Rome Part I – 18-20 February 2019

We just didn’t realize how much Rome had to offer.

I mean, one minute we’re thinking, “first things first, let’s get some gelato” and as we exit the shop and walk around the corner, find ourselves standing in front of the Pantheon.

So we gave ourselves brain-freeze as we scarfed down our treats. Then we went in. “As one does,” a friend added when our story was relayed. 😉

Above: Annora takes photos of Raphael’s grave. Interesting note: the first king of Italy is also interred here.

Rome.
Yeeeeeah. It was bigger and more intensely packed with artifacts and ancient buildings, museums and beautiful churches than we imagined. There’s just no way to do anything but scratch the surface of this magnificent city unless you’re going to stay a decent amount of time–like, at least a month. And even then, you could only barely get to know it.

Above: Trajan’s Column

Below: Annora and I were enamored by the side streets.

Above: Colosseum–even in February it was pretty full inside and had long lines (we were told it was about a 90 minute wait to get tickets there). Fortunately, we’d booked a skip-the-line tour (which meant that our wait time was more like 15 minutes).

Below: Circus Maximus/Circo Massimo–site of chariot races (remember Ben Hur?)

A word of advice: if you are pregnant like I was, take it easy! Go at your own pace. February was nice and cool (the coat was overkill). If anyone in your group is pregnant, slow down! Imagine tightly strapping on a medium sized bag of dog food all day and walking up the stairs or hills, and standing in the long lines or in the museums. Then offer that pregnant woman an admiring word and some gelato.

I’m hoping y’all forgive me for not writing about everything we saw. There are many other websites and blogs that tell about the history and splendor of Rome. So I’ll just post happy photos.