Rome is both beautiful and busy.
I'm awed by the architecture and colorfully-painted buildings. Every neighborhood in Rome has a quaint-looking church comparable to the plethora of mosques in Istanbul.
But I'm also overwhelmed by all the people, mainly tourists, and it's not even peak tourism season yet.
Rome, since it's our first visit, is a bit overpowering too. I'm lured by the desire to photograph every building, church, shuttered window and ancient ruin in sight. However, I want to savor our vacation together and simply experience the moment too.
Today, we toured the Vatican, which is a massive site, but too overcrowded to fully enjoy. Pictured is St. Peter's Basilica that's part of Vatican City.
I'm glad we did it; and afterwards, I was even happier to sit down far away from the maddening crowds, eat my spicy Italian salami panini and drink a cold beer in a quiet piazza. (Can you tell that I'm on another pork-eating binge?)
I'll be blogging from Italy for the rest of the week. Ciao!