Adventures in Rome

On Thursday June 7, Kevin and I flew to Rome! We flew from Colorado Springs to Washington Dulles, had a 6 hour layover, and then flew from Dulles to Rome. We arrived in Rome around 8:30am on Friday and stayed at the airport for about 2 hours while we waited for some friends of ours to arrive. Our friends arrived around 10:45 and we made a plan to meet later in the day. Kevin and I took the Leonardo Express to Termini Station and went to our hotel. We couldn't check in yet, so we changed clothes and started walking to our meeting point. Our friends rented a car because they were driving up to Montepulciano later that day and they got pretty lost on the way. We finally met them around 2pm and grabbed a quick lunch before they left for Montepulciano. Our plan was to go to the Trevi Fountain and the Pantheon but our friends needed to get back on the road. It was so great to see them, if even just for a short visit! Kevin and I went back to the hotel around 3:30pm and took a nap. We went out for dinner around 9pm and fell asleep around midnight.

Our friends Josh and Sharina.

We woke up around 1pm on Saturday and left the hotel shortly after. We ate lunch at an Irish pub and then made our way over to the Trevi Fountain. I have been to the Trevi Fountain numerous times and I am always amazed by how spectacular it is, as well as all of the people always there! I read somewhere on this trip that Rome collects more then €3,000 per day from the fountain! That is crazy!! When we were done with all the people, we went over to the Pantheon. When we got there, we realized we couldn't go inside for about 45 minutes so we found a restaurant in the piazza and enjoyed a bottle of wine. It was so fun to people watch in such a beautiful space. We went inside the Pantheon around 6pm and then made our way over to the Colosseum. We made a pit stop at the cat sanctuary and Capitoline Hill before reaching the Colosseum. We walked around for a little while, spotted 6 brides, and went back to the hotel around 8pm.

This sign makes me happy. There are so many incredible things to see in Rome and they are all relatively close together. 

We found a spot away from the majority of the people!

We actually asked someone to take this photo for us, and it didn't turn out half bad. There are a lot of people out there who are not the best photographers! 

This is a panoramic shot that Kevin took on his phone. It gives you an idea of how small the space actually is and how many people there were! 

The Pantheon!

Kevin being creative while we drink our wine and wait to go inside the Pantheon. 

Yum! This was a great spot to relax and people watch while we waited! 

This is the oculus inside the Pantheon. 

The cat sanctuary is located in these ruins which is where Julius Ceasar was murdered in 44 BC!

A statue of Romulus and Remus and the She-wolf on Capitol Hill.

Overlooking the Roman Forum.

Our first trip to the Colosseum this trip. 

We woke up at 6:45 on Sunday morning and caught the 7:42am train to Civitavechia. We got to the ship around 9:30am and were done around 11:00. We got off the ship with the Sports Supervisor, Sergio, and grabbed lunch at a restaurant in Civi. It is always fun to spend time with the people we work with! We got back to our hotel around 3pm and took another nap. We woke up around 7pm and realized there was a soccer game going on, so we went back to the pub, got some dinner, and watched the game. We really weren't very tired after our long nap, so we decided to go out and take some night photos! Our first stop was the Colosseum. We enjoyed the view for a little while, and then made our way back to the Trevi Fountain. It was so nice to see the fountain without so many people! Around 1:00am we decided to head back to the hotel. We crashed around 2:00am.

A massive statue in Civitavechia. Sergio is on the left. 

Another successful attempt at being creative (Kevin's idea not mine)!

And another. If you look closely, you will see our reflection in the glass (again, Kevin's idea, not mine). 

In front of the Santa Maria Maggiore.

The second visit to the Colosseum. I LOVE this picture! For any photographers out there....nothing was edited. This came straight out of the camera!

This is the Arch of Constantine.

This is another one I LOVE! We were out late enough that there weren't very many people out and the colors were spectacular!

I may have impressed myself just a little :)

Piazza Venetzia.

Back at the Trevi Fountain. Everything was so beautiful all lit up! 

