As a vivid traveler I had a chance to visit some parts of Europe. My one such visit was to Rome and Vatican. We arrived at Leonardo Da Vinci Airport around 4.00 pm. After checking out, we had to reach city of Rome to check in to AIRBNB home which we had already booked in online. We had to take rail tickets from airport to city centre or nearby stations according to the location of our accommodation. This was the gist of things we had done and now I shall elaborate for the novice for anyone keen on travel to look out for things to make one's trip worthwhile and enjoyable. So lets start without much ado.
Start from the scratch:
Italy is an attractive tourist place with tourists coming from all over the world and has various destinations of equal importance. So planning a trip should be meticulous and there should not be hitches during the entire trip. You have to go through the various tourist destinations and plan number of days you have at your disposal and decide accordingly. A minimum of 6 to 7 days will be sufficient to visit Venice, Pisa and Florence apart from Rome and Vatican. So scan the map and select a hub to start and end your trip so that your arrival and return from Italy will not create last minute hiccups. My suggestion is to set up an accommodation at Rome. It is a big city and if you slightly move out from the city centre you can find decent stay for an affordable rent.
Place of stay:
We scanned the Rome city map and found nearby areas of Roma Tiburtina railway station comfortable to visit the important tourist sites. This station is having lines to various destinations including airport. We searched AIRBNB sites and found one house to our liking. This house had two bedrooms one spacious hall one kitchen with stove bread toaster coffee maker and one common bathroom and toilet. We had to take a bus from railway station to our place of stay which lies in a residential neighborhood. Nearby there are stores, pizza centres and snacks shops. We first checked in and went out to purchase breads, jam, butter, eggs, coffee powder, sugar and juices and milk and bananas. The lady landlord provided details of street and how to retrieve the key kept in locker with secret number via email to us. The house itself is a treasure trove of artefacts and wall hangings tastefully kept and brought from all over the world. The owner of the house can be termed a keen traveler as she had collected items of art from Africa. Japan, India, Cuba and Italian paintings and exquisite furniture which were antique and had a style.
How to travel:
A convenient way of travel is to buy one/two/three day tickets which costs around 6 euros and allows to travel by train or by bus for the entire period. The tricky part is you have to validate the ticket initially in the slot provided when you board a bus or train compulsorily. These tickets are available at local stores and is valid for travel in and around Rome and Vatican.
Plan your places of interest in and around Rome:
Order of my visits
My first place of visit was to colliseum which is the landmark of City of Rome
We started in the early morning to Coliseum which is a pride place for Italy. It is in ruins and they have started to rebuild the same. A mammoth structure not to be missed and if time permits take the entrance ticket to see inside the coliseum. Around two hours is needed to complete the visit. The area is also famous for Roman ruins of age old structures which shows the remains of an great empire.
These are the remains of Roman forum which is nearby to coliseum.
Before proceeding to our next place of interest we thought of having food and on enquiry, we came to know of the famous pizzas made in wood oven which is a speciality of Italy. We found one restaurant on the roadside towards left of the Coliseum which leads towards Piazza Della square. The pizza was really tasty and the hotel services were excellent. They dont supply drinking water freely which we have to buy and is costly. One should remember to carry bottles of water so that we can quench our thirst and save on our expenses.
Next we proceeded to Trevi fountain which everyone is familiar by seeing the same in the movies. It is indeed spectacular and maintained well and a huge crowd shall always be there due to its attraction. There is a belief that if you throw a coin with a wish to visit again it shall come true. So I too threw a coin as I did wish to visit this monument again.
Near the Coliseum, people dressed as gladiators can be seen roaming around and one can pose for a photograph with them after paying a token sum. At times they are said to be demanding and please make sure to avoid such persons if you cannot tackle them.
After spending an hour there, we brought some curios and famous Marvis toothpaste and Soap bars. We also purchased a wooden doll of Pinnochio, a cartoon character. Nearby there was an ice cream kiosk of Gellatto a famous brand of Italy and has upteen number of flavours which should not be missed at any cost. From there we proceeded to Pantheon by foot as it is nearby by using Google as our friendly guide. This was the temple of Romans where pagan gods were worshipped during the yester years. The construction is typical of Roman and Greek structure with columns and round pillars having a length of almost 20 metres. A construction marvel during that period when concrete and reinforced with iron rods were not known and the same has stood the test of time.
