Rome.  Certainly wasn't built in a day. But it is built on top of another Rome. From another day.

And wow. Wow. WOW.

I can totally write a history essay on this historic city. And then some. :-)

Ruins and the Colosseum (wasn't open the first day but we got our ticket for the second without the queues!). I could spend all day here. And pretty much did - one afternoon in the ruins and the morning at the Colosseum. Think crowds. Huge crowds. And school kids. Not so fun. 

And no so fun are all the people who try to sell you stuff by trying to shove it in your face! Kind of funny are the Italians dressed up in gladiator gear hoping you will pay them to take a photo with you. Cute were the horses waiting to transport tourists around the Colosseum and annoying were those people who had no respect for sacred sites and walked on places cleared marked out-of-bounds.

But I touched an ancient ruin!! Whoop!

Oh yeah, almost forgot about all the other sites - Spanish Steps (big let down), Trevi Fountain (pretty but too many people), markets (nice place for lunch, yummy lobster pasta! and caesar salad with chicken included), plaza nova (where artists try to sell you their paintings and cafes rip you off like there's no tomorrow).

The shopping street was pretty amazing too. My biggest regret in Rome is not getting these pair of black suede boots. :( And I couldn't even find a pair close as we continued on... spending in one shop in Rome just triggers you to spend more in others. It is seriously a domino effect and by the end of the day, I was all shopped out. So we rode the metro back to our hotel. Fully packed metro. Kind of fun.