Girls Getaway to Rome - Day 1

After a Mother/Daughter joint Girls Getaway to Colorado in 2010, we (my mom and I) started planning our Italy trip with Donna (my mom’s college roommate) and her daughter, Katie. After two years of planning and trying to coordinate schedules, we set the dates for a multi-city tour of Italy. First stop...Rome.

We landed in Rome around 10 AM and made our way to our hotel, Silva Torlonia, via taxi. After a quick nap and visit with Donna and Katie, we boarded the metro en route to The Colosseum, which is one of the seven wonders of the world. Our best investment was a Roma Pass, which is a three-day pass for 20 Euro and is good for unlimited use of buses, trams and the metro. Plus, it includes free admission to several museums (including The Colosseum) and allows you to get to the front of the line. Legend has it that as long as the Colosseum stands, Rome will stand; and when Rome falls, so will the world. So we were thrilled to see the Colosseum standing in all of its glory at 500 feet wide and 161 feet high. Construction on The Colosseum, which is an enormous amphitheater, was started by Emperor Vespasian and inaugurated by Titus in the year 80 A.D. It has 80 entrances that would filter its more than 50,000 attendees into the building who were seated according to class. It even has a VIP section for political and religious dignitaries. Once inside we were able to see the wooden platform that the gladiators fought on, along with the labyrinth maze that was underneath the platform where they housed tigers, prisoners, and other show participants.

After our Colosseum tour (and one great group photo), we took a brief walk up the hill to the Oppio Caffe that overlooks The Colosseum. We lucked out with a window seat (we would have sat outside but it was lightly raining) and all got the Appetizer Buffet for 10 Euro (all you can eat one time visit to buffet plus one cocktail/wine).

After we ate, we made our way to the beautiful Trevi Fountain, which is the largest Baroque fountain in the city (85 feet high and 65 feet wide) and most would say the most beautiful in the world. According to legend, visitors who throw a coin into the fountain are assured they will return to Rome. An estimated 3,000 Euro are thrown into the fountain each day. A few blocks away from the fountain, we found the Spanish Steps, which is a monumental staircase (and widest in Europe) of 138 steps built in 1717. After hiking to the top of the steps, we caught a cab back to our hotel and turned in for the night. Tomorrow we tackle the Vatican City!

Girls Getaway to Italy

There's nothing like a tour of Italy's finest to rev your taste buds and help you find your inner Italian chef. With Rome, Milan, Florence and Venice on the list of places to visit, we are sure to have one amazing trip!

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The Getaway Girl Featured in Inside Polk Magazine

Inside Polk is proud to be Polk County, FL's magazine that offers exciting stories and out-and-about features that you do not want to miss.

Check out the feature travel article in the February issue. To read the full article, click here.

Win Free Stuff Returns For Spring 2012

It's back! By popular demand....the Girls Getaway Guide's Win Free Stuff! That's right, everyone loves to Win Free Stuff, and the Girls Getaway Guide helps ladies win free stuff that will make their next Girlfriend Getaway even better.

This Spring, we have three prizes:

1) Sex and the City Hotspots Tour From On Location Tours

2) A "YourNovel.com" Personalized Novel

3) Costa Rican Adventure Excursion

All you have to do to enter to win is visit Girls Getaway Guide website and fill out the form. Someone is going to win these great prizes...it may as well be you!

Submit Your Photo: Girlfriend Getaway to San Diego

Angela Newell submitted this photo of her special Girls Getaway to San Diego.

She writes: "The Sole Sisters - Angela Newell, Kim Hancock and Jennie Walker - participated in the 2011 Susan G Komen 3 Day for the Cure in San Diego from Nov 17-20. Our Families met us at closing ceremonies and we all spent Thanksgiving on the Pacific Ocean! A journey and experience we will never, ever forget. We walk because we can. We walk because we believe. We walk because Everyone deserves a lifetime."

Spring Break Travel Deals - Daytime TV Show

Whether you are looking for snow or sand, The Getaway Girl has some great Spring Break Travel Deals that are sure to make you want to book that trip and go! To watch the segment, click here.

Spectacular St Patrick's Day Celebrations

A holiday with plenty of historical significance, St. Patrick's Day has stretched beyond its home country of Ireland to Irish expatriates (and those who just want to be Irish for a day) the whole world over. It's a time for festive partying, dancing in the streets, celebrating with food and drink, and generally having a rollicking good time. Dress in green, grab a shamrock, and experience a little luck of the Irish at these great St. Patrick's Day celebrations!

Home to North America's largest St. Patrick's Day parade, New York City is always an exciting place to visit. Although NYC is used to celebrating the various heritages of its diverse population, the St. Patrick's Day parade is the city's most popular annual parade. You'll see more than just Irish pride here, though there's plenty of that to go around, too. Upwards of 150,000 people march in the parade every year, and millions of people turn out to watch the event.

Montreal, Quebec, Canada
The longest-running parade in North America can be found at the heart of this French-speaking province. Although it may seem unusual that Quebec can make such a claim, it's not as strange as it sounds; some people estimate that about 40% of people in Quebec are of Irish heritage. If you see Montreal on St. Patrick's Day, you won't question the amount of Irish pride shown here every year. Just be aware that Montreal is still very cold in March. If you dress warmly and brush up on your French (most people here speak English too), you can have a great holiday experience here. Just a few hours and you will feel as though you are in Europe...great town!

Hot Springs, Arkansas
The world's shortest street plays host to the world's shortest St. Patrick's Day Parade in this historic Arkansas town. Don't come here expecting tradition, but if you have a great sense of humor and you don't mind an unusual good time, you can see some one-of-a-kind sights like a troupe of "Irish bellydancers" decked out in sparkly green costumes and (as if that wasn't enough sparkle) the "Irish Order of Elvi," a group of Elvis impersonators getting in touch with their inner Irishmen. After the parade (and with a name like this, it won't take long), join the Pub-Crawl and end the holiday with a rollicking good time.