italian honeymoon, part I, rome

i'm not going to bore you with all the many adventures i've had over the past two weeks in italy (like the night we ended up doing grappa shots with the head of the italian secret service, or something, his russian buddy,their respective girlfriend and wife *seriously*- only to be followed, the next day, by the harriest hang over.....ever.

then on to trying to navigate our way through the throngs at the vatican as i had a complete hangover induced, agoraphobic freak out-as seen above, trying to get fresh air.

we may have clocked the record for the shortest amount of time spent at the pope's place. the cliff notes version of doing the vatican.

but i think i'd rather shoot you out some visuals with a few comments instead. sort of like the slide show you had to watch of the neighbors' trip to italy when you were 10. you know, projected on their living room wall, dust motes floating in the way, the smell of the hot projector filling the air as you ate your hotdog at a t.v. tray. ya. sort of like that.

let me first begin by saying, the power of this blog world is incredible. there is no travel book available that will provide you with the quality of information that i received from all of you who, so kindly, shared with me your favorites.

our first stop was rome italy. many of you mentioned that being near the spanish steps was a must. and jennifer over at the peak of chic suggested that i stay at the hotel de russie. what a total find. seriously, there couldn't have been a more perfect place to be.

not only is it located near the legendary spanish steps,

but it's on a narrow street (babuino), loaded with incredible shops and eating venues stretching from the piazza del popolo all the way to the steps.

the staff was so helpful. every night we left it to them to pick where we would eat (which is where the new, 'grappa friends' came in) and we were never disappointed.

on to the shopping.....

'i pinco pallino' this was one of my favorite children's shops, just a few steps from our hotel.

i loved this chandelier. sweet little murano glass see creatures in the palest of pastels.

i have to interject something here: i'm sort of, very tired of murano glass right now. as in, i'd be happy not to see another piece of it for a very long time. in the beginning, it was like seeing spun sugar hanging from every ceiling. but then it just became, 'hanging from every ceiling'

but i digress. their floor was fantastic too. poured concrete, with a silver hand written message the same message encased in resin on the door. the photo doesn't do it justice (iphone) but i love this small attention to detail. i mean, come on, the door handle? so great.

i'm such a sucker for beautiful kid's clothing and i pinco pallino, is some of the finest i've seen.

fabriano paper has a store front. did you know? i had no idea. this alone could almost make me move to italy. if you love paper and great design, this is your stop.

total manna from heaven for me. beautiful, italian papers, leather goods, colored pencils and stationaries all displayed in groups of luscious color. i could have spent all day in here. (they told me 'no photo' so this was all i could get)

TAD concept store: one day i almost passed by what looked like a cross between the door to a night club and a florist's shop. keep in mind these shops are all housed in 600 year old buildings. if you're not careful, you'll easily pass up a fantastic little nugget. who am i to pass up a walk through the futuristic, plexi glass tube/vestibule, changing colors with pulsating techno music thumping away as you make your entrance. not i said the fly.

and gladly i entered. TAD is where the impossibly chic, young, cool romans, shop for everything from home textiles to master mixed cds by the house dj. while you're there you can get a hair cut, lounge in the asian inspired dining area, pick up a few hand dipped candles or snag that proenza schouler number you've been hot for.

if the scary woman (picture anne duong in high art) who was styling a display wasn't giving me the hairy eye-ball i would have shot a ton of photos here. there was SO much to see. don't miss this, when in rome. (and don't let the shop gals intimidate you)

and if at this point, you fear that all we did was shop and drink too much wine, while cavorting with the suspicious political factor, rushing through one of the worlds greatest art collections, fear not. while that part is true, we also took in many of the incredible historic sites that rome has to offer. as seen here.

our tour guide was so great. you can see the look of disgust on my face as she described the past goings on at the coliseum. (love being creeped out)

it's great to be back, and i think i'm on to something with this idea of an omnibus of all things fantastic gleaned from bloggers around the world. because, just a simple shout out for some information, made this trip incredible. thanks!