Rome: day one

Rome was our first stop, and we hit it with a bang! When we first arrived, all we had were vague directions and a bus schedule. We knew we had to get from Termini to Luca's house. So we hopped on a bus that seemed like it was headed in the right direction and crossed our fingers! Luckily we found a man that literally lived in the exact same apartment complex and took us directly to our place. What a blessing! The apartment was beautiful in a little community within the city free of the tourist noise.

The first day we headed to the Colosseum and were so impressed! I, unfortunately, had never seen The Gladiator, but that is all Michael could think about. It definitely blew our expectations out of the water. After the Colosseum, we just found ourselves walking and coming across some incredible buildings. To me, the greatest thing about modern-day Rome was the fact that it was built around SO many ancient ruins. We then came across this cute hole in the wall, Cafe Angel. The owner was adorable and told us a few tips of the city. It was here we had our first Italian pizza, molto bene! Come to find out, pizza actually can get old after eating it everyday for a few weeks...I know, I didn't think that was possible either.

That night, we went to the Vatican. It was a special summer night event where they had sold tickets for the evening, and it was gorgeous! The lighting on St. Peter's was incredible as were the rest of the buildings. Earlier that day, as we were going through St. Peter's, we met two Catholic priests from the states and received a wealth of information on the history of the Catholic popes and the buildings as well. Most importantly, they told us about the BEST gelato spot in Rome right around the corner from the Vatican: Old Bridge.

Inside the Colosseum.

Cafe Angel!

Inside St. Peter's!

First of many gelato stops! 

Inside the Vatican

St. Peter's in the background, so pretty!