@Rugeley Villa
back yesterday and I have to say it was a brilliant break.
The Vatican was amazing in many ways, Sistine Chapel was rammed and not very quiet but St Peters was inspiring, my wife got to say a prayer for lost family which was quite moving. No wonder the Catholic Church is so rich with all those tourists passing through everyday.
we got pissed wet through on the Coliseum tour but wouldn’t have missed it.
we did the bus tour hop on hop off service and used the metro quite a bit as our hotel was right by the Termini Station.
like you amazed by the number of Americans but also the Chinese who had serious money to spend in the boutique shops by the Spanish steps.
couple of things stood out for me, how many young woman walked around on their own late at night without a care in the world, and homeless people sleeping out without being disturbed especially by the station.
we did get scammed on the metro by a polite Italian man in a suit who helped us get the 24hr passes by offering to buy ours along with his as our card wasn’t registered, got back to the hotel to realise he had switched the tickets for the 100 minute ticket valid for one ride only, but fortunately only 12 Euro.
final thoughts it was clean and didn’t smell and am amazed by the lack of high rise buildings, would definitely go back, if only for the tiramisu served at breakfast in our hotel. Maybe not use the taxi service again as the journey back to our hotel from the Pantheon was nerve wrecking, maybe just the driver who told us he was the best driver in Rome.