Just like that, Napoli was over and I was already onto my second location, the capital, Rome. This is where the blog picks up the story so if you missed the first instalment, be sure to click the link at the beginning of the blog and find out all about it. Now you’ve caught up, back to Rome!
A city steeped in thousand of years of history, an epicentre for some of the most spectacular art and technological advances and hiding within it, a second nation to visit in the shape of the one of the world’s religious hubs and the centre to the Catholic religion, the Vatican City. Certainly two birds, one stone!
Why I Headed To Rome & Vatican City
This really shouldn’t need explaining. It’s Rome! You have so many attractions to head to, the in-depth history to the city, its complicated and intriguing relationship with the church and the terrific array of art pieces on show, both in museums and located across the city. It’s a place that has something for everyone and I felt that if I was going to Italy, this was a must or else I wouldn’t be doing things properly.
As to why I headed to the Vatican City, especially as a man who’s not particular religious, it plays host to one of, if not the world’s finest collections of art. The museums and grounds are filled with a plethora of some of the finest sculptures, statues, paints and relics from across the years. Of course, the centrepiece that I was mainly intrigued by was the legendary Sistine Chapel and the paintings that adorn the walls and ceiling of the chapel.
Away from the artwork and the history, the other thing that I was looking forward to seeing was St Peter’s Square and St Peter’s Basilica. I can guarantee you that I was not let down and looking forward to sharing what I saw. No spoilers though, you’ll have to read on for that.
What I Thought of Rome & Vatican City
Rome is simply sensational. If you like impressive buildings, you have so many here. Churches and cathedrals are a plenty and all of them are magnificent in their own way. There are so many landmarks that the city is famous for in their own way. There’s the history that stretches across the millennia. The feuding between artists that has brought about some outstanding statues, fountains and monuments. The relics of the ancient Roman times, some of them still breaking world records and showcasing the “before their time” understanding of science, technology and the sociology.
The list goes on and on and on. Do I need to say anymore about this amazing place?
As for the Vatican City, the architecture and artwork is seriously impressive! There were many parts that left me in awe! This starts in St Peter’s Square and continued into the Vatican City museums, which have such an array of paintings and sculptures that are of the highest quality, all encompassed in some of the most impressive hallways, lobbies and halls that I’ve seen in my life. Add in the spectacular Sistine Chapel, which on its own is a good enough reason to head to the museums, and I’ve never really been an art kind of guy! Then there’s St Peter’s Basilica… Just wow! The size, scale, architecture, the statues and the detail in the paintings in here. It’s just on another level that you’d have to see it to believe it.
Should You Cover It?
I’m going to keep this short and sweet: You’d be seriously stupid not to! Yes, yes and some more yes! (Can you tell I loved it?) I has so much to ofer and something for everyone one.
Of course, you’ll have to know what made the experience so good for me so without further ado, let’s get into things with the story of what went down.
Day 4 – Tuesday, 4 Apr
It was nice to have some company for the train journey up to Rome, with one of the others from Giovanni’s heading my way, comparing travel stories of the past and other life stories, passing the 1 hour 30 minutes it roughly takes. It always ends up like this, even though you meet someone sometimes only an hour or so before at the hostel, you leave the experience feeling like you’ve known them so much longer. It’s one of the things I love about travel!
Due to leaving it fairly late for arriving in Rome, the first evening here wasn’t particular exciting I’m afraid. It was just a case of checking into the hostel and planning the next few days here. I had plenty that I wanted to see in such a short space of time so had to make the most of it! Thankfully, this was simple with the walking tours that were on offer from the hostel to aid this exploration.
Day 5 – Wednesday, 5 Apr
Little did I know that my first full day here was going to be such an eventful day!
Before we get into that though, where was it that I stayed? My hostel of choice was the Yellow Square hostel, located conveniently close to the main station in Rome, being a mere 10 minutes walking. A hostel split across two buildings, it is located in a quiet street away from the hustle and bustle of the rest of Rome whilst being well placed at the same time.
The accommodation here comes in a few variations: double/twin private room, 4/6 person mixed, 4/6 person mixed ensuite, 4/6 person female ensuite and quad private room. My option was the 6 person mixed ensuite. The beds were comfy and clean, rooms open and spacious, and the ensuite facilities clean and functioning. Away from here, the common room/dining area is expansive, situated next to a large open kitchen.
