last days in rome

view from tivoli-a cute little city about an hour train ride away from rome with gorgeous gardens and fountains

villa de este in tivoli (this was once one of the pope's backyards)

pizza re-our favorite pizza so far. so cute and so yummy!

the only rainy day we've had so far and we loved it. it was a nice change from our every day 75 degrees and bright blue skies. paradise? yes I think so

in front of st. cecilia church

st. peter's basilica

michelangelo's pieta. this brought us to tears too

the vatican hooray!

rubbing st. peter's toe for good luck

 walking down the TINY staircase from the top of st. peter's dome. felt a little claustrophobic but totally worth it

 view from the top of the basilica. so pretty!

st. augustus tomb by bernini

 the DOME

 this mosaic wrapped around the inside of the dome. the colors were so unique and beautiful. we got to pet it and touch it and feel it and stare it for as long as we wanted

 view from the top of the dome

 

we were so sad to leave rome but as soon as we got to florence, we fell in love all over again. this place never ceases to amaze me. pictures will be coming soon!

keeps getting better

 laocoon

 spent the day in the vatican. yay!

 school of athens

 snuck a few pictures of the sistine chapel. brought us both to tears. amazing!

 moses by michelangelo

 barberini's palace

 drinking the holy water in front of the spanish steps

 gemelli!

 the calling of st. matthew by caravaggio-carley's report

 just one example of the hundreds of churches we've been to

relaxing by the river

 fountain of the four rivers by bernini

 piazza novana

villa borghese

at the end of every day, we always say "that was the best day yet!" but in reality every single day has been the best day. so sad to be leaving rome on tuesday morning. I cannot believe that it has already been two weeks. It's going way too fast, I wish it would go slower. but luckily, we still have another month in europe!

more gelato please?

 the view from our balcony. yes, that is st. peter's basilica on the right

 column of trajan

 the group!

 trevi fountain

 the mediterranean beach

 this right here is mom and daughter topless. in matching swim suits. best. thing. ever.

 laundry day

 st. francis basilica in assisi

 assisi (a quaint perfect quiet little town about 2 hours north east of rome). we took the train and spent the day here. such a fun day!

 can you believe this view?!

 nutella coconut canoli=heaven in my mouth

 santa costanza gratitude wall

 on the metro

 official cathedral of rome

 

our favorite road in rome. right outside the catacombs

things we've learned so far:

1. the monuments are about 1000X bigger than you think they are

2. the sistine chapel will bring you to tears

3. the gelato is to die for

4. if you are waiting in line, stop waiting and start pushing

5. italian people are beautiful-their clothes, faces, skin, language, everything

6. italians really do say "mamma mia"

7. it does matter what shoes you're wearing, but your feet will hurt no matter what you do. you kinda just get used to it

8. they really do feed you pasta at every single meal before the actual meal begins

9. italians (especially the men) are so affectionate and so confident

10. use hand sanitizer everywhere you go

11. look both ways multiple times before you cross the street-the drivers here are insane

12. gelato shops and pizzerias are like starbucks. literally on every corner