roamin' roma

A couple weeks ago we hopped back on a flight and headed for Italy! Rome was a city Mark really wanted to visit and I can't say I minded. I didn't really know what to expect but colorful architecture, narrow streets and fantastic food were some of my favorites that we discovered.

The first night we headed out for dinner we ended up in a restaurant lined with wine! From front to back the restaurant looked like the picture above. The wine menu was the most overwhelming thing I'd ever seen - it was in a three ring binder and had to be at least 100 pages! We miraculously picked a good one, but can you really go wrong? After you made your selection, they grabbed the wine with a long claw-like thing and the nets at the bottom were in case it dropped because people were sitting below.

 Another great thing about the city is there were water fountains everywhere! In the middle of plazas, on the streets, everywhere... and it was drinkable! People flocked to fill water bottles or just cool off with a splash on their face. Somehow the one above wasn't too busy when we walked by.

If you didn't know, Mark is notorious for wanting to see as much as possible as soon as possible and I am still learning about this travel business so I like things a little laid back and slower paced. Did I ever mention he kept me up for 23 hours our first day in London? Why didn't anyone warn me about this? I made him promise we wouldn't see all the sites on day one, but by the end of the weekend, I think we saw everything. We stumbled upon the Pantheon first...

 stopped by Trevi Fountain...

and walked the Spanish Steps.

I think we ate enough pasta to feed an army and pizza too! The Italians eat a little differently than the French...
so... much... food... We kept our wallets close and managed to avoid any pick-pocket situations like we'd been warned about. By the end of the weekend, I did get pretty sick of the street vendors trying to get you to buy something though.
I was thankful to return to our peaceful, little, slow-paced city!