First Evening in Rome

OK OK... yes there were half a dozen weddings happening outside the Colosseum. Italian men (or their possibly controlling brides, come on, you know it's a possibility!) have absolutely horrible taste in tuxedos. It was popular to have shiny, silver, metallic, tuxedos. You would have to pay me a lot of money to wear such a thing.

Moving along.

Following Rick Steve's stellar advice we went to this Pizza place near the Colosseum. Great location, nice patio, the food was just meh. The beer, well I really enjoyed the beer. Just sort of hit the spot. My pizza was sauce-less, with mushrooms, cheese and some smoke sausage which seemed, let's say a little rare, but I think that would be the smoking process that accomplished that appearance. It had a strong "wood" taste and I didn't love it. Other than that the pizza was fine.

We did some Roming (ahahahaha!) and found the Trevi fountain after eating. If you want to see what it is supposed to look like, Wikipedia provides some pictures. 

The Spanish steps and the Fontana della Barcaccia were pretty spectacular, and emblematic about how this place is pretty much a party. Half of the people you see out there on the steps are drinking wine and beer, because that is something you can do in public outside of the "Land of the Free." The steps are beautiful, worn marble, elegant, romantic, and the pictures don't do it justice. They are called the Spanish steps due to proximity to the Spanish Embassy, just in case you were wondering. This is one of the many attractions featured in Roman Holiday, and it is probably one of the better known things to see.

My complaint here was of course the people trying to push selfie-sticks and roses on us constantly. I got a bit nasty (nasty was just a glare, and "No!" after I'd already said no thank you several times... there was a price discount, which of course was going to cause me to reconsider something I don't want) with one of the vendors who let me know that Kate was much nicer than I am. It is totally situation dependent really. Totally.

We wandered quite a bit, and I don't have the pictures to capture it, or do it justice. It was a great introduction to Rome and to our trip. Before heading back to the room, which entailed a long strenuous hike over surprisingly steep hills, we went to one of Rome's famous tourist traps, an extravagant McDonalds. Yes, Rome boasts one of the biggest "fanciest" McDonalds in the world. Really it was over-rated big time, I don't know if it has been renovated, but I've been to more unique locations in the States, such as Freeport, Maine. Really it was just a large McCafe, with the standard decor that has become popular over the last decade, a sort of yuppie look that pretty much apes an attempt at sophistication. Poorly I might add.

The next post will include the Vatican. I had decidedly mixed feelings about the Vatican, stay tuned and I'll try to be civil when writing about it.