In the main building, you had the reception and a chilled out cafe bar area that will allow you to grab a drink, take a seat and chill out. In the second building across the road, was where you’d find in the day time the main cafe/restaurant which was reasonably priced for any traveler to fuel up for your Roman adventures. In the evening, this is where the party truly is drawing people in from all around when it turns into a bar with a downstairs area.
The price for the pleasure of staying here per night was €28.60, which I think was perfectly reasonable and I got good value for money for that so would add this to your considerations as to where to stay when visiting Rome.
The walking tour that I went on was probably one of the most informative that I’ve ever been on, challenged only by the one taken later that evening! As we walked the busy streets of Rome, our guide told us so much about the city, its history, its entanglement with the church and the artistic rivalries that shaped the architecture and decorations. Add into this the lessons about the different dialects of Italy, how the church and ruling families interacted with each other, and how symbolism is everywhere in Rome! It was truly phenomenal!
One of the things I found so fascinating about this tour was the rivalry between Bernini and Borromini. These were two of the lead sculptors and artists of the time, coming from completely different backgrounds, specialising in differing materials and having subtle differences in their styles. This ever present back story not only added intrigue and excitement to the tour but explained some of the simply terrific work from them both scattered throughout the city. Examples of their work can be found in the pictures below, with marble being the work of Bernini and the intricate work in concrete being Borromini.
Upon completion and taking the advice from our tour guide, we headed off towards one of the biggest and most famous sights Rome is known for. Have you guessed it?
The answer: the Colosseum! And the advice given to us by our guide was to ignore all the ticket touters and supposed guides lingering outside, who claim they’ll get you in first and for cheaper, and just headed in. To be fair, this worked pretty well! We were in within no time even though it looked really busy. To get in is only €12 for adults and €7.50 for those 18-24 and from the EU. Children under 17 and those over 65 get in for free. Based on that, I’m not sure how much more you can get “discounted off” through one those “tour guides”.
It may not be in the best of condition but it’s still a very impressive location to visit and as you walk around, there are plenty of signs around giving you an insight into life thousands of years ago, how the arena was used and how over the years its use transformed. Even more of an argument against having to pay for a tour guide outside.
Clearly, I hadn’t been walking enough that day as I decided to book myself on the Sunset Walking Tour, courtesy of YellowSquare again. As the sunset over the city basking it in a golden hue and emphasising the city’s beauty, this tour was perfectly timed taking you to the more well known locations of the city. An added bonus was that the guide was the same informative one from the morning so we were bound to have a fantastic time.
This was 100% worth the money spent on this tour. I learnt so much about the background of the landmarks of Rome, the continued the story of Bernini vs Borromini through their war of fountains, statues and churches, tried to not hit other tourists at Trevi Fountains with my wishing coin and discovered that the Romans seemed to be so far ahead of themselves. Why do I say that? For example, they built a square with a column in the middle of it, which would tell them the time of year it was and the current constellations. I find that pretty cool and darn right impressive. Not only did our guide have plenty for the evening, there were plenty of recommendations of things to see and do the next day too, such as seeing the Pantheon at a certain time of the day but more on that later.
One of the highlights of the evening was seeing the Piazza Navona and its magnificent centrepiece fo the Fountain of the Four Rivers. A fantastic piece created by Bernini of four river gods representing four major rivers from Europe, Asia, Africa and the Americas, all topped with an Egyptian obelisk, summited by the Pamphili family emblem. Lit up in the twilight only emphasises its allure.
Check out the gallery above to see what we saw on this tour.
As you look at the gallery and notice the statue of the elephant, rumour has it that this was placed with backside to the building because the artist who designed and sculpted it was requested to change his design for fear it was would fall over due to the legs being natural and not with a supporting block beneath it!
Day 6 – Thursday 6 Apr
Following breakfast, it was back to the touristy stuff! The first item on the itinerary was the Roman Forum. Sitting next to the Colosseum, this is what remains of the central part of the ancient city of Rome. It’s not in the best of nick, ay? I’m kidding! This was a cool location to wander around and see how this played a part in Ancient Rome, forming one of the central hubs to the city, with the placards around the site detailing what each building once was and what it was used for across the millennia. You can get a a real sense of the scale from on top of the hill overlooking, shown below.
