Rome - Day 15/16

From Florence we headed towards Rome.  We have found the high speed trains to be exceptional in getting from place to place in a hurry.   We arrived in Rome and were greeted with sunshine and the warm weather we had been dreaming of.   After getting checked in we headed out for dinner choosing the Trevi Fountain as our location for the night.  We found a nice, yet tiny restaurant for dinner.   The restaurant was packed with locals and tables were practically on top of each other, but the food was amazing!  Again we had pizza and pasta (can't mess with a good thing)!

After dinner, we headed to the Trevi Fountain to snap some pictures and throw some coins in the fountain.   Legend has it that if you toss a coin into the Trevi, you will visit Rome again.  While joining the hoards of visitors to the fountain we watched a couple get engaged and took in the atmosphere of this truly magical fountain.  Of course, we tossed our coins into the fountain as well.  

The next morning we enjoyed breakfast at our hotel.   Europe has an excellent specialty coffee selection and it seems every place has the biggest expresso machine it can find to work with.  After sipping our cappuccinos, we set off for the Colosseum.  

The Colosseum is truly a marvel at ancient architecture and history.  As we excited the Metro station, we caught our first glimpses of the impressive exterior.  Again guided by our trusty audio guide, Rick Steves, we were able to take in the immense history of this stadium.  From the Colosseum, we walked almost literally across the street to the Forum, an ancient city uncovered by archeologists.   The Forum is a grouping of buildings and historical sites dating from early BC (yep, thats over 2000 years old).  We were even able to see the site where Julius Cesar was killed.  

We ate lunch near the Spanish Steps (a gathering place in Rome).   We enjoyed sitting on the steps as a break from sightseeing and a chance to people watch.   We were also able to walk back to the Trevi Fountain which was much more crowded during the day, before heading to the Pantheon.   The Pantheon is the oldest Catholic Church in Rome, most notable for its hole in the ceiling. 

On our walk back towards our hotel, we decided to visit the Castle Saint Angelo, yet another site from the Dan Brown books.   We were able to tour the Castle, but found the view from the top to be the most impressive.   

We capped off the night with a trip to a local Piazza.   We were shocked and surprised to see the Piazza full of Italians celebrating an Italian Cup victory.   The square was packed full of supporters waving flags, honking horns, and singing the praises of their team.  We took in the sight before heading back to the hotel.

Alazda and Travis

Us at the Trevi Fountain

The Colosseum

Alazda at the Colosseum

Inside the Colosseum

The Colloseum panoramic

Travis stopping to fill up in a drinking fountain at the Forum

The Spanish Steps

Travis loves pizza :-)

Outside the Pantheon

Travis in front of Castle Saint Angelo

Florence - Day 14

Our time in Florence seems short seeing as the weather was quite rainy and cold, dampening some of our sightseeing experience.  Though, we still tried to pack in a full 24 hours worth of sightseeing, using our "Florence Pass" to cut lines and quickly move from museum to museum.  

We left a rainy Venice only to discover that Florence itself was experiencing less than ideal weather.   The evening we arrived we checked in to our hotel room and quickly set out for the Academia Museum before it closed.  The Academia is best known for Michelangelo's statue of David, along with a few of the artists unfinished statues as well.   The Academia does not allow pictures, so we tried to get a photo of us with a replica the next day.  

That night we enjoyed a delicious dinner of pizza and pasta, which was becoming a main source of food for the two of us.  When in Italy, right?   After dinner, we enjoyed a couple of drinks in the Piazza del Duomo (a main square in Florence outside of the Duomo church), but decided to retire early back to the hotel as the weather was quite cold and Travis was nursing a bit of a cold (the kind that makes other tourists run for their hand sanitizer).

We woke up early the next day, prepared to see all of Florence in just a few hours!  Ok, so we left some things unseen, but we did a pretty good job fitting in as many Florence sights as we could. Alazda has been reading the new Dan Brown book Inferno which takes place in Florence and wanted to see some of the sights talked about in the book along with the main Florence sights. We left our hotel to discover that the weather was rainy and cold, with little time to spare we set off for our first sight of the day - The Uffizi Gallery.  

The Uffizi Gallary was full of tourists and tour groups that had come to see the amazing Renaissance art exhibits as well as stay out of the rain.   We shuffled from room to room seeing great works of art, assisted by our trusty audio tour (thanks Rick Steves)!   We left the Uffizi and were greeted by 5 minutes without rain which we quick snapped some pictures before eating another lunch of pizza and pasta, yum!

We took a brief stop in to the Palazzo Vecchio so Alazda could see the Hall of Five Hundred from her book before heading to the Duomo.   The Duomo is made up of lots of possible sights to see, but trying to find a dry spot we quickly found the first open line to get inside fast.  Turns out we had opted to see the Campanile (bell tower) first and were lucky enough to be climbing the 414 steps to the top in order to stay dry (guess we had to work off the pizza and pasta somehow).  The views of florence were amazing, so amazing that we went to decided to climb the Dome of the Duomo also just an hour later (thats another 463 steps to anyone keeping track).   We ended with a quick stop in the Baptistery, before having to book it to the train station to get to Rome. 

Ciao,

Alazda and Travis 

Travis enjoying "amazing" weather in Florence, can't you see how much he loves it?

It stopped raining so I quick rushed for the first thing I saw to get a picture with... Yep, that's why I am standing next to a naked statue :-)

David

Us outside the Duomo

Our Italian diet!

Inside the Hall of the Five Hundred for any Dan Brown fans

Florence... We climbed the big red dome to the left 

Can't say they didn't warn us :-)

We climbed a 463 steps to get to this spot so here is our picture in the rain