Catholicism Wow!

The guidebook says that the best view of Rome is from the top of St Peter's Basilica so today we -technically- visited another country and went to check it out, though I did wonder whether the security checks through the airport-style scanners were to stop terrorists or just to check for Dan Brown books.

After wandering around the inside of the Vatican, and answering a tourist's question about one of the statues -touching St Peter's foot is good luck- we I decided that we should venture up into the dome and then up to the top. Dad was fine with going up to the inside of the dome but decided not to venture to the top so I went on my own.
The views are stunning and well worth the climb.
But then I was just about to descend when I turned round and bumped into Dad -he doesn't like heights too much- who'd apparently decided that he'd only regret it if he didn't join me.

Then it was off to do more extreme touristy stuff at the colosseum -3 visits in 3 days- which is so impressive that we lost track of time and were too late to get in and look around the Forum...good job it's a 2 day ticket.

We also proved the adage that you should always try restaurants that are hidden away down side streets. We ventured over to Piazza del Poppolo to find a place that did the best food we'd eaten at the cheapest price we'd paid -the wine was the most expensive thing on the bill.

If only I hadn't done the marathon yesterday or seen this bobble-headed pope today.
It should have been a blip.