Fall 2019 Day 24

1. So, the internet is super slow here in Rome!  That makes it so hard to upload all the pictures, so my new routine has been that I upload the pictures at night before bed, then they take like 4 hours, so when I wake up, they are done  and then I can either write the blog in the morning, or I’ll do it first before I upload the pictures  it’s going against my normal flow and I hate that, but I will persevere!!!  Today was church day!  I took our friends to all the smaller churches that I love in Rome  there are a bunch of them.  Some have amazing mosaics, some are old and have all sorts of cool things in them, and one just has a chapel in it that has some amazing Caravaggio paintings.  We stopped for snacks in the middle but it took most of the day.  It was amazing!  It’s nice to see things that are so varied and interesting.  There are so many churches in Rome that you really could spend a month going from church to church and still not see all the amazing ones that are here!  After our adventure, we took our daily nap, when you eat dinner so late and you are on the go as much as we have been, especially in Rome, a nap is a great way to recharge the batteries!  We woke up and went for dinner at a restaurant that was highly recommended to us by a friend from Charlevoix and boy were they right!  It was in this tiny alley close to where we are staying, so it was really convenient and it was adorable on the outside and inside as well.  We had high hopes from there!  It exceeded our expectations by a long way!  Great appetizers, best pasta we have had, amazing main dishes, great dessert and they were so nice and kind to us!  Our best meal in Rome, no doubt!  Probably our 2nd best meal of the trip!!  After that we walked to the Trevi fountain which is always a showstopper!  We just sat in front of it and enjoyed the scene for almost an hour.  Watching the gorgeous fountain, throwing our coins over our shoulders so we are assured of coming back to Rome, and seeing all the young people try to get that perfect selfie with or without the fountain in the background.  I have trouble understanding that, but whatever.  Then we went to my favorite gelato place in Rome and headed to the Spanish Steps.  I’ve never been a fan of the Spanish Steps, but it’s a sight that everyone’s heard of so I took our friends to see it.  They are just steps so I never got what the big deal was.  Well, now they’ve made it so people aren’t allowed to sit on them anymore, so they aren’t even a sight anymore, they really are just a huge empty staircase!  Emily asked why people can’t sit on it anymore to one of the guards, they said because it’s a monument so they can’t be treated that way.  As I said, I’m not a fan, but that is SO weird to me!  It became a monument because everyone sat there and shared romantic moments and just hung out, now it’s just an empty staircase with no importance, so nobody is going to go there anymore!  I don’t really get it, but we saw it and I don’t know if I would ever go back now.  After that it was almost midnight so we went home, started uploading pictures and went to bed so I could write this blog as soon as I woke up!  LOL Rome is a special place, I hope you’re enjoying the pictures and stories as much as we are enjoying being here.  We will be bringing groups here in the spring and have some open spots!  So if you’re interested, let us know, you will experience all these things and more too!  Thanks for reading and we love you all!