Sight-Seeing in Rome: Part II

Our first full day in Rome began with a continental breakfast at our hotel. Keep in mind that an Italian continental breakfast is not the same as an American continental breakfast. However, I enjoyed the breakfast as it consisted of croissants, pain du chocolat (one of my favorite pastries from France, which is basically bread with a little bit of chocolate inside), apples, cereal, cold cuts (I think it was ham??? and cheese) and coffee. You can get American coffee sometimes(but don't count on it), but for the most part your choice is an espresso or a cappuccino. Jeff and have actually grown fond of Italian coffee. He orders an espresso (called a caffe)and I get a cappuccino. We had quite a few of these while travelling to keep our energy up.

Our first sight-seeing venture was to see the Colosseum. Once you get off the metro and walk outside the metro station, you are hit with an awesome beauty. The Colosseum is right there in front of you. After dodging vendors who are trying to sell you some tacky souvenir or who are trying to get you to take their "special English tour", you can make your way to the Colosseum. It really is breath-taking as you realize the history behind the ruins.

We stood in line for about 30-45 minutes before we got inside. Once inside the Colosseum, we walked around the ancient ruins in awe. It is amazing to believe that this structure was built around AD 80.

After spending the morning at the Colosseum, we decided to do something completely "touristy" for lunch. We went to the Hard Rock Cafe in Rome for lunch. It was the BEST cheeseburger that either of us has had since leaving the states. It was delicious! Since Jeff had been to the HRC in London and I had been to the one in Paris, we felt we had to make our way to the one in Rome.

After a nice respite, we made our way to the famous Trevi Fountain. This fountain is featured in the famous movie "La Dolce Vita" in which the main characters wade in the fountain. Although it is illegal to wade in the fountain today, you can throw a coin in the fountain. Jeff got some video footage of me throwing a coin over my shoulder, which is the custom. Hey, when in Rome! The fountain was beautiful, but oh so crowded. You have to wrestle your way through the crowd to get somewhat close. We also saw the Spanish Steps along the way to the fountain. These steps are popular as many people sit on them and rest. This is a prime spot to people watch. At the bottom of these steps is a small fountain as well as a piazza filled with cafes and designer stores. We spent the rest of the day wandering around this area before we made our way back to the hotel. Our first day in Rome was a blast!