10 days and 2395 photographs later....Part1

Ciao! I’m back in Montreal after 10 amazing days in Italy. We flew into Rome where we spent two days exploring the city. As usual with a flight to Europe we landed in the morning after a fairly smooth flight directly from Montreal. After some trouble with uncooperative ticket machines we managed to get two train tickets to the Termini train station just in time to hop on the train which would bring us to Rome. 


We had booked a B&B near the Colosseum where we arrived a bit to early for check in so we left our suitcases at the reception and went out for a well deserved cappuccino. After checkin and a refreshing shower we hit the streets and spend the afternoon exploring the city, going to all the major hotspots. After too much walking we ended up at Piazza Navona where we had a lovely pasta dinner. Being up for almost 48 hours straight was kind of catching up on us so we decided to call it a night and head back to our room.


The next morning came bright and early with us having a jet lag and all that. We enjoyed a classic Italian breakfast within view of the Colosseum which we were planning on visiting later. By the time we got there, there was already a huge line to get in, luckily our trusty Lonely Planet had informed us that we could get the same combination ticket at the Palatine across the street. So we left the tourist cattle behind and spend the morning wandering through a fairly quiet Palatine which was absolutely amazing. There were still loads of flowers blooming which made for some beautiful shots in combination with the ancient architecture. 


After this very relaxing morning we were ready to join the hordes of tourists to enter the Colosseum. There was still a huge line but our nice combination ticket from across the street allowed us to just walk past them and enter right away. Entering this two thousand year old building is impressive. Because of it’s completeness you can easily imagine how it must have been in its days, the hordes of tourists actually add to that experience. I imagine those halls must have been buzzing in a similar way. And the size of it really becomes apparent from the inside, it is such a vast space, how beautifully impressive it must have been.


Leaving the tourists behind us we crossed the river into Trastevere for lunch and a stroll. We followed the river to Castel Sant’Angelo where we were greeted by some beautiful frescoes and an amazing view of the city. 


We ended our second day with a lovely dinner in one of the side streets. The next day it would be time to pick up our car and drive to the Adriatic coast. There would be forts, mosaics and gondolas to come, but more on that another time...