Roma Roma Roma!!

       I don't even know where to start with Rome. It is hands down my new favorite city and one of the most amazing and surreal places I have ever been. With a city as famous as Rome, I think people tend to think they've seen it all before. To a certain extent of course this is true. I have watch many movies and seen a million pictures that have shown me many of the key sites in Rome, but it is NOTHING like being there in person. I knew about the Colosseum and the Roman Forum before obviously, but I had no idea that they are literally smack dab in the middle of a bustling modern city. It was so strange to stand next to ruins as well as the largest most elaborate and modern building I have ever seen. This building specifically I don't recall ever seeing before and to me it was by far the most unbelievable thing I saw in Europe. We took and open top bus tour and I can't imagine the stress we would have caused ourselves if we attempted to tackle this city in any other way. The city is huge and there is so much to see. Taxis are very expensive and the underground system is very underdeveloped at least relatively speaking. We rode the hour and a half circuit 3 times in two days and gaped with out mouths open in complete shock and awe the entire time.
       Not only did we experience all of this, but the third day we even took a trip to the beach which was very close by. Admittedly we had more trouble getting to the beach than we had at any other point in the trip, but even that stress was worth it to me in the end because I experienced something in result of it that still amazes me. My initial plan was to go to the airport by underground which we did and then from there to rent a car and drive to the Almalfi Coast. The hitch was that we didn't book a rental car in advance and much to my surprise, there was not one available. Knowing that the beach was only a few miles away, I was determined to at least make it there, but it was no easy task. A bus went there, but we didn't speak Italian and although we sought out advice from many people, we couldn't seem to find out when and where it boarded and then from there what stop we should take and where we should walk from there to get to the beach. We finally found a French family, a mother and two daughters (just like us) who were on vacation and taking the same bus. They were extremely kind and made sure we knew where to go, but to do this we had to go through somewhat of a language chain that was hilarious and amazing all at once. One of the daughters was 14 and spoke English pretty fluently so I would speak to her in English and she would tell her mom what I said in French and then her mother would relay our questions to an Italian man who knew the area in Italian to find the answer for us. Then they would have to go all the way back down the chain to relay the message back to us. We were all laughing but finally we found our way to the beach. It's something I will never forget and was one of the most pure scenarios of human kindness I have ever been a part of.
        So....before you die, you MUST visit Rome! Here are some photos to further persuade you. ;)