A Glimpse of Rome

Rome may not have been built in a day but it definitely made a really exciting one! Ben and I thought we had handed in the traveling towel until we found a 50 euro round trip to Rome. And better yet our wonderful friends Maureen and Jacob were willing to watch Brooklyn for the weekend. Thanks guys! You know it was a needed break from your child when both you and your husband sleep for the entire shuttle ride to the airport and the whole plane ride to Rome. Parents get tired too :)

We only had twenty-four hours in Rome so we made sure to take advantage of every minute possible. After checking into our hotel we went out immediately and ate pasta and pizza, of course! Next we took a night stroll along the St. Peter's Square, Saint Angelo's Castle, The Four Rivers Fountain, and The Pantheon. It was beautiful, peaceful, and incredible but we eventually had to go back to the hotel. So we started back, or so we thought...

We headed down one street thinking it would be a shortcut but it turned out to be the wrong direction. We started to get a little frustrated as we wandered around Argentina Street but then we noticed some old ruins. Well it turns out that those ruins were the remain of the place where Julius Caesar was assassinated. Where else could you run into such exciting things and follow it up with delicious gelato? No wonder everybody loves Rome!

St. Peter's Square during (sorry no camera on the night walk)

After wandering back to our hotel and sleeping off the plane ride and slight directional mishap we started off the next morning with the Vatican Museum...Wow. And again. Wow. Their collection of art is incredible. Like any other tourist I was just using the Vatican Museum to get to the Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel but my favorite painting was actually Raphael's "School of Athens". Unfortunately, I was so excited to see the Sistine Chapel that we had to back track to find the "School of Athens" (note to self: DON'T DO THAT!) but the 30 minute detour was well worth it! It's probably my favorite painting that I've seen in Europe. 

Followed by my favorite church I've seen in Europe St. Peter's Basilica! Dang those Roman's know how to decorate a church! Like most American's my knowledge of the Basilica stems from the movie "Angels and Demons". It turns out that the copy of the basilica they created for the movie was a pathetic excuse for a copy. It also turns out that Ben loves running around St. Peter's Square saying Illuminati! Ben had way too much fun referring to that movie!

The Bernini Alter

St. Peter's Square

Cool Clock on the Basilica

The crowning jewel of the visit though was the Colosseum. When we first arrived at the Colosseum we were starving so we hit a pizza joint right next to the site. I had already decided that I would order a Margarita Pizza (just sauce and cheese) because I had seen an Italian eat one yesterday with after adding some pepper flakes and olive oil and it looked incredible. So Ben made sure I ordered that (I have a terrible habit of changing my mind at a restaurant last minute and ordering the most disgusting food on the menu). 

Super cheesy smile!

Ben waiting for his favorite food, Pizza

The Colosseum was just as amazing as I thought it would be. The outside was way more beat up than I thought it would be but the building itself was so much bigger than I imagined. It's gigantic and the inside is just unbelievable. The stage, the seats, the arena it's incredible that a civilization built that almost two thousand years ago.

Rome was incredible. By the end we were so exhausted that we slept on the shuttle ride to the airport, tried sleeping on the plane (lousy drunk Germans behind us...sooooo loud), and slept the entire shuttle ride home which turned out to be much needed since we had to walk the rest of the way home in the snow. Thanks to Maureen and Jacob for giving us the weekend to ourselves. It was a great last European trip!

The COOLEST Thing in Belgium!

Today I was lucky enough to witness what is quite literally coolest thing in Belgium: The Snow and Ice Festival in Bruges. This annual event involved 400 tons of ice and over 30 artists from around the world. Their theme was inspired from The Lord of the Rings, a fact that I nerdily pointed out to Maureen as I pointed and yelled "Look Gandalf" (Ben would've been proud :) It was seriously breathtaking though and the coolest thing that I have ever seen in Belgium. 

So enjoy the pictures from our little adventure. Of course they don't do the sculptures justice but it will give you a little insight into how amazing this festival was.

A view of the festival. It was literally like walking into another world.

I loved this tree. Simply Amazing

Smaug: from The Hobbit

It's hard to tell but there is an actual candle burning
in the candle holder.

Watch your step! 

Brooklyn and Autumn had their fair share of fun too amid our continuous picture taking! They liked exploring this ice world just as much as we did, and got just as cold :)

Standing on top of the castle!

Nothing stands between Brooklyn and stairs.
Not even ICE COVERED, SLIPPERRY, DANGEROUS STAIRS!

Enjoying her first ever ice-slide!

Too Much Fun!

After a pretty chilly adventure we decided it was time to warm ourselves up with some of Bruges' famous hot chocolate. We found an internationally recognized chocolatier that boasts of having the best hot chocolate in the world, it also had some delicious looking cupcakes too. That seemed to do the trick!

Nowhere does hot chocolate like Bruges!

Brooklyn seems to agree :)