Rome 2019: Day 6

Laura Irwin

Today I explored the ancient ruined port city of Ostia Antica, a 30 minute train ride outside of Rome. In its heyday, the city boasted 50,000 residents. Now, all that’s left are ruins of that vibrant, bustling city. You might think there’s not much to see there, but you’d be very mistaken. Before catching the train this morning, I stopped at Basilica Santa Maria Maggiore, one of the largest Catholic basilicas in Rome. Then I grabbed a maritozzi and “hot chocolate” from Pasticceria Regoli. A miscommunication ended up with me getting a warm milk with cocoa sprinkled on top instead of hot chocolate. Hardly the rich Italian indulgence I was hoping for!

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Maritozzi

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Rome 2019: Day 5

Laura Irwin

Today has been the best day in Rome so far. Not because I did anything special, but because I didn’t. I didn’t see any grand museums or visit ancient historic sites. In fact, this is the only day of vacation where I didn’t have anything specific planned. Instead, I took to the streets of Rome and simply wandered. In and through centuries-old churches, around small piazzas off the main tourist routes, and down tiny alleyways just to see where they went. It was glorious.

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Piazza Navona

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Rome 2019: Day 3

Laura Irwin

From the Colosseum to the Roman Forum and Palatine Hill to ancient temples and churches only recently excavated, today was a day to imagine life in ancient Rome. My first stop of day was the Colosseum, where I had a guided tour of the Underground, Arena, and Third Ring. The tour started on the arena level where we could imagine thousands of people watching everything from gladiator contests to public executions. From there, we headed to the Underground to see the corridors, tunnels, and elevators used to transport animals up to the arena floor. Our final stop was the third ring (“mid-class seats”) to see the view spectators had of the entire Colosseum.

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Inside the Colosseum

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Rome 2019: Days 1 and 2

Laura Irwin

Bongiorno from the Eternal City! I feel like I’ve only begun to scratch the surface of Rome, so I’ll reserve judgement about how much I like it until I have more to base it on. Suffice it to say, I’ve enjoyed my first day and a half, and I have a feeling it will only get better from here.

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St. Peter’s Basilica

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Key West 2019: Day 2

Laura Irwin

I bookended my day with sunrise this morning at Smathers Beach and sunset tonight at Mallory Square. Because sunrise is my favorite time of day, and I made it my goal to be up and watching the sun rise every day of vacation, I figured I’d start the week at Smathers Beach. I thought I might be alone, but there was plenty of company between walkers, photographers, and other sunrise enthusiasts. Sunrise tonight was equally beautiful, though I was certainly not alone for that one!

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Smathers Beach Sunrise

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Key West 2019: Day 1

Laura Irwin

First impressions: Key West is Charleston/Savannah meets the Caribbean. I’ve only been here for a few hours, but I can already tell that Key West has a personality all its own. It was 24 degrees when I left home at 3:30 this morning and a balmy 81 degrees when I landed in Key West a few hours later. Flying over the Caribbean blue-green waters and deplaning right onto the tarmac was reminiscent of my visits to Turks and Caicos, while the historic homes with rocking chairs on the front porch remind me of the deep south.

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Landing in Key West

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A Long Weekend in Philadelphia

Laura Irwin

I had wavered on spending a weekend in Philadelphia, but having not visited Philly since I was young, I figured there was enough to do to keep me occupied for three days. Of course, I planned the trip before the government shutdown closed the main attractions… c’est la vie.

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Philadelphia Skyline

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Chicago 2018: Day 2

Laura Irwin

The two highlights of the day: food and Hamilton. I got a good night’s sleep and started the day indulging in a “French toast flight” at Batter and Berries in the Lincoln Park neighborhood. I had been planning this breakfast for weeks, so it should come as no surprise that I didn’t even need to look at the menu. I ordered the “super flight”, which includes four of the regular French toast menu items (blueberry, strawberry, caramel, and lemon) along with this week’s special: Heath. I started by trying a couple of bites of each one and then decided to work my way up from my least favorite to my most favorite. I cleaned the plate.

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Fullerton Avenue, Lincoln Park

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