Walk - As Fast As You Can

Walking out of the hostel this morning, I was greeted with a gorgeous blue sky and a nice warm morning – a wonderful parting gift from a city I have every intention of visiting again at a future date to further unlock its secrets.

With Florence behind me, I sat back in my seat and watched Italy pass by. Not that I ever doubted it, but this morning was a non-stop ride of gorgeous scenery, every moment surpassing the last. From the exquisite emerald hills, the cliff-side towns and other jaw-dropping sights, I once again felt reluctant to have to leave so soon after such a fleeting visit.

However, I still had one last destination to explore and, as the train rolled in to the station by 1pm, I made my way to the hostel as rapidly as my legs could carry me so as not to waste a minute.

When I originally decided to come to Italy, it started as a simple jaunt to visit my friend who I haven't seen in six months. Realising a weekend could easily turn into a week, I began adding places to visit which lead to my current itinerary. As I was starting in Milan, I figured I should work my way south and leave from Rome – although this violated my first rule of travel: leave enough time to see everything comfortably.

With only one night in Rome, leaving me barely two half-days to see the sights, a thought occurred: next time I come to Italy, I'll just have to start from Rome and see the rest then! Problem solved. Having explained all of this to the guy at the hostel, his eyes bulged and he immediately grabbed a map and planned out the optimal route for my remaining time.

The first part of the plan involved catching a bus to the other side of the city to see the Vatican (and its museum). Amazingly enough, as I hopped on the bus I noticed a familiar face, a girl I'd met at the hostel in Venice! She had just arrived in Rome herself, from Florence as well, and was on her way to where she was staying. Somewhat amazed by this coincidence, I bid her farewell and continued on to my destination.

I'll keep my thoughts on organised religion to myself for now (besides, I'm sure I've covered it elsewhere) – but it did occur to me, as I began walking toward the Vatican, that it's pretty easy to see where all of that money goes. It's a very nice looking building, as is the surrounding area, but this still didn't make me want to see inside right now. For starters, the queue was massive and I didn't have enough time spare to wait around.

Instead, I walked around the corner and up the hill to the Vatican Museum and, despite there being no queue here, I decided to save it for another time as well for two reasons: the first being its size, I'd been told to give it at least three hours; next, I just couldn't justify the 14 Euro entry fee!

Following the river a little further I arrived at Castel Sant' Angelo – which I found far more rewarding. As the name suggests, it's a castle now acting as a museum, but it also boasts a rooftop terrace that offers a stunning view of the entire city. Thoroughly enjoying scaling its walls and exploring the different rooms, each with its own artworks and decorations, I was a little disappointed that I had to leave so soon.

Passing over the river via Ponte Sant' Angelo, my next stop was the Piazza Navona – or so I hoped. Instead, I decided to follow a few different interesting looking backstreets to see where they'd lead me. As it turns out, they lead me right back to where I'd started so, after a little bit of backtracking, I went back to the directions laid out by the map and found where I meant to be heading.

As far as Piazzas go this one was even busier than usual, filled with artists offering their wares and services, wonderful architecture (and a splendid statue in the midst of restoration), various street performers and, as to be expected, loads of gelati and pizza shops!

Taking a little bit of time to properly appreciate the area, it was soon time to move on to the next part of my journey – the Pantheon. With darkness rapidly approaching, I made my way inside to take a look, however only moments after I'd made it inside an announcement came over the loudspeaker that visiting hours were now over and we were to make our way out. Made it just in the nick of time!

With the next stop a little bit further away, I was able to take in a bit more of the city's streets. Bustling with activity, unsurprising for a Saturday night, they eventually made way for Fontana di Trevi, a gorgeous and huge fountain that was also bustling with activity. With the night almost upon us, I decided to take a seat in front of it in order to really appreciate this marvel in the heart of the city.

Having appreciated it as much as I felt was required, I wandered off in search of my next stop: Trinita dei Monti, another church, this time dominated by Spanish steps that scale to Piazza di Spagna. At the top was another wonderful view of the city, so I took the opportunity to play with my camera a bit to take some night photos and watch the people go by.

Nearing the end of my whirlwind tour, I walked a little further to find another fountain, Fontana del Tritone, before rounding off my trip to visit to the Piazza della Repubblica. Consulting my map, it turns out I'd walked from one side of the city, zig-zagging across to the other, explaining why I felt completely knackered!

Back at the hostel, I took a break for a little while to rest, as well as prepare for my last day in Italy. While I was chatting to one of my roommates, he mentioned he'd taken some photos of the Colosseum at night and insisted it was a sight not to be missed so, putting my shoes and jacket back on, I headed off to catch the Metro down there!

Tomorrow is my last day and I've already set my alarm for early o'clock. There's still quite a bit left to see and only a very short amount of time to do it, but at least I can come back and see what I missed later on – and, from a quick scan of my map, it looks like I've missed a lot of stuff!