June 14, 2016

3 Days in Rome - Sample Itinerary

June 14, 2016/ Meghan Oaks

Rome is one of the most visited cities in Europe. It's, quite literally, ancient, with the current city built directly on top of Roman ruins thousands of years old. The city has seen everything from the growth, and collapse of one of the greatest empires in history, plagues, near abandonment, followed by regrowth. It;s often called the Eternal City, and for good reason. Rome is big like Paris and to fully explore the city would take weeks, if not months or even years. Most people don't have that kind of time though and spend only a few days in the city (we did). If you're planning to visit Rome, here is a sample itinerary to see the most of the city in a short amount of time.

June 07, 2016

Photo Diary: Rome

June 07, 2016/ Meghan Oaks

Rome, the Eternal City. It's unbelievable how photogenic this city is. It's practically a museum with statues, fountains, and art work by the masters nearly everywhere. Combine that with hidden alcoves, winding streets, and vine-covered and it's hard to keep the camera shutter quiet. We hope that these images convince you to visit Rome !

May 31, 2016

St. Peter's Basilica

May 31, 2016/ Meghan Oaks

Enveloped within Rome is the world's smallest country - Vatican City, officially called the Holy See. Any trip to Rome, especially if you're Catholic, would be incomplete without a visit to the home of the Pope. On Sunday morning, Aaron and I decided that we would celebrate Mass at St. Peter's cathedral. I have to say, this wasn't originally on our bucket list, but it should have been. The church itself if beautiful and it was so special to be able to attend Mass here.

May 27, 2016

Walking Tours and the Best Pizzeria in Rome

May 27, 2016/ Meghan Oaks

Not sure if you knew this or not, but Rome is huge. Like, mind-boggling huge. And it has an absolute plethora of things to see and do in the city. The city itself is best described as an open air museum. It is one of the few, if not only, cities in the world to be inhabitant for 3000 years, you can bet there is something exciting around ever corner. The problem is, unless you are an expert in Roman history, or really into Italy, a lot of the sites have little meaning without context. And this is where a handy free walking tour (or 3) comes in.

May 24, 2016

Visiting The Sistine Chapel and Vatican Museums

May 24, 2016/ Meghan Oaks

Ask anyone what to see in Rome, and the Sistine Chapel will most definitely be on every list. In a city that is practically an open air museum and beautiful art is found in even the smallest of churches, the Sistine Chapel may seem to be just another historic piece of art. And it is, but there is also a reason it's on every single "Things to See in Rome" list - it's breathtaking. To see the place where popes are made, and avoid the hoards of tourists, we opted to pay for the Pristine Sistine tour offered by Walks of Italy. It granted us access an hour before it opened to the general public and it was totally worth it.

April 26, 2016

The Fountains of Rome

April 26, 2016/ Meghan Oaks

Rome is known for it's fountains. Nearly all of the most popular tourist sites in this ancient city have fountains. They are found in nearly every piazza and were historically used to supply drinking water to the residents of the city (and the water is still drinkable). Some, like Trevi Fountain, are more elaborate than others, but many of the fountains have been designed my masters of art and architecture: Gian Lorenzo Bernini, Giacomo della Porta, Nicola Salvi, among others. What's even more impressive is that all of the fountains are gravity fed.