Shopping, Walking, Good Food, Terrible Food...

Today was interesting, to say the least.  We had a great time exploring and our map skills were put to the test!  First stop was Piazza di Popolo.  Both of us were starving so we went straight into the first place we saw.  I picked a yummy pastry and matt had jamon on a crossaint.  We took our plates to pay at the register.  I told Matt to go find a table outside, but this witch of a waitress stopped us in our tracks.  Very rudly she told us it was a different price to sit outside with your food as opposed to standing at the bar.  I quickly gave her a nasty look, paid for the food, explained to Matt to grab his sandwhich with the napkin and leave!  That is exactly what we did.  Below is a picture of where you SHOULD NOT STOP while in this Piazza!

ROSATI

Anway, Piazza Popolo is beautiful and truly what you think of when you think of Rome.  Georgeous fountain, the plaza is made of cobblestone, it's open, there are pigeons flying about... very nice.

Next mission, to shop :)  Don't worry Mom, I found good deals and my husband did not make me put anything back :)  In fact, he encouraged that I get more!  I guess that is because I was finding such a great deals.  Everything I tried on, I loved.. unfortunatley :)  H&M was our first stop, which has some incredible styles right now.  Right after we went over to Zara.  I found a fab pair of jeans and I talked Matt into getting two shirts that he tried on.  Once we were walking to pay, I rounded a corner from the stairs and WHACK!  Yes, I got drilled in the face by a huge door that swung open.  And the jerk that whacked me with the door... do you think that arrogant Italian guy apologized... HECK NO!  In fact, he kind of smiled!  Do you all think I have a bruise on the side of my face, YOU BET YOUR BUTT I DO!  Then, aftering paying, we were walking out and he saw me coming.. jerk just looked away!  I guess I should have fired up a little of that Italian blood in me and made a scene, but I chose to do the contrary... deal with it!

After shopping, I was hungry...I know that surprises you all!  We ate at a FABULOUS spot.  YOU MUST GO WHEN YOU ARE IN ROME!  The restaurant was called Aroma.  It's just off Via del Corso (which by the way, that is stree that all the shops are on)

For those of you who have not ventured to Europe, you must always ask for water, and always ask for Still Water (no gas) in the big size.  When you do ask for water, they bring you glasses along with a bottle, but no ice is included.  We dont mind, but if you have to have ice in your water, ask... dont expect more than 3 or 4 cubes, though!

After lunch, we headed back to the room to put our bags away and take a load off for a moment.  When we ventured back out, we got to train station, made our way down to our train and what do you know, something was wrong... from the little Italian that I do understand, it sounded like the conductor was sick or something was sick?  Not sure, but after standing there with no movement for 15 minutes, we decided to walk.  This is where the map skills were put to the test.  I am sooooo glad that this happened.  We stumbled upon Santa Maria Maggiore.  This was the highlight of our time in Rome!  Amazing, breathtaking, beautiful, enchanting... those are just a few of the many words that I would use to describe such an incredible site!

This is the back of it

Here is the entrance

Inside...

As the service was in session

We then vetured to Via del Corso, again, to find Matt a shirt from Puma.  They had some neat stuff.  We might have even gotten my sweet brother a little birthday/thank you for letting us use the camera present :)  Shhhhh... dont tell! 

Dinner.  One word.. yuck!  Bad servie, over priced, cant remeber the name.  Poor Matt ordered seafood risotto and there were shells mixed into the rice.  He may have chipped a tooth.  We sent the food back and he got what I had, Spinach and Ricotta Raviolli.  It was ok.

When traveling in Rome, this is what I suggest for meals (especially if money is a factor)... For breakfast grab something from a bakery to take with you while you venture out.  For lunch, sit down at a nice outside cafe in a Piazza and order some pasta and wine, and for dinner go to the Pizza counter right outside of the Spagna train station and try a different kind of pizza each night.  The 40 euro we spent on dinner tonight was not worth it.  Two pieces of huge pizza - 8 euro, 2 bottles of still water - 3 euro... eating your pizza and drinking your bottles of water while people watching on the Spanish Steps... PRICELESS!

Yesterday... continued!

After we left the Vittorio, we headed through the Forum and over to the Colosseum.  The ruins are incredible and an absolute must see while in Rome. 

