Day 198 - Vatican City, St. Peter's Basilica, Pantheon, and Others

We headed out to see St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican City since it was something I missed on my previous visit to Rome. Luckily, this time around, there wasn't nearly as long of a line to get in. It took maybe a couple minutes to go through security before heading straight to the front of the church. It was a very special church, maybe the biggest church I've ever been in, or is it the biggest church ever? I'm not religious, but it was nice to be in what is probably one of the holiest places for Christians. We walked around, admiring the ornate details in each of the different sections of the basilica. Below, there were the tombs of all the former Popes/Saints. EJ said that it is believed that their bodies don't decompose or corrupt as a sign of holiness.

We were planning on going to the Vatican Museum, but it was already late in the day so we opted to skip it for other sights since we had a strict itinerary of what he wanted to see. The next stop was the Spanish Steps and the Luxury Stores at the bottom of the steps. EJ bought himself a nice little gift for himself since it was his birthday. Nearby, we visited the Pantheon and my favorite church, the St. Ignazio di Loyolo, since they were still open.

The last stop for the night was the Trastevere, where we walked for about an hour, just trying to find a cool place to eat for his birthday dinner. We finally settled on a restaurant that looked lively, but was hidden from the rest of the restaurants in the area. It ended up being the best Italian meal I've had so far! I ordered some sort of Cheese Ravioli dish with some of the richest sauce I've ever had, but it was so good, I could probably drink the stuff. I ended up using all the bread to dip into the thick sauce. Simply amazing... Based on the menu, they said that the dish won two awards in Italy, one in Rome and one in Milan. Not sure what the competition was for, but I wouldn't doubt that a dish like this could be award-winning!

St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City

My FAVORITE Italian Meal

Day 176 - Colloseum, Palatine Hill, and the Roman Forum

I stayed at a hostel last night and it was the first time I was in a room with all Chinese people. There were two Taiwanese students who were studying in Prague but taking some time off to visit Italy, and one other guy who was from Toronto, Canada. Usually, I see all the Asians in organized bus tours, but I guess we have our own share of backpackers and independent travelers.

Linh and I took another tour on the Hop On Hop Off bus. Most of the route was the same as yesterday, with a couple of additional stops since it was a Sunday and they had to adjust to traffic conditions as well as the religious services that were held on the holy day. We stopped at the Trinita del Monti and the Spanish Steps, a popular spot for tourist and locals alike to stop and grab a bite to eat or converse amongst company. At the bottom of the steps were some of the more high end luxury brand stores.

We decided to use our Roma Passes and headed to the Colloseum, where slaves once battled each other and animals to the death amongst a stadium full of spectators. Each time the slave won a battle, they would win gold, honor, and the interests of the women of the empire. With 10 wins, the slave was then set free, or could continue to fight to gain more honor and wealth. I thought about it for a while, thinking how brutal these battles were, and how people watched it as a sport, seeing people get killed in front of their own eyes, but I guess it's not too different right now with boxing and wrestling seen as spectator sports.

Afterwards, we headed to the Palatine Hill and Roman Forum, which were adjacent to the Colloseum. The Roman Forum was a collection of ancient ruins, surrounded by Roman Empire government buildings. There wasn't too much left of the remains except for some standing columns and scatters of ruins everywhere else.
Palatine Hills is one of 7 hills in Rome, and also contained some ruins of homes and some nice green space at the top, providing some open views of the city below. I think they were just bonuses next to the well-known Colloseum, but easily skipped if you want to see other sights or museums, since there are so many options!

Roman Colloseum

Spanish Steps

Pizza Chefs Fooling Around

Roman Colloseum

Roman Forum

Palatine Hill