The Trevi Fountain in Rome, Italy.
This entry is part of the 2014 Italy (& Turkey too!) Travel Blog Series. Read this story and then the rest HERE.
Venice was my favorite city. Cinque Terre was the most relaxing. In Florence I ate my favorite Italian meal. But it's Rome that is home to the Trevi Fountain, which (at night) is one of the most magical experiences a person can witness.
I won't bore you with another story of how frigg'n phenomenal dinner was and we'll fast forward to the events following pasta and wine.
When it comes to navigation, Jeff is your man. He has a great sense of direction and a knack for reading maps. His skills, however, become limited after an undisclosed amount of wine which, we found, can sometimes result in an impromptu late night tour of the Roman streets.
Sometime between midnight and 1:00am, we parted ways with our empty pasta plates. Jeff and Josh took it upon themselves to 'surprise' Emily and me with our next endeavor.
"You're really going to like it," they said to us. "We'll be there in about 20 minutes."
And so we marched, randomly stopping along the way and cracking jokes; it had become a late night ritual over the course of our trip.
It was all good and fun until we realized 20 minutes felt a lot longer that usual. My feet aching from the blisters I acquired earlier that day from my gladiator sandals during our tour of the Colosseum (I found my footwear choice most appropriate for the occasion), I was quickly running out of patience.
"We're almost there," Jeff shouted back at us. "It's a little longer of a walk than I expected."
"Well duh." I whispered under my breath.
And then the buildings parted into an open square. I could first hear the falling of water and seconds later the turquoise glow appeared. We had reached the Trevi Fountain and it was magical. At that moment my frustration over the long walk and the pain from my blisters disappeared. The world had come to a standstill and it was only us and the fountain.
We had visited the fountain earlier that day very briefly but weren't able to enjoy it because of the massive crowds. But after hours, the people were gone and the square was empty and quiet.
We tossed coins in the water ensuring our return to the city someday. And many years from now, I hope we do return because the long walk will always be worth it.
This entry is part of the 2014 Italy (& Turkey too!) Travel Blog Series. Read this story and then the rest HERE.