#HurnEuroVacay -- Day 7 - ROME!!!!!!

The only plans that we had for our first day in Rome was to visit the Colosseum and Roman Forum. We woke up and walked the few blocks to the Colosseum and had lunch at a small café nearby.

The little alleyway that our apartment was in.

Let me let you in on a little secret right now – Rick Steves audio guides. They were a life saver on our trip through Italy, and the Hurns highly recommend them. You can download them for free in the Rick Steves Audio Europe app. We used these pretty much everywhere we went. The one for the Colosseum and Roman Forum was wonderful.

Rome quickly became our favorite city. Reason #1: When you travel to other European cities, you visit cathedrals and buildings that are “old” – built in like 1300 or something. When you go to Rome, things are ancient – like built in the B.C. years. The Romans started building the Colosseum in 72 AD, and it only took them 8 years to build it.

As we were walking into the Colosseum, they were dozens of men dressed like gladiators wanting tips for pictures with them. One asked us where we were from, and when we said Alabama, he said, “Mobile, Alabama?” What!?! I told him that I was from Mobile, and he said that he trained with a guy from Mobile. How strange!

We learned so much about the games that used to be held in the arena. There were trap doors and elevators under the floor to make animals and performers pop up out of the ground. The games were violent and gruesome, but it was still really neat to be in such a historical place.

The underground tunnels that allowed for the trap doors and elevators.

Rick Steves told us that after the emperor outlawed the games, Romans looted the Colosseum to get building materials for other projects. An earthquake also damaged the structure, which is why one side of the top level is missing.

What the Colosseum used to look like compared to now.

Arch of Constantine outside of the Colosseum.

The Colosseum was definitely a highlight of our trip.

After the Colosseum, we walked over to the Roman Forum. (Entrance to both the Colosseum and Forum is included in your ticket price.) Once again, the Rick Steves Audio Guide came in clutch. It is amazing to think about what the area looked like in Rome’s hayday – pretty much the center of civilization.

Arch of Titus

Temple of Antonius and Faustin

Temple of Castor and Pollux

At one point, it started to rain. So, we hid out under the Temple of Caesar – a structure built on the site where the Roman senators burned the body of Julius Caesar.

The rain slacked off a little, so we finished our audio guide and saw the rest of the Forum. 

Arch of Septimius Severus

Then, the rain really started pouring down. We ran out to the street and ducked into what we though was a small store. It was actually the Mamertime Prison – the prison where both Peter and Paul were kept prisoners. Jeff had wanted to visit the prison, so it was funny that we just stumbled upon the place while trying to hide from the rain.

The lady working at the desk did not speak great English, and we had a little bit of a hard time communicating. We ended up paying for some tour without really knowing what we paid for. It was interesting to the see the small prison cell that Peter and Paul were kept in. They also told us that this was where Peter converted some of his Roman guards. However, the multimedia tour (that we paid 2€ extra for) was so weird. It was not worth it. If you ever visit the prison, do not pay for the tour.

After that, we just started wandering around Rome. Reason #2 why Rome was our favorite: You can wander around the city through all of these small streets and alleys, and then you just stumble upon an ancient giant cathedral tucked back in the middle of nowhere. So amazing. 

Reason #3: It seems like there are no traffic laws. There are no crosswalks or traffic lanes. Cars and mopeds just zoom around each other. People just saunter across the street whenever they feel like it.

We were trying to head in the direction of the Trevi Fountain with the aid of a good ol’ fashion paper map. We found the Altar della Patria or the National Monument to Victor Emmanuel II (the first king of unified Italy). It may be the most crazy monument or building that I have ever seen. It sits way up on a hill with giant horses and chariots on the roof, and it can be seen from most of Rome. It was ginormous and so detailed.

We finally made it to the Trevi Fountain, and it was under construction. No throwing coins in the fountain. Boo! The fountain was still beautiful and way bigger than I thought it was going to be.

Near the fountain, we saw some artists painting with a crowd of people surrounding them. It turns out that they were making beautiful paintings of the Colosseum with spray paint. It was pretty cool, and Jeff was mesmerized. I swear that we watched the spray paint artists for a total of at least 3 hours over our two days in Rome.

We looked on our map and saw that we were pretty close to the Pantheon. It wasn’t really on our list of things to do, but since we were so close, we decided to find it. I am so glad that we did. If you are in Rome, DO NOT miss the Pantheon. (It’s free.) Unlike most of the Roman Forum, the building is pretty much intact. It was built in 126 AD! The dome is amazing and was an engineering feat in its day. A lot of modern domes are modeled after the Pantheon.

Dome and the oculus - a hole in the ceiling for structure and light

Rick Steves (use his audio guides, people) informed us that each column on the portico were made from one piece of marble in Egypt and then floated on barges over to Rome. They were also made too short for the original design, and adjustments had to be made. Whoops.

Reason #4 why Rome is our favorite: We love piazzas! Streets open up to these places were people gather and hang out around fountains. The piazza near our apartment was always busy with people sitting out there until late into the night. Such a cool aspect of Italian culture.

The piazza outside of the Pantheon - Piazza della Rotonda

Roma is my jam!

Next, we got more gelato because Italy. 

Nutella gelato!

Then, we found McDonald’s. We had originally said that we would not eat “American” food on our trip, but we could not resist. A good fountain Coke and French fries?! Yes, please!

When in Rome...

In our day’s long walk, we had accidentally wandered pretty far from our apartment. We started the long trek back home wandering around Rome, checking the map, and then wandering some more. We finally made our way back to the Colosseum, which may be even more beautiful at night.

