Day 14 & 15 - Fontana de Trevi & Wondering through Roma

Yesterday and today have been super easy days. I am so glad since I cannot seem to get over this throat mess. I honestly think it is due to the fact that their spring is just now blooming and I have about the worst allergies. I went by a "pharmacia" to see if I could get some medicine and this was no CVS. First, they do not speak English and second, nothing is over the counter in Europe. I honestly should have packed a small pharmacy to bring here but since I have not been sick in several months, I didn't think to. Ooops?

Yesterday we had the day off until 4:30pm. Most of us laid around at the hotel until then catching up on blogs and attempting an assignment Anoopy gave us. We all rounded up that afternoon to embark on a foot journey through Roma. We started off at the Spanish Steps and then Anoop got us to the first stop and assigned pairs of leaders. In the 1980s, the Steps were a hot spot for artists to sit and create. Now, it is more touristy than anything and at night you will find a lot of people hanging out and drinking wine. Here is a fountain designed by Bernini and his father at the bottom of the Spanish Steps:

Morgan and I were the first set and we had to get us from where we were (I have no clue where that was) to Fontana de Trevi. As most of you know, I am extremely directionally challenged. I am better than most females but that is not saying much. We finally made it and look what we found:

Yes, I did throw THREE coins over my shoulder in to the fountain HOWEVER, I forgot to make a wish in the excitement. Sorry? The cool thing about Fontana de Trevi other than how awesome it looks is that is it the only fountain in Roma that is still fed by the Roman aqueducts. I was really mad that it was raining when we got there because I wanted way more pictures than what I got. We are headed back there tonight to see it at dark. Apparently, that is when it is best!

After Fontana de Trevi, another pair lead us to our next stop of Piazza de Navona. On the way there, we passed the high end shopping area. Gucci, Prada, Michael Khors, etc. etc. No, I did not buy you anything Alana. I am so sorry to disappoint but, too expensive purses and sunglasses are not in my budget!

Check out this fountain at Piazza de Navona:

And one more:

The fountains all over the place are my favorite! It is just absolutely insane the decorations all over the city.

At the end of our trek across Roma we got a really great meal at a small restaurant across the Tiber River. By the way, the river is really gross but, the island in the middle of it is pretty awesome. After dinner, I headed back to the hotel to get in bed. I was pretty beat after all the walking we did.

This morning, we woke up early to head to Termini (the central train station in Roma) to activate our Eurail passes and reserve our seat to Rapallo, Italy for tomorrow morning. Our train leaves at 8:10am tomorrow morning which makes another early morning of traveling. The ride will take about 5 hours and once we get there I am sure we will hit the ground running. We want to enjoy being outside in clean air for a couple of days. One of our adventures is kayaking through Cinque Terre and I am extremely excited about it. We are spending two nights in Rapallo and then heading to Florence a night early to save on another early morning of traveling.

What is my overall opinion of Roma you may ask? I love love love the architecture, fountains, statues, laid back attitude and hospitality. Roma is a very dirty city with extremely crowded public transportation so, if I were to come back, I would only spend three days and two nights. Yes, they would be slammed packed days, but you can get it all in. If you have not been to Roma yet, I suggest you put it on your bucket list. Seeing the Coliseum and The Vatican are a must before you die.

I think I will have internet the entire time but don't hate me if I don't use it. A few days without cell phones and blogging would be amazing. I plan on spending as much time outside as possible. So I guess this is see you in Florence! I promise to give a full report on the west Italian coast!

P.S. Alana, send me pics of my niece and nephew! Dad, send me pics of Nuffer! I miss them too much!