Hi all you awesome people! It has been a WHILE!!! Where to start?! It has been a hectic 5 weeks… I have been working on a deadline interim audit, and this meant many nights with very little sleep!! The highlight of these 5 weeks, was having a long weekend after all the work, and we jet-setted off to Rome!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
It was definitely one of my best trips EVER!!!! But let me not get ahead of myself… We left Amsterdam at 21:00 on Friday evening and had quite an eventful flight! The worst turbulence of my life!! We made it to Rome in 1 piece and then headed to the apartment which would be our home for the next 4 days… As it was such a rush getting to the Airport and our flights on time, we only went in search of dinner at 00:00 J When in Rome… We went to a cute little restaurant at 00:30 and ate Pizza! It was amazing, true Italian style J
Saturday we had a big tourist day… Started off on a hop on, hop off tour. If you ever visit Rome, I would really recommend this, as this is definitely a cheaper way of travelling… You can use the bus, metro and tram, and the route is designed to take you past all the big tourist attractions. We started off at the Colloseum… What an amazing structure this is!!!! It absolutely takes your breath away seeing it from up close… We went on a guided tour of the Colloseum – took some funny photos with dressed up Romans, and also visited the Roman Forum. The Pope still does a blessing in the Colloseum every Good Friday on Easter Weekend, in memory of all Christians who were persecuted for their faith… I walked inside the Colloseum thinking – if these walls could talk?! I think that if we were able to have a chat to someone who lived during that time, we would not believe the stories of what they experienced… It must have been quite something, millions (it seems) of years ago ;)
After this we went to see the Roman Forum. It was AMAZING!! I never knew that tourists were allowed to go in there… To sum it up – it is this amazing garden, with ruins all over… The tour guide told us, that Rome only has two metro’s… Every time they start working on a third, they just find more ruins under the ground J How amazing is that?!! We walked around after our guided tour ended, and we had some amazing panoramic views of Rome from Palentine hill (inside the Roman Forum)… See some of the pictures I attach! Inside the Roman Forum, the summer house of Mussolini is also located. Our tour guide said that the sad thing was – Mussolini never had time to actually spend at this house, since World War 2 started just after this house was built…
After our visit to the Roman Forum, we saw a cute little Café overlooking the Colloseum. We went there and had a glass of red wine (Khianti (true Italian red wine – you can buy it at Woolies – so make sure to treat yourself sometime!)), while watching the lights go on… It was amazing – and felt quite surreal sitting there, experiencing something that peaceful, and beautiful, with awesome friends as company!
Sunday was an even bigger tourist day for us! We got up, and went for coffee at a cute coffee bar… Italian coffee = good J My weakness in life… After this we basically did a walking tour (by ourselves) of Rome… It was amazing! We came to Piazza Venezia and saw a huge square, with a MASSIVE canvas where little kids were painting and playing with soccer balls, which some people were handing out. We grabbed some paint brushes, and the chartered accountants gave outing to their “artistic side” for a while J I add some pictures J It was a lot of fun!!!
We carried on with the road less travelled J, visiting small stores, and eventually made our way to the Pantheon. One of the oldest churches in Europe… This church has a hole in it’s roof! We did an audio tour (ear piece, giving you some history) of the Pantheon, and the history behind it was really amazing! The architecture of the church, inspired St Peters Bascilica as well as numerous other churches throughout Europe. There are holes in the marble flooring, and the rain water drains through the floor… See pics J
Next stop, Piazza Novona, and Trevi Fountain!! That was AMAZING!!! There were sooo many people, it was actually insane! There is this tradition that if you throw a coin with your right hand over your left shoulder, this will ensure your return to Rome… Our group of friends participated in this old tradition – was so much fun J Interesting fact – all money taken from the Trevi Fountain are donated to charity J
From there we headed to the Spanish steps! There were people sitting everywhere… We made our way all the way to the top, got us a front row seat on the wall, bought some sundowners and admired the sunset, overlooking Rome! This is definitely one of my top 10 moments of 2011!!!! Really felt blessed experiencing a moment like that, with great friends! For dinner, we went for Pizza, again J at a very cute Italian place.
Monday we did some shopping, and visited the Vatican city, as well as St Peters Bascilica… Was a wonderful experience!!!! If you are a history lover, then Rome is definitely the place for you!! On Monday evening we visited a little restaurant recommended by Jamie Oliver on his website. Strangely enough, it was not really located in the tourist areas – it was in a more quiet area… It was amazing food, amazing wine, and even better desert! Pastacio crème brule! SOOOO nice!! Yum, yum… It was a very special end to our unbelievable weekend!!
But wait, there is more!! When we got back to the apartment, we saw this cute little restaurant / bar - underground... It was the place of the nicest Italian. He reminded me of my grandad J We went in and saw he sold Papst Beer – a beer made in honour of the Pope. We shared two beers between the four of us, drinking out of a glass with the Pope’s face on it… So much fun!! See some pics. Was really THE perfect end, to the MOST perfect weekend!!!!
