Rome

It has been a crazy couple weeks but I am finally getting around to writing our Rome blog. When John and Cass said they wanted to go to Italy when they came to visit, I decided that if we were going to pick one city, it would have to be Rome.  I loved Rome when I went in high school and I'm so glad we went back because I loved it even more the second time.  It has such an amazing history, great food, and tons to do.  We flew in on Thursday and checked into our apartment.  The apartment was awesome; half the price of any of the hotels we looked at, 2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms and a kitchen! We are definitely renting apartments whenever possible on the rest of our European travels.

That night we wandered across the river (our apartment was right next to Vatican city) into the Piazza Navona area and had dinner at a cute cafe where we had delicious pasta and pizza.  We then had our first gelato of the trip (first of many) and headed around the corner to a wine bar, Mimi e Coco; a really cute spot with great wine.

 mimi e coco:

The next morning we took the bus over to the historic center of the city and walked to the Colosseum for our underground guided tour.  The basement chambers of the Colosseum recently opened and can only be seen through a guided tour (which includes the top floor, which you also can't get to without a tour.)  Dan and I usually steer clear of guided tours but this one was well worth it.  Unfortunately it was raining during our visit so we had to lug around umbrellas but it cleared up by the time we made it to the top so we got some great pics.

 underground chambers (where they kept the animals and gladiators before shows):

 view of Palatine Hill and the Arch of Constantine from the Colosseum:

 The Forum in the background:

After the Colosseum tour, we headed over to the Forum, where we did a walking tour from my Rome book.  The rain held out and it wasn't crowded at all so we took our time wandering around and taking in the amazing history.

 Arch of Titus:

 Cass on the Via Sacra ("the sacred way"; where they would hold victory parades when they conquered new territories):

 Temple of Romulus; the bronze doors are original, 4th century AD:

 Temple of Vesta (left) and Temple of Castor & Pollox:

After leaving the forum, we walked up by the Quirinal hill (one of the seven hills of ancient Rome) and over to the Trevi fountain.  After some quick photo ops there (amid crazy crowds) we found a cafe for lunch right near the Spanish steps.

 Trevi fountain:

We then strolled the streets, did some shopping, and had a beer along the river.  The sun started to come out as we made our way towards the Vatican, giving us some great shots of St. Peter's.

 Castel Sant'Angelo; originally Hadrian's mausoleum, also a medieval prison and the residence of the Pope in times of unrest:

 Ponte Vittorio Emanuelle II:

 St. Peter's:

That night we went to a pizza restaurant in the Trastevere area (described in my guide book as the "proliterian" section of the city; but actually quite cute) recommended by our friend Scott who went to pizza school in Naples.  The restaurant, Dar Poeta, was some of the best pizza we've ever had and it was also our cheapest meal of the trip!

 We took the long way back to the apartment, checking out Piazza Navona at night:

 Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi (Bernini 1651):

The next morning we woke up to bright sunny skies and headed over to St. Peter's basilica first thing to beat the crowds.  After checking out one of the largest and most famous churches in the world, we made our way over to the Vatican Museums.  We did a relatively quick tour of the Vatican museums, our main objective being the Sistine chapel.  After fighting through the crowds, we finally made it to the chapel, which was just as stunning as I remember.

St. Peter's square:

 St. Peter's basilica:

 Baldacchino by Bernini:

 Michaelangelo's dome:

 throne of St. Peter in glory:

 St. Peter:

 the Pieta:

Vatican museums:

 view from Vatican museums:

 one of many amazing ceilings in the museums:

 admiring the artwork:

After the museums, we went back to the apartment to change, packed a picnic lunch and then walked over to the Villa Borghese gardens.  We had a delicious picnic in the park, then rented a surrey bike (after unsuccessfully trying to rent segways) to explore the gardens.

 John and Cass after bailing out of the surrey when Dan took a dangerous turn down a hill;)

 we spent a while trying to find this lake; but we finally made it to the Lago!

