Siamo a Roma

Hi everyone,
Billy and I have arrived in Rome, safe and sound.  It was quite entertaining trying to get our two giant bike bags, two suitcases, Billy and I into a taxi at the airport, but we managed it at last, and here we are at our apartment in Trastevere.

The street next to our apartment

The inside of our apartment

As you can see, it is pretty cute and in a great location.  And the bonus?  It has wifi!  Which could be good or bad - I'm still deciding.

A few minutes after arriving, Billy and I began to hear these loud crashes of thunder and sure enough, it soon began storming.  So, we took advantage of the rain to take a quick afternoon nap.  When the rain stopped, (and we finally woke up), it was time to go and explore.  So, we walked around Trastevere, then crossed the river, stopping to get some delicious gelato.

Gelato al cioccolato

It appears to be wedding season in Rome as we saw no less than a dozen brides during the course of the walk, taking photos at different scenic sites in the area.  And some of the sites are very scenic, so who can blame them?

The Tiber River

Accordion music

We then walked towards the Colosseum, and explored along the way.  We came across a running race, the Race di Roma 2024, which had at least a thousand people running in it.  Incredible. (Yes, I was jealous!)  Then we walked around part of the Circus Maximus, and then to the Palantine and the Roman Forum.

After wandering around the Colosseum for a while, and fending off all the guys trying to sell us selfie sticks, we made our way back to Trastevere and found a great little restaurant for dinner.  I remember our meals in Rome not being that great before, but we both really enjoyed our dinner (stuffed squash blossoms to start, pasta with meat sauce for Billy and grilled fish for me),  And of course, a few glasses of wine between the two of us.

I have more photos, but my phone is being very slow to upload them, so I am going to leave you all here, with wishes for a good night.  Thanks for all the good luck wishes being sent out way for the Virgin Strive Challenge later this week.  We leave for Tuscany on Wednesday, so until then, we will continue to enjoy exploring Rome, and post updates when we can.
Buonanotte!