Roman Holiday

We arrived in Rome and left as soon as possible. San Marino is a few hours away and we wanted to take the opportunity to cross another country off the list. We got turned around a lot, ate McDonald's, and listened to some Italian music. It was late, but we eventually made it to Perugia. We woke up to a lovely Italian breakfast and we were the only ones staying there. The staff was super nice and Emre loved all the cats walking around the property. There was a huge cricket that Alastair found and we set it down on the ground. The cat we were playing with pounced and ate it whole. We felt so bad for the little bug, didn't mean for that to happen!

After breakfast, we made our way to San Marino. We skipped the tolls and drove in the countryside, it was gorgeous! Made me a little carsick but the views were worth it!

We ate some pizza at a restaurant and walked around the city. Just lots of walking and taking pictures. There wasn't much to tour but the views were worth coming out for! It was nice to have Emre run around freely with us.

We made our way home and ordered some delicious pizzas to eat in our room. We woke up, ate our last Italian breakfast, and drove to Rome.

We left San Marino and arrived in Rome around mid-afternoon. We stayed in a cheap hotel, not fantastic at all, but we were happy. I think everyone has Rome on the top of their list of places to visit. I was so excited to finally be here. But I've learned my lesson before: don't overhype things. I've overhyped Paris and I was going to make the same mistake with Rome…

We put Emre in the stroller, knowing we would do a lot of walking, and went straight to the Colosseum. While walking, we joked about seeing a crack in the ground and saying, “oh look, Roman ruins!” Such a dad joke! We decided to splurge a bit of our money and took a tour of the Colosseum. While inside, I couldn't help myself and recited Gladiator lines. No regrets.

We then walked past more sights, the Roman forum. By that time, we were getting hungry. We found a restaurant and ate some good pasta and pizza! It was nice to get inside because it was really chilly. We walked around and found ourselves at the Pantheon. Emre loved the fountain in the square, so we stayed for a while. We walked some more and found ourselves at Trevi Fountain. Grabbed a coin and tossed it in. Emre even tossed a coin, he thought it was fun! Hopefully, we'll return!

That pretty much concluded our night, so we made our way back to the hotel.

Alastair had to drop off the car at the airport. He was so sweet that he took emre with him and I got to explore on my own! I took the metro and made my way to the Spanish steps. I window shopped, admiring the dresses at Valentino. I was so hungry, I decided to find some food.so I just walked and walked and eventually found myself at a little cafe. I ordered some pastries and hot chocolate. By the time I was done, Alastair was on his way to the hotel. So I hopped on a bus and met up with them.

We then left to go to Vatican City. We went to St. Peter's Basilica. Apparently, his remains are there. Crazy! It was beautiful! Emre was napping and we couldn't bring the stroller in, so we carried him! At least he was quiet!

We couldn't go to Sistine chapel because it was closed that day and it was expensive. Didn't feel like it was worth the money, since we already spent money on the Colosseum. We made our way back to that area and ate at a restaurant that a friend recommended. It was small and packed and oh so good! After dinner, we finished our night by the Colosseum and ate gelato. A great way to finish our Roman holiday!