Rome, Italy (Day 1)

What we did:
- Early morning in Berlin to catch our flight back to the land of food and wine! We’re very happy we got to dip into Italy three times this trip
- Checked into our hotel around 2pm and then went to grab some pizza! Delicious coal fired pizzas that came with literally a gallon jug of table wine so really kicked us off right
- Full and buzzed we headed on a great hour walk through Rome to get to Vatican city. The pope loves chianti right?
- We were surprised at how impressive we thought the Vatican city was. Maybe the gallon of wine had an impact? Definitely caught it at the right time as the offseason evening crowds were heavily diminished. We wandered the main square and toured St. Peter's Basilica. Apparently tickets for the Sistine chapel sell out months in advance so that was a no go. But hey we’re not museum people anyway. St. Peters ceiling was good enough!
- Wandered the streets back over to our hotel in the “trendy” Trastevere neighborhood… the town was alive! Every block is packed with restaurants and people just hanging, eating a drinking. Tons of street performers too. Didn’t have the feel of a packed tourist area like other areas in Italy, but just a bunch of locals and some tourists enjoying a great night - loved the vibes! Wouldn’t be back in Italy without fullfilling our gelato addictions so grabbed some on the way home! Desert before dinner? No parents, no rules.
- Regrouped in the hotel and then headed out for a classic 9:30pm Italian dinner. Hit a delicious spot for pasta recommended by many of our friends and it lived up! Sat outside and enjoyed the buzz of the streets. 2nd desert of taramisu? No parents, no rules!
- Exhausted from the day we called it by 11 - good to be back in Italy!

What we ate:
- Sammies for breakfast and one last German pretzel at the airport!
- Pizzeria “dar poeta” for lunch. Two pizzas and a gallon of chianti!
- Dinner at Mimi e Coco. So good! Trent got Carbonara and Steph had cacio e pepe. Prosciutto wrapped melon for apps! And tarimusu for dessert

Fun facts:
- Vatican city is the smallest country in the world!
- The pope has used the Pontifical Swiss Guard since the 1500’s, making it one of oldest militaries still in existence. These gaurds have to be unmarried Swiss nationals between ages of 18-30
- Trent did not learn his lesson from Sicily and committed another Italian faux pas. Cappuccino before your meal!? Gasp!!!! After Steph kindly reminded Trent that he “likely wanted his cappuccino post-meal”, the waiter told us that the mere statement almost gave him a heart attack.
- Italian food is tasty. That’s all.Read more