Europe Part II - When in Rome...

we visited rome for 4 days for part 2 of our trip. if you missed part 1 in paris, you can see it HERE. rome definitely had a different feel to it than paris. not quite as beautiful, but we were excited not only to experience all of the history rome has to offer... but also spending that time with some of our close friends the taleon family, as well as a surprise guest... my cousin julius (aka juice) ! i was the only one who knew juice was coming, so it was pretty awesome to see how surprised everyone was to see him there!

we arrived in rome starving, so our hotel recommended a restaurant around the corner. pasta in rome is like none weve tasted in the states, so good!

us at the restaurant



aiden trying to figure out where we want to go explore


it was raining when we arrived, and i was worried where i could buy an umbrella. turns out these umbrella guys are every 5 ft!

group shot!

after meeting with nat, michelle, olivia, and juice, we headed out to vatican city. first stop was the vatican museum! so cool to see all this beautiful roman art


aiden and olivia learning about ancient roman art with their audioguides





at the very end of the vatican museum is the sistine chapel. definitely the highlight of the museum... just being there was such a surreal feeling, and imagining someone painting this whole thing is insane! no photos or videos were allowed in here, OOPS! this is where aidens stroller came in handy... i just left the camera on top of his stroller facing up and kept clicking away!

this is the best shot i got of the ceiling. i had an extremely wide angle lens on, so sorry my face is in the pic!

the guys admiring michaelangelos masterpiece!

also in vatican city is st peters square. aiden and olivia had a great time running around here

st peters basilica is the main attraction in the square

bffs nat and juice in front of st peters basilica

theres really no other church you need to see once youve been inside st peters. these pictures dont do the size justice, it is absolutely incredible. you could park a jumbo jetliner in here!


me and aiden in st peters

next sight on the list was the iconic roman colosseum. you see it all the time in movies and on tv, but to be there in real life was so cool!

the guys in front of the colloseum

and inside

knocked out, but a pic just so they know they were there...

a view of the colosseum interior

exploring the inside


nat immersed in thought of what life was like in ancient rome... or trying to figure out how to make his audioguide talk to him in english?

my gladiator impression... "ARE YOU NOT ENTERTAINED?!?!?!"

juice posing at the colosseum

me and nanci

the taleon family

me and my cousin

outside the colosseum... the arch of constantine


exploring the ruins of palatine hill


the roman forum


the rest of our time with the taleons was spent exploring the streets, shopping, and eating!!!



juice and i took tons of footage on our little gopro cameras

if these two werent walking around holding hands... they were JUMPING!


famous spanish steps



trevi fountain was awesome to see

again knocked out, but just so they knew they were there!

the taleons left a day earlier, so our last day we just spent seeing the roman pantheon, and just hanging out and enjoying the city

inside the pantheon




julius got caught touching something he wasnt supposed to inside the pantheon


hanging out at a cafe just outside the pantheon

last shot of rome

definitely had a great time, ate some really good food, and saw some of the greatest historical sights in the world! but best of all was the great company! stay tuned for our stop in nyc on the way home!