Honeymoon Recap 5...I think!

We have been meaning to show more picture of our fantastic honeymoon in Italy. If you want to see the previous pictures of Rome, check here:
Italy Recap 1
Italy Recap 2
Italy Recap 3
Italy Recap 4

So here we go. We stayed at an amazing hotel in Rome, The St. Regis Grand Hotel. Right down the block was a nice little cafe for breakfast. Great pastries and cappuccino(In case you want to fit in, you order cappuccino in the morning and espresso in the afternoon..cappuccino in the afternoon is for noobs.)





Seriously good.

The same place also had desserts, so we ordered a little strawberry torte thingy on a return trip. We ate at this place almost everyday in Rome ,mostly for breakfast.



Dinner rolls around in Rome...what do you do? Throw a rock and whatever place it hits eat there. We went to a little pizzeria one night, which was probably touristy, but still good.







What do we have here? Margarita pizza, manicotti, and delicious Peroni Beer( at least I think it was Peroni, I drank a lot of it. Amazing beer).

We didn't eat a single thing that was bad in Italy. All the food was amazing. This place had some killer pizza and pasta that is simple and delicious, like it should be.

Next up...The Vatican!





Funny story with the Vatican. We went there the same day President Obama was there. They closed down the Sistine Chapel for the President and his wife so we had to do it at light speed, which was fine. Just kind of a fun story! The cab driver that took us from the airport to our hotel kept pointing and going "Presidente Obama." We caught on quickly. No stupid Americans here! These are also all the pictures Amanda has uploaded so far. So annoy Amanda and tell her to upload more Italy! More on the Vatican and the rest of our trip soon!

Amanda usually edits my posts, so this is the first I am flying solo on. YIKES!

Edit by Amanda: I've lost 12 lbs since our honeymoon. I can see it in this picture! wow!

Ancient Rome

Hi guys! Andy finally decided to post a blog! Enjoy!


So this is the Roman Forum. This view, I believe is from Palatine Hill. It is sort of awe inspiring when you think of what Rome used to be. This was basically partially enclosed with like 200 feet walls. Its amazing

We took a "walking tour" of the forum using our Rick Steve's Guidebook. If you plan on taking a trip to Europe, Rick Steve's will be the best investment you buy. Great restaurant and hotel tips as well as mini-walking tours and breakdowns of different ancient and contemporary sites.

Rome loves marble. Marble loves Rome.

Perhaps the best part of Italy is the food. Instead of fast food, Italy is full of wonderful little places where you can grab a quick sandwich, panini, or pizza. This was a tomato, basil, and mozzarella sandwich. They are all pre-made and panini pressed to perfection. Amazing.

Pizza. Pizza comes in a variety of forms. This was a mushroom, tomato, pesto pizza I believe. I love pizza. I would marry pizza. If could I would name my first born pizza. Amanda would object.

Amazing little wood shop. We bought a couple of little wood magnets. I bought a cat that was dressed in an AS Roma uniform that also doubles as a bottle openers. Genius!

Gelato is clearly the best stuff on earth. This, if memory serves, was nutella flavored. We went sort of nutella overboard on the trip.

I think I had tiramisu flavored gelato. We had gelato at least once a day, often two. The best part of Italy is that we walked everywhere and both of us LOST weight during our trip despite eating anything and everything. It really does show what a little exercise does. The day we explored Ancient Rome I assume we walked 10-15 miles. We were beat, but worth it.

The Pantheon! This is amazing. Walking around the streets of Rome and you just see this amazing building pop out of nowhere. And any tourist trap means tons of weirdos. People watching is amazing, especially in a place where so many people from different countries converge.

Reading about this, the Romans built the Pantheon with the intention of having it be a domed building despite not knowing how to construct a dome. Eventually, they figured it out.

Inside the Pantheon. So beautiful. I'm not a religious person, but it is really exciting for me to see some of these fantastic religious institutions. I minored in Religious Studies in college and religion fascinates me.

I believe behind the scaffolding, this was the monument to Italy's first President. It is a giant marble building. Amazing.

