Rome

Our early morning flight to Rome wore us out, and we were short on energy and patience by the time we landed. After traveling with each other for a month straight, I suppose we were bound to bug each other at some point. But we regrouped and made our way to our hostel, dropped our bags off, and went out to walk around the old town and surrounding neighborhoods.

Rome is such an ancient and interesting city, and with such a rich history. It became clear to me fairly quickly that two days in this place was such an underestimation on my planning this portion of the trip. So instead of trying to cram it all in, I decided to enjoy a select few sites and the company of our Italian friends and return for a more in-depth look at this city on another visit. Still, we saw such sites as the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and nearby chapel, the Pantheon, the Trevi fountain, and the Spanish steps, then headed back to the hostel to meet Pat, who was arriving that afternoon.

After our trio touched base at the hostel, Joanie and I went out to meet Italo, a friend of a friend of mine from work (thanks Dave!) while Pat went off to fight the Romans to keep up with his jiu jitsu training while abroad. Our evening with Italo began with an impossible parking job, which is really a story in itself. In short, we fit in a spot we shouldn't have been able to fit in, and went to our first stop of the night: a wine bar/enoteca owned by a friend of Italo's. After a couple samples of white wines there, we headed to the Trastevere for a late dinner. The Trastevere is regarded by Romans as the cool part of town, where people can go to have a pleasant meal and wander around the cobblestone streets to find a fun bar or a set of steps to drink upon. We did all of the above, with Pat joining us after dinner.

After a few drinks, and learning that the Romans don't really party that hard (despite it being a Friday night and all), Italo drove us back to Piazza della Republicca near our hostel. Except for some reason, we three that remained decided that our night wasn't over yet. So when we walked by a fountain with Moses and four lions, we somehow got to talking about jumping in. So we did.

After running back to our hostel to change out of our wet clothes--some wetter than others--we wandered around some more and found ourselves at a late night restaurant called La Base. We laughed about our first day together as a trio in Italy over one last drink and some decent local fare, and knew we were going to have a great time traveling together over the next two weeks.

The next morning we all walked toward the Spanish steps for lunch, which was fantastic, and then snapped some more sunshine filled photos of the steps and surrounding scenes. From there, we headed north to Piazza del Popolo, which was perhaps the most grandiose of all piazzas we visited.

We settled upon Cafe Rosati in the square and enjoyed the view while indulging in some coffee, desserts, and drinks. It was such a relaxing afternoon; such a relief to be able to soak Rome in and not hurry about trying to sightsee more than time would permit. After all, the Vatican and Sistine Chapel will be there next time I visit! So instead, we meandered through the park, taking in the view from above Rome and observing all the little things that can be seen on a pleasant Saturday afternoon in Rome.

That night, we joined Pat's friends, Audra and Amy, for dinner in the Trastevere. The food was delicious once again, and the company was wonderful. There was even a performance in the restaurant by a fantastically fun female singer and her accompanying guitar player, who went from table to table serenading the smiling diners. After dinner, we went to a couple bars including one place that was particularly impressive, with a selection of great craft beers and a recognition of all sorts of stellar suds from around the globe. No wonder it won an award for being one of the best beer bars in the world. It was a wonderful end to a wonderful day, and our second and final night in Rome. I will most definitely be back for seconds of this city.