Vatican City

Saturday morning, we stuffed ourselves full of delicious pancakes and headed out to Vatican City to see St Peter's and the Vatican Museum.

Vatican City is only 3.7 km away from our hotel and the weather was so lovely that we decided to walk. We even managed to catch a view of the Palace of Justice and Castel Sant'Angelo along the way. I kept waiting to encounter the scary Roman drivers, but it wasn't that bad at all, but then nothing seems that bad after walking around Kathmandu. No cows in the middle of the road, no problem!

Our first view of Piazza San Pietro was stunning, and we had a ton of time to enjoy it and pose for pics as we queued up for quite some time to go through security to enter the church.

It was really hot in the open sun, and we were more than glad to enter the cool church.

We got to see some amazing sculptures, including the Pieta by Michaelangelo...

And the keys to heaven...

And the Baldacchino by Bernini was more than impressive...

But it was the architecture of the church that really blew me away.

We had plenty of time to walk around with our mouths hanging open in awe before we had to walk over to the Vatican Museums for our timed entry. During the walk, I bought a gelato from one of the many food trucks and had a good giggle at the uniforms of the Swiss Guards. I mean, seriously?! No wonder he looks so angry-sad.

J was pretty stoked about the Vatican Museums and probably more than a little relieved to get out of the day's heat.

I really enjoyed the museum, and some of my favourites included the mosaic floor in the animals room.

The ceilings were also amazing in pretty much all of the rooms.

And the most spirally staircase I've come across yet was pretty fun.

But the mother of them all and the main reason lots of people visit the Vatican Museum is the Sistine Chapel. It's still a working chapel and the place where the cardinals get together to vote for a new pope, so no pictures or talking is allowed. J and I gawked silently at the ceiling and the walls, and the frescoes were a wonderful way of seeing the Bible come to life.

I didn't believe it when people told me that Vatican City would take an entire day, but it really did. We walked slowly back to our hotel to enjoy a dinner of meatballs and cassata and cannoli and a breadbasket that needed to be replenished three times before hitting the hay. Viva Roma!

A Roman Holiday

And we're back! Sorry for the silence over the last few months, but we moved to a different flat and it took us 2 months to get internet at our new place. Good ole England.

Anyway, J and I have been meaning to go to Rome since May, and we had to cancel this trip twice now so I was pretty much in disbelief when we actually arrived at the Hotel Majestic on Via Vittorio Veneto with our baggage in tow.

First things first - when in Italy, the first thing you must do is eat! Unfortunately, we arrived at that funny time after lunch but before dinner when most of the restaurants are closed. Our hotel concierge directed us to a trattoria nearby that happened to be opened, and we walked to Antica Trattoria Tritone where J kicked off our holiday with an Italian beer.

We pretty much ate non-stop for two hours, and J could hardly walk after his spaghetti carbonara and dessert. He ordered the dessert after spying some locals eating it, and we still have no idea what it is except that Gorgonzola cheese was involved somehow, and it was heavenly. I put in a good effort as well, and we decided to waddle our way to the Trevi fountain after stuffing ourselves full of delicious Italian fare.

Apparently, we weren't the only ones to have that idea as there was quite the crowd admiring the fountain. The thing that surprised me was the sheer scale of the thing - I knew it was big but it seemed absolutely huge in person.

We decided not to throw a coin in to ensure our return to Rome as the guidebook advised that scammers come at night to scoop them up. I'm not sure how true that is, but between the full belly and the huge crowd, I was happy to continue our walk to the Spanish Steps at Piazza Spagna.

We were still too full but managed to force ourselves to walk up the many stairs to check out the view from above, which was pretty cool. It was possible to see all the way down Via Corso, where all the high end designers and jewelers set up shop.

We made our way back down the steps and checked out some of the stores like Bulgari. Someday, this necklace and I shall meet again.

We were pretty tired by then but we were so close to the Piazza Popolo that I couldn't resist a quick saunter north. It wasn't as impressive as some of the things we had seen earlier today, but the wide open space was free of the crowds we had encountered everywhere else.

The day had started pretty early for us so we were dead on our feet by the time we started heading back to the hotel, but I couldn't help marveling at the fact that something amazing would pop up when I least expected it. You couldn't walk anywhere without stumbling on an archaeological site, a famous statue or an obelisk!

I thought I'd sleep like a log between all the food and walking, but I was so amped up by what I had seen so far and the prospect of Vatican City the next day that I ended up wriggling all night with anticipation of what tomorrow would bring...