day 5: rome

Italy posts! Yay! I'm trying to extract as much warmth and happiness from these photos because guess what? It's snowing in NYC again. Spring can't come soon enough!

Rome is one of my absolute favorite cities. I did a study abroad session there while in college, so it will forever hold a special place in my heart. This was our main day of sightseeing there, so as much as I hate to be that girl with the itinerary, there were highlights I wanted to hit, so I had us on a pretty tight schedule and we logged some miles walking.

A couple mornings while in Rome, Kurt and I went out before breakfast for a run around the gardens of Villa Doria Pamphili. It was a beautiful way to start the day and made a dent in all those pasta and wine calories.

View over the city from Gianicolo hill where our hotel was.

Appallingly, I never saw the Sistine Chapel when I lived in Rome, so I made sure to plan a trip to the Vatican Museum on this trip. There were so many people! 

The entire museum is gorgeous, but everyone is obviously there to see the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel.

And it's so small! And surrounded by so many other paintings. I won't say the visit was disappointing because "the painting" is very beautiful, but it was a different experience than I had expected--and much more crowded.

Staircase at the Vatican Museum

OLD BRIDGE!!!!! This gelato shop is nearby the Vatican and was on the route between our residence and classrooms when I studied in Rome. It was an almost daily fixture in my study abroad diet. #StracciatellaForLife

Castel Sant'Angelo

Ara Pacis

Our Italian traveling partners, Manuela, Claudio, and Enea. They were all troopers for keeping up with my death march schedule.

Piazza del Popolo

Spanish Steps

The Pantheon!

Coffee and pastry at Sant'Eustachio--rumored to have the best espresso.

Courtyard of Saint Ivo Alla Sapienza

Piazza Navona

Rome's public fountains were life saving while traipsing around the city in unseasonably warm temperatures

Sigh. My dear, sweet Santa Maria della Pace. When studying in Rome, a friend and I were assigned a group project to study the church and do some sort of project/report about the site. I can't even remember what our project was about but that church has left such a mark on me. It's so small and beautiful and tucked away on a tiny, winding street. I was so happy to share it with Kurt. [The only thing that could have been better is if you had been there too, Jen!]

Campo di Fiori

I was pretty satisfied with our tour after seeing my beloved church, so Kurt and I settled in for a couple drinks at a bar on Piazza del Fico--aptly named Bar del Fico. ('Fico' is 'fig' in Italian and that was a gorgeous fig tree in the center of the piazza.) For being in the center of a very touristy area, the bar was really low key and frequented by locals. We chatted with one guy and asked for a dinner recommendation. He named a few places but ultimately said the restaurant connected to the bar we were at was the best. We were sold and went on to have a fantastic dinner. Other (extremely important) item of note: I've discovered my new favorite type of white wine. If you ever see 'Falanghina' on a menu, order it. It's light and dry and crisp and delicious. You're welcome!

More Italy to come!