These are pictures of the Roman Forum

The Colesseum... We stood in line for nearly 20 minutes and got up to the ticket counter and only had a card... no cash.  When we asked where an ATM was, they said, "oh no problem, go outisde of the entrance and turn right... "it's right there"... sure if you call "right there" about a quarter of a mile away.  No big deal, though :)  We were happy to walk and get some cash.  When we returned, we skipped the line and went straight to the front.  I think Matt was blown away once we got inside.  He loved the ancient look to the whole thing.  I swear it looks like it's all going to crumble any minute.  In fact, there are pieces on the outside that look like they could fall at any point.  Here are some pictures of the beauty inside the Colesseum.

Arc di Constantino from inside the Colesseum

After walking all over the place, we decided to just get some Pizza and Gelato and head in for the night.  In doing that, we found the BEST GELATO!

This shop is right next to the Trevi Fountain.  If you are looking at the fountain, turn to your left and the sign above should be there :)

Ciao!

We saw it all in a day .... well almost all of it :)

The clock in our room was off by an hour (our tickets for the Vatican were scheduled for 10:00 am), but thankfully, we still made it to the Vatican with no problems.  BUY YOUR TICKETS ONLINE BEFORE YOU GO!  The line was at least a 4 hour wait, but I knew to buy mine before we left for Europe so we walked right to the front and went right in. 

The entire experience in the Vatican is hard to describe with words.  There is a feeling you get while walking through. Maybe it's knowing the Pope is close to you.  Maybe it's the respect you have for a religious place, in general.  Whatever it is, it's cool!

Hallway towards the Sistine Chapel

You can not take photos in the Sistine Chapel because the flash can damage the artwork.  You also have to be very quiet inside because it's a chapel.  They take this all very seriously, but, with my brothers amazing camera, I got one good one....

St Peters Basillica

The service was still set up from Palm Sunday's Mass.  Easter in St Peters Square is supposed to be amazing, but we will be in the Tuscan countryside and will sadly miss it.

St Peters Plaza

Next stop was a place I had not been, but we decided to check it out anyway.  NOT WORTH IT!  Castel Sant' Angelo.... 7.50 euro... do not spend your money on this.

Since we were so late to the Vatican this morning, we did not get a chance to eat breakfast.  It was around 2:00 when we reached Piazza Navona for lunch.  Cafe Bernini was excellent!  It was time for some carbs... PASTA PLEASE!  I had Fettucini ai Funghi and Matt ventured out and tried Spagehtti Carbonara.

Matt with his Peroni

A little Chianti at lunch never hurt anyone!

Delicious Spaghetti Carbonara

Piazza Navona

It started to get cold and windy, so we chose to walk down some side streets to block the wind.  I wish cities in America were this easy to get around on foot.  We must have walked miles, but it sure did not feel that way due to the easy layout of the streets.  As we were on our way to the Colosseum, we stopped for a pick me up.. Cafe Latte!  This little shop was delightfully decorated, had a great atmosphere and the gelato looked yummy!

When we were finished with our Lattes, we headed back toward the Pantheon.  At first, we passed it not knowing what it was because contrsuction was going on around it... we turned back to check out what it was... sure enough it was the Pantheon.  It's one HUGE circular building.

I wanted everyone to see just how massive the columns are surrounding the Pantheon...

While walking through the streets, it started to drizzle.  Since the camera is not mine, we took shelter until it cleared... dont worry bro, your camera is safe with not a drop on it!

Once it let up, we ran right into the Vittoriano.  It's one of the most eye pleasing sites in the city.  Very grand, very ornate!  We took this opportunity to take some fun pictures!

Now find Matt in this picture....

Inside the Vittoriano

Since Drew isn't here, Matt had to find some new buddies

Once we exited the building, it was time for a jump pictures.. William, hope we made you proud!

More to come later...

First night in Roma - Pizza, Gelato, Spanish Steps, etc etc etc

Matt and I ventured out after we took a much needed shower... finally, we felt like humans again!  The hardest part of the long distance traveling is not showering... for me at least.  I do not know how my Mom does her trips to Asia. 

