Italy Vacation, Part 3 - Rome

5/11/15

We met our Abercrombie and Kent tour guide bright and early Monday morning to start our official tour.  If you ever have a chance to go on an A&K private tour, do so.  Absolutely worth it.  We began by heading to the Coliseum, where we got our first taste of gypsies and refugees aggressively attempting to sell selfie sticks.  Apparently business was good, because it seemed like everyone we saw had one.  While here, we also checked out the Arch of Constantine and the Roman Forum.  Picture time.

To your left is the Arch of Constantine and to your right is some ruin no one
has ever heard of.

Inside the Coliseum.

Another picture with that ruin no one has ever heard of.  Just kidding.
It's the Coliseum from the outside.

While checking out the Coliseum, we were bombarded with interesting facts by our guide. Did you know that they used to host mock naval battles inside?  Pretty rad.  I'm just saying we now have a fallback option for when War Memorial eventually loses its yearly Razorback game.  Pretty sure that could hit Pacquiao/Mayweather PPV numbers. Next, we walked about ten feet to our next world famous ruin, the Roman Forums.

Italy Vacation, Part 2 - Rome

 5/10/15

After arriving in Italy Sunday morning, we quickly made our way through customs and set out towards the Rose Garden Palace hotel, which is located within a short walking distance of Villa Borghese and the Spanish Steps.  After learning that everyone in Italy eats at a ridiculously late hour, we finally found a lunch spot that was beginning to open and I had my first of 45 different pizzas during our Italy adventure.  It was yummy in my tummy.

THIS IS THE HOTEL.

After lunch, we made our way down to Piazza Barberini to check out the Fontana del Tritone.  That's Italian for the Triton Fountain.  We later made our way down to the Trevi Fountain, which was regrettably under construction.  On our way back to the hotel, we stopped by Santa Maria della Concezione dei Cappuccini.  This translates to Church of Spooky Skulls.  They did not allow pictures, but here is a Wikipedia Link to thoroughly haunt your dreams.

Italy Vacation, Part 1 - Airplanes

5/9/15

The day has finally arrived.  Italy family vacation is upon us.  Allison and I were scheduled to leave Little Rock with my parents at 12:15 pm to rendezvous with Wilson in Atlanta before heading on to Rome.  After landing in Atlanta, we made our way to the Delta Sky Lounge to ride out the 2 1/2 hour layover.  Wilson's flight was delayed, so Allison and I left our bags with my parents and escaped to the bar where we were delighted to learn that drinks cost free dollars.  

This is before we learned there were free drinks in the Lounge.
If you think we look happy here, just imagine how happy
we looked after learning that little tidbit.

After Wilson arrived, we made our way toward the gate.  With still 30 minutes until boarding begins, we find the nearest bar and grab a quick drink.  This sequence of events will soon become a trend.