Our first night in R O M E.

As I opened up these first Rome photos, my heart skipped a beat. It suddenly just took me back--to those winding streets of cobblestone, the smell of water fountains mixed with restaurants and people--just everything. I will never forget our time in that magical city. 

As you can imagine, I have A LOT of photos from Rome, so I'll break up these blog posts the best that I can. This set of photos is from our first night in the city.

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ROMA. 

What a romantic place!!! 

We arrived in Rome by train in the evening, after having spent the day in Naples. We were wiped out after a long day, but as our taxi drove us to our hotel in the middle of the city, we couldn't help but die over how many beautiful things we passed along the way. It seemed surreal!

The whole city--from the grand monuments down to the cobblestone streets-- it was just a work of art.

We arrived at our hotel (The Dimora Degli Dei in Rome...it was incredible and I'd highly recommend it!!), and then we headed out to walk to some of the famous Rome sites before dinner.  Our hotel was literally steps away from the Pantheon , which made exploring everything super close and convenient. It could not have been more perfect.

Even though we'd go back to these places and see them during the day, it was so beautiful to see each one at night! It was such a romantic and magical fist impression of the city.

^The Pantheon. So majestic and unbelievable beautiful^

^Inside the Pantheon^

^The dome ceiling with the hole in the top was INSANE. I was not prepared for how cool this building would be.^

After spending some time in/ around the Pantheon, we made our way over to the Trevi Fountain.

And oh my goodness. It was amazing. 

^This spot could not have been more romantic^

The Trevi was all lit up against the night sky, and it was just stunning. (I made sure we came back here a handful of times...because I just couldn't get enough!)

^Even though we were here during the off-season, the Trevi was always packed at night!^

^La Fontana de Trevi^

After the Trevi fountain, we walked over to the Spanish Steps. 

The steps were filled with people sitting and talking, kids playing, lovers kissing...and it was perfect. We sat, too, and just enjoyed being there.

^spooky ghost girl beside me^

Then we headed back towards the Pantheon for dinner.

The restaurant we chose on our first night was actually directly across from our hotel! Not only did the hotel highly recommend it, but Yelp did also... and some random lady we sat next to on the plane raved about it, too! 

It's called Taverna del Seminario, and it smelled like Italian heaven when we walked in the doors.

And you guys. 

It was, hands down, THE BEST MEAL we had in Rome. It was simple, fresh, and so delicious.

(We even went back a few nights later, and ordered the exact same things. It was that good.)

I ordered the ricotta ravioli, and it was INCREDIBLE. I still dream about it.
It was the freshest pasta I've ever had, drizzled with olive oil and fresh Parmesan...and it was heaven.

Jordan ordered the Carbonara (a Rome classic), and his was amazing, too! 

We were both dying over how good our food was.

I would seriously go to Rome again just to eat at this restaurant. 

After dinner, we walked off our pasta for a bit (ha!), and went in search of some gelato.

Because hey! When in Rome! We pretty much tried to eat gelato every chance we got, and I was not mad about that one bit.

^YUM.^

Then we wandered over in front of the Pantheon, and sat by the fountain in the square while we finished our gelato. The Pantheon had closed for the night, so things were quieter, and we just sat and soaked in every bit of it.

It could not have been a more perfect first night in Rome. It felt like a dream.

^bliss^

We headed back to the hotel to get some sleep, because we had a jam-packed next day coming up.

And we could not WAIT.

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To see more Italy photos, click below.

Positano //  Naples //  Pompeii