Churches, Obelisks, and 3,000 Years of History in 4 Hours… Ohhhh MY!

We got up early this morning to pack for our train ride to Rome.  Some of our fellow travelers told us that with our Eurail Passes we didn’t need a reservation (which we have previously been spending money on), so we jumped on the first train to Rome.  We had to do some seat swapping and eventually were charged the reservation fee while aboard the train. In the future we will be sure to reserve our seats to avoid the evil eye from the ticket police walking the aisles.  Once our train dilemmas were resolved we enjoyed beautiful views of the Tuscan countryside and used our time productively to plan future stages of our trip. 

Once in Rome, we planned on staying at a convent-run guesthouse in the Monti area of Rome, but were saddened to discover there were no more rooms available.  So we continued trekking along with our hefty packs to a nearby Bed and Breakfast that the convent recommended as a good alternative.  This new location worked out perfect for us!  We no longer had the anticipated 11:00 PM curfew, we were provided a spacious room with high ceilings, and we will be staying in an ideal location near the Colosseum.

After settling in, we decided to set out to see the sights and get the most out of the remainder of the day.  We think we did a pretty good job as we packed in time at the Colosseum, Roman Forum, numerous churches and obelisks, the Pantheon, Trevi Fountain, the Spanish Steps and much more.  Along the way we also made time to pass by the hotel Jennifer lived at for 6 weeks while studying in Rome nearly a decade ago.  Below are a few pictures from these amazing sights.  Sam’s favorite was the Pantheon and Jennifer’s favorite part was having a nice glass of wine at the Piazza Navona.

Colosseum

Roman Forum

Beautiful Churches

Obelisks

Pantheon

Jennifer's Hotel

Trevi Fountain

Spanish Steps

Dinner at Sidewalk Cafe

Drinks in Piazza Navona

After a long day of walking around, we ended the night with a stroll through Campo de Fiori and headed back to our Bed and Breakfast to get some rest.