ALLLLL The Rome Pictures

I am so sorry you had to wait so long... but the wait is finally over! It is now, finally, time for you to see ALLLL the pictures from Rome. So now, as a form of procrastination, here are the stories & photos you have long been waiting for. 

I am truly not sure which ones I have posted previously, so I apologize for any duplicates. Nonetheless, enjoy the gorgeousness you are about to see & the stories that are associated with these beautiful images. 

So, Friday night... No pictures from that... Sorry! The girls came over after their sleep & we went to grab some lunch before heading out to the airport. Most of the airports are at least half an hour from the city & require a train ride to get there. We got on a plane in the afternoon on Friday, after a train ride to Luton Airport, the home of EasyJet. I would recommend the company to you but warn you, they are a low-cost airline. This usually means delays, no free services, & sometimes problems with luggage. But they're cheap. You get what you pay for - I guess. 

So when we arrived on Friday night, we needed another car ride to enter into the city. We were within the Rome city limits but decently far from the touristy sections. This was nice but also was an area filled with graffiti. Honestly, wow Rome. You were pretty dirty. London looked impeccable in comparison. 

We headed to dinner & enjoyed a pretty good Italian dinner. But let me tell you, the food in Florence was much better than that of Rome. Minus the last night - but more on that later! We were exhausted & headed back to the Villa. Our villa was gorgeous. We had 2 beds & a bathroom... but the best surprise was the patio outside. We had our own private terrace, patio, whatever you want to call it. We didn't enjoy it the first night, as we were full of delicious food & ready for bed - we needed some sleep to prepare for our upcoming day. 

So Saturday.... 

We went to Rome KNOWING we wanted to see the Vatican & St. Peter's & the Sistine Chapel. My mom & Aunt grew up Catholic & my aunt is a nun - so we really wanted to see the area & report back to the rest of the family! (Aunt & Grandma - here's your share of pictures & a recap!) 

We intended on standing in line & waiting to get in. But crap, those lines were massive. We opted for a "skip the line" tour & are more than happy that we did. The entire tour took about 3 hours... Here's some pictures from this part of our adventure. 

Staircase up to the Vatican Museum 

View from the entrance of the Museum 

Stairwell near the gift shop 

St. Peter's in the background! First glimpse we caught up close. We are actually inside Vatican City here. 

The ladies && I 

MAMA BEAR. Also, can we just realize how incredibly jealous I am of how tan my mom looks?

Umbrella trees - not native to Rome but transplanted here

Symbolizing the Catholic Church & the World 

Not sure what this is... but pretty, right?

Always taking pictures but such a cute shot of 2/3 of the sisters

Alright Rome, I'll give you that the view of you from a hill is gorgeous

&& more ornate ceilings 

Loves breaking the rules

Palm Sunday Prep!

St. Peter's

Saint Peter's Tomb 

Sunlight seeping in 

Colosseum 

GORGEOUS blue skies 

Our little terrace 

At the end of the night, after exploring St. Peter's we stopped for lunch. After lunch, we wandered down by the Colosseum & Palatine Hill. It was gorgeous blue skies so we were treated to some awesome pictures. I was truly blessed to spend a weekend in Italia with my family. 

OH MY WORD - dinner that night... INCREDIBLE. We had everything you can possibly imagine & a bottle of wine to top it off. The bread tasted EXACTLY like grandma's but with some salt added on top. We had tiramisu to top it all off & headed back to our hotel... full & oh so content. 

Sunday, we headed straight to the Colosseum. We again did the skip the line option - well worth it, as we were given a guided tour of the venue. 

Such a sick place... sick in both the "cool" way but sick, as in they treated people terribly here. This is the site of approximately 1 million deaths. All in the name of fun & entertainment... ew. 

Aunt! My exploring buddy.

Palatine Hill

If you ask me for any facts regarding this area, I don't remember any. Our tour guide was cocky & obnoxious. As a result, I tuned him out a lot & just took pictures. Google your little hearts out & learn more about this cool area. 

Roman Forum - old city center

Honestly, I did like Rome. I was not as AMAZED as I expected to be. I guess I probably went in with high expectations for this historical city. The sites were awe-inspiring & well worth it... but the city itself? Kind of dirty & disappointing. The food & the people? Excellent. 

Time with my family? Awesome. 

We headed back on Sunday night, on a delayed plane. We landed in London just after 1am & took a cab home. We might finally be well rested but just in time for a 7am flight to Paris on Friday!

Wise Wednesday coming your way... Maybe later tonight? We'll see how far I get on this paper...

Happy Wednesday!