We arrived in Rome on a red-eye flight from Toronto with Air Canada. Aside from the usual chaotic boarding process at Pearson, the flight was quite good. I personally found the 9-hour flight literally flew by.
We met our airport transfer to the Eurostars Roma Aeterna Hotel. He was a nice gentleman (WeChat: 张巍.罗马) from Tianjin and had been living in Rome for more than a decade. We were lucky and were able to check into our hotel room early.
We then proceeded to our prearranged Vatican City tour. The tour was rescheduled at the last minute due to a change in the Vatican schedule. Not being able to cancel, we decided to do the 3 p.m. tour; otherwise, we would be forced to forfeit our tickets. You can imagine that we were really tired.
The tour was excellent. Our guide, Peter, aptly named while visiting St. Peter’s Cathedral, was super knowledgeable. I enjoyed the tour even in my zombie state.
After the two-hour tour, we wanted to take a taxi or Uber back. This was a total fail. The average wait time quickly turned from 10 minutes to 30 minutes. We decided to walk the 6km instead.
We made it on time for dinner back at the hotel’s restaurant and called it an early night.
The next day, we caught up on our sleep and headed out late afternoon towards the Trevi Fountain and the Spanish Steps. I have never seen so many tourists in my life packed into such close quarters. Honestly, I cannot appreciate the sites, and this visit has confirmed my firm belief that the best way to experience Rome is with the 4K HDR OLED TV in the comfort of one’s home. By the way, touching a piece of natural marble in Rome is no different than anywhere else on the planet. They are all millions of years old.
The day after, we did the Colosseum tour. This was also a bit underwhelming for me. Again, I got more out of a documentary than being physically there. I am sure it is just me.
Overall, I felt Rome to be a good place to visit if you are a history buff or a devout Catholic. For me, we checked our box, but I can do without the graffiti, the trash, and the constant fear of being pickpocketed. Also, the best way to get around Rome is on foot, so if you have problems walking, then it may be a challenge getting around.
Below are the videos that we collected over the three days.