Next place of visit was Spanish steps which was built by a French diplomat and took its name as the same was said to be near Spanish embassy which was at the base with a fountain namely Piazza di Spagna.
On the farthest to the right at the top of the building , one can see the Spanish flag hoisted there.
We went up the stairs to the top of Spanish steps which leads to an old church. At the top of the steps there is a well paved road and cars do ply at that height. So the landscape is kept intact and no levelling was done during the construction. The inside of the church is having some good paintings on the walls and is barricaded by metal barriers as the casual visitor is not having an access to the pew to maintain serenity and silence. We came out and again went down the steps and walked back to a nearest metro station to proceed to Coliseum area to reach Altare Della Patria. It is a war memorial where a tomb of the unknown soldier is kept. On both sides of the tomb there are two braziers and eternal flame is burning. Just behind the tomb there is a imposing statue of Goddess Roma a masterpiece sculpture. Above that there is the statue of Victor Emmanuelle II of Savoy on a horse. We visited on Italian Republic day which falls on June 2 and the entrance was free. Italian guards were standing there as Republic day celebrations were conducted on that day. On top of the building one can have bird's eyeview of the entire Rome and also see the domes of Vatican church.
The day ended and we were exhausted as we went on foot in between and it was summer season and was quite hot.
Vatican The seat of Pope of the Roman Catholics
Next day was our slot to visit Vatican. The Vatican museum entry is restricted by tickets and we had purchased online tickets with time slot of 12 pm to 2 pm. We came to Tiburtina station and took the train to Vatican as we had combined pass for bus train or metro for 3 days which can be used in Rome and Vatican. On reaching there, we went straight to St. Basillica church square where the Pope addresses the public. It is a vast area with a circular building with round pillars and huge glass lanterns hanging in between. The church courtyard is divided into two with a wooden fence. Inside the fence rows of benches are arranged for the audience to attend when the Pope is in audience. This was not accessible on that day and to visit St. Basillica's Church, one has to stand in queue for a minimum of two to three hours to gain entry and it was free also. As our slot for Vatican museum was 12 pm, we skipped the church. Inside the church the most famous sculpture of Michelangelo "PIETA" is located and is never to be missed. There was a mobile post office in that courtyard and I immediately went inside to buy a first day cover and stamps. The first day cover depicts Pope on the cover and post cards were also available of St.Basillica Church. The postage stamp belongs to Vatican state and it is a rare item in a collection of stamps. Vatican is a separate state though it is situated in Italy.
We proceeded to Vatican museum to gain entrance within the time frame as it ensures skip the line and straightaway took us to the entrance. As any museum of Europe, this museum also boasts of paintings and sculptures of the age old Greek and Roman gods. One such sculpture struck me of Nile god which is a symbol of fertility with full of babies on his lap shoulder and in his hands. The paintings were kept in another hall which mainly covers the life of Lord Jesus and his disciples and kings of that era. Inside the courtyard of the museum there is a footpath all around and in the corridors various urns and sacrophagus were kept for display. The main attraction is the golden sphere within a sphere designed by Arnaldo Pomodoro, a masterpiece of art. It can be rotated with ease. The most famous Sistine Chapel is inside the Vatican museum and not to be missed at any cost. The roof has been painted by Michelangelo alongwith other artists at a time when there was no electricity and they used big mirrors outside the courtyard to beam the light on the roof. (Please read the book THE AGONY AND ECSTACY: A BIOGRAPHICAL NOVEL OF MICHELANGELO)
Entrance to Vatican Museum
Inside the courtyard of Vatican Museum
It will take a minimum two hours to complete the visit and after finishing we had another surprise of a spiral stair case which can be use to go down and is a construction marvel. There are two rounds of staircase which creates a peculiar illusion of seeing the grooves of a screw. So one should not miss this as the main entrance and exit is separate and just like any other normal museum entrance.
