Oh boy, Rome was quite a whirlwind!  We got up at 3am after having only slept 2 hrs to catch our Ryanair flight and hit the ground running once we landed.  When we finally checked into our hotel, we all feel asleep for almost 3 hours without stirring!  But then it was go go go from then on.  Rome in 3 days is tricky but I think we hit nearly all of the main attractions.  ”When in Rome?” and “Rome if we want to!” were common catch phrases during our time there.

It didn’t take long for me to realize that I really needed to pray my way through the trip.  Lots of insecurities came to the surface for me being in a high-fashion country where the words “practical footwear” don’t not exist.  I was all about my Chacos while I was there, which put a big “American” stamp on me.  All the women were wearing the cutest sandals and high waisted skirts.  And ALL of the girls my age were super skinny and super tan.  Neither of which would be good descriptors of me.  So I prayed by butt off that I would stop comparing myself to these girls and just be content with the body I have and confident with my health and progress.  Not sure I would have enjoyed Rome at all had I been insecure and comparing myself the whole time.  That would have been AWFUL!  But, I did okay for the whole trip and got some good fashion tips out of it

My travel buddies for the trip were Steve (of course) and his friend Frank.  Frank is an Army nurse at the same hospital as Steve and he’s been wanting to head to Rome for a while.  Three was a great number and I definitely felt safe with two Military guys.  We all traveled really well together and I can say confidently that I didn’t get sick of either of them.  Hopefully they can say the same about me!

Alright, take a looksey at some of the highlights.  Some of these are from my camera and some are from Steve’s much nicer camera.  You can probably tell which is which.  And I’m not an expect photographer but you’ll get the picture (punny!!):

We’re in Rome!  We’ve been up since 3am with only 2 hours of sleep, but we’re in Rome and eating breakfast!

A lovely view of St. Peter’s Basillica and Vatican City from the top of Castel del San Angelo

Not a terrible view from our hotel room (yes hotel!  no hostel for us)

Mar and Steve in front of the Fountain at the Piazza Navona

I love the street cafe scene in Rome!

Team Jacob?!  Anyone? Anyone?

LOOOVE this place!  Red checkered table cloth, a lovely Dolcetto d’Alba, Bruschetta, Meatballs, deliciousness…

Piazza Navona at night.

Opera singer at the Pantheon

Trevi Fountain at night!  SO many people here and SOOOO much Gelato!

I’m at the Colosseum!  This was actually a really cool sight to see.

Tired kids at the Forum.

Trevi Fountain by day.

Like I said, TONS of people!  Our tour guide for the Vatican said they collect 80,000 Euro of coin each month out of this fountain.  That’s almost $105,000 USD!

Swiss Guard at the Vatican.  So cute

Our fabulous tour guides for the Sistine  Chapel and Vatican City, Allie (far L) and Susan (middle R).  We paid a little extra but didn’t have to stand in line for 4 hrs!

Inside St. Peter’s Basillica

Favorite part of Rome: The bustling cobblestone alleys.

I ate it…and loooved it!  What’s Rome without Pizza and Chianti?

This is the most insane Gelateria I saw in all of Italy.  I think they probably had 50+ flavors.

Piazza del Popolo at night!