First obstacle, the subway.  We forgot our map in the room, so I stepped into a book shop to purchase a cheap map of Rome.  Matt had his first real experience with how Italian's can be.  I asked for a subway map and the lady behind the counter told me I would have to go up two stories to find one... YEA RIGHT.  So I pushed a little harder asking for a map of Rome.  Well looky there... right behind me... the map I was looking for.  We purchased the map and got out of there, but not before she got to do the famous "disgusted with American's" look.  Both of us have been on subways before so we knew it would be a quick brain storm session.  Sure enough, we found our way and hopped on.  The Spanish Steps were the must see of the evening.  Once we got off the train, we stopped at the first pizza shop we saw.  You walk up to a window, they ask you how thick, you motion with your hands, they cut it, FOLD IT OVER, warm it up and serve it to you.  We both had Mushroom, peppers and cheese.  DELICIOSA!  Matt absolutely loved it.  As we walked over to the Spanish Steps, I got the camera ready.  Matt was blown away to say the least.  This was a great photog opportunity.

It was time to just walk the streets.  The shops were to die for, the buildings are facinating if you have not seen them before, the people are interesting... the whole experience was a must for his first night here...

and our first night together in Rome :)

On accident, we stumbled upon the Trevi Fountain... the most beautiful fountain in Rome.  Matt, again, was overwhelmed.  The things he had seen in his text books were right in front of him.  I had forgotten how amazing Rome was at night, but this was a quick reminder!  In the same area, we stopped for gelato and to buy a belt for Matt.  I, of course, found a great scarf I just had to have :)

While venturing off the beaten path, we stumbled upon the Bentley dealership.  We walked all over the place.  There was a point where we felt lost, but our 2 euro map pulled through for us!

Take a look at how much that beauty is...and remember, to buy one Euro, you pay $1.30...

Matt's asleep and I am about to follow.  Good night everyone! 

WE MADE IT!

We made it to the airport with plenty of time, thanks to my always punctual Meme and Owen!  British Airways began to please from the moment we stepped up to the counter.  Our British Airways agent, Lydia, was helpful, kind and went above and beyond.  We had about 2 hours to kill, so we decided to see if they would let us lounge in the British Airways Club.  Once we stepped off the elevator, we asked if we could experience the club, and at first they denied us... until Matt used the "Honeymoon Card"!  Not only did we get in, we were escorted to the First Class Lounge... champagne, sandwhiches, beer, snacks, etc.  Heaven... in other words :)  After nearly an hour or so of chillin' in the lounge, we headed to the gate.  As soon as we got there, we were paged over the intercom.. "uh oh..." were my first thoughts... "the Matt Coker curse"..  Nope!  Just Lydia being her amazing self.  Our flight out of Heathrow was reinstated (from the former cancellation) so she had rebooked us on that flight and put us in the exact seats we had chosen on the other flight.  She was incredible!

The flight was nice.  Wine, snacks, dinner, etc.  Thankfully we chose emergency exit seats with no one in front of us. We watched a movie and went to sleep.  Overall, we were very impressed. 

One of Owen's favorites... Matt had to have one!

At exactly 8:35 AM, London time, we de-boarded the plane and ventured into Heathrow.  It was a nice experience.  I read my book while Matt played with our electrical gadgets.. plugging things in with his adapter kit... why not, right?  The airport has great shops, great restaurants and some really great cars on display.

Matt next to my new Aston Martin in the Heathrow Airport!

Once again, our flight was great from London to Rome... no problems at all.  Luggage was easily accessible and then we headed to the train to catch the Leonardo Express to the Rome Termini.  We stepped up to the ticket line to purchase our train tickets and they turned us away because we wanted to use a credit card.  So we used the automated system.  There we are, two dumb Americans, trying to read the machine prompts in Italian... Picture us with our sweats on, t-shirts, tennis shoes and HUGE back packs... yeah we were those dumb Americans back packing through Europe.  We did, however, figure it out :)  The police noticed us... not surprisingly, and asked us for our Passports.  Look... when a guy in a uniform approaches you and has a gun... GIVE HIM YOUR PASSPORT.  I didn't hesitate.  He did give us a great travel tip, though... "Lots of gypsys" in broken english..."be careful for the girls, you know the girls.." as he motioned with the "little" sign... ok we got it... be careful of little gypsy girls.... yea yea... and we were on our way with our passports.

We road the train in, for 11 euro each.

The directions that were given were not great, but they did what they needed to do... got us to the spotter.  The hotels around here, at least the cheap ones, have these guys who stand on the streets looking for confused Americans.  Which is exactly what we were.  He took us straight to a residential building and a guy came out and showed us to our rooms.  We actually love it.  Great location, good size, safe area and very inexpensive... perfect!  (We will post pics later).

Well, it's off to the city for some exploring!  Mom, Dad, Meme and Laura - WE MADE IT!

-T