Rome, Italy

My next travel destination - Rome, Italy!

My friends and I visited Paris in France, Zurich in Switzerland, and Milan in Italy before going down to Rome. To do this we took a train from Milan down to Rome. An interesting episode happened on the train. We took the wrong train down to Rome because apparently there were two trains, one leaving at 7AM and the other leaving at 7:05AM, and we were supposed to be on that 7:05AM train and not the more expensive 7AM train. So we had to pay the train conductor an extra 25 Euros when she came to inspect our tickets. In any case, it was an interesting learning experience for us here, so it was alright. My friend tried to negotiate and get our refund because we had overpaid in pounds... but that is a long story and eventually after haggling for two hours we didn't get any money back, of course.

Rome was very interesting to visit and a great place for tourists. It is full of history and interesting sightseeing places, and lots of churches.

I visited St Mary's Church, Trevi Fountain, the Roman Fort, the Circo Maximus, the Colosseum, and St Angelo's Castle. It just so happened that it was Cultural Week and I managed to get into all the attractions and all the visitors' places for free without paying any entrance fees! It was incredible and luck was on my side.

I also visited the Vatican (firstly, most people will also go to see the Vatican, and secondly, because I am Roman Catholic after all) for the first time in my life. It was very beautiful and very interesting. My friends and I ended up at St Peter's Square and the scene was marvellous. I only managed to see the St Peter's Basilica and have a quick look outside the Sistine Chapel, because the crowds were colossal and I only had 4 days here in Rome and couldn't afford to spend a lot of time at one single place. The queues at the Vatican to see either St Peter's or the Sistine Chapel were minimum 1000 people long, and I am not kidding! It was a sight to behold here and was incredible.

OK, a travel tip for travellers: it would be a very good idea to take the paid bus, where you can buy a day pass or a three day pass and then hop on and off every time you see that company's bus stop. This is the best way to travel around Rome for sightseeing, but has the problem that you need to know where the bus stops are and also when the last bus leaves because you don't want to be stuck at the Colosseum when your hotel is miles away.

Another thing: Colosseum is sometimes spelt Coliseum or Colosseo.

More details about Rome and Italy as well as beautiful pictures of Rome here on my Tour and See the World blog. Stay tuned for more posts on cultural and historical Rome.

Tour and see the world with me!