Italy Trip Day 11

Count them all up: Day 1, Day 2, Day 3, Day 4, Day 5, Day 6, Day 7, Day 8, Day 9, Day 10

May 14 - Our last day in Rome (and Italy)

On our last day we woke up early and headed to the Trevi Fountain so we could get some pictures without people in them.

Of course we threw coins in. It is said that if you throw in a coin you will one day return to Rome!

Such an amazing structure and romantic location.

Next we were off to the nearby Spanish Steps.

We actually got someone to take a picture of all 4 of us... score!

There was a relentless flower selling man that didn't care if he had already asked several times so we didn't hang around there too long.

Then we took the metro to the 4 churches piazza. There wasn't too much to see there as they were setting up for some event and it was pretty crowded with people.

We travelled back toward the south and stopped by Monument to Vitorio Emanuel II, first king of Italy. There is a statue of him mounting a horse and there is a flame that is always kept burning. I wouldn't want to have that job.

Continuing on our sightseeing morning we walked to Campo de Fiori, a produce, food, and flower market where we purchased extra virgin olive oil to take home. We purposely waited until our last city to do this so we weren't transporting it more than necessary. They had many items like spices and spreads you could taste before purchasing.

By then it was after lunch time and we were starving. Time to take out the book and map to decide where to eat. About time for me to step in with my good sense of direction (thanks Dad for those genes) to navigate us there instead of the 2 lost boys haha.

We decided on Micellanea from the Rick Steves book which had sandwiches, salads, and such. It was not crowded at the time we were there and the food was great. There was different university memorabilia and flags on the walls.

Since we put the Rick Steves book on the table, we got free strawberry wine (as explained in the book). Unfortunately I couldn't have it due to the strawberry part but Megan sure enjoyed it!

We went back to the apartment for a bit since we had been out all day and needed to take our oil olive back anyway. Then what to do? Gelato of course! We took the bus to Gelarmony for the 2nd day in a row, you know the place with over 60 flavors so that was a favorite by all. This time most of us tried fruit flavored gelato. I had peach, mango and pineapple. The peach was the best. It was getting a little hot out at this point as you can tell from our pulled back hair.

That afternoon we decided to walk around the Borghese gardens area and do some relaxing and people watching. This was really nice and peaceful as we had not done a lot of sitting during our time in Rome. There were plenty of people walking around or laying in the sun, especially some love struck teens.

For dinner we went to El Presidente for dinner near the Trevi fountain. It was good standard Italian dishes but still probably my least favorite dinner in Rome. You tend to get pricer places and not quite as great food the closer you are to a touristy attraction too.

One last visit to the Trevi fountain after dinner even though it was now crowded. This has to be one of my favorite spots in Rome!

That concludes our wonderful trip to Italy!! Stay tuned for a post on Day 12- Leaving Italy and lots of Italy Trip Tips!

Not so square

A side table switcharoo.

You might remember this sitting area of our living room with our 2 armless chairs and a little table that typically houses the name blocks.

We knew the table was temporary as I thought the space needed a round table. More particularly a round pedestal table because then it wouldn't have chunky legs or take up too much space. Too many square shapes with the chairs being square. After over a year of waiting patiently, my mom found us one at a consignment shop and it is dark wood too! I'm much more a fan of dark wood than light wood.

YOUR HELP NEEDED! Next up for this space is a white plate wall above and figuring out the lighting as this area is not well lit.  I tried a table lamp awhile back but it didn't seem bright enough but it was a drum shaped shade so that might make a difference. My next idea is sconces but not sure how they would look on the wall with the plates? What do you think.... sconces? different table lamp? other ideas?? (I am not married to the tree so that may go)

Linking up at these fun parties:

