Vatican City - St. Peter's Basilica

When you're in Rome, might as well visit Vatican City's St. Peter's Basilica. Now, the last time I took geography was when I was in the fourth year of secondary school, and that is roughly about 8 years ago. My good friend Wikipedia said that Vatican City is an independent state. It is not to be confused with The Holy See, although to be honest, I don't even know what or where The Holy See is. All I understand, from this trip, is that if you want to post a postcard using a stamp bought from Vatican City, you cannot post them from Rome.

I think it's true that the older you grow, the more specific your knowledge becomes (in my case, I become more focused with food technology knowledge), and the less you understand about the world.

Anyways, the queue to enter St. Peter's Basilica is always long no matter what time you go. It took us about half an hour to pass through the security gate.

Be warned that you cannot wear anything sleeveless or anything that shows too much of your legs (i.e. mini skirts). If you want to wear them, make sure you have something to cover those parts up, like a scarf or a jacket. You are not allowed to enter without "proper" clothings. This wouldn't be a problem in winter, though.

After the security check, you can choose to enter the main hall or the Cupola (Dome). We thought of going to the dome first, but there was quite a long line and the staff carefully regulates the visitors so it would not be overcrowded.

With very tall ceilings, St. Peter's Basilica was really grandiose and majestic. A lot of the decorations are covered in gold, and I started to wonder if these were sold in black markets or in auctions, and the money goes to charity, how many starved people can be saved. But that's just my wishful thinking. And anyways, feeding them once or twice doesn't really mean saving them if they can't make their own living in the end.

To the right of the entrance lies a golden cross. I'm not sure what the significance is, but many people were queuing to touch the base of the cross.

There are multiple chapels surrounding the main hall of St. Peter's Basilica.

There's also the famous bronze statue of St. Peter, and it was believed that touching its right foot is the same as asking St. Peter to be merciful and open the gates of heaven for you when you die. I'm not a big fan of this kind of superstition because this is like saying that you can be forgiven when you touch a bronze statue. Might as well make a bronze statue of my favorite anime character and keep touching its foot to make me feel safer (and that actually sounds a bit like a gross hobby).

I'd say that you'd spend at least an hour to explore the magnificent sculptures and decorations of St. Peter's Basilica. If you're into details, then expect a much longer visit, because there is also the treasury to see (there is an entrance fee to it).

We finally decided to go up the Cupola of St. Peter's Basilica because I don't think we are going to be back here again in near future. Going up by stairs costs you 5 euros (551 steps), and going by lift + the stairs costs you 7 Euros (320 steps). We chose the one with the elevator.

Even though the number of stairs has been cut by roughly 200 steps, it was still quite a challenge, especially when you have a heavy bag to carry.

The steps are rather tiny, and there were not that many places to rest. I guess in the end it wasn't so bad, but remember that you'll have to climb down 551 steps to exit the dome.

So what's upstairs?

A closer look at the mosaics. There is only one circular platform to walk around before you go back downstairs. I personally think it's not really worth the effort. You'd probably spend about 15-20 minutes up there, gazing at the ceiling...

... or looking down at people down there, thinking "oh, so I was there; look at how tiny everyone is!"

And that's it. Oh, okay, I lied. You can see more things from the top of the Dome. After this scenery, you'll be climbing more stairs (yay!) to see Vatican City and Rome from above.

It's quite a scenic view, although it's a little bit crowded. I can imagine that there would be quite a number of people who were tired from climbing the stairs, decided to take a little breather and enjoy the scenery earned with a lot of effort before going down again. Myself included, of course.


Upon leaving the Basilica, I saw these guards in very, very flashy uniform. It's so eye-striking and I start to wonder why they would make the guards so visible. I mean, if you compare it to the modern-day guards (not necessarily in black suits), they are way too flashy.

Although I must say that I love the color combination. It reminds me of my old secondary school colors, minus the red.