The second location on our self made tour was influenced by what our guide had said the day before about the Pantheon so we made sure to be there for at exactly midday. Fortunately it was sunny and we were able to see what our tour guide was referring to, which should be clear from the picture left. Not only is this a feature of the Pantheon, which on its own is pretty cool, the fact that the dome on top of it is still the world’s largest freestanding concrete dome, even after nearly 2000 years, is truly astounding! The way in which they did was quite a clever way of doing but I don’t want to give everything away so you’ll have to do the tour yourself to find out what the secret is.
At least the day was a success, as that evening really was anything but! It started well and seemed like it was going to be a great night., as the bar in the hostel was buzzing, the dancers brought in were encouraging the party and it was a perfect bubble of socialising with other travellers. From how good the party was, there were even several locals and people from other hostels coming to join in on the fun. The social aspect of this hostel was pretty darn good!
One thing I really wanted to do that evening, though was happy with where the party was at the time, was try out the full on nightlife in Rome at one of the more highly rated nightclubs. Initially, it seemed like a few others were and we’d come up with a bit of a plan to head on out and head across town.
However, when the time came, all bar one person decided to come out. So the fact that I was leaving with only one other person to take a €25 Uber across the city to this place should have been my first red flag. But I’d committed so we headed to one of the recommendations from the hostel staff.
Upon arrival at the club, I was excited for the night ahead. Queuing up outside of the club, we started talking to some of the Germans in front of us, who were just I was expecting them to be in Berlin when I went: there for the music and frowning upon those who seemed like they weren’t, which they publicly made known to us. After some waiting, we finally made it in, all was going well and then the bubble burst… It only took my companion about a minute of the music for him to decide that he wasn’t feeling it and wanted to head back. To say that I was frustrated was an understatement…
I wasn’t too sure about staying on my own so back another Uber called and back to the hostel we went. Hindsight tells me I should have asked the Germans if I could hang with them, hopefully allowing me to enjoy the evening and make the most of my across town venture but hey ho. What was even more frustrating was that he didn’t even split the Uber fare with me!
Upon returning to the hostel, the party had certainly died down, the people that were there when I was were no longer and it was full of locals and friends of the hostel workers, only occupying the small downstairs room. Well, I guess you win some, you lose some. I stayed for a small while but was soon cutting my losses and heading off to bed.
Travel Tip: Sometimes you should stay in the moment and enjoy what's happening in the present. Sometimes, no matter how much you plan things, they may not work out. Sometimes it's the spontaneous events that are the best ones.
Day 7 – Friday, 7 Apr
A lie in was on the cards after the late night of (attempted) partying, taking the start of the day slowly with a brunch and cup of tea, revving up for the day ahead and working out what I was going to do in the company of my fellow hostellers.
First thing on the cards was back to the streets of Rome for some time to myself to reflect on my time here and to see some more of this brilliant city. Heading north, I knew from my trusty hostel map that there was a large park that I intended to stroll through.
Coming out of the other side, I was faced with Pincio Promenade which overlooks the Piazza del Popolo. From up here, not only do you see the piazza stretching out ahead of you with its imposing obelisk in the centre of it but it gives great views over the rooftops of Rome, with the Vatican City standing out above it all. From here, I headed down the River Tiber, giving a few picturesque shots down it of the Vatican City as well as a few highlights along the way, such as the amazing buildings in the shape of the Supreme Court in the city, the ever imposing Castel Sant Angelo and more of the ancient ruins left over from the Roman Empire.
As much as I was enjoying my wander through the streets and along the river, I quickly realised I let the time get away from me though and by the time I’d made my way to the Vatican City as quickly as I could, I was late for my time slot for the tour that I’d booked. One thing to note, arrive with plenty of time in hand as the queues are long to get in and there’s no mercy if you’re only in the queue for your time slot.
Thankfully, they were kind enough to allow us to have an audio tour unit to walk around even though we’d not paid for them. Being given a map, an audio guide and your trusty headset, for €17 (entry ticket) plus €7 (for the headset), you get the opportunity to wander through the labyrinth of hallways, lobbies and galleries of the Vatican City’s incredible collection of artwork from across the years. Trust me, you need the map to find your way around and honestly, if you are an art enthusiast, you could spend hours here learning about every single item that’s on show. To get a feel for what I’m on about, check out the gallery below.
