Feliz navided de Roma!

The first stop on my Christmas vacation was in Rome! We stayed for four nights and it was spectacular. This was my first sighting of the Colosseum. 

We took a guided tour. I was so glad that we decided to do go with the tour because our tour guide was really fun and the information she provided us was great!

At first I was confused by the floor of the Colosseum but soon realized that the actual floor was missing because it was only made from wood and what is left is what actually was below the floor, where the gladiators stayed along with storage space.

Our first full day in Rome there was gorgeous weather and beautiful sunshine all day. I still cannot believe that this is over 2,000 years old!!!

The stone here in which I am standing is what is left of the throne at the Palantine in Rome.

The ruins in the Roman Forum.

After a very productive first full day in Rome it was time for some more amazing Italian food!!

We walked and walked and walked. Rome had some gorgeous Christmas lights which got us all in the holiday spirit.

On New Year's Eve we toured the Vatican City and the Sistine Chapel. It was stunning and breath taking. Later that evening we returned to witness midnight mass Christmas service with the Pope. It was really a once in a lifetime opportunity.

The Vatican City runs on its own postal service separate from Italy which is actually much more efficient, which is funny seeing as this motor home is the post office.

Here I am sending dad a post card from Vatican City!!!

This was where I experienced the most phenomenal gelato!!! I had wine and chocolate flavored, pistachio of course, and sage raspberry.

On Christmas day we visited the Pantheon. This along with Trevi fountain were some of my favorites because I remember learned a lot about these structures in my architecture courses in college.

One of the main streets was lined with lights matching the Italian flag!! I wish we had Christmas lights at home like they have lining every street here in Italy :)

My Roman trip wouldn't not have been complete without adorning myself in my reindeer hat and eating a canoli! The day after Christmas we were off to Firenze (Florence)!! The car rental was an experience but finally we were on our way... updates to come shortly.

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