Trip to Rome
Really loved visiting Rome. We stayed for a total of 7 days, but both caught the flu, ending up with effectively 3 days of sightseeing.
Vatican
We learned a lot about the Vatican and walked through the Vatican museum, where you have a broad selection of historical artifacts on display. Most notable were the countless pictures, sculptures, and monuments displaying parts of the roman and church history. The tour ended in the Sistine chapel, with famous artwork from Michelangelo and various other artists that contributed to a unique interior. I always thought the Vatican at best, would be just a compilation of different churches but the museum really was more interesting than anticipated.
Trip Advisor: Guided tour of the Vatican
Colosseum et al
The colosseum was really impressive. The visit helped me appreciate the skills these people hat many centuries ago. All those arches made the building significantly lighter so that it was possible at to build a megastructure like the colosseum. It could fit about 65k people, which is insane compared to today’s most modern stadiums. But all of it was build with stone and iron. There was no steel or concrete. Rome is beautiful for its history; nowhere else would people be so interested in how the toilet worked.
Trip Advisor: Guided tour of the colosseum, palatine hill & roman forum
Rome food tour
I absolutely love food tours. This was the first time I had something that did not really work for me. The food tour started early in the morning, and we did not eat any breakfast to be prepared for the food to come. That turned out to be a big mistake because instead of showing us the Italian way of breakfast, our first stop was really to try some antipasti. And with an empty stomach, olives and dried tomatoes are not really the first thing you want to eat when you get up. However, the food tour still turned out amazing, and I can only recommend to the food tour before every other tour. It helps you better understand where and what to eat when visiting a foreign country.
Trip Advisor: Food walking tour
Overall, big fan of Rome. I would absolutely go again. During New Year there are many tourists, which I did not really anticipate. Still a great experience.
