Mission: Honeymoon (Part two: Rome)

After a few days in London, we took the red-eye to Rome. So much to see!

Is he adorable or what? He's totally adorable. I find it hilarious that the sign behind Scott says "CAPPUCINO.  ALSO BIG BEER."

At Piazza San Pietro.  We didn't try for a papal audience... but seriously, if Pope Francis had already been elected at that point, I'd have been all over it.  Heck, if Pope Francis had been elected earlier, I might still be Catholic! But most likely not. :-)

A statue of... somebody, in the Basilica. Simon of Cyrene? He appears to have a giant cross. (Actually, at first glance, he appeared to have a giant... something less religious. And now I can't unsee it, so-- ha! Neither can you.) 

We made sure to take some time for self-reflection.

Just a lovely moment at the Palazza Massimo alle Terme -- Museo Nazionale Romano.

In looking for souvenirs for our niece and two nephews, we declined to buy them at the Colosseum gift shop. "Hey kids, look at the nice gentlemen beating each other to death! Fun for the whole family! Hey, remember how you learned in Sunday school about the Christians being eaten by lions? No? Well, here are some illustrated pictures!"

Hey look! A piazza! Instead of street corners, Rome has statues and fountains.

The resemblance is hard to miss. We determined that in a former life, Scott had been a one-armed old Roman guy with prodigious facial hair.   

Obligatory honeymoon selfie, Roman version.

The layers of history are incredibly visible in Rome. And there are so.many.ruins.  These are at Ostia Antica-- miles and miles of well-preserved ruins just outside the city. By the last day, we'd seen enough ruins to last us a good long while.  Fascinating stuff, though.

And of course, you know the old adage: When in Rome on your honeymoon, eats lots of gelato!

So, we come to today: a year later.  A year after the honeymoon, I can say a few things for sure:

1. Being married to Scott is a state highly superior to the state of NOT being married to Scott. 
2. I am feeling way more "settled down" at this point in my life than I had previously thought possible. We have since bought a home and these days I'm perfectly content to talk about things that might happen in this house MULTIPLE DECADES from now.  Serious paradigm shift has occurred. :-)
3. Marriage is fun. Like, it's ridiculously awesome. We both feel like we won the lottery. Though neither of us would pass up an actual winning lottery ticket...