We met up with Courtney & Ryan at the hotel and then headed out for a late lunch. After lunch we were on the hunt for an Irish Pub so that Shane & Ryan could watch Arsenal in the FA Cup. We managed to locate a pub that was playing the match and caught the first half. We headed back to the hotel at half time to get ready for dinner. Courtney & Ryan had picked up a bottle of wine in Tuscany for Shane's birthday that we shared with them before heading out for the evening.
We had dinner within walking distance of the hotel that came recommended, and with personalized Italian notecard, from a relative of Courtney's family. I don't know what the notecard said exactly but it got us seated at a table outside immediately and excellent service throughout the whole evening - we felt as if we were seated at a table with famous people! Our server was most helpful in assisting us with ordering ... our eyes were bigger than our stomachs and if our server let us order on our own, Ryan would have ended up with three pastas and the rest of us at lest two dishes each!
The next morning we had breakfast at the hotel before heading out to explore Rome. Courtney was our expert navigator and guided us through the sites we wanted to see that day. Our first stop of the day was the Trevi Fountain. After snapping a few photos and throwing in our cents, we made our way over to the Pantheon, but were unable to go in due to a service, so continued on to the Piazza Navona and explored a nearby market.
We then returned to the Pantheon and to enjoy lunch on the square. Courtney & Ryan had another personalized card for the restaurant on the square and again, we were seated right away and provided excellent service. After the lunch, we toured the inside the Pantheon and then headed towards the Colosseum.
We stopped on the way toward the Colosseum at Altare della Patria to take in some of the views of the city. The steps at Altare della Patria may have been when we all almost hit our low energy point of the day. As we climbed the steps down, we all quickly became aware of how hot it was, how thirsty we were and how hungry we were.
We powered on towards the Colosseum, with a pit-stop for gelato, and then headed back to the hotel.
We treated ourselves to more drinks on the terrace and much enjoyed the shade and being able to rest our feet - we had walked over 7 miles! Plus, the hotel had noted it was Courtney's birthday and brought us out complimentary beverages. That night we dined at a restaurant nearby the hotel that had also been recommended - it did not disappoint!
We departed the next day after one more breakfast with Courtney & Ryan at the hotel. We were so happy that we got to crash their honeymoon for a bit and spend another weekend with them!
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