Rome, Vatican City, Pisa & Cinque Terre

Ah, Rome. It was definitely a city that we were both really looking forward to visiting. We had a short train ride from Florence that zipped through the countryside. It was the closest thing to being in the rural areas of Tuscany that we were going to get on this trip. We arrived in Rome in the afternoon and the train station was enormous. We booked a hotel that was very close to the train station and right after we checked in we were right back out the door the start seeing the sights.


Since Rome is such a large city, we decided to buy a three-day metro pass instead of trying to walk everywhere. Having learned from visiting other large cities, it’s easy to get discouraged and not want to continue walking when you’re so tired. Our first stop was the Coliseum, possibly the most iconic image in Rome. We were really lucky to have such clear weather during our time and we took a lot of great pictures. The outside of the Coliseum is really spectacular and we were eager to walk around the inside. The arena is gigantic and it’s easy to conjure up images from movies about gladiators fighting and the crowds roaring above. Time certainly has done a number on the Coliseum, turning the once proud structure into ruin. Our ticket into the Coliseum was also good for the neighboring Palatine Hill and the Roman forum, and was valid for twenty-four hours. These areas are so large that we spent the rest of our first day walking around the ruins and still didn’t see even half of the grounds. We came back early the following morning to finish trekking around. We found remains of the famous Roman aqueducts as well as the partially intact Imperial Palace and surrounding gardens. It was a really interesting experience to be right where the Roman Empire once stood, and is now all but leveled. Not far from there is the Pantheon, a temple build for all of the ancient gods in Rome in 126 AD. But, like most of the important or iconic structures we’ve seen so far on our trip, it was under construction and our photos were disappointing. We made our way to Piazza Navona to take a break by the fountains. There are numerous fountains all over Rome, all incredibly detailed and gigantic. Once we were back on our feet, we came across the Trevi fountain and a large crowd gathered around it. It was so crowded that we didn’t make it close enough to throw a coin in and make a wish. Rome is such a huge city that you can’t go a block without running into something spectacular. On our travels back toward the metro, we found the church which houses the Mouth of Truth (as seen on “Roman Holiday” and “Only You”). Consider the statue an ancient lie detector; it’s said that if your hand is in the mouth and you tell a lie, your hand will be bit off. Unfortunately, we arrive literally a minute too late and the church was closing their gates. I was able to take pictures of the Mouth, but I didn’t have a chance to put my hand inside.

We had been in Italy for almost a full week, so it was time to leave the country. Within a few minutes on the Metro we arrived in Vatican City, the world’s smallest country and the home of the Pope. St. Peter’s Square is surrounded by giant columns that lead up to the main attraction: St. Peter’s Basilica. Because it’s free to enter the church, there is always a line wrapped around the square to enter. From the outside, the church looks more like a parliament building. The inside is a whole different story. There is gold everywhere, and even if it’s only paint it’s still pretty fantastic. The whole cathedral shines when the sun is out, and there is nothing ordinary about any of the staves, statues or artwork throughout. There was a procession being held, but we weren’t sure what was going on. We think that maybe some dignitaries were being escorted down the aisle and into another area of the church, but that’s only speculation. It was kind of neat to see the Vatican guards marching down the aisle in what I’m sure are very dignified and historic uniforms. When we were finished basking in the opulence of St. Peter’s Basilica, we made our way to the Vatican Museum. We had no idea what we were in store for other than to visit the Sistine Chapel housed inside. The Museum is enormous, I can’t emphasize that enough. It would take days to see everything there; we definitely didn’t schedule enough time for the museum. There are all sorts of sculptures, tapestries, painting and any other form of art you can think of. They even have an Egyptian wing, which we briefly visited. From floor to ceiling, the museum itself is a work of art. We didn’t have enough time to spend wandering around, so we went straight to the Sistine Chapel to see Michelangelo’s ceiling masterpiece which includes The Creation of Adam. Aside from visiting the tiniest country on the map, the Sistine Chapel was on our list of must-see things.


We were at a crossroads with our trip. A decision had to be made on where to go next. Up until this point, we’ve mostly stuck to our outlined plan, with few exceptions. But at this point, we were a bit worn down and tired of big cities, especially in Italy. We needed a break, somewhere where we don’t have to feel obligated to see everything we can and make the most of our time. Originally we planned on going to Naples and visiting Pompeii and Mount Vesuvius. It would have been neat to see the mountain and the remains of the leveled city, but through a bit of research we found that Naples wasn’t a very nice city and it was going to be more expensive than we thought. Our goal was to relax and our alternatives were either to go back into Florence and find a nice bed and breakfast in the countryside, or to head up to the Italian Riviera and stay along the coast. The deciding factor was the weather, which was forecast to be rainy and windy in most areas of the country. We decided that, given the impending inclement weather, going to the ocean would be a better choice. After leaving Rome, we stopped in Pisa for about twenty minutes to look at the Leaning Tower. We took our pictures, saw all the tourists taking silly pictures of them holding the tower up, and then we left. We never planned on spending a lot of time in Pisa, it was always meant to be a quick stop between destinations.


Our next stop was La Spezia, a small city along the Mediterranean. We were not planning on spending much time there, however, because the real scenic beauty is just north in an area called Cinque Terre, or the five cities: Riomaggiore, Manarola, Corniglia, Vernazza and Monterosso. The cities all sit along the ocean and are easily accessible by train. We decided to spend the whole day walking throughout the cities and along a coastal path that connects them. The cliffs and hillsides are brushed with colorful houses, and vineyards are spread out over the hilltops. The cities were fairly similar to each other, but all had very distinct charm. We walked along the ocean on a paved path from the first city to the second, and then boarded a train to the fifth city, which was apparently the nicest of them all. From there we hiked for about three miles along a winding dirt path that connected the fifth to the fourth, snaking through vineyards on the hillsides and squeaking by the narrow trail along the ocean cliffs. The hike wasn’t extremely difficult, but it was a bit challenging in areas. The whole area reminded us of Big Sur, and it was the closest thing to “home” we’ve had so far on this trip. We had planned to have a “down day” and not do anything, but once we starting exploring the cities we decided that it would be fun to hike around. The weather wasn’t the best, but it didn’t rain the whole time we were outdoors. Once we returned to our hotel, the downpour really began. We planned our outing perfectly and we were both really happy with our time spent. It was nice to be out in nature again, something we both love and haven’t done in a while. We had a great day, despite the gloomy weather. I’m sure that the area is even better in the summertime, and we would possibly consider visiting Cinque Terre again during that season.


Our time in Italy was not exactly what we had anticipated. It’s not that we didn’t enjoy being there, but that our interpretations of Italy are very different than how the vacation destination is generally portrayed. I suppose that there were a few cultural differences that we may have misinterpreted which created ill feelings. Basically, we saw almost all of the culturally and historically significant places and things, and there’s a slim chance that we would ever return to any part of the country.

Next up: Monaco, Nice & Barcelona


Rome and Vatican City:

Pisa and Cinque Terre