Ah, La Roma!

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Allie and I decided the only way to cement our whirlwind friendship was to take a girly weekend away, and so with Adam’s blessing we ventured to every girl’s shopping Mecca: Rome.

The only dampener to our weekend away was that although we were visiting one of the most glamorous and chic cities on the planet, we were doing it on the pinch, and neither of us can afford the many expensive and fabulous brands that reside there. So we remained content to wander past Gucci, Max Mara, Salvatore Ferragamo, Giorgio Armani and Louis Vuitton, and settled instead for the sights and wines of La Roma.

We ventured off on Friday morning and after a flight to (Fiumicino) and a train (to Rome) and a metro ride (to Barberini) and a walk (from the Metro, uphill) we finally made it to our fabulous little hotel, opposite the Trevi fountain. Quite a find on Travelocity, it even had a roof top terrace where breakfast was served. I’ll admit the only downside to where we stayed was the many, many drunken revellers at 5am trying to toss coins, people, even cats into the fountain…

We spent Friday mainly sitting in an amazing little ristorante, chilling out, surrounded by wine, cheese and antipasti. Followed by many hours spent wandering the streets until nearly midnight.

We stumbled across the Pantheon at around 9pm, just before it closed. It is quite amazing from the front, and very impressive inside; there are tombs along the edges of the wall, including that of Raphael (the artist, not the Ninja Turtle) amongst others. It must have been quite an engineering achievement as this was built in 118 AD! There are rope marks on several columns (you can even see them in photos), due to attempts to pull them down using horses in the Dark Ages. We took in the lovely view of the Pantheon from one of the most famous coffee shops; Tazza d’Oro, from which we enjoying the most expensive coffee and tiramisu (how v. Italian of us) on the face of the earth, and at 36 Euros for 2 coffees and some cake - I am not kidding around.

We spent Saturday enjoying the sights (and lines) of the Vatican, which is simply in one word ‘amazing’ (also in anther word; crowded). The paintings, artwork, and history of the place made it well worth the extra cash we paid to join a tour group (the hot Italian/Irish tour guide wasn’t bad either). The evening was spent trying to fend off street peddler’s outside the Colosseum…

Have you ever had the burning desire for 25 pairs of men’s fake Armani ‘Arnani’ undies? Need a year’s supply of imperial leather soap? Need a 15th Century reproduction crucifix, complete with scary-looking Jesus? Not a problem: all this and more awaits you at the huge Porta Portese markets; Rome's biggest and most famous market, where you can find and buy practically anything you possibly need. Not that people need all these things, but it was entertaining nonetheless to see all this and more jam packed between gelato and Panini stands on Sunday when we braved the markets!

All in all the weekend was spent wining, dining and shopping (for souvenir’s of course, I’ve already explained our lack of funds for the finer things Rome had to offer). And by the time we headed back on our flight at 9pm we were exhausted, delirious from alcohol and lack of sleep, and to top it all off some guy dropped his carry-on suitcase on my head trying to shove it into an over-head locker. Nice.

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Photos

Enjoying the ride...
Allie looks a might quesy after our Alitalia 'snack' - smoked salmon paste and stale bread. Mmmm, yummy!

Piazza di Spagna
Monument near the Spanish Steps