We decided to have a late dinner since we had eaten our McDonald’s snack that afternoon. We found a nice restaurant near our apartment. We were seated next to a nice couple from Texas who were on their last night in Italy. They were so nice, and even decided to buy our dinner for us. When we got to the restaurant, they were already done with their meal, but they ended up staying through our meal – and we all talked until after midnight. Such a fun night in Rome.

Also, let's not pretend like I didn't think about the Lizzie McGuire Movie all day long. This is what dreams are made of, y'all. Never forget.

#HurnEuroVacay -- Day 6 - London to Rome

We woke up early to check-out of our hotel on time, and decided to check our bags at the hotel this time instead of the super expensive train station bag check. I had read about the Camden Market on another travel blog that I read, and we decided to check it out on our last morning in London. We took the underground over to Camden and wandered around until we found the market. Camden is a cool, eclectic part of London, and the market was full of weird shops all selling the same t-shirts and souvenirs. After walking through the market for a little while, we found a huge area full of food booths – Peruvian food, Middle Eastern food, mac & cheese, BBQ booths, Mexican food – everything you could think of. Jeff bought a polish dog and pierogi plate, while I opted for a chicken marsala wrap. Everything was delicious, and it was most definitely the best food that we had in London.

After lunch, we took the underground back over to our hotel to get our bags. Then, we hopped back on the underground to Liverpool Street in order to get on the Stansted Express out to our airport. Let me tell you a little something about European airports (or at least the ones that we used) – they work a little differently from American airports. Let’s say you are checking in for a flight in the Atlanta airport; you might be able to find out your gate information hours or even days ahead of time. Not in Europe. They wait until 45 minutes to an hour before your flight to announce gate information. So everyone ends up waiting in a general holding area around all of the shops and restaurants until your gate is announce right before your plane starts boarding. Also, some airports and airlines do not use boarding zones. So when the plane starts boarding, all 200 people on the plane get in one huge giant line waiting to board the plane. Not sure why…

Also in the London airport, I took my Apple Watch off to go through the security metal detector. I was in a hurry to grab all of my stuff out of the bins and get out of everyone’s way. [No one wants to be that person taking their sweet time in the security line holding everybody else up.] Well, in my hurry, I left my Apple Watch in the bin. This nice little security lady was holding my watch in the air yelling, “Whose Apple Watch is this, please?! Whose Apple Watch is this, please!?” I ran back over to her, grabbed my watch, and thanked her about a million times. I would have been so upset if I would have left my watch in London.

After the longest security check every, we finally got on our flight to Rome – along with three or four crying toddlers. There was a really funny, animated flight attendant on the flight who apologized on behalf of the child saying, “Sorry, We are auditioning a new baby for Game of Thrones. You know, one that needs to cry all the time.” Glad he had a sense of humor about the situation.

We landed and took a taxi into Rome to our VRBO apartment. Livio met us there and was so nice. He showed us around the flat and the neighborhood. He gave us a map and suggestions on lesser known attractions to visit. We ate a late dinner at the pizza place at the end of our street. My pizza had nasty mushrooms on it that made the whole pizza soggy. Gross. Of course, Jeff ordered pasta with mussels and clams – this will become the theme of all food Jeff orders for the rest of our time in Italy. We found some gelato, headed back to the apartment, did some much needed laundry, and went to bed.

This is me in the piazza at the end of our street with some gelato. Also, my husband is a terrible photographer.

#HurnEuroVacay -- Day 5 - London

On our second day in London, we started the day with a visit to Kensington Palace – the former residence of Queen Victoria, Princess Diana, and William & Kate. The Palace was interesting and the audio tour was very informative, but it was not my favorite attraction in London.

Jeff trying to look like Albert (Queen Victoria's husband)

Kensington Gardens

Jeff was so sleepy.

After our tour, we were walking through the huge public garden out to the street, when I noticed a mother undressing her young son (under two years old). The next thing I know, the mom pulls a small training potty out of the stroller and sits the kid down on it. The little boy was just going number two in the middle of the fancy gardens! Jeff and I could not believe what was happening and laughed so hard all the way through the gardens.

We then took the underground over to Westminster Abbey. The church was beautiful and the audio guide was great. It was amazing to see the site of such famous weddings, coronations, and other historical events. You can also see the Coronation Chair, which has been used in every coronation ceremony since Edward II in 1308. 

 

We took the underground over to Notting Hill for dinner. Apparently, Europeans do not like to use the word “sandwich,” so I had a “chicken burger” (not a chicken sandwich) for dinner. Jeff finally had some fish and chips, which looked (and tasted) a lot like Captain D’s according to Jeff. The restaurant we ate at marked the men’s and women’s restrooms with pictures of Julia Robert and Hugh Grant. So cute.

Because we were staying so close to Kings Cross station and passed through there 3-4 times a day, I couldn’t not get a picture at Platform 9 ¾. Jeff was too cool to take a picture, but he loves Harry Potter more than me.

Peace out. Going to Hogwarts.

Jeff found Snape's wand.

Remember how I mentioned that the London buses are impossible to figure out? Well, the underground is also pretty complicated. I am usually pretty good at navigating subways, but I must confess that we got the wrong train a few times in London. [Sometimes, multiple lines and directions use the same platform, so if you are not paying attention, it is easy to hop on the wrong line. Oops.] At some point in our day, the doors closed on the train, and I realized we were not on the right line. I looked at Jeff and said, “Well, we are on the wrong train.” The train started moving, and Jeff looked at me with the most optimistic and upbeat look on his face and said, “Wonder where we’re going?” It was just the best possible reaction to realizing that we had no idea where the train was taking us. We eventually figured it out, and got over to our intended destination.