We didn't manage to hop off at many places on the first day with the tour bus. There are many places more to go and we were behind schedule already, mainly due to the poor schedule of our tour bus the day before.
Our plan for today was to tour Vatican City and a few other main historical places in Rome. FYI, Vatican City is the smallest, independent country in the world, with population less than 1000 people. It is the Mecca for Christian Catholic.
Right after we arrived at Vatican City (no visa required), clueless and all, we were approached by many tour guides. We were told that it will take hours to queue for the museum tickets, so we were sold on the spot. The guided tours are not cheap but after we went through it, it was all worth it.
This is where the Pope lives. Sometimes he will come out at the window and wave his hands, but we didn't see him that day.
You will be given a 'walkie talkie set' and walked in a group, led by a tour leader. Kristine, our tour leader, told the stories behind all the painting and historical facts *yawn* through the 'walkie talkie set'
Before entering the museum
It was quite unfortunate that all my 3 kids were exhausted by the time we enter the museum. My other half carried sleeping Rizqin with one hand and pushed the sleeping Razin in the stroller with another hand. I struggled to nurse Rafiq while walking and take random photos with one hand.
The tour took almost 3 hours to complete up to Sistine Chapel, so can you imagine how drained we were to hold kids the whole time? I left the museum with slightly larger biceps !
This was the only place that I didn't manage to take many photos. There was not a single bench to sit in the museum. I couldn't even stop for a breather otherwise I might stray from my group.
There was also no lift, but luckily there were a few kind souls helping us with the stroller down the stairs. Too many people that day that I only got to meet the rest of my family members at Sistine Chapel because they were walking already far ahead.
I always relate Vatican City with the movie, Da Vinci's Code
St Peter's Square
Exhausted + Bored. But later they got an idea to feed the birds with peanuts (the one in Rizqin's hands) while waiting for us taking a peek inside the St Pietro Basilica.
St Pietro Basilica
By the time we ended our tour in Vatican City, it was almost 2 pm. The last meal we had was our breakfast and merely potato chips in between, thus we were starving !
This was our full-day in Rome and we were very much behind schedule. To make matters worse, the tour bus was full (they don't allow standing passengers), so we had to wait for another bus, which came one hour later.
After had our lunch, we follow the bevy of tourist to Trevi Fountain, one of the most famous fountains in the world. There is a traditional legend that says if you throw a coin in the fountain, you will return to Rome again. I would love too, Insya Allah.
[Wikipedia : The fountain at the junction of three roads marks the terminal point of the "modern"Acqua Vergine, the revived Aqua Virgo, one of the aqueducts that supplied water to ancient Rome. In 19 BC, supposedly with the help of a virgin, Roman technicians located a source of pure water some 13 km (8.1 mi) from the city]
I don't remember if I spare some Euros into the fountain as you can see, I hardly go near the water because it was very crowded.
According to the map, Pantheon is just a few steps away, but I couldn't locate any trail to an ancient site.
I am a history noob so I thought this is the Pantheon. This is in fact overlooking the shop in my picture above. But how come there were no tourist taking picture?
We walked further and found this shop, selling wooden stuff. This shop is listed in Trip Advisor's must go.
My mom derailed to this shop.
The way to Pantheon
Okay, history noobies out there, this is the actual Pantheon !
[Wikipedia : It is one of the best-preserved of all Roman buildings. It has been in continuous use throughout its history, and since the 7th century, the Pantheon has been used as a Roman Catholic church dedicated to "St. Mary and the Martyrs" but informally known as "Santa Maria della Rotonda].
I was (and will forever be) amazed at how they built civilization within an ancient city.
Next : Paris (for the 3rd time !)