Roman Holiday: Day One: Heart of Rome

Bryan and I were wrestling with honeymoon destinations for a few months. At first, I wasn't sure I could get the time off to go on a honeymoon. When I finally traded my shifts away, we could not decide what to do and where to go. 

Too many options flooded our realm of possibilities. Domestic vs international? Cruise vs land-locked? On our own vs all-inclusive? Hot vs cold? The possibilities were only limited by flight loads. We felt bombarded by so many great choices, we had a hard time deciding. 

After many visits to online travel forums and travel magazines, we spoke to my sister-in-law and she asked us a really good question, "Where do you want to go?" 

A honeymoon is a (hopefully) once in a lifetime opportunity to splurge on a trip that you would not normally take. We we thinking about going to the Grand Canyon or on a cruise or to somewhere in Central America. After she asked us that question, we realized we wanted something grander.

We decided to go on a trip we had both been dreaming about for many years. Italy here we come! We planned a four-night trip top Rome in a little apartment rental for our Roman holiday. Here are some pictures from our first day in the Eternal City. 

Got our Roma Passes to avoid long queues at train stations and attractions 

Roof-top patio of our apartment came with some roommates

Trees draping over the Tiber river walk

Pantheon, one of the few standing buildings from ancient Rome

Giant columns

Taste the rainbow of gelato 

Lunch of pizza...

...and arancini 

Fountain of the Four Rivers, representing the major rivers of the Roman Empire

Beautifully carved columns

The Trevi was under construction, no coin tossing today :-(

Cobblestone streets 

Spanish steps, where's Audrey Hepburn?

Looks like Charlie

Circus Maximus, where they held the chariot races

As you might have noticed, we only had one meal and gelato during our first day in Rome. That's because we were so tired from the red-eye flight and the sight-seeing, that I fell alseep at 6pm and did not wake up until 4am the next day. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, I slept through a meal. That's what happens when you are up for 30+ hours.

Our next day started very early thanks to my marathon sleep-fest... and more eating, I promise.

-Akemi-chan