Mi Sono Svegliata in Europa [I Woke Up in Europe]

Che Giorno Perfetto! -- What a perfect day!  After my exhausting -- yet very luxurious -- flight I finally met Andy in Roma.  My jet lag was a bit absurd.. but after a delicious lunch at la Muzza Pazza (the Crazy Cone) and a nap, all was well. We did some exploring and walked around the nearby area; we found lots of little restaurants and cute shops. Later we had a delicious Italian cena [dinner] at a place around the corner, Forno e Legna. We ordered some bruschetta al proscituo crudo to start, and for our main course I had the scallopini al limone and Andy had the bistecca al manzo -- both were ridiculously amazing! [Uncle Doug -- you were right! Italian steak is superb!]  We finished our evening practicing our foreign languages, me with the Italian bartender and Andy with a cute, Spanish bartender.  Tomorrow we are going to do all the touristy sight-seeing, starting with the Vatican, and going around to as many of the following as possible: the Spanish Steps, the Trevi Fountain, the Colosseum, the Circus Maximus, and, of course, the Pantheon! All and all it was quite a day! I'm definitely ready for bed!

Mi Mancate! Buona Serata!

& now for a few pictures, mostly of the flight...

Benvenuto a Roma! Questo è il nostro albergo! This is our hotel, il Barceló Aran Mantegna.   After we figured out that we needed to plug our room key into the wall to make the lights and outlets work, all was well haha

My Appetizer: a crab & asparagus salad. Delicious!

My Main Course: hazelnut & goat cheese fagottini with saffron tomato sauce, butternut ravioli, cherry tomatoes and parmesan. Buon Appetito!

Godemorgen! [Dutch for Good Morning] I woke up in Europe. Crazy. This was the beautiful sunrise from the plane. A great end to first leg of my long journey.

My Breakfast Tea. I could definitely get used to this. KLM spoiled me!

My First Breakfast: An omelet, turkey bacon, breakfast potatoes, fresh fruit, conflates, yogurt, and smoked salmon with cream cheese; mmmmmmmm! 

My gift from KLM. I thought this was hilarious. Apparently they give out these little Dutch houses filled with liquor that are "collectibles" haha. This is the one I picked. Adorable. 

I've officially been to Amsterdam! This is the Schiphol Airport.

First stamp in my new passport! I felt so special :)

Second Breaksfast!... yes I had two haha. I had Kaiserschmarrn ( a traditional Austrian breakfast, similar to pancakes) with vanilla sauce and pineapple compote, topped with almonds and raisins, with a side of dry smoked beef, Reypenaer cheese, forest fruit quark, and a croissant. Perfection. The Kaiserschmarrn was incredible.