So I've got so many pics and video from my week in Italy that I'm going to really cut down the trip into several posts. In fact, I had to buy an extra 4 gig card for my camera. I think I ended up with over 850 pics & video from the week... not bad I guess :)
I started the trip off with a bang. Had to wake up at 2am with a taxi picking me up at 2:40. I already felt sick. Turns out my taxi driver was the same one who picked me up at 3:45am when I went to Poland... Got to the airport just fine. In Europe there's a super cheap airline called Ryanair and you can get anywhere on a budget. The thing is they dont assign seats so there's always this mad rush to get on first. You can pay an extra fee to be seated first, but even so, there could be several people who pay that so you dont necessarily get the front rows or anything... Since the first time I flew with Ryanair, I realized that they dont make seats for legs as long as mine, even if you sit straight up with your back against the seat, so I make it a point to try for the emergency exit seats, which have way more than enough space.
When I boarded I felt a little better, but after taking off I felt sick again and soon got to introduce my face to the air plane's toilet... fun times. I felt a little better but couldnt shake the sickness.
When we landed it was a wonderful change. It was about 10:30am in 'Roma' and was cool but too warm for both my jackets and the day only warmed up from there. First time I felt weather like this since I left home last September!
As soon as we checked into our room, we went searching for food and hit a home run. We found this outdoor place that was down the street from the Colosseum and had great views of the city. And my pizza that I ordered was the best of my life!! Goats cheese and tomatoes. Italy has THE BEST tomatoes. So incredibly fresh! I've never tasted anything like it. Every meal with tomatoes (which were most meals) tasted so amazing. You just cant beat it! My blood may be Irish but my mouth is Italian! Yum Yum!
After lunch we wandered the city, looking at ruins and coming to the Pantheon. That's the one with big granite pillars, and paintings and sculptures inside. It should be my 3rd video, the only indoor video on this post. I think they were going to start mass soon and we moved on, finding the Trevi Fountain. This was incredible and we spent plenty of time here on different days. You're supposed to turn your back to the fountain and make a wish as you throw a coin behind you into the pool. So I turned around and made my wish. Next we walked to the Spanish Steps. You have to realize how far across the city was have, and would continue to walk. When we got to the Spanish Steps we got our first of several scoops of Gelato. I discovered that I really like the combo of chocolate and fruitti di bosco, which I think is raspberry. Almost everytime I ordered that combo. So we got our gelato and found a spot on the steps to enjoy the sights and tastes. That night we found another great little outdoor ristorante and I got my 5 euro lasagna! I'd never expect to find food that low in Dublin... And mommy, you know I love your lasagna and I'd eat it every night, but I just loved this lasagna. The pasta was so smooth it was almost like butter, like melting in my mouth. And I cant describe the meat. It was so yummy but I dont know how to compare it. It was rich and soft. Not chewy. The mozzarella was also real smooth and soft. Not stringy or chewy - you know how it can be chewy? Not at all there. Some of you know, but most probably dont realize my weird food thing, but I dont like to chew my food! haha. I know that sounds weird. But I like smooth foods. it's why i prefer plain fudge or ice cream w/o nuts. Well this lasagna (not that you usually find crunchy lasagnas) was so smooth over all you could have eaten it like my sweet dog Jordan always did, just swallowing w/o chewing! haha. But I tried savoring it as much as possible. Definitely amazing!
But this was everything we covered the first day we arrived on Saturday Feb 27. It was a long, tiring day, especially since there was a huge lack of sleep going into the day. I think I got an hour sleep before the trip. At the end of the day I was sleepy, tired, and so sore. My feet were about to fall off! LOTS of walking!
Oh my goodness, Kerry, it's so beautiful!! The pictures and videos almost made me cry! I haven't had much to eat today, because I've had to work for most of the day, so my mouth was watering at your description of the pizza and lasagna - sounds fabulous!
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