My recent experience in Rome, while harrowing, would have been a lot worse had I not been to Italy before. Granted, it’s one of my favorite cities and I was very much looking forward to taking in sights beyond the Colosseum, as glorious as it is. And lingering over a fabulous Italian pastry and cappuccino in one its splendid coffee shops (actual coffee shops, readers, not coffee shops of Amsterdam ilk). And experiencing Rome’s finer wines and cuisine in an unexpected corner of the city rather than inadvertently coming out in a local hot spot on Gay Street. (Not that there’s anything wrong with that.) Did I mention that many of the superb wines I enjoyed while in Italy with my husband in 2009 you can’t find here in the states? As they’re made in small batches, they’re seldom imported.

Now I’m just getting depressed.

Hence my need to return to some of the photos I took when last in Rome. I’m including just a few here; perhaps you might enjoy them before my blogging returns to food stuff next week.

I’ll try to get through posting them without weeping.

I mean, I didn’t even have any gelato while there! Or pizza! (Sniff, sniff.)

Among my favorite vistas of Rome, a black and white version of this photograph hangs in my home. #awesome

The Arch of Constantine (AD 315), Romans invented the rounded arch, which is technically known in architectural parlance as the, er, Roman Arch.

The Castel Sant’Angelo (AD 135) is the setting for the final scene of Puccini’s “Tosca.”

The Roman sculpture hall at the Vatican is one of my favorite collections; its staggering opulence cannot be captured in a photograph.

Ancient Roman dude, with mini dude hanging from his toga.

Itty bitty Italian cars, Romans *especially* adore their mopeds. (Pedestrians beware. #seriously)

A grand view of the Roman landscape and one of its many ruins. (Again with the arches.)

A random street in the Eternal City.

The baroque Fontana di Trevi (AD 1762) is the most famous fountain in Rome – and arguably the most magnificent. Find images online to better appreciate its splendor.

I love this photo of the grand amphitheater at dusk + the Arch of Constantine and umbrella pine trees — but it in no way conveys the, um, colossal nature of the Colosseum.

That’s more like it: a view of the Colosseum (AD 70) from the inside. (See how tiny the people are?) Note the viewing stage for postmodern gawkers like me. Pretty sure it wasn’t used in ancient times for, say, a gladiator kick line.

One of Bernini’s famed sculptures in Piazza del Minerva, the elephant (AD 1666) forms a base for one of eleven Egyptian obelisks (BC 589) in Rome.

Some of my most ethereal photographs have been taken in flight, this one of the sun beaming at dusk on the Italian alps below.

Ciao, Roma! May we meet again in happier times. Until then, special thanks to those of you who stumbled across my blog this past week for the first time – mostly photography and travel bloggers – as I recounted my most recent adventure abroad.

Here’s hoping for a more successful journey to Chicago next week.

You know, assuming I can walk, and all.

An avid traveler who normally writes about food, Dr. P. K. Newby is a nutrition scientist and educator with expertise in the prevention of obesity and chronic diseases through diet and the relations between agriculture, food production, and public health. She brings together her passions for food, cooking, science, and sustainability through her writing and videos to help people eat their way towards better health, one delectable bite at a time. If you like what you see here at The Nutrition Doctor is In the Kitchen, please subscribe to my blog from the home page, become a fan on Facebook, follow me on Twitter, check out my food porn on Pinterest, watch my cooking videos on YouTube, and peruse my recipe page for soups, salads, seafood, sweets, and more. Thanks for reading!