All roads lead to Rome. However, once in Rome, all roads lead to each other, interwebbing and interweaving and interacting and interconnecting, leading you all over Rome except THAT place you want to find on the map, such as the Forum, the Colosseum, the Trevi Fountain, or your own hostel.
The only reason we found the Forum and the Trevi Fountain was because we got lost getting to the Colosseum. The mission to find the Colosseum with nothing but a tourist map and vestigial sense of direction was miserably unsuccessful and is something that will lead me back to Rome again in the future. However, we spent a glorious half-day in Vatican City before we legged it to Termini for our train.
Vatican City is indeed beautiful. If I knew that I would be trying to write a travel blog back then I would have taken more pictures for your convenience.
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| This is only 0.0001% of what Vatican City has to offer. |
If you can find a guide to Vatican City, go with a guide. We had an amazing guide who was obviously in love with Roman Art History and you could tell he knew his stuff because he carried a tattered art history textbook in his bag that I mistook for rags. He must have read that book a hundred times. He was also Scottish and that's always a plus. Luckily it was winter time and the Vatican Museum was ours to wander and conquer however we wanted at whatever pace that suited us (or more specifically the Scottish guide). This meant that the tour took five hours - and although legs were jelly after it all, Trusty Companion and I left knowing a thing or two about Michelangelo and the Sistine Chapel. Staying in this lovely hostel will get you involved in one of the most memorable tours: http://www.hostelalessandro.com/. The tour costs some 30 euro but totally worth it if you appreciate a good tour with intelligent company. It will explain in detail the hidden stories behind these pictures and I bet now you're curious as Curious George is curious as curious is curious.
After the tour, Trust Companion and I simply ran around Rome and took hasty pictures like this -
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| The bridge in front of Sant Angelo Castle |
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| Sant Angelo Castle |
It is incredibly easy to get lost in Rome and Roman Italians aren't really known for their friendliness, especially if you approach them in English. You don't need a travel pass but carry around a map and give yourself around three days in Rome (Vatican City itself will take up a whole day) if you really want to appreciate everything they have.