This is the whole fountain! I was able to capture this because there were not as many people!

Just the two of us! I sure love our adventures together!

Our plan on Monday was to go to the Catacombes, but after doing some research, and learning that we wouldn't see any bones, we decided not to go. Instead we had a very low key day. We ate lunch around 3pm, walked back over to the Colosseum and Capitoline Hill to do some shopping, and then went back to the hotel. We watched Angels and Demons and fell asleep around 1am.

Our delicious lunch. I could eat pasta all day everyday and not get tired of it!

We woke up around 6:45am on Tuesday and went to the ship. We were done working and back in the city by 2pm. We dropped the bag off, grabbed lunch, and then went over to the Vatican Museum. Unfortunately, it was closed when we got there, so we went to St. Peter's square instead. We got back to the hotel around 7pm, packed our bags and fell asleep around 9pm.

Our 3rd and final visit to the Colosseum (this trip).

A statue above the entrance to the Vatican Museum. 

Beautiful St. Peter's!

Our flight home left at 11:00 am on Wednesday. We had an awesome trip!

Barcelona

We arrived in Barcelona on Wednesday, May 30 around 11:30pm. We checked in to the hotel and grabbed a quick snack at the bar before crashing!

When we arrived at the airport, there were scraps of paper everywhere. Apparently the cleaning staff went on strike and this was part of their protest!

We had to leave the hotel at 8:15am to be on the free "crew" shuttle to the ship, so we got up around 7:00am and had breakfast. When we got to the ship, we realized the ship had just come out of dry dock and only had guests for one week since the last inspection, so our work was pretty easy. We were back at the hotel before 11:00am, just in time for another nap! We slept/relaxed until 5:00 and then went into the city. We only had a few hours in the city because the shuttle back to the hotel left at 8:15pm, but we made the best of our time! We had a snack at our favorite Irish pub and then did some shopping! My husband spoiled me and bought me 2 new skirts from Desigual! I love them! We went back to the hotel at 8:15pm and watched a movie before crashing.

Kevin on Las Ramblas

Trying to be artsy. Not too bad, if I do say so myself!

One of the many Desigual shops, but this is where Kevin bought me my new skirts!

So excited and HOT!

We woke up around 8am on Friday morning, but went back to sleep until almost 1pm! We got into town around 2:30 and ate lunch on Las Ramblas before heading up to the Sagrada Familia. This is a cathedral that has been under construction since the late 1800's and is still not complete. We visited the cathedral in December 2008, but I was really interested to go back and see the progress. I must say I was very pleasantly surprised! The exterior was still under construction, but it seemed to me that the interior was pretty much complete. The last time we went inside, most of the interior area was roped off and covered in dust and plastic. This time it was all open and was pretty spectacular! When we were done at the Sagrada Familia, we went back to Las Ramblas to do some more shopping. While we were walking around, we literally bumped into one of the Sports Supervisors from Royal Caribbean, who was on vacation and signing on as a guest to the ship we were inspecting the following day! It was so crazy to see him in such a populated spot in Barcelona! We ended up spending the remainder of our time that night with Sam. Our evening was unfortunately cut short when I had a run in with a nasty Swedish drunkard, and had an emotional breakdown. We took a taxi to the hotel and after I calmed down, I passed out!

Drinking a delicious Sangria on Las Ramblas.

One of many street performers. I can't even imagine how hot they get!

The finished interior of the Sagrada Familia.

The picture of the left is from 2008 and the one on the right is from 2012. It was incredible to see the transformation! 

Beautiful stained glass! There was stained glass surrounding the cathedral. 

Breathtaking!

LOVE him!

More stained glass :)

The exterior of the Sagrada Familia. 

Our friend, that we literally bumped into, Sam! 

On Saturday, we went to the ship.  We got back to the hotel around 3:00pm and went back into the city around 6:00. We grabbed a quick bite to eat and then spent some time at the Magic Fountain. This fountain is turned off during the day, but at night it is turned on and they city puts on a beautiful light show. We stayed until about 10:00pm and then went back to the hotel to pack our things. We flew home back home on Sunday. 