The famous spiral steps inside Vatican Museum
Finally we came out of the museum and took our metro back to our place of stay. Next day we returned to our destination by flight from Leonardo Da Vinci airport. The train ticket from City of Rome for this route is not included in the combined ticket and has to be purchased separately. Two types of trains are available to reach the airport. Those who have paucity of time can take Leonardo Da Vinci express and for others ordinary trains is also there. Your will be poorer by 16 Euros than the ordinary trains as the ticket fare is 32 Euros for the express train.
Painting on the roof of Sistine chapel inside Vatican Museum
General tips for those who wish to visit Italy
One should chalk out a proper plan so that there shall be no hitches in the entire trip. We had only 3 days to spare for our Italian tour and hence we were not able to cover other parts of equal tourist importance. We should categorise ourselves as casual, avid interest in art and culture, leisure and holidaying, and travel stung tourists.
Casual visitor
For a casual visitor, their first choice is 'I have been here' and they will click photos of each place with themselves in the pics and enjoy visiting maximum number of places of tourist interest. For these type of visitors they can opt for 4 to 6 days tour to cover prominent places of tourist interest.
Avid interest in Art and Culture
For persons belonging to this category, they would have done proper homework and cut out an itinerary regarding days stay and wont rush their visits and complete each destination according to their satisfaction. For them 6 to 8 days with leisure will be enough to cover major places of interest.
Leisure and holidaying
They have time and money to spend and wont spend much time on monuments, works of art, and will be willing to skip one too many to enjoy sun and beaches and cruises . The days can be of their own option as each exotic spots might need more days than others.
Travel stung tourists
These are the general public who would like to see maximum number to tourist spots with minimum of time and money. A majority of these would skip a holiday destination for a place of interest like Venice, Pisa and Florence. For them 5 days would be ideal to see and cover these places alongwith Rome and Vatican.
How to do this on a shoe string budget
Let us take a visit to Italy to cover the following places:
ROME VATICAN VENICE PISA FLORENCE
Plan
What I suggest as ideal is Venice as the first destination. Reach there by noon and settle to your room or apartment. Take a stroll in the evening to the waterfront and take the water bus to visit all places of prominence, one being bridge of sighs. One can also opt for a Gondola ride which is little more expensive than the water bus. Two types of gondolas are at service, one suited for a couple and another one suited for 8 persons. Here also tickets for one day or two days for water bus rides is available and one can just hop in and hop off according to ones wish. Next day try to visit some more areas and make some purchases like morano glass, kraft paper, soaps, leather goods and toileteries which is unique to these areas. In the afternoon take a train to Pisa where one of the wonders of the world is standing. It is a short walk from the station San Rossori and return to Pisa Central station to take a train to Florence. There is not much to see in Pisa except the leaning tower of Pisa. Tourists are permitted to go to a certain level of upper storey for a fee and can have a bird's eye view of Pisa. By evening take the train to Florence and reach there in two hours time. Agian book a stay at Florence for the night and go for a stroll to get an idea of the topography. Florence is an important destination for a person who is interested in art and culture and Michelangelo's creations can be seen here. A museum is dedicated to the world renowned artist and sculptor. The famous delicacy Panini is available along with chianti wine enroute to the museums in a roadside cafe which is put up on the wall with benches outside(All'antico Vinaio). It is affordable when compared to other shops. Next day start your visit early and visit the Uffizi gallery which is the most famous, Galleria dell'Accademia where the original statue of David by Michelangelo is kept. For the fashion fads the famous Salvatore Ferragamo is having its museum there. Pallazo Vecchio is another monument of tourist interest. Have your lunch and proceed to Rome by the 2'O clock or latest by 4'O clock train which will take around 4 hours to reach Rome. I have already elaborated Rome and Vatican in the first part.
Final Tip
For brushing up I shall advice to google this site for further travel tips.
THE MAN IN THE SEAT 61.
Wishing all my readers an enjoyable and safe journey and I hope my tips do prove helpful and give each traveller an extra energy to explore the world.
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