Rome and the Vatican

Rome and the Vatican

"... Unfortunately, time was very short and I still had the Roman Forum and the Vatican to see, all in the same day! The heat was killing and I hadn't eaten yet, so I took advantage of the seconds I had left and ran the marathon in Rome.".

I left the Colosseum straight for the Foro, but I couldn't find the entrance to the place. I walked and walked until the heat and the weather made me give up.
I had already seen the Forum from afar, from above, in a photo, and time left me no choice! I really wanted to see the Vatican and if I wasted any more time there, that would be impossible, so I got on my scooter and set off, but of course nothing can be easy! I got lost a few times along the way, the map they gave me was pretty rubbish and the streets were no help at all, what crazy traffic!

After a long time I found myself, or just thought I had found myself! I was so hungry that I stopped next to a market, my salvation! I bought food, water and supplies for the rest of the day, it was God who made me walk through those streets and find the market, the sun was scorching.
Vatican City at last! We entered and were faced with a long queue to buy a ticket and then another one to enter the place! At that moment, I was a bit stunned, thinking, damn, to get into a church you need all this?
I gradually understood! That wasn't St. Peter's Basilica, the entrance to pray in, but the entrance to the Museum, which at the end led to the Sistine Chapel, which was also something not to be missed! And it was so worth it! I was enchanted every moment, works of art that took my breath away and made it one of my favorite Museums!

So many nice things contributed to a more than pleasant afternoon! My feet hurt a bit, the heat was killing, but none of that dampened my spirits, I was like a happy child in an amusement park! Looking around and observing everything down to the smallest detail, I was in front of ancient things that have made history. There were mummies, statues, paintings, one more beautiful than the other!
A mistake that turned out to be a happy surprise, all the more so because there were drinking fountains everywhere that quenched my thirst (a good tip in Rome is to always carry a small bottle of water that can be refilled throughout the city at its public drinking fountains).

The time was flying by, but I still had to go to St. Peter's Basilica, to the square where thousands of Catholics gather and the Pope gives his speeches.
I left the museum, bought some souvenirs from the stalls outside (that's where I found the cheapest key rings in Rome), got on my scooter, drove around and finally arrived at the Basilica! Uhull, it was late afternoon, there was queue protection and metal detectors, but this time there was no queue, I passed through the detectors, showed my bags and in two minutes I was blessing myself and asking for protection inside the gigantic and beautiful Basilica.

Yes, even non-Catholics should know this place, it's beautiful! A little too luxurious to be the house of God, but beautiful! Everything is well cared for, the statues and pilasters are well planned, something inexplicable.

I saw tombs of former Popes, children who were choirboys, visiting nuns taking photos and with a twinkle in their eye as if they were at a concert of their idol! All very nice, but one sign showed me that I was wasting a lot of time there! My stomach began to ache with hunger! It was very late and it was past time for me to eat something that would really sustain me.
Where to eat? I wanted a restaurant this time.
*Continue...*