“Perhaps travel cannot prevent bigotry, but by demonstrating that all peoples cry, laugh, eat, worry, and die, it can introduce the idea that if we try and understand each other, we may even become friends.”
~Maya Angelou
Rome, Italy
The Vatican & Saint Peter's Square
I made it to Saint Peter's Square! The evening was perfect. This photo shows just how joyful I was.
The line to The Vatican Museum is enormous. We had our tickets ready with our passports and then made our way through. Get your tickets early and online before leaving for Rome. Plus, pack your patience and make sure your shoulders are covered as you enter this museum.
*To ensure your visit to this historic place, order your tickets to The Vatican well in advance (we did this months prior).*
A selection from our tour journal (from Dave)
"At the Vatican, I wanted to see the Sistine Chapel. Basically you had to go through a hundred other rooms and halls prior to getting there. Once we did get there, it was packed, wall to wall people. Kristin became claustrophobic and didn't want to stay. So basically we were there for like 2 minutes and were gone. It was beautiful. The best part of Rome, other than the gelato, was St. Peter's Square. Just being there was an experience. When we saw that concert rehearsal (Grace for the World-Disney+), well that was something special..."
More greats in Rome -
Our official walking tour of Rome began at the Coliseum with our friend and local tour guide. Our local tour guide gave us excellent advice as we began our RS walking tour. The advice was, "View the tour as the library. You are not going to read every book in the library. You will find interest in some books and others you will not." I found this a perfect simile as we launched into the tour.
The ticket to the Forum and the Pantheon were included in our tour.
Pinch me! We are at the Trevi Fountain! We entered for free, and we threw our coins over our shoulder into the fountain. I wonder if we will return?
We entered The Pantheon to wrap up our official walking tour of Rome. Here you will find our local tour guide as well as our Official Rick Steves' Tour Guide, Lisa Friend (lower right corner).
Roman Eats -
For our very first dinner in Rome, we chose Il Belli al Trionfale. Here’s a picture of my steak—close enough to our hotel, super tasty, and the service was truly fantastic!
At this dinner in Rome, David decided to go for a classic Italian meal. We were loving it — no complaints at all!
One evening, we went to
Al Giardino del Gatto e la Volpe
for pizza, wine and of course, Coca-Cola!
Here's my pizza at Al Giardino del Gatto e la Volpe—loving it! I ended up eating the whole pie!
David and I both agree that gelato is completely acceptable for dinner in Italy.
