"I've never been alone with a man before,even with my dress on.With my dress off,it is MOST unusual."

So,this post is about one of my favorite movies, which I cannot believe I didn't own until two weeks ago when I received it as a birthday present.

I've now fallen in love with it all over again.

Roman Holiday
1953

Starring the beautiful Audrey Hepburn, and equally beautiful Gregory Peck

Princess Ann (Hepburn) is on a Royal tour of various European capitals to politically establish her country's allied position with surrounding nations.Despite having the opportunity to travel to all of these beautiful countries, Princess Ann is extremely unhappy. Her days are already filled for her with meetings, luncheons, press conferences,and balls which she must attend, when all she really wants to do is be one of the people. She longs to stretch her legs, and tour all of these historical cities that she has been sent to.

One night, Princess Ann's unhappiness overcomes her and she throws a fit.A doctor is sent for, and he gives her a sedative to help her sleep, but warning that it will not kick in until later.Once she is left alone in her room, Ann devises a plan to sneak out of the royal palace, and truly discover Rome for herself.She manages to do just that, but her discoveries only reach as far as a distant street before her sedative begins to take over.Unable to keep upright, she collapses onto a bench, where she is lying in a stupor when American reporter Joe Bradley (Peck) finds her as he is waiting for a taxi.

Joe doesn't recognize her as the Princess. He tries to wake her up, but she is apparently intoxicated and has no intention of behaving normally. He asks her name, to which she replies "Anya Smith." He then tries to give Miss Smith some money,which she refuses,still in a haze and continually sinking lower.Joe is completely baffled, and doesn't want to leave her in the middle of the street at night.When his taxi arrives, he puts her in the back and tries to ask her where she lives.After several failed attempts, he finally receives an answer: the Colosseum.Not knowing what to do, he drives the strange Anya Smith to his own apartment, where he figures she can stay for the night, until she sobers up.

In the morning, Ann wakes up and is initially frightened at finding herself in unfamiliar surroundings. Eventually, it dawns on her that she really did escape the palace, and she can do whatever she wants, all day long.While all these revelations are occurring to her, Joe is having a revelation of his own. He learns that he has the Princess Ann, not one Anya Smith, sleeping in his apartment, through a local newspaper.He rushes to his editor and offers an exclusive story on the Princess, through being able to spend the day with her and observe her interactions with the city of Rome.He then runs back to his apartment, where he continues his charade of wanting to help the poor,lost Anya Smith.

He agrees to taking a holiday from work (without revealing what his true profession is) to be her guide and show her around the city of Rome,recruiting his friend Irving to secretly take pictures of her for the article.Ann is delighted and spends the best day of her life doing all the things she's never been able to.She cuts her hair, eats a gelato on the Spanish Steps, rides a Vespa around the city, visits the Mouth of Truth, and goes to a fair.Throughout the day, while observing Ann taking delight in the smallest things, Joe realizes he's starting to fall in love with her. He begins to rethink publishing the article and all the pictures, too.

At the little fair on the water that night, Joe and Ann dance together. He and Irving also help her escape the police, who have been searching for her all day.After their narrow escape, Ann and Joe also share a kiss.Ann realizes that they both have feelings for eachother, but also realizes that she cannot keep running forever, and things cannot work out for the two of them.Not realizing that he's known it all along, she tells Joe who she really is, and has him take her back to the embassy.The two embrace one last time, and then part ways after she asks him not to watch her go, but just to leave her.

Joe tells Irving to forget about all the pictures.Once Irving learns who the pictures are really of, he is tempted to publish them on his own, but decides not to.Instead, he prints them and gives them to Joe.At a press conference the next day, Ann pieces together exactly everything that was going on when she sees Joe and Irving in the crowd.Irving manages to slip her copies of the pictures as well, and she and Joe give eachother formal, distant messages of gratitude and love before they part ways for the last time.

"I could do some of the things I've always wanted to."

"Like what?"

"Oh, you can't imagine.I-I'd do just whatever I liked all day long."