Rome was not built in a day…lucky we were here for 2

 We flew from Munich to Rome.  Mum flew from Warsaw and we met at the airport to start our next adventure.  The eternal city greeted us in style with a pizza :)

It was lucky we got here in the end, because of course there were strikes at the DaVinci airport and flights were being cancelled left right and centre.  Not ours! Thank goodness!

It was a busy couple of days.  Mum and I did the obligatory sight-seeing while Jake was being entertained at the Ryder Cup.

Day 1:

We almost didn’t make it to the Vatican.  I was too lazy to get the disposable earphones on the hop-on-hop-off bus and we missed our stop.  By the time, I realised we were heading in the opposite direction and got off the bus, it was already 2min past the time we were supposed to meet the guide.

In a panic, we waved down a taxi, but it all seemed so hopeless, because at best we were 18min away…

We jump in and mum says (in her firm Polish accent): ‘to the Vatican.  Fast! Go! Go! Go!’  The driver took her literally, and I swear I don’t know how we are still alive.  It was like a scene from Fast the Furious.  I called the tour company whilst bouncing around in the cab and they promised to wait a few minutes.  

The taxi driver drops us close enough due to the nightmare of a traffic jam and we ran the rest of the way, our dresses and hair flapping in the wind…

We made it!  

True to form, mum was holding up our tour group asking a million questions!  (Yes, you Isabella!)

After this action packed morning we deserved a cheeky aperol.

Making a wish at the Trevi Fountain, looking up the Spanish Steps (not climbing them :)) and dosing up on gelato completed the first day in Rome.

Day 2:

We avoided the bus at all costs.  We couldn’t risk the embarrassment of being late…AGAIN, especially given the tour of the Colosseum was delivered by the same tour guide. Though mum did not seem embarrassed holding up the group again hehehe

The colosseum was grand and picturesque and the story interesting.  It’s a pity it is only now mostly ruin with no real prospects of rebuilding, mostly due to the high costs and lack of original materials.

  

We finished the tour walking through the ruins of the Roman Forum.  It sounds like there are layers and layers of buried cities under ground.  Fascinating.

Before the tour, we had some time to pay a special visit to my fave sight in Rome - The Pantheon. I am forever amazed at the grandiosity of this temple standing in the middle of a piazza like a huge elephant.  

We spoilt ourselves with a glass of Prosecco in the square and more gelato.

These 2 days were fast paced, exhausting but satisfying.  One tick of the bucket list according to mum.