After all that, you have the centrepiece, the Sistine Chapel. Now, I’m not one to be hugely into artwork but even I was taken aback by the size, scale, detail and level of painting. You can spend plenty of time in there, taking in the story that it tells, the array of scenes that it depicts and the intricate details of what is the world’s largest painting, covering every inch of the walls and ceiling of this chapel. This is another thing that you have to see with your own eyes to truly appreciate it in all its glory.
I’m sorry to tell you but I’m a rebel though and accepted a photo taken by my companion inside of the chapel. They managed to sneak a photo and fake deleting it when the guards challenged them. You’re not allowed to take photos whilst in there and if you try, as you can tell from my experience, the guards in there will be onto you like a flash no matter how subtle you think you’re being. They appear out of nowhere.
The photo in question is the one on the left below but this doesn’t give you the full picture. It’s so much better than what is depicted.
The final thing to see on our trip to the Vatican City was the only way to finish it off correctly and that was to step inside the simply outstanding St Peter’s Basilica.
What. A. Building!
From the outside, it is St Pater’s Basilica is a majestic building, both grand in size and in design of its facade. Once you stepped inside though, the architecture, the size and the scale of it is breath-taking. I don’t know what I was expecting when I stepped inside but what I was faced with was awe-inspiring. I feel that the pictures below can only somewhat showcase what I’m trying to describe but you really have to see this in person to understand it. Everywhere you look there are details paintings and frescos, grand sculptures and statues, and towering columns, organs and ceilings. All of this made from the finest of materials and artists. I don’t think I’ve ever seen so much marble in one place!
Day 8 – Saturday, 8 Apr
Before I even knew it, my time here was over and I was enjoying my last morning and breakfast here. Sitting back, relaxing and taking the morning in whilst chatting with the other hostellers was a wholesome way to spend the morning after frantically enjoying Rome, giving some fo the newcomers some tips and generally enjoying everyone’s company.
The bags were packed, the stomach was full, I was checked out and I was on the move to my next destination. Time to head further north to Florence.
However, I had to tackle Rome’s train station with some ridiculousness! The ridiculousness I’m talking about is the absolutely ridiculous queuing system, and I should know about queuing as a Brit! The way this worked was as follows… you came to the ticket office, queued to be able to take a numbered ticket, to stand in a crowd before being be called forward, to join another queue to enter the ticket office… What on earth?! Why not just one blooming queue?! To add to this, they took the ticket machine away halfway through so those who came after, joined the queue before those with a ticket! Utterly absurd!
Now I may hear you ask “Wait, you have an Interrail pass though?! Why are you queuing for a ticket?”. To answer the question, that’s because in Italy, certain trains require you to book a reservation on top of the Interrail pass, usually costing around €20, so be wary of this if heading to Italy.
Travel Tip: Interrail Pass and Reservations. Italy isn’t the only nation that has this requirement when you’re travelling around so make sure that if you’re thinking of using an Interrail Pass, make sure that you check if reservations are required for the nation(s) you are planning on.
Things I Missed
This was certainly an action packed few days in Rome but you’d probably not be surprised that I feel that I actually missed a few things whilst here and don’t worry, I have no issue with needing an excuse to head back to this beautiful city. In my opinion, here’s what I feel I missed but please, comment below if you think there’s anything else that I should have checked out here:
- Vatican Tour with a guide – Though I had the audio tour on offer, there was so much to see and I didn’t want to listen to everything so I feel having a tour guide would have taught me about only the key things. It’s seriously overwhelming.
- Rome’s nightlife properly – this is an obvious one. I would have loved to have actually checked a nightclub in Rome properly and enjoyed a full night out rather than spending all that money to that just turn back round at the door.
- See it at night time – Though I did the twilight walking tour, giving you a view of the city in the nighttime but I would have liked to see
- Food and drink – Always being on the move to fit everything in, I was pretty poor in enjoying the cafe and restaurant scene to truly appreciate the food and drink here. It’s all well and good being go, go, go but sitting back, relaxing is sometimes needed.
Honestly, there’s not much more that I could fit into this blog I don’t think. That’s my time in Rome and this blog wrapped up, and what a great time I had there! Easily in my list of best places I’ve ever been. If you want to make sure that you are hearing about my Florence blog as soon as it’s released then be sure to follow me on my social media pages and see my other adventures as I post about them. Whilst you’re here though, be sure to check out the other blogs that I’ve written covering plenty of other places using the tabs at the top of the page.
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