When In Rome; Rome Day 1
Morning came fast. It seemed to on the days we were heading to a different city. I was so sad this was going to be our last stop, but was really looking forward to seeing Rome this entire trip.
I took one last look at our balcony view, and then hubby and I headed to the train station. We left early, because we decided to walk it. If you can remember, our first day in Florence, walking from the train station to the hotel; was filled with lots of swearing. Well, you can imagine the same for this walk as well. We made it to the train station and on the train. For whatever reason, the space to put our luggage was a bit smaller than the other trains we had been on. My suitcase that was twice the size of me, was not fitting. Panic struck over me, but hubby was able to jam it into a spot. My only worry, will we be able to get it out?
The train rides to me were so fun. I took in every last bit of scenery I could on this one though, as this would be our last train ride through Italy. *cue the tears*. When the train stopped, I was so anxious! The older couple that was on the first train ride as us, and the second, were on this one as well! We decided to follow them again, but knew they would probably be heading to the taxis.
Sure enough, that was where they headed towards. The line was long and we didn't want to waist any time waiting. SO we started to walk. Hubby had said he knew where he was going. Love him to pieces but 10 minutes into the walk, those swear words were out in full force. Lost, hot, sick of pushing my luggage around (which he was able to pull out of the snug spot he stuffed it in on the train by the way!), I decided to wander towards the road. I learned how to wave down taxis when we went to New York. So I figured, I so had this. Sure enough I saw a taxi coming, my hand went up, the taxi pulled to the side. I was getting in and hubby was still lost in his map, not even realizing I had waved us down a taxi!
When he finally looked up he asked if that was for us. I nodded and he loaded his stuff in behind me. THANK GOODNESS I waved the taxi down. The drive from where we were to our hotel was, long. Not like ridiculous, but certainly too long to walk! Our taxi driver let us out a few steps away from our hotel. Our hotel was right next to the Spanish Steps! So we were really excited for that. And if I can be honest for a quick second, I am sitting here with chills and tears thinking about it. Rome was absolutely beautiful to me and I still cannot believe we were really there.
We walked into the hotel and checked in. To our surprise, we were upgraded to a little villa. So our room was a street over! The lady at the desk walked us to it. Off this little side street was a big wood door. Behind that door was a bunch of little villas! Including ours! Let's just say, the steps getting up to the villa were exhausting. But whenever we got to our room, our jaws dropped! A little kitchen, living room, hallway, bedroom, bathroom and the most adorable balcony that just screamed "you are in Italy!" We settled in and waited for our luggage to be brought up. Those poor guys who had to carry my big suitcase up those steps were probably not too happy!
Once we got our luggage, we quickly changed and waisted no time getting out to go explore! First stop, the Spanish steps. I mean, they were right outside our hotel, so why not! Did you know there are 138 steps total? And every step was as beautiful as the first. The steps were built in order to link the Bourbon Spanish Embassy, and the Trinità dei Monti church, both at the top of the steps, to the Holy See and Spanish Square below. We snapped a few pictures and decided to keep on moving.
I bet you can't guess what we found next? If you said church, then you have been doing a good job reading our Italy adventures ;) I was drawn to them since day 1 of our trip. We kept our tour going and found The Christmas Store. Ya girl loves Christmas so you know we went inside. I don't know what it was (probably my hormones) but as soon as we went in there and I heard the Christmas music going I started to cry. There was something so beautiful thinking about my favorite Holiday and being in such a beautiful city. As I wiped away my tears, I caught a glance of the Disney store. We had been to the Disney store in the two cities before, so it was only appropriate to go into this one as well. Hubby was not amused.
We kept walking and found all sorts of beautiful buildings and streets along the way. We knew the Trevi Fountain was somewhere in the area but we were not prepared to see it when we turned the corner. The amount of times we went back and forth to this fountain, I cannot even count. It was the most beautiful thing to see in person. The amount of people that surrounded it was crazy, but we pushed our way each time to get close. We even threw a coin in! If you don't know, throwing coins into the Trevi fountain ensures a return trip to Rome. (COVID you better go away because I am banking on that!) The Trevi fountain is Rome's largest and most famous fountain, and we could see why! It is 85 feet high and 65 feet wide! Absolutely amazing!
Not sure how long we sat there watching the fountain and listening to the police yelling at people to get off the fountain (you weren't allowed to touch it or sit on it), but it felt like a lifetime. We finally got out of our trance and kept walking, wondering what next would take our breath away. Wasn't long until the Pantheon snuck up on us. And just like that, our breath was gone again. The Pantheon is a Roman temple dedicated to all the gods of pagan Rome. It was built between A.D 118 and 125. I really just wanted to freeze time. I couldn't believe all of this was real. You hear about it, see it on TV maybe, but seeing it in person is surreal.
Making our way back out into the streets, we came across all sorts of cool buildings, fountains and street performers. But we were feeling a bit tired from our train ride and the excitement of everything we had already taken in. So we made our way back to our villa! There was wine and a snack waiting for us when we got there! After a good hour or two of resting, we got dressed and ready for dinner and the night ahead.
First stop was back to the Spanish steps. Then you better believe we went back to the Trevi Fountain. Still just as beautiful (maybe even more at night lit up) as it was earlier in the day. But our tummy's started to rumble and it was time to go look for somewhere to eat. As we came down a side street, we saw secret service/body guards, cameras, hustle and bustle, so obviously, my hunger had to wait. I had to know what was going on. We over heard Angelina Jolie was there filming her movie, and while I am not a fan of hers, it was still so cool to witness the commotion. We stood outside of her fancy hotel for a while, waiting to see if she came out. But when I saw hubs getting hangry, I knew it was time to move on! Like I said, I'm not a fan of hers anyways, so who cares right?
I don't remember the name of the resteraunt we ate at but I do remember they had the best fried artichokes, pesto pasta and tiramisu EVER. I left there with a very happy and full tummy. All though we were exhausted and full, I didn't want our first night to end just yet. So we went back to the fountain (I kid you not when I say we went back and forth to there a million times). It was unbelievable how crowded it still was at 10 at night!
We walked slowly back to our hotel. Taking in the fresh air, the sounds, the people, the night life. Still trying to comprehend that we were in a different country, far from home. I talked hubby into checking out the Spanish Steps one last time, because there was no one there! We snapped a few pics and then walked to our big wood door that let us into our villa.
I put my pajamas on, got into bed and just smiled wondering what day 2 was going to bring. Day 1 was already filled with such beauty. What else more can we see?