Roman Holiday: Part II

Ah, my beautiful Rome. I promised you I would unearth the embarrassing touristy pictures before long. Despite how boiling hot it was on this particular weekend, I can't help but recall how joyously stress-free this trip was. I think it was pure luck, having chosen the perfect location to stay in and effectively planning our days where we even accounted for about an hour of nap time to rejuvenate ourselves before dinner. 

Being in the Colosseum was almost unnerving, considering its age and current state of disarray. I was a bit afraid that the stone would crumble away beneath my feet with each step I took. Of course, that fear wasn't great enough to keep me from (illegally!) posing on the remnants of an Ionic column capital. 

I was dutifully informed by my friend Sam that the best gelato in all of Rome was to be found in a shop just around the corner from the Trevi Fountain. For some reason, I found myself incredibly addicted to pistachio ice cream this summer, so I indulged myself in a scoop of the aforementioned flavor. Our friend, who sent us a massively helpful email prior to our trip, told us to look out for pistachio gelato that was lime green in color, because that is a tell-tale sign that it's made with artificial ingredients.

One thing that struck me the most about Rome is how closely everything was set together. The only prior exposure I had to the city was through movies (Roman Holiday, The Lizzie McGuire Movie) and so I assumed everything was spread out, for some reason. Little did I know, the Trevi Fountain is not even a free-stranding structure but the back end of a building.

On our was to the airport early Sunday morning, we took the scenic route and bid our little Italian retreat farewell with a stop on the Spanish Steps.