P.S. We met Rick Steves

We heard many wonderful things about Rick Steves' European travel books, so we were sure to pick up Paris & Rome to guide us throughout these two cities. These books were great! We carried them everywhere, and we took a lot of Rick's advice:

I kid you not if we weren't dining in Ristorante il Gabriello on our last night, which was recommended by Rick as one of his favorite restaurants in Rome and in walks Rick!! He was there to dine as well... on the same exact night as us! It was unbelievable. Here we are with author Rick Steves:

Happy Honeymoon... And that's a wrap!

Last Night in Rome

For our last night in Rome, we dined at Ristorante il Gabriello. It came recommended to us by Rick Steves who is the author of the travel books we used throughout Paris and Rome.

Rick Steves' says, "When finished, I stand up, hold my belly, and say, "Ahhh, la vita e bella."

It means life is beautiful. And that is Rome.

Roman Rooftop Picnic

Just soaking up some rays on our hotel's rooftop:

You can see the dome of St. Peter's Basilica in the distance.

The Pantheon

The Pantheon is Rome's best preserved monument. Our capital building in D.C. is inspired by this dome:

A Slice of Rome by Night

Vino

It's BIGGER in America.

How do you try to entice American tourists into your restaurant?

Have some "Very Big" marketing. We have quite the reputation!

St. Peter's Square

Movie Trivia: Did you know director Ron Howard was banned from filming The Da Vinci Code in St. Peter's Square? In response, he just built his own! Here's the real deal:

I've been a lover of postcards since elementary school. I thought it was very cool to send a postcard from the post office in Vatican City. It has its own zip code!

St. Peter's Basilica

This church holds 60,000 standing worshipers!

It's beautiful, and it's big. As I've mentioned before, it's said to be the most impressive church on earth, and that's not hard to believe.

Sistine Chapel

It's the most breathtaking art I've seen in all of my life. I honestly cannot comprehend working on scaffolding, leaning back, the neck cramps and the endurance required to complete this ceiling in four years.

Did you know when the Pope asked Michelangelo to paint this he said no? His reason was that he was a sculptor, not a painter. Michelangelo of course ended up saying yes, and to be 'not a painter'... Speechless. The ceiling shows the history of the world before the birth of Jesus. The center of this ceiling depicts God and man:

Our camera depicts Hank and Andrea inside the Sistine Chapel:

Michelangelo returned 23 years later to paint The Last Judgement on the altar wall:

We were lucky enough to get coveted seats along the wall, so we just sat forever to bask in it all. This was a top favorite moment in Rome!

Paintings of Rome in Rome

... That's all!

Vatican City

Wow... You can't go to Rome without making a day out of the Vatican City. It's the holy center of Catholicism. It is where the Pope resides and where you will find the most impressive church on earth, St. Peter's Basilica.

We asked for a photo of us with the dome of St. Peter's Basilica, but we got just us. So I think placing the above two photos, one on top of the other, gets exactly the idea we were going for.

Above you will see the statue of Apollo Belvedere. He is the god of sun and music. When this work was discovered it was considered the most perfect work of art in the world. One aspect I find interesting is that there was a period of time when it was accepted to have sculptures constructed in the nude. Yet as time went on, the Church added fig leaves to statues, after the fact, because it was deemed obscene otherwise.

Below you will find the ceiling of the hallway of tapestries... I love it!

The paintings throughout this museum were of ginormous proportions:

This was one of my absolute favorite paintings in all of Rome (next to the Sistine Chapel):

It's the School of Athens. It features Plato, Aristotle, Socrates, Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael, etc. Raphael was painting this while Michelangelo was working on the Sistine Chapel right down the hall! Can you imagine?

Gelateria Caffe Pasticceria Giolitti

Gelato in Italia comes naturally... You just have to do it. This particular joint is Rome's most famous.

It just so happened to be located right down the street from our hotel. Maybe we had it twice? What I found to be really interesting is that it's cheaper to take your dessert to-go... If you sit down to eat it, double the price. Now where's the fun in that?

The Spanish Steps

Here I am sitting on them! And they were... Just okay. These steps were definitely worth seeing, but I found them to be the biggest tourist trap in all of Rome. Perhaps it was just the night we were there, but the peddlers were p-u-s-h-y.

They were selling the most random of items such as... A dolphin gun that blows bubbles? What does it have to do with Rome? The peddlers would try to demonstrate their products to you and shove roses into your hands at least 12 times. In any event, we made it to the top of the steps, random souvenirs free. Amen.

Is Rome romantic? Yes!

There's something about Rome... It's the food, wine and sights that make it all so romantic. While Paris is dubbed the 'City of Light,' I felt Rome really comes alive at night. A 'Night Walk Across Rome' is quite romantic. Perhaps it's wandering around the city and just plain getting lost together that adds that dash of romance!

The Trevi Fountain was much prettier by night, especially with the crowds having died down. This vast sight was made more intimate. By the way, when you toss a coin over your shoulder and into The Trevi Fountain, it gives you a wish and promises a return back to Rome. We're all for this tourist tradition!