24 Days in Europe – When in Rome Do What the Romans Do

I’m getting right back to my 30 days in Europe tour. Things have been a little hectic lately but I update eventually. ^_^

“When in Rome Do What the Romans Do.” Ok so it’s not the most original saying, but you can’t help but say it when you’re hitting the ancient cosmopolitan streets of Roma. It’s where Emperor Augustus reign supreme and was once the capital of the most powerful empire on earth. It’s no exaggeration when people say history comes alive.

We headed off immediately to see the Colosseum. It’s the one pit stop you never want to miss. This area is probably the most preserved spot of Ancient Rome around. Surrounding the Colosseum is the Roman Forum, with ruins of temples and aristocratic houses from ancient times. It’s one of the most busy tourist areas besides the Spanish Steps.






Next off we rushed down to visit “La Boca della Verita” or “The Mouth of Truth”. Located in a little church called the Santa Maria Cosmedin near the Tiber River, it is the famous statue where a person sticks there hand into the mouth. If you tell a lie it will bite off your hand, if you tell truths your hand escapes unscathed. Well that’s supposedly how the myth goes. But this was also the famous statue where Audrey Hepburn (my favorite actress) filmed one of her famous romantic scene in “Roman Holiday” with Gregory Peck. As a fan, this was something I couldn’t miss!






Next off we hopped on the metro to the Vatican, home of the Pope and wandered inside to see the ornate décor of the church. My favorite sculpture Michelangelo’s “Pieta” stood behind a bullet proof glass, which was put there because of an incident when a crazed man broke off a finger of the Madonna. Talk about art abuse!

FYI: Catch the Pope giving morning mass on Wednesday. Unfortunately we didn’t go on a Wednesday.








We stopped for a bit for some gelato. (My motto is, you can never get enough gelato) We found a cool gelato shop called “Old Bridge Gelateria” where the gelato is cheaper then anywhere else in Italy and they’re not stingy on giving you an extra scoop! It’s located right across the street from the Vatican Museum.







We made a brief visit to the Spanish Steps and immediately ran away from the sheer chaos of the area. BE WARNED! It’s very crowded! I don't even wanna know what's it's like during tourist season. After that we made off to the Trevi Fountain. Toss a coin in there and make a wish!






We had only a day in Rome. Our feet were exhausted, but we made it to many of the sites we planned on going. (My advice, don’t stop, not even for lunch. You’ll probably be too distracted with all the sightseeing anyway). One day is hardly enough to see Rome, but I say that for every city...

To finish off the day, we sat down for some Italian pasta! YUM!





Until the next adventure in Europe…


Click on the “30 Days in Europe” link to follow our travels around Europe.


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