All Roads Lead to Rome

You would think that as we get older we would get smarter too. As chaotic as it was last year to leave for Costa Rica just days after packing our entire office into a storage locker, we’ve somehow managed to have even more going on as we pack up and head off again. Nevertheless, to celebrate my fellow traveler’s 29th birthday, we’re tackling a long time destination on her bucket list – Italy. We haven’t focused much on Europe as we generally travel later in the year when the weather isn’t very appealing, but this time we’re moving things up a month to make it all work out. The hope is that we’ll still get warm, sunny days while skipping the worst of the summer crowds.

One nice thing about Europe is that there are plenty of flights to choose from and no real need to make a lot of connections. Our itinerary takes us through Frankfurt, with a quick layover before connecting into Rome. We arrive shortly after noon local time and, as promised, it is blue skies and mid 70s (suck it Seattle!).

While it is the end of the high season here, we discovered it is still quite busy and, because we end up planning so late, hotels in Rome are pretty full (and expensive). We ended up about a mile from the Vatican, which is a little further out than we hoped, but very close to a train station that connects us with the metro.

Now after waiting almost 20 years to come to Italy, and with all of the sights to see in Rome, the challenge is where does one start? What epic experience is worthy of all the anticipation? The Colosseum? The Sistine Chapel? Maybe the Pantheon? All good options. But surpassing them all, at the top of our list is – the 4 hour nap.

By the time we are finally back in motion, the trip the the city center seems awfully ambitious so we strike out in search of our first Italian food experience in the area near the hotel. Google leads us to a small, local trattoria that does not disappoint (save for the Roman bacon that is 96% fat). Prosciutto, cheese, pasta, it’s all good, and a great way to spend our first evening of vacation.