tons of people "flying" around on vespas, everyone is smoking cigarettes and drinking espresso, the smell of pizza and pasta wafting around every corner, and yes, it's pretty dirty. If you wear sandals your feet will be black by the end of the day.

 I was worried about pick-pockets but luckily did not encounter any. However, I did see a man running with his arms full of tapestries that he had stolen from a street vendor. A small part of me wanted to chase after him but I refrained. The only mishap we had was that Emilie accidentally broke the key of our apartment in the lock of the door the led out to the street! After about an hour Guillaume and I were able to dig it out with some knives. No big deal. Haha. 

Anyway, if you read my last post you may be wondering about how I said I didn't like traveling for short amounts of time and then suddenly I go to Rome for only three days. Well, while I still feel the way I did a few weeks ago (haha) but I feel that I should remind you that my flight to Rome was only an hour. I have driven much further for shorter amounts of time back in the states. Also, flights here can be crazy cheap if you look in the right place.  I can literally fly to Morocco and back for 50 euros!  Of course, I didn't have to pay for this flight but if I want to go back for another weekend it will be very feasible concerning finances. If you're coming from the States and have to fly 10+ hours and fork out a $2k, then yes, stay for a few weeks. Heck, stay for a month! There is something fantastic around every corner! 

While I feel that this post is short and choppy, I have things to do and must bring it to a close. Y'all stop by again soon! I'll update again shorty.