Day Two in Italy! We were tired so we just did a little hop on hop bus tour, took a long nap, then had a late dinner. Day Two is pretty boring!
I’m going to upload smaller images to the blog since they aren’t loading for some of my readers with slower Internet connections. I’m also going to watermark images just for the rest of the Italy trip so you can tell which are mine and which are Curtis’s. I hope the video embedding problem is fixed for everyone. You can see all of my full-size travel photos in my Flickr Italy album. Thanks!
Terrace Seagull
We slept in Wednesday morning and went up to breakfast on the hotel’s terrace. Wow! What a view from the top of the Rome Marriott Grand Hotel Flora. We ordered coffee then went through the breakfast buffet. As soon as we sat down, this seagull came over to investigate. These birds are much bigger than they look! And I didn’t realize how close we were to the Italian coastline… it’s less than 30 miles away from Rome.
iPhone 6S+ | 29mm | f/2.2 | 1/1600 | ISO 25
Curtis got a shot of the seagull too. We eventually named him Harry.
Samsung Galaxy 6
Terrace Panorama
We had been playing a little with the pano camera function and I finally figured it out on my phone. This was the view from the hotel terrace. Wow, right??? I love the way the trees grow and you can see mountains off in the distance. The weather was very nice in the morning then got super hot and sticky in the afternoon.
iPhone 6S+ | 29mm | f/2.2 | 1/1400 | ISO 25
Terrace View
And a video of the view because pictures don’t do it justice!
iPhone 6S+
Breakfast on the Terrace
I was super impressed with the breakfast food at our hotel. We had a lovely selection of eggs, fresh fruit, fresh bread, and fresh juice. Nothing came out of a box or was processed. Delicious!
iPhone 6S+ | 29mm | f/2.2 | 1/640 | ISO 25
Casual Stroll Through the Ancient Wall
I don’t know if these were tourists or locals, but seeing these young women strolling through the Aurelian Walls like it was no big deal was a little surreal. How many people throughout history have walked through that opening?
Nikon D750 | 85mm | f/5.6 | 1/320 | ISO 50
Curtis’s view from the terrace… I like his wider angle better. I made a critical mistake in deciding to use my 85mm for our sightseeing day. I was not able to get much in the frame at all. I should have taken my 35mm like I did for Paris instead of my 20mm and 85mm. Live and learn!
Samsung Galaxy 6
Hop On Hop Off Bus Stop
After breakfast, we went back to our room and got ready for the day. We decided to try a Hop On Hop Off bus tour that allows you to board any of their tour buses, ride as long as you like, get off and sightsee, then hop on another tour bus. We found tickets easily then headed to the closest bus stop near our hotel. We booked the pink line and they came by every 10-15 minutes.
Nikon D750 | 85mm | f/4.5 | 1/320 | ISO 320
Curtis got a shot of me shooting. He told me I had to share all of the pictures I am in. <insert eye roll but he’s so cute I’m doing it anyway>
Nikon D700 | 120mm | f/22 | 1/250 | ISO 4000
One of the anniversary gifts I got Curtis was a pair of EnChroma glasses (a very special story about these happens in Tuscany at the end of our trip!!!). He’s had these glasses before but they were stolen. These special sunglasses slip over his regular glasses and allow him to see color (he is red/green color blind). He was so enchanted with the brightly colored buildings in Rome.
Nikon D700 | 24mm | f/22 | 1/1600 | ISO 4000
I love the way he composes images. Curtis uses the foreground greenery to frame the building nicely, doesn’t he?
Nikon D700 | 24mm | f/22 | 1/1600 | ISO 4000
Bus Selfie
Once we boarded the Hop On Hop Off bus, we went to the top. I was happy it was enclosed as I didn’t pack sunscreen and I hadn’t yet bought a hat. We plugged in the pink headphones provided to listen to the tour… it was actually pretty interesting! Obligatory bus selfie ensued…
iPhone 6S+ | 2.7mm | f/2.2 | 1/25 | ISO 40
He got me again…
Nikon D700 | 24mm | f/4 | 1/640 | ISO 4000
Through the Heart
We were seated on the top deck of the bus a few rows from the front. We didn’t have a great view but luckily this guy I framed in the Grayline Hop On Hop Off logo got off at the next stop and we took his spot.
Nikon D750 | 85mm | f/4.5 | 1/320 | ISO 320
Once we moved forward, Curtis got this shot of the cars lined up along the edge of the street through the heart logo.
Nikon D700 | 24mm | f/22 | 1/1250 | ISO 4000
Primo View
Our front row seats on the top deck of the tour bus gave us great views of the city. We did have to deal with a little glare on the glass but we enjoyed the vantage point.
