Roam in Rome

After a tiresome 9 hour train ride, we finally made it to the Italian capital, as well as the roman one. No sooner than we had checked in at the conveniently placed hostel, were we through time-machine back to ancient Rome.
Strolling the afternoon, we ticked many a necessary box, including, but not limited to: Collosseum, Foro Romano, Palatino, Circo Massimo, Castel St Angelo, Piazza Navona, Pantheon, Fontana di Trevi, Spanish Steps, Basilica Santa Maria and a whole lot of obelisks and San Giovanni piazzas.
Rome is not as ancient anymore. Hordes of vespas attack the streets, and cars vividly honk and creatively park, in any and all available inch. And that availability is subject to the interpretation of the car parker.
As the sun descended upon the seven hills, and the clock stroke ten, it was high time for eating. Pizza seemed like a natural choice, but heed a warning: Not all Italian pizzas have cheese, as us Northerners tend to take for granted, and when my Pescatore arrived I was flabbergasted to notice the lack of dairy. The look the waiter gave me when I asked for cheese for my pizza was far from friendly.
As the day broke, we got our Roma passes and intended to put it at good use by travelling effortlessly and quickly through the effective Roman underground system.Yeah right. Effectiveness, and more to the point, information, is not the Italian's strongest suit*. The underground was, for reasons still unknown, closed all weekend, and the only piece of information we got was the shut gates at the subway stations, implying that the subway was, well, closed. Nevermind, one can always use above ground transport. The buses arrive on time (not necessarely the intended time), always have room for passengers (that is, if the passengers already on the bus don´t mind getting their ribcage crushed) and a great air-conditioning system (mainly when the bus stops and momentarily opens the doors to let yet another bunch of passengers on).
As the ancient gladiator arena was located fairly close to our hostel, we walked there and swiftly swooshed by the gargantuan line to get into Collosseum. A fascinating construct, and an interesting history to boot.
Another must-do when in Rome** is to leave Italy and head for a completely different country, and that we did.
The Vatican offers mainly two things: A huge church and an even huger piazza***. And guards in clown outfits. Three things. Church, piazza, guards and a gazillion tourists. The four main things the Vatican has to offer are Churches, piazzas, guards, tourists, an effective security check system and intricate frescoes of the larger scale. And an almost fanatical devotion to the pope. Amongst the Vatican's weaponry are: Piazza, people, popes.
By the shores of the Tibern, all sorts of bars and restaurants had put up tents for the evening crowd. Local beer was had, and on the way back, after a short detour to photograph Collosseum by night, we stumbled upon that which defines a proper town: The Irish bar around the corner. Slaìnte!

*) I would suggest that Italian suits are the Italian's strongest suit
**) ...do as the Romans
***) By area, that is. If we go by volume or mass****, I'd wager the church is slightly huger than the piazza
****) The physical term mass, not the ecclestiastical. Well, I suppose the church wins in that respect too