Today we woke up early because we had an earlyish tour of the Vatican City, Sistine Chapel and St Peter’s Basilica.

St Peter’s Basicila – the sheer size of the place is unbelievable

When we arrived at the gates to the Vatican Museum to meet our tour group I was so glad that I had booked the Skip the Line tickets because the line just to get in was absolutely enormous.  Not just that but inside was mayhem.  I don’t think I’ve ever seen that many crammed into such small spaces before.  Anyhow I am glad that we made the time to do the tour – it was three hours but our guide was incredibly knowledgeable even if she did talk for the entire three hours without taking a breath.  Sadly I wasn’t able to get any pictures of the Sistine Chapel.  The place is under strict copyright from a Japanese Film Company that apparently paid to have the place cleaned some 20 years ago.  That didn’t stop plenty of idiots sneakily taking photos and having the guards yell at them.  It annoys me that people are too wrapped up in their phones that they can’t stop to appreciate something anymore.

Inside St Peter’s Basilica

After the tour we had time to go up to the dome of the Vatican and see the view but we decided three hours of statues and marble was enough and it was clearly time for lunch.  We made our way back to Trastevere near our hotel and to a bakery that I had been dying to get to that was literally about 30 metres from the restaurant we had dined at the night before.

They come thick and fast for the pizza at Antico Forno Roscioli

Upon arriving we were greeted with slabs of the most beautiful fresh pizzas I have ever laid my eyes on.  The brash lady behind the counter pointed to the most popular which was the Burrata and Pesto Pizza.  Without a doubt we were getting that one plus a few slices of the Burrata with Tomato and of course something with meat on it for the meat eater that I live with.

Decisions, decisions…

It was beautiful.  In fact I have to say it was the best pizza I have even eaten.  Beautiful thick, crunchy bread, unbelievable fresh toppings and generous serves for the price.  After finishing the first lot we decided we could definitely fit in another couple of slices of the Burrata and Pesto.  I mean we had been walking all morning so technically we deserved it right?

Burrata and Pesto Pizza from Antico Forno Roscioli could in fact well be the best pizza I’ve ever eaten

After a short siesta we met some friends that were also in Rome for some afternoon drinks on the rooftop terrace of our hotel.  15 Euros for an Aperol Spritz (that’s AUD$22) almost made me choke on my complimentary chips but it was such a nice spot to sit we figured we would have one.  To put it in perspective in the SE of Italy where I am now they are only 5 Euro.

Our AUD$22 Aperol Spritz’s

For dinner we took our friends to the pizzeria that we visited on the first night, Dar Poeta.  Since it was still technically early in terms of Roman time for eating (7pm) we walked straight in and got a table for four.  I probably didn’t need the two pieces of Gorgonzola and Honey Bruschetta before eating a whole pizza but hey I’m not going to feel bad about it anymore.

Olive, Salami and Gorgonzola Bruschetta

Dinner for me was the Super Bufala with tomato sauce, artichokes, buffalo mozzarella, olives and pecorino cheese.  The olives were a bit of a let down but the rest of the pizza was tip top.  We overstayed our welcome a little bit catching up with our friends that we hadn’t seen in 6 months until I finally understood what the waitress was glaring at me about and we cleared out.  Turns out there was a tonne of people outside waiting for a table.

My Super Bufala Pizza

We wandered down to a touristy area with marquees set up alongside the Tiber River and realised it was way too touristy for us.  Heineken signs and stuffed toys was the name of the game in this area so we didn’t stay very long.  As we were leaving we saw what MS swore was a cat swimming in the Tiber.  Upon further Googling it turns out it was a Nutria (a type of rodent but a bloody huge one)… Stay tuned for my next post!

Tiber River