(M) Motivate Me Monday, Making the World Cuter Mondays, Making Monday Marvelous, Just Something I Whipped Up, The DIY Showoff, Mad Skills, (T) Today's Creative Blog, All Thingz Related, Tip Me Tuesday, Ladybug Blessings, Try it Tuesday, A Little Birdie Told Me (W) Whatever Goes Wednesday, Creations by Kara, Blue Cricket Design, We Did It Wednesday, Wassup Wednesday (Th) Hooking up w/HoH, Somewhat Simple, Lemon Tree Creations (F) Remodelaholics Anonymous, JAG Show and Share Day, Frugalicious Friday,  FrouFrouDecor, Fingerprints on the Fridge, FFA Friday, Weekend Wander, (S) Weekend Wrap Up Party, Lamb Around (Su) Sunday Showcase Party, Sundae Scoop, It's So Very Cheri



Italy Trip Day 10

Read all about it: Day 1, Day 2, Day 3, Day 4, Day 5, Day 6, Day 7, Day 8, Day 9

May 13 - More Roma. This post has a bunch of pictures.

Eric got up and ready early and took some pictures of the Trastevere neighborhood.

To start our day we took the bus and then the metro/subway to the Colosseum area. Public transportation in Italy really is wonderful. This odd pyramid was near where we changed to the subway and I remember it seeming really out of place. We never figured out what it was.

Our first stop was the Colosseum. It took us a little bit to figure out the true entrance for where you go if you have a Roma pass which can get you in without paying anything extra. Outside is filled with people trying to sell you a tour or an audio guide so avoid them. Use the free Rick Steves audio guide instead. It is hard to describe what it was like (other than historic and a real work of art )and I'm know the pictures don't do it justice especially without a wide angle lens but nevertheless.

One of the original seats

The temps were a little hotter in Rome than in Florence or Venice but nothing unbearable. Of course kisses in the Colosseum really heated things up ;)

Next we moved on to the Forum. It was a little challenging to find the entrance to that as well because the signs and maps make it look right next to the Colosseum but you have to walk further away to find the actual entrance. The forum was neat but seemed a little more crowded in spots than the Colosseum did.

Listening to the Rick Steves audio guide

Roman water fountain

 Massiveness

By the time we finished there we were very hungry and had planned to later see the Pantheon... so we found a bus that took us close to there and sought out lunch. The Rick Steves book recommended a little sandwich shop so Keith, Megan and I went in to get food while Eric found us a spot outside the Pantheon to eat lunch in the shade. This is why Eric saved a spot for us... very crowded at lunch time on a nice day. You can spot him standing under the 3rd pillar from the right.

 The book said you could get "make your own" sandwiches which didn't end up being true as we tried to tell the man at the counter that the "book" said we could pick items to make our own sandwich and he kept thinking we said "pork" (which he had plenty of) instead of "book". We never overcame that particular language barrier. They didn't seem to have vegetarian options so after we bought 3 sandwiches, Megan went to get some pizza at a nearby place.

After lunch, we got our ipods ready for another Rick Steves guide and headed inside the Pantheon church. It certainly was not lacking visitors. It is free by the way.

Inside the Pantheon was spectacular just looking at the structure and learning about it. You can only help to stare up and the dome shape and the circle hole in the top. It is the same measurement wide as it is tall. Due to the size and the amount of people inside it was a little difficult to take pictures to represent what you fully see... so you'll just have to go too :)

Next up in our eventful day? Gelato of course! I had read Time article about gelaterias in Rome and one I read about said it had over 60 flavors of gelato including some soy gelato. You don't have to convince me! So we hopped on the subway and walked a little and searched a little to find Gelarmony.

It completely lived up to its name. Everyone had something different but I had cinnamon soy gelato and it tasted just like regular gelato and it was wonderful! If you are in Rome, you MUST go there. Here is the address: Via Marcantonio Colonna, 34 00192 Rome, Italy (50 meters from the Piazza Cola di Rienzo). Come to find out there was a bus stop right outside so we easily took the bus back to Trastevere.
Happy and filled with gelato on our ride home.

Later we had dinner in Trastevere at Trattoria da Lucia and sat outside. Most italians eat a bit later like 8 or 9 so during our trip we never really had to wait long (if at all) to be seated... a big plus.

Everyone had various pasta dishes... the spaghetti pecorino was delicious. We had fruit and cheese for our antipasta. I love how they arranged the pineapple.

Next up is our last full day in Rome (and Italy).