Food, Wine, Food, Wine….When in Rome!!!

The Anderson’s went to ITALY!!!!! It has been a few years in the making, but we finally were able to schedule a family vacation together in one of the most beautiful countries on the planet. Our trip lasted a total of 11 days, unexpectedly (which of course I will explain in a later post). Since I took nearly 3000 photos during that week and a half, I have decided to split up the whole vacation into 3 blog posts.

First up, ROME! The four of us, Mom, Dad, Katie, and I, met up in Philadelphia and flew together into Rome. We stayed in a cute Inn that was literally around the corner from the Pantheon. Jet-lag is for the weak, so we immediately dropped our bags and started to explore…..and by explore I mean explore the fine cuisine of Italy. We sat down and started the never ending ordering of carbs and wine that lasted until our last day. We were only in Rome for 3 days, but managed to pack in the Vatican, Trevi Fountain, Colosseum, Pantheon, and many churches and piazzas that I couldn’t begin to name off. Things that I noticed about Rome were that 1) it reeks of cigarettes 2) NO one is on their phone 3) traffic laws…just don’t exist 4) pasta. 5) the sounds of the streets were filled with pigeons fluttering by, sirens- always sirens ringing, italian restauranteurs chirping at you telling you how amazing their food is and why you should be eating it right now, vespas whizzing by,  and church bells constantly ringing.

But most importantly, I must note that fate works in funny ways again, and somehow it happened to be that my last night in Rome was also the same night one of my best friends from college would be flying into town, Miss Dana Leonard. Dana and I have a history of meeting up in strange places (New Zealand, Colorado,…oh and I once jumped out of  box to surprise her in a parking lot in New York), but I found myself this time waving a napkin around in front of the Pantheon at night that read “Have you seen my friend, Dana!?!?” I received a few strange, but concerned, looks from the Romans and tourists, until they saw me running up to her as she picked me up and twirled me around….true friendship! Her boyfriend, Sandy, also came on the trip, and the four of us (my sister included) went out to a local hot spot for drinks until the wee hours of the morning. Needless to say, the train ride to Naples the next morning was a rough one for Katie and me, but when we finally made it to Sorrento, we didn’t seem to mind anymore.

To be Continued!!!!!…..