There were ponds outside our hotel with tons of frogs. We enjoyed listening to them "sing" in the evenings. 

Waiting for the Magic Fountain show to begin. Do yo like the new skirt!?!

The beginning of the show. 

The show lasted longer than we expected, so we went for a walk to get a better/different view. 

It was beautiful!

I am glad we finally got to see this. Apparently the show only takes place Thursdays through Sundays in the summer and only Fridays and Saturdays in the winter. 

This is the National Museum of Art (Catalunya). It was a beautiful building just behind the fountain.

I loved the colors of this fountain! 

Lisboa, Portugal

On Monday, May 28, our one year anniversary, Kevin and I flew to Lisbon, Portugal. We flew from Colorado Springs to Denver, Denver to Newark, and Newark to Lisbon, and arrived in Lisbon around 8:30am on Tuesday morning. We were unable to check-in to our hotel until 2pm, so we decided to go out and sightsee! It just so happened that our hotel was right next to the first stop of the hop on hop off bus, so we booked two tickets. This is the first time I have ever experienced a city in this way, and I was pleasantly surprised! This was the 3rd time I have been to Lisbon, and the 1st time I have ever had a chance to go out and explore. The city was not as bad as I had originally thought. Every time before this visit, we were in town on a Sunday and the city was literally shut down. I was shocked to even see people on this trip! The bus took us through the "downtown/old town" area first and we just admired the sights from the bus. The next main area we saw is called Belem, and this was an area we explored in a little more depth. We got off the bus at the Jeronimos Monastery and walked around a bit. We walked over to The Discoveries Monument and then to the Belem Tower before getting back on the bus. We took the bus back to the downtown area and ate lunch at the Hard Rock Cafe before checking-in to the hotel and taking a long nap! We woke up around 7:30pm and went down to the lobby for dinner. We took a few sleep aids and crashed around 10pm.

Riding around on the Big Red Bus.

Mandatory self-photo (always have to have one!)

The back of the King Jose I statue in Terreiro do Paco (Palace Square). 

In front of the Jeronimos Monastery and the Church of Santa Maria.

The entrance to the Church of Santa Maria.

Beautiful stained glass in the church.

The Discoveries Monument.

A close up of the explorers honored by the monument. 

Self-photo in front of the Belem Tower.

The beautiful Belem Tower where Magellan and many other explorers began their voyages!

The April 25th Bridge, built by the same architect who built the Golden Gate Bridge, and a wannabe Christ the Redeemer statue. 

We checked out of the hotel on Wednesday morning, before going to the ship, and then went to lunch with some of the sports staff from the ship. Our flight to Barcelona did not leave that night until 8pm, so we had some more time to explore the city, and our bus pass was good for 48 hours! We went to the downtown area and walked around the main shopping street. We got a quick bite to eat and went to the airport around 6pm. It was a great new experience in Lisbon!!

The Arco de Rua Augusta, once the main entrance into Lisbon. 

Getting some last minute sights in before our late night flight. 

This was too cute! A man trying to make money by playing his accordion also used his adorable Chiuaua to get some extra coins. The Chiuaua won me over! 

Interview!

I realize I am so far behind in updating the blog, and I hate to go out of sequence, but I really wanted to document a major milestone in my life that happened today! As some of you know, I have spent a good majority of my summer preparing to become a full-time teacher. I do not currently have my teaching license, so I have applied and been accepted into an alternative licensure program, which will allow me to teach full-time while I get my license. Well, today I had my first interview! It was a district level interview in the Widefield School District, one-on-one, with the Human Resources Director. If he liked what he heard, he will pass my information on to the principals in the district and I will then have a Site Interview in the next week or two! Crazy to think I could have my own classroom by Labor Day! Good vibes would be greatly appreciated!!

My interview outfit! Thanks Mom!!