Nikon D750 | 85mm | f/8 | 1/320 | ISO 200
Fountains Galore
Nearly every intersection or corner had some sort of fountain with a statue. Shooting while moving and through glass made it challenging to get usable shots but I love how the water spray in this image is frozen into tiny droplets.
Nikon D750 | 85mm | f/7.1 | 1/320 | ISO 100
Piazza della Repubblica
Little did we know that we would be staying here our last night of our trip, but this fountain is located in the Piazza della Republic, a semi-circular piazza with a fountain in the middle. This fountain is called the Fountain of the Naiads. There are two buildings flanking the fountain create a semi-circle and one of them houses the Boscolo Exedra Rome, a Marriott property that we called home the last night of our vacation. It was a stunning hotel.
Nikon D750 | 85mm | f/7.1 | 1/320 | ISO 100
Throngs of People
Every street we turned onto had people everywhere. Tourists and locals packed every sidewalk, street, and corner.
Nikon D750 | 85mm | f/7.1 | 1/320 | ISO 100
Curtis got the same shot!
Nikon D700 | 24mm | f/22 | 1/1250 | ISO 4000
Checking His Phone
This was the only time that I was grateful for the longer reach of my 85mm lens (note to traveling photographers: take a wide angle!). As we drove by this restaurant, the maitre’d was outside checking his phone. I love his posture and how he’s framed in the doorway.
Nikon D750 | 85mm | f/2.8 | 1/320 | ISO 100
Curtis got this shot of a beggar on a corner. She almost blended into the gray granite on which she rested. The quality isn’t great because it was shot quickly and was underexposed but it’s a great capture and I encouraged Curtis to let me share it. I am so proud of him that he shot in manual mode the whole trip!
Nikon D700 | 120mm | f/22 | 1/1250 | ISO 4000
I didn’t catch the name of every building we went by but Curtis got this wonderful image of this church. I love the juxtaposition of ancient and modern.
Nikon D700 | 24mm | f/22 | 1/1250 | ISO 4000
Tattered and Abandoned
Look at this beautiful building! The windows are broken out, there are old curtains that are dirty and tattered, blowing out of the broken window frames. Don’t you wonder what the story is behind this building?
Nikon D750 | 85mm | f/2.8 | 1/320 | ISO 100
First Glimpse of the Colosseum
Nothing prepares you for seeing a famous monument for the first time. I studied this structure in a college class. And to see it just down the street was surreal. It was like being in Paris and seeing the Eiffel Tower for the first time. We have some amazing photos of the Colosseum to share from our private, Friday night tour on Day Four. This is by far my favorite image of Day Two.
Nikon D750 | 85mm | f/7.1 | 1/320 | ISO 100
And Curtis’s shot of it too! His color version wasn’t as contrasty as mine so I converted mine to black and white.
Nikon D700 | 24mm | f/22 | 1/1250 | ISO 4000
Double Decker with Umbrella
This was another hop on hop off tour line that did not have enclosed top decks. Can you see how hot those people look? I loved the lady with the umbrella and had to get a shot of her.
Nikon D750 | 85mm | f/7.1 | 1/320 | ISO 100
Curtis got a shot of her too but I like his composition better since he has a sliver of the red heart logo on the right side of the frame.
Nikon D700 | 24mm | f/22 | 1/1250 | ISO 4000
I love love love this shot that Curtis got. The ancient Aurelian Walls with an old building at is feet with modern cars parked below the building. Talk about slices of history coming together. So cool!!!
Nikon D700 | 24mm | f/22 | 1/1250 | ISO 4000
You turn a corner and bam! there is an ancient building in the middle of the block with nothing to protect it or preserve it. Crazy.
Nikon D700 | 24mm | f/22 | 1/1250 | ISO 4000
So Many Steps
One of the noteworthy stops on our Hop On Hop Off bus tour was the Spanish Steps. We decided to just stay on the bus for the entire loop because we were tired… jet lag had hit and we didn’t feel like walking in the heat with the hordes of tourists. This particular stop was tempting though since these 135 steps have been used in multiple movies. My poor knees wouldn’t have fared well going up and down though!
Nikon D750 | 85mm | f/7.1 | 1/320 | ISO 100
Curtis’s version is very similar, isn’t it?
Nikon D700 | 24mm | f/22 | 1/1250 | ISO 4000
We will share much more about this building in Day Four’s post, but Curtis got a great shot of it from the bus. It’s called the Altare della Patria, also known as the Wedding Cake. The Romans hate the building. We will share more about it later.
Nikon D700 | 24mm | f/22 | 1/1250 | ISO 4000
Everything is so Old
I just loved this old church with a newer building next to it. The colors and textures and history captivated me.
Nikon D750 | 85mm | f/7.1 | 1/320 | ISO 100
Curtis got this shot of the Ponte Vittorio Emanuele II bridge as we passed it. Just beyond lays Vatican City.