A better view of the monument. From what I understand many Romans find it an eyesore, and it does stand out a bit being so white, but it is impressive. Just behind it is the Roman Forum, complete with like 500 stairs.

Italian cars are cute.

This was the short way up. The other way was an imposing monster staircase.

The she wolf. Nursing are Remus and Romulus. I don't remember why this is important, but it is. It is a neat little statue.

Rome. A beautiful amazing place to be. If you get a chance, you must.


Missed a honeymoon recap?

Honeymoon Recap 1

Honeymoon Recap 2

Honeymoon Recap 3

Rome: The Colosseum

Andy and I really wanted to see the Colosseum in Rome. Really really badly. In fact, it was the first thing I pictured in my mind when I daydreamed about Rome back in the day. Italy=Colosseum.

We woke up nice and early the next day without feeling too jet-lagged. I'm glad we forced ourselves to adapt to Italian time. It was the best way to make the most of our eleven days in Italy.

Breakfast at our hotel was served buffet style. If you know me, you know that I'm a volume eater and I love food so of course I went overboard. It's a good thing we walked everywhere in Italy.



This omelette was made with creamy fontina cheese, red onion and tomatoes. It was so fresh, tasty and most likely impossible for me to replicate. I loved it!



I shared it with my new husband of course!



And I grabbed a bowl of fresh fruit. Fruit is so good in Italy. We always found fresh fruit in carts around touristy areas and we always bought some of it and we ALWAYS raved about it afterwards. This bowl contained kiwi, strawberries, pineapple and cant elope. (LOL!)



Then to add to my already expanding waistline, I grabbed a slice of bacon, some brioche and some cheese. I didn't like the cheese as much as I thought I would so I barely touched it.



The food with some "american coffee."

And then we booked it to the train station.



For this. Breath taking isn't it? I literally started to tear up when I saw this. I love history and learning about other cultures and this just did it for me. Just wait till I tell you about how I acted at the Sistine Chapel!







We had to take a lot of self-portraits. Sometimes we'd get lucky and meet with other honeymooners who would offer to take pictures for us and vice versa but sometimes not. If you are planning on honeymooning soon, I suggest looking for other couples/families who seem to be attempting to take pictures of themselves. (It's hilarious!) Offer to take their picture for them and I'm sure they will extend the same gracious nature to you.



I'll be back soon with more! Can't wait to share it with all of you.

Honeymoon Recap 1

Honeymoon Recap 2

P.S. I meant to post about not having diabetes but I never did. I'm still insulin-resistant. No shots for me! :)

When in Rome II

I am waiting for some blood test results from my doctor and it's making me crazy! Instead of stressing out, I wanted to post more about Italy!



The streets reminded me of something I saw in a movie.



The Spanish Steps. Andy and I actually stumbled upon them while walking around. It was quite a scene. We had to ignore several men trying to sell us roses. Fun!



an alleyway.



After looking at the Spanish Steps, we found Alfredo's! My dad and his siblings had told me about eating there so an idea was drilled into my head. I needed to go there.



We ate on the patio.



The menu. I attempted to keep this but I chickened out.



We split a bottle of Acqua Panna and half a bottle of the house red wine.



The bottle had a strange looking man on it. HA Alfredo himself, the waiter told us.



I ordered the Alfredo. How can you travel from L.A. to Rome without trying Alfredo? It was RICH. I used to love rich, creamy sauces but I found that I've outgrown them in my old age.



Andy had....something. The name escapes me and he is out teaching the youth of America so I cannot ask him what this was. It was very good. I liked it better than the Alfredo.



Here is a picture of us looking very tired. Remember this is still the first day and we were adjusting to the time change. I think it was about 9pm and we were ready to sleep! Forcing ourselves to stay up after landing in Rome proved to be a good thing.



This was on the wall at Alfredo's. I loved it! hahaha. "My Father, The Hero" anyone?

Alright! It's time for me to call the doctor back. Wish me no diabetes!

Honeymoon Recap I

More to come!