I don’t know if you read this blog because (1) You’re entertained by my writing; (2) You enjoy looking at my photos; or (3) You’re that creepster boy who used to stalk me in 3rd grade now you’ve found me on the internet and you just read my blog instead of hanging out in the bushes in my front yard like you used to. (And by the way, that experience is why I had an extreme distaste for suburban shrubbery in my adolescence. And boys.)

All of that to say – this post includes a LOT of photos. So hopefully you picked option #2. And if you don’t visit this blog for the photos, feel free to thoughtlessly scroll through as you please. That’s why I added the parenthetical “if you want to” to the title. It had absolutely nothing to do with wanting to reference the B-52’s song from the 80’s. Nope, nothing to do with that.

So Rome!

It was fabulous. And maybe my favorite city we visited in Italy. I’m not going to try to describe everything pictured here, so if you have any questions about what’s in these photos or where we went, feel free to leave a comment and I’ll get back to you.

We had gorgeous weather the whole time we were in Rome and made sure to take advantage of the cheap beer and wine charming al fresco dining options.

Attraction #1 on our Rome itinerary was of course the Colosseum! Our tour guide Rosella was fantastic, and I really learned a lot about the history of the ruins. I also learned that getting zero hours of sleep the night before turns my short term memory to crap. So all I can tell you about the Colosseum is that it’s super cool looking. Find it on Wikipedia if you really want a history lesson.

Did I mention our parents were our travel buddies on this trip? Both sets!
Rosella also took us to see the Forum, Palatine Hill and some of the other ruins scattered about the area. I don’t know if you knew this, but Rome has a lot of ruins. And all of the buildings are so old and beautiful, which of course prompted me to be all, “Hey look at me, I’m a photographer!” and take an obscene amount of photos.

And  of course it wouldn’t be a trip to Italy if we didn’t gorge ourselves on gelato on the first day. And everyday thereafter.

And at the end of one of the longest days of my life (yes, this was all on our very first day!), some wine. Because I wanted to be just a bit more comatose than I already was.

So that was Day #1 of our fantastic Italian journey! Stay tuned for Day #2 featuring the rest of Rome, including the Vatican where I discovered a deadly vendetta against the Catholic Church and embarked on a frantic hunt through sealed crypts, dangerous catacombs and deserted cathedrals! All in my mind, of course. Angels & Demons, anyone?