Nikon D700 | 24mm | f/22 | 1/1250 | ISO 4000
Castel Sant’Angelo
I got this video (sorry it’s shaky! I was on a moving bus) of the Castel Sant’Angelo as we drove by. Built in 135 AD, it is the Mausoleum of Hadrian, a Roman Emperor, and is now a museum.
iPhone 6S+
Curtis got a great still shot of the Mausoleum. The bridge leading up to it is called the Ponte Sant’Angelo Bridge and is open to pedestrians only.
Nikon D700 | 58mm | f/22 | 1/1250 | ISO 4000
Curtis is able to spot a great people shot very quickly, which is quite impressive considering his poor eyesight. I love this pop of color in the shadows.
Nikon D700 | 112mm | f/22 | 1/1250 | ISO 4000
Hop On Hop Off Time Lapse
I knew that using my longer focal length 85mm lens, being on the bus, dealing with window glare, and it being mid-day, that my shots weren’t going to be very good. So about 2/3 of the way through the tour, I stopped shooting with my big camera and decided to do a time lapse with my iPhone for the rest of the tour. I held my camera against the window and tried to keep it steady for the rest of the tour. This was about 20 minutes condensed to 21 seconds. <3
iPhone 6S+
After the bus tour concluded, we were hungry for lunch. After consulting Yelp, I started listing off restaurants within a couple of blocks that were open (it was 3ish) and one caught Curtis’s attention, Mandarin, a Chinese restaurant. It was awful. It was hot, the service was terrible, and the food was weird. I ended up not eating anything so I got a slice of street pizza from Alice on the way back to the hotel that was delicious. We decided to head back to the hotel for a siesta and I really wanted a scoop of gelato so I walked down half a block from the hotel to Pasticceria Gelateria Lotti, a place I had discovered the day before. This place had the BEST gelato, it was so good. And one of the few places that had caramel flavor. Curtis got this shot of me waiting to pay for my gelato. I came back to Lotti several times while we were in Rome. I mean, have you seen how small those scoops of ice cream are???
Nikon D700 | 24mm | f/6.3 | 1/320 | ISO 4000
Best Caprese Salad Ever
After the bus tour, we crashed hard at the hotel. I think I slept for two hours and Curtis slept for four hours. It was after 8 p.m. before we were human again. I had done some research and found a highly rated restaurant that was open late near our hotel that was within walking distance. By the time we got out the door, it was after 9 so we decided to leave our big cameras at the hotel and just enjoy our dinner. We were greeted warmly by the owner, Sergio Mignanelli. Osteria Quarantaquattro was romantic and intimate. He seated us along the back wall with a view out to the street though we were so far from any touristy areas, only locals wandered by. For my appetizer, I ordered this caprese salad and it was the most delicious thing I had ever eaten. The tomatoes were so sweet and fresh. And that mozzarella… oh my gosh! It was tender, plump, a little moist… so so so good.
iPhone 6S+ | 4.2mm | f/2.2 | 1/8 | ISO 160
Linguine in Cream Sauce
My next course was the best linguine I’ve ever had in a delicate cream sauce with truffles and fresh black pepper. The pasta was firm, as was all the pasta we had in Italy. Americans way overcook pasta in my opinion.
iPhone 6S+ | 4.2mm | f/2.2 | 1/8 | ISO 160
Mushroom Steaks
Since I’m a vegetarian, Sergio recommended the mushroom steaks for my entree. I like mushrooms so I said sure. They were quite strong and I didn’t love them but did manage to choke down about half of them so as to not be rude.
iPhone 6S+ | 4.2mm | f/2.2 | 1/4 | ISO 80
Delicious Red Wine
Sergio recommended our red wine and it paired nicely with my meal. In subsequent meals, I would order the house red or house white and in only one occasion did I not like it. Seriously, the wine is divine in Italy!
iPhone 6S+ | 4.2mm | f/2.2 | 1/4 | ISO 100
Dessert at Harry’s Bar
We were full after our wonderful meal at Osteria Quarantaquattro, so we wandered back to the hotel. Our meal had taken 2.5 hours to eat and by the time we got back to the hotel, we wanted just a taste of something sweet. Unfortunately, Lotti was closed but we saw a bar open across the street from the hotel called Harry’s Bar. We thought we would just get a sweet cocktail instead of gelato but fortunately for us, Harry’s had gelato and cocktails! We stayed there talking for another 1.5 hours. It was the most romantic night we’ve had in ages.
iPhone 6S+ | 4.2mm | f/2.2 | 1/4 | ISO 200
That’s the end of Day Two! Day Three dawned bright and early as we booked an early morning tour of the Vatican and a Crypts and Catacombs tour for Thursday afternoon. Though we didn’t get a lot of sleep (and may have been a bit hungover), we very much enjoyed Day Three… come back next week to see our image of the Vatican. Thanks for looking!
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