amy lashelle

On our anniversary trip, our first stop in Italy was Rome. All I can say is, amazing. We went to the Spanish Steps, the Pantheon, the Colosseum, the Old Forum, all the fabulous iconic sites, but we discovered one of our favorite things was just walking around and seeing what we discovered. Because, literally, everywhere there was amazing spots like this one:

The “old” was amazing. Walking around did present one little old problem. It was POURING rain most of the time, accompanied by an icy wind that liked to flip our umbrellas inside out. Turns out that tends to make umbrellas look like this. However, we would both agree that the rain did not “dampen” our trip (even if it did soak our shoes), because who would trade bright and sunny for this romantic stroll?  Plus, G-man made a really good camera protector-from-the-rain-with-the-umbrella man. Seriously, exploring Rome, with my hubby, snuggled under an umbrella….talk about romantic. And, what a good excuse for an extra squeeze or two.

My two favorite sites on day one of Rome were the really old stuff… the Roman Forum (including the Colosseum) and the Pantheon.  The Colosseum was … I’m not sure how to say it… but it took away my words. Stunning, sad, huge, beautiful, and filled with such history.

Then, the Pantheon was just awe-inspiring. How they created such a huge architectural masterpiece so very, very long ago was incredible. It still holds the record for the largest brick dome, ever.

Day two brought two wonders – a bit of sunshine, and the Vatican. We did wish we had more time in all of Rome, but could have easily spent an entire additional day at the Vatican. We did not get to see nearly everything, but – had the awesome experience of witnessing the Pope do a Mass there. All in Latin. Yes, it was awesome.

oh look – that little white spot is the Pope!

(don’t you just love the light in that last one?)

After two rain-soaked, fun-filled, amazing, romantic days in Rome… we boarded the fast train to Venice, and saw some Italian Countryside…

…learned a little Italian (il mio amore è caldo)

and then… you’ll just have to wait for the next post to see Venice. I know, you just can’t handle the suspense.