Eurotrip February '09 Rome of you want to
We left on the 4th of February and got there on the 5th in London, after a layover in San Francison. We then eventually left for Rome after a 2 hour delay.
Friday February 6th
We left our hotel room and spent the day at the Vatican Museum and St. Peter's Basilica. Of the 2, I was most impressed with St. Peter's because of the enormous ceiling height and incredible detail in decoration everywhere I looked! It was sort of rainy but not too bad to still walk around. We walked down Via del Corso and looked in some shops on our way to Il Margutta Restaurant for a fancy vegan meal. The restaurant was decorated with bad modern art and the service/food were not worth the price...although it was enjoyable in a way.
exterior of Vatican Museum from courtyard.
The Vatican.
Saturday February 7th
The day started at the Palazzo Altemps museum and then to the Palazzo Massimo, where we saw some amazing original mosaics and frescoes (unfortunately, no photos were allowed inside the museums!) among other things. We stood at the Trevi Fountain for a bit while we had some gelatos. We then walked to the Pantheon and had some espresso at what was supposed to be the best espresso place in the city! Mostly, it was overpriced, but i don't regret going. We had some vegan soy gelato at a chain called "Blue Ice" (which we ended up going to about 5 times during the 4 days!). They had hazelnut, Pistachio and chocolate and you were able to get a bit of each if you wanted to, on a cone, for 2€. We found an amazing stationary shop near the Pantheon where we picked up a little desk calender which is on my desk now, and some other stuff. We could have spent hundreds of € there! Afterwards, we walked down to the Trastevere area and tried to find a restaurant but when we finally did, it was closed for the afternoon or something. We stopped in at the Santa Maria della Trastevere, which was well worth the really long walk along the Tiber (Tevere) river to get there. We went to Il gelataria which also served vegan soy gelato, and then to Africa, a restaurant with...African food. :) it was surprisingly good! you get some sour-ish flat bread and then different things are placed on top and you just scoop it all up. so good!! On our way there we walked past Palatine Hill.
Trevi Fountain!
The Pantheon
We passed by/through the Piazza Navona on the way to Palazzo Massimo.
inside Santa Maria della Trastevere.
exterior Santa Maria della Trastevere.
The Roman Forum.
Sunday February 8th
Near our hotel is the Santa Maria Maggiore, so we stopped by there first, and then went to the Galleria Borghese, which was one of the highlights of our trip! It has all kinds of great Caravvagio paintings, Bernini sculptures and so many other amazing works! The rooms were all highly decorative, which really added to the experience. We then walked to the Spanish Steps and got a great view of the city. All the fancy shops are just at the bottom, so we wandered around a bit and then found the best pizza place in the entire world! Fresh basil, garlic, olive oil on a delicious marinara sauce...so incredible! After yesterday, we were really exhausted, so we stopped by San Giovanni in Laterano and then had a bit of a nap in the hotel. At night we went back to the same pizza place! It was so insanely packed...and it wasn't a small restaurant at all! It was a great experience seeing so many people there as it made for a very unique evening.
Santa Maria Maggiore exterior
Galleria Borhese
The Spanish Steps
me and my yummy pizza at lunch.
Monday February 9th
just about everything closes on mondays, so we shopped, ate gelatos and more pizza (same place again!) and went to the Colosseum.
The Colosseum
We absolutely loved Rome and can't wait to see more of Italy because of it! I need to get back to my art history books and read up more on the things we saw!
There are lots more pictures here:
Friday February 6th
We left our hotel room and spent the day at the Vatican Museum and St. Peter's Basilica. Of the 2, I was most impressed with St. Peter's because of the enormous ceiling height and incredible detail in decoration everywhere I looked! It was sort of rainy but not too bad to still walk around. We walked down Via del Corso and looked in some shops on our way to Il Margutta Restaurant for a fancy vegan meal. The restaurant was decorated with bad modern art and the service/food were not worth the price...although it was enjoyable in a way.
exterior of Vatican Museum from courtyard.
The Vatican.
Saturday February 7th
The day started at the Palazzo Altemps museum and then to the Palazzo Massimo, where we saw some amazing original mosaics and frescoes (unfortunately, no photos were allowed inside the museums!) among other things. We stood at the Trevi Fountain for a bit while we had some gelatos. We then walked to the Pantheon and had some espresso at what was supposed to be the best espresso place in the city! Mostly, it was overpriced, but i don't regret going. We had some vegan soy gelato at a chain called "Blue Ice" (which we ended up going to about 5 times during the 4 days!). They had hazelnut, Pistachio and chocolate and you were able to get a bit of each if you wanted to, on a cone, for 2€. We found an amazing stationary shop near the Pantheon where we picked up a little desk calender which is on my desk now, and some other stuff. We could have spent hundreds of € there! Afterwards, we walked down to the Trastevere area and tried to find a restaurant but when we finally did, it was closed for the afternoon or something. We stopped in at the Santa Maria della Trastevere, which was well worth the really long walk along the Tiber (Tevere) river to get there. We went to Il gelataria which also served vegan soy gelato, and then to Africa, a restaurant with...African food. :) it was surprisingly good! you get some sour-ish flat bread and then different things are placed on top and you just scoop it all up. so good!! On our way there we walked past Palatine Hill.
Trevi Fountain!
The Pantheon
We passed by/through the Piazza Navona on the way to Palazzo Massimo.
inside Santa Maria della Trastevere.
exterior Santa Maria della Trastevere.
The Roman Forum.
Sunday February 8th
Near our hotel is the Santa Maria Maggiore, so we stopped by there first, and then went to the Galleria Borghese, which was one of the highlights of our trip! It has all kinds of great Caravvagio paintings, Bernini sculptures and so many other amazing works! The rooms were all highly decorative, which really added to the experience. We then walked to the Spanish Steps and got a great view of the city. All the fancy shops are just at the bottom, so we wandered around a bit and then found the best pizza place in the entire world! Fresh basil, garlic, olive oil on a delicious marinara sauce...so incredible! After yesterday, we were really exhausted, so we stopped by San Giovanni in Laterano and then had a bit of a nap in the hotel. At night we went back to the same pizza place! It was so insanely packed...and it wasn't a small restaurant at all! It was a great experience seeing so many people there as it made for a very unique evening.
Santa Maria Maggiore exterior
Galleria Borhese
The Spanish Steps
me and my yummy pizza at lunch.
Monday February 9th
just about everything closes on mondays, so we shopped, ate gelatos and more pizza (same place again!) and went to the Colosseum.
The Colosseum
We absolutely loved Rome and can't wait to see more of Italy because of it! I need to get back to my art history books and read up more on the things we saw!
There are lots more pictures here: