You are reading KDKB...Killing time with Kaitlynn: When in Rome...

Yep. We did it. Jordan took me to ITALY for Spring Break!!!!!! I thought the best way to post pictures and tell people about the amazing-ness of it all would be to do a post per day that we were there. So, I understand if you don't have the stamina to make it through them all, but I know that some people really want to see these pictures, so for those people, here you go. Mostly I'd like to thank my incredible husband who insists on going to places that I want to go, doing things that I want to do, allows the twice per day gelato I insisted on, AND takes great pictures :) Jordan, I love you. But you know that :)

So, ANDIAMO!!

Day 1- Travel Day

So, we left Friday morning, March 9th at 8:00 am. My father-in-law was kind enough to take us before the sun was even up!! I was so excited to go to Italy that I could ALMOST get past how long we were going to be traveling.... :) We flew to NYC first and, as you can see, I am already looking exhausted. Oh well--the flight was pretty quick in retrospect.

Jordan and I at JFK airport on our layover.

So, then we got on an Alitalia flight (long security line) for a red-eye to Rome. I was grateful that Jordan really pushed for a non-stop flight to Rome from NYC---it really was nice. The plane was awesome. We could watch tons of movies for free, play video games against each other, and play trivia with other passengers on the plane. Pretty cool. I watched "The Help" and enjoyed two pretty decent meals. The only downsides were the ridiculously rude people behind us. If I had to guess I'd say they were between 18 and 25 and are the reason people hate Americans overseas. Seriously. Who brings sauerkraut on a plane???? And they were making fun of the attendants' Italian accents. And talking obnoxiously loud and with, uh, colorful language. And complaining about the food. Luckily, karma stepped in and one of the punks shoved an ipod earbud too far into his ear and couldn't get it out. Awesome.

Fast forward 8 hours or so and we were in Rome. And it was 8:10 in the morning on Saturday. We had arranged for transportation to our hotel from the airport and so after getting our bags (right away, I might add) we got to take a slightly alarming, but fun ride through Rome. It was like a tour AND a cab! We got a feel for where things were in the city and were dropped off right at our hotel, the Hotel Taormina.

Day 2- The Borghese Gardens, Gallery and other Surprises

So, we caught a lucky break and got to check in to our hotel early. We took a quick hour nap to try to make it through the rest of the day. Then, we walked to the main transportation hub, called the Termini, where we bought ourselves Roma Passes. If you are going to spend 3 or more days in Rome, GET THIS PASS. It gives you your first two sights for free, and discounts on the rest, plus free use of any public transportation (minus cabs) for free for 3 days. It paid for itself pretty quickly. We figured out the Metro system and went to the edge of the equivalent of Central Park in Rome- the Villa Borghese Gardens. It was beautiful. So nice to have some fresh air around. I was pretty light headed from being tired though, so we got some food and water and tried to muscle through the jet lag. Side note: if you are in Italy and you see a bathroom, use it. Public restrooms, labeled toilette or WC's are hard to find, especially when you need them (as poor Jordan can attest). Trust me, if you see one, just try. It can't hurt. Here are some pictures from the beautiful gardens.

The Borghese Gallery (see later in this post)

The Borghese Gallery

One of Jordan's better pics. Hilarious. Or maybe just cause we were jet-lagged.

The side garden of one of the villas in the Gardens.

Just another beautiful fountain of horse-mermaids.....

Jordan and a big dirt track close to sunset.

A beautiful lavender tree.

One of the entrances to the gardens. Those are called Umbrella Pines.

One of the many paths to take in the Gardens

A lovely pond you can rowboat on.

In the park

When Jordan discovered the "super vivid" function on his new camera. It was a good moment :)

Not sure what this monument is for, but that happens a lot in Rome.

The Track

Look how small the people right by the statue are! Again...not sure who this is for.

The first of many obelisks we saw in Rome.

So, we were in the gardens to see the Borghese Gallery, which has some of the most beautiful sculpture in the world. Most by Bernini. We couldn't take pictures inside, but here are my three favorite works:

Paolina Borghese as Venus by Antonio Canova

It's hard to see the detail here, but one of the most amazing parts about this to me is the mattress and pillows, believe it or not. They are SO lifelike, with wrinkles and indentation where her body touches them. I don't plan on being immortalized in stone (especially in the nude), but if I could be assured it would look like this...I'm just saying, I'd consider it.

Bernini's David

These are three views of Bernini's "David," not to be confused with Michaelangelo's "David," which we saw later in Florence. This one is telling more of a story, with David in the act of slinging the stone at Goliath. It is amazing how Bernini was able to get so much movement out of a piece of rock.

Bernini's Apollo and Daphne

I think this sculpture is gorgeous. It tells the story of how Daphne, who had pledged to "never know the touch of a man" to Zeus, is "rescued" by him when Apollo, under Cupid's spell of love, pursues her. To keep her promise, Zeus turns her into a tree before Apollo can touch her. This sculpture captures the moment she is mid-transformation. Anywhere Apollo is actually connected to her is already tree. The intricacy of the leaves, especially in her hand is beautifully sad. I also loved the movement in Apollo's sash, or robe. It flows away from his body beautifully and incredibly, given that this started as a giant piece of marble. It was breathtaking.

Ah. So, after all that art, I really was in need of real food and a good night's rest. On our way to get some of both, we happened upon an incredible view of Rome at sunset. The pictures speak for themselves.

The Eternal City

Victor Emmanuel Monument

So, we continued our walk and found the Spanish Steps. Then, we found some food (fine, but nothing compared to what we would eat later in the trip). After some gelato at the Trevi Fountain (pictures to come later), we stumbled back to the hotel and passed out, enlightened, in love, and exhausted.