On the way out, don't forget to see the statue of St. Peter holding the keys to the gates of heaven. If you believe in it, or if you love statues, or if you are a tourist and you won't be back here in a while.

Close to St. Peter's Basilica is a rather famous gelato shop called the Old Bridge Gelateria.

It's not as good as I thought it would be. It's a little bit too sweet for me. It's definitely not the best gelato I've ever had, but it's better than the gelato sold on the trucks near touristic sites of Rome.

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Italy - Rome part 2

Exploring Rome in 1 day definitely not enough. Well, it depends on your stamina, and how tired you are willing to be at the end of the trip. I have to be back at work on Monday, so I can't go all out. 

The second day was started with spaghetti carbonara, a dish classic to Rome. 

It's definitely very different from any pasta carbonara I have ever tried in the United States and in Asia. The pasta is definitely more dry; no cream was used. It was delicious.

We then headed to the Scalinata della Trinita dei Monti or the Spanish Steps using the Metro, stopping at Spagna. It was worth the hike up the flights of stairs. According to Wikipedia, the Scalinata is the widest staircase in Europe.

When you reached the top, you could enter the Trinita dei Monti church. The church was not very big, but it doesn't hurt to feel the serenity of the interior.

The Pantheon is located not too far from the Spanish Steps. It's also very close to Trevi Fountain, although we did not go there on the first day because it was closed by the time we were done taking pictures of Trevi Fountain after sunset.

The exterior of Pantheon does not really tell that it is a church. At least to me, it doesn't look like a church.

It actually is a church. More accurately, it is also called the Basilica of St. Mary and the Martyrs. Ho
 

However, what I found very interesting was not the fact that it is a church. The circular shape of the church is already unique enough. Well, I'd say the most striking feature of this church is the dome.

They look LAN ports in circular arrangements directly from below. Well, of course that's not the first thing I noticed. The hole in the middle of the dome allows sunlight to enter the church, acting like a natural spotlight shining on the heart of the building (you can also imagine Mr. Bean falling from there - if you have watched the original Mr. Bean series before). It was a really interesting design. For one time, I was curious if the hole is covered by a glass. Logically, it would be (otherwise, it's gonna be fun when it rains).

Rome is really beautiful. It's a shame that I know some people would visit Rome just to take picture of the Colosseum and not even knowing what it is called. No, they're not fifth graders. They're proper, rich adults.

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Italy - Rome

Last summer I went to Rome with my mom, and using a tour agency was a horrendous idea. I didn't have the drive to write about it, so I stopped writing after I wrote about my terrible experience in Athens (not because of the city itself, but the poor itinerary planning from the tour agency).

Well, here's Rome, the capital of Italy, filled with remnants of past civilization and culture. 

The Colosseum is definitely a place worth visiting if you have not been there before. We didn't enter the Colosseum because when my flight to Rome was delayed thanks to the national strike. The Colosseum was closed by the time we reached there. Apparently, strikes are so common that they are officially announced in websites.

There was still one hour left before the Roman Forum was closed, so we decided to do some exploration. When I was here with my mom, the tour leader told us that there is nothing exciting about the Roman Forum. BIG FAT LIE. It's so fat that the scale is broken.

There are two entrances / exits to the Roman Forum, and on the other end, there is yet another old structure that I don't recognize.

Along this big street you'll also see some street artists. Apparently, "hanging in the air" by holding onto a pole is a new trend.

I always see them covered in black 'tent' before and after they were ready for their trick, so it's definitely not about concentration, but putting a sturdy, metal structure beneath their clothes. Otherwise, there is no such need for the secrecy.

I'm more interested in these carrot sculptures:

On the streets of Rome, you will also find gelato trucks like this. I wouldn't recommend getting gelato here because I think you can get better gelato from proper gelato shops. Especially when you have limited time in Italy.

We then headed to Trevi Fountain, and on the way, we found Chiesa Nuova. 

And then... for the famous Trevi Fountain!

The scenery is different during the day and after sunset (around 7 PM in early October). I prefer it during the day, though ;)

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