It’s hard to believe we are here after all the planning that’s gone into this trip. We arrived at our hotel around 2:30 pm after a white-knuckle taxi ride from the airport!
Our first venture in Rome began from Piazza del Popolo – an area that was once part of Rome’s main entry. We continued down Via del Corso – a traffic-free street that has been straight since Roman times and today houses all the high-end European brands: Gucci, Fendi, Louis Vuitton, Ferragamo, Prada, Cartier, just to name a few. Mark quickly tried to divert my attention from all the bright and shiny objects! After coming back to the reality of needing to put three kids through college in the coming years, I quickly got my wits about me and enjoyed a quick dose of window shopping.
A little side street took us by the Mausoleum of Augustus – a massive round-brick structure covered by cypress trees.
We then made our way to the Spanish Steps – the Piazza di Spagna. In the Renaissance period, this area attracted artists and writers. We climbed our jet-lagged bodies to the top and took in the views.
We stepped into several magnificent churches and then worked our way to Trevi Fountain. There are 24 spouts of water flowing over this “ocean” scene, with Triton blowing his conch shell. Incredible! We made the obligatory wish (to return to Rome) by throwing coins over our shoulder, then celebrated with our first gelato!
Here are three of my favorite photos from day one in Rome:
Tomorrow? A private tour of the Vatican City.
Until then, Ciao!
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