Europe!

We made it guys!
We're alive and safe ;)

We're about to head out for the day in Venice, but let me tell you a little about Rome...

When we arrived in Rome- we were tired and achy from the very long flight on the old 767 plane with small seats. But as soon as we got into the shuttle that took us to our AirBnB apartment, we were rejuvenated by all the amazing sites! Rome is ancient and beautiful (as I'm sure you'd all know or assume).

First this was our home:

Alessandro and his wife own this apartment and "rent" it out through AirBNB. They met us there to show us everything and it was perfect. Small and cozy but had everything we needed. It was a great location too- small quiet street but just a few blocks from down town!

So we set out and the first this we saw was this:

Which is not only HUGE and spectacular but we learned is important (and "new"- just built from 1885 to 1925) and is known as Altare del Patria or Monumento Nazionale a Vittorio which is the national monument built by Victor Emmanual II. The Romans today call it the "wedding cake" because of how ridiculous enormoud and new it is.

Next up we saw the Pantheon

And Trevi fountain which is under construction... Bummer. We still threw in coins where there was no water and scaffolding.

Next up we saw some amazing ruins...

And we visited the church- Chiesa di Sant'Ignazio do Loyola. Which was quite breath taking!

Of course we had to stop for an espresso!

The next morning we went to see the Colosseum first! We got an awesome tour and heard a lot about its history.

We found the Arch of Constantine!

And explored Palatine Hill to get a great view!

Next up was a private Vespa tour we had booked. Jacopo took us around to see some great parts of the city! He rode his Vespa and we rented one which Clark drove and I got to be passenger as we followed Jacopo around!!!!

We saw the ancient Appian Way-which was the first main road built into Rome. You can see chariot tracks on it!

We stopped at a lovely park and got some water. These fountains are EVERYWHERE in the city and have fresh cold water.

We saw many neat sites on this 3 hour tour! It was definitely a highlight of the trip!

The next day we headed to Vatican City...

Saint Peter's Basilica was gorgeous!!!! We also went through the Vatican museums which were just insanely busy with tour groups and school kids and crowds everywhere.