Rome, Italy

My first trip to Italy was with my sister. We both had battled breast cancer and celebrated with a two week trip in November to Italy. Our trip ended in Rome. We were there over Thanksgiving. It was also my birthday at the end of the trip! Two people I work with were also in Rome and were staying at the same hotel. It was unplanned and funny! We arrived to Rome from our time in Sorrento on Thanksgiving Day. We had lunch with my friends, it was fun to spend time with them. Can you believe I didn’t take any pictures?

St. Regis, Rome

On Thanksgiving night, we met my colleagues at the St. Regis in Rome. Did you know it’s a tradition for St. Regis hotels to saber a champagne bottle every night? If you plan on attending you need to check the time it happened, in Rome it was 7 pm. The St. Regis in Washington DC is 6 pm. We went two nights in a row and the second night Nancy sabered the bottle. In the United States, they don’t allow guests to do the sabering. It was a highlight for Nancy and was so much fun. That night we met a travel blogger MyBlissCation and her boyfriend. They got engaged later that night. Great fun and memories!

Palazzo Naiadi, The Dedica Anthology, Autograph Collection

Since I am Marriott Titanium Lifetime member, we stay at Marriott’s when we can. The Palazzo Naidi was amazing and we LOVED staying there. We were upgraded for our room and had an amazing view. We loved the balcony, spacious room and and big bathroom. They recognized my birthday twice with goodies! We had a great afternoon at the spa on a rainy day.

Trevi Fountain

For those of you who follow my blog, you know that when Nancy and I traveled, we would leave most days to exploring with no plans. We went to the Trevi Fountain. No, we didn’t put coins in the fountain. We didn’t know about the tradition. LOL!

Santi Vincenzo e Anastasio a Fontana di Trevi

I was given the advice when visiting Rome to visit as many small churches as possible. It was great advice. The beauty of the churches around Italy are amazing. There was a beautiful one across from the Trevi Fountain and Nancy was the one that spotted it for me to go too. Santi Vincenzo e Anastasio a Fontana di Trevi is a great place to visit if in the area of the Trevi fountain.

Al Moro Restaurant

After visiting Trevi Fountain, we had lunch reservations at Al Moro. It was my birthday lunch! All of the restaurants that our the concierge at the Palazzo Naiada recommended were great. This was an old school Italian restaurant that was filled with locals, which we loved. Tables are close together pre-covid, not sure what it is like now.

Target Restaurant

As I mentioned, the concierge had great recommendations. Target was around the corner from our hotel. It was great because it POURED for two days of the trip, so it was easy to get too. We went here for two dinners. We love seafood and they had great lobster pasta!

The Vatican

When visiting Rome for the first time, you must visit The Vatican. We did a tour arranged by our hotel. It is an amazing place and I would love to spend time not on tour. Since my visit, I started following SwissGuardWife on Instagram. There is so much beauty around every corner at The Vatican.

Big Bus Rome

On my birthday, it started raining in Rome. After lunch, we decided to do the Big Bus Rome to see the city. We knew the next day was going to be rainy, so we spent the afternoon on the bus to see the city. I still think it’s funny to see Black Friday sales in Europe.