Roma & Vatican City

Rome neatly book-ends Istanbul, as Byzantium, as the capital of the Byzantine Roman empire and wraps up nicely all our other ancient Roman destinations in Greece, Turkey, Syria, Jordan and Croatia.

• WTF experience. The Ossuary of the Capuchin Friars on the Via Veneto. How to decorate with dead people parts - who thought this was a good idea? Apparently it's popular - but why? It's morbid and bizarre - the skeletal remains of 3,700 friars, some posed in robes amongst stacked skulls and leg and arm bones with walls and ceilings decorated with other parts. "No photos allowed". No worries, I don't fekkin' want any.
• Rome is easy to navigate on foot, particularly early in the day until about 9:00 as there is no-one around. After that it gets crowded but morning rambles to take photos were pretty much uninterrupted.
• Location, location, location. Stay in central Rome, not outside it. Perhaps not the cheapest option but the total lack of phaffing about to get in and out more than compensates for higher hotel rates. The plentiful cafes and restaraunts provide a plethora of choice for victuals and a stroll in any direction will find no lack of options. The Colonna Palace Hotel at Piazza di Monte Citorio is Rome Central - everything is accessible by foot or, if feeling lazy, by hop-on-hop-off buses.
• Vatican City and the Vatican Museum. The crowds to get into the Vatican Museum can be horrendous with 2 hour waits being the norm. Hire a guide and jump the queues - there is no avoiding the jammed crowds inside.
  The Sistine Chapel was, to be frank, a disappointment. Not the frescos or Michelangelo's ceiling but expectations are built up, and in amongst the claustrophobic crowds in the surpisingly not very big chapel, they are then let down a bit.
  The shuffling hordes are constantly admonished via loudspeaker with "Silencio....shhhhhhhh" which kinda defeats the purpose. I pulled the plug and exited at this point.

History at every turn

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