We left the garden and headed over to the Spanish Steps to people watch as the sun set.  After checking out the Trevi fountain at night, and having some drinks nearby, we wandered back to the neighborhood we ate in the first night and had another delicious al fresco dinner.

views from the Borghese gardens:

 Spanish steps:

 making a wish in the Trevi fountain:

The next morning after our daily "snappuccinos" we walked over to Piazza Navona again, and then to the Pantheon.  Because of Sunday morning services, the Pantheon didn't open until noon so we spent an hour checking out the Campo de Fiori outdoor market.  It was much smaller than I imagined and nothing compared to some of the amazing markets we have in London but we bought some pasta, got haggled by some vendors and then went on our way.

cappuccino's:

 SPQR; Senatus Populusque Romanus "the senate and the people of Rome"

 Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi (Bernini 1651); fountain representing the 4 great rivers-the Ganges, the Danube, the Nile, and the Plate:

 The Pantheon:

 Campo de Fiori market:

We headed back to the Pantheon (built in 126 AD and one of the best preserved ancient buildings, has been in continuous use) to go inside and then made our way over to a cute square for lunch followed by delicious gelato at a place with 150 different flavors! Amazing.

inside the Pantheon; the oculus:

 mmmm, gelato:

We had such a great time with John and Cass and can't wait to do more traveling with our next visitors!

London 2012 Olympics

We are so lucky to be living in London right now!  This has been an amazing year with the Queen's Diamond Jubilee and now the Olympics.  Knowing that we would likely never again live in the city hosting the Olympics, we tried to take full advantage.  My mom flew in the day after the opening ceremonies (also the day after we flew home from Greece!) to take in the Olympic festivities with us. She had bought tickets for the two of us to go to the women's gymnastics team final for me for my birthday:)

Dan didn't want to miss out on the experience of going to an Olympic event either so we got tickets for the three of us to go to men's indoor volleyball.  We went that first Sunday of the games and saw two matches, Great Britain vs. Bulgaria (unfortunately, Team GB lost, but it was fun to be at an event supported by the home crowd) and then Russia vs. Germany.  The event was held at the Earl's Court arena.

                                  Team GB got so excited after EVERY point; it was amazing:

We had a great time at the volleyball and really thought the city did a great job with crowd control and organization everywhere we went.  After a great first event, Dan and I decided we had to see if we could get last minute tickets to anything else.  Turns out, there were still tickets to the women's soccer gold medal match, which the US was very likely to be in, so we splurged and bought tickets.

Monday, my mom and I visited the National Portrait Gallery for the 'Road to 2012' photography exhibit featuring photographs of athletes and people involved in the Olympics throughout the years leading up to the games.  Then we went over to Tower Bridge because mom wanted to see the Olympic rings hanging from the bridge and because neither of us had every actually done the tour to the top, which was neat.

Here is one of many Wenlock (the Olympic mascot) statues scattered throughout the city:

 Tower Bridge:

They had a big screen set up right next to the bridge with some food stalls called "Potters Fields" so we plopped down and watched some men's gymnastics before heading home.

Tuesday, mom and I headed over to the North Greenwich (O2) arena for the women's gymnastics.  We arrived early, bought some paraphernalia, and took our seats in time for a great pre-show.  The event was awesome; it was so exciting to be there to see the US take gold.

 pre-show:

 Team GB on beam:

 Gaby Douglas on floor:

 U.S. getting their gold medals:

After the gymnastics, we met Dan at the Olympic park.  Because neither the volleyball or the gymnastics were held in arenas actually in the Olympic park, we had to buy separate tickets just to get into the park and walk around, but it was totally worth it.  The atmosphere was great; we walked around, got some beers and food, and then watched some swimming on the big screens in the 'Park Live' area.

 The Orbit:

 "The Pringle" (cycling track):

 Coca-cola Beat Box:

Later that week, mom and I visited Buckingham palace; where the state rooms were open for touring, which doesn't happen very often.  It was really beautiful and also included a special exhibit on the Queen's diamonds, which was fun.

strolling in the gardens:

On the weekend, we visited the BT London Live event at Hyde Park.  It was open every day and had 5 giant screens and lots of food stalls for enjoying Olympic events with other fans on nice days.  Although we got rained on a couple times while we were there; it was a fun day.  We watched Jessica Ennis (from GB, who went on to win the gold) in a few of her heptathlon events, some trampoline, and some diving.

we also watched the end of the women's triathlon on our way into the park:

The next week, Dan and I went to Wembley stadium to watch the women's soccer gold medal match.  There were tons of USA fans there and the atmosphere was awesome.  It was a good game and so fun to be at another event where USA won gold!

It was sad to see the games end but so great to be a part of this moment in history and we will never forget it!