The Old Continent: Rome

Europe is on the bottom of my travel list. Maybe because I'm European and I lived a significant part of my life there. It's far from exciting for me. Generally speaking, Europe is overrated, pricey for what you get and in some countries people are not very nice with foreigners. They confuse rudeness  with charm. And they are always complaining about everything. Don't get me even started on strikes. Well, for some reason they call it the Old Continent.
The positive side is that if you get sick, you'll get medical treatment for free.  

I don't like pasta, I don't know why I ordered it

Pretty much everywhere outside Europe, people created tons of myths mainly about Italy and France. When you want to impress a non European you say that you are originally from Europe. Most part of the times you'll hear "fancy" or "OMG" (I swear that I still don't understand why this happens, I don't know exactly what is fancy or fascinating about Europe). If you are in a rural area in the US, it is better to keep that to yourself and pretend that you are from Minnesota or Montana.

Rome by night

We went to Italy twice. Once to backpack in the north side of the country. We didn't have much money but we had lots of fun. It's not easy to travel in Europe on a budget. Accommodation and sightseeing entrance fees are very expensive. We saved some money buying food in grocery shops instead of having lunch in  restaurants.

On the second time we went to Italy, we went to Rome to spend the NYE. We weren't on a so tight budget. We decided to stay less days in order to save some money and have more options.

Through Tripadvisor we found a nice hotel few blocks away from the Vatican museum. 

Vaticano

We bought our entrance fees for the Vatican Museum online. It was smart because we didn't waste time on lines to get tickets and we were among the first visitors which allowed us to enjoy more the site. 

You should go early and rush to the Cappella Sistina. We did that and for a few minutes we were the only visitors there. We had time to appreciate some of the details. When we returned later to take a last look, we barely could move. It was crowded.

St Peters Basilica

After the museum we went to the Vatican City. Entrance fees are expensive. There are separate tickets for almost everything. Be prepared to face crowds of tourists. People get hysterical with pictures and sometimes they don't realize that they are blocking all the way and there are dozens of hostages assisting to the pic session and disliking it. 

Old streets near the Palatino

Getting lost in the old streets and appreciate the architecture is also another way to visit Rome and learn more about the city.

We got a combined ticket that included several sites namely the Colosseum, Baths of Caracalla, Villa Dei Quintili, Palatino and the National Roman Museums. They have different options, the one we got is called Roma Archeologia Card and it costs around USD$30.
It will save you lots of time in useless lines.

Colosseum

My favorite site in Rome was the Palatino. We liked it so much that we went there twice. It also hard to see everything properly in a couple of hours. It's very spread out and it has many beautiful details.

Palatino

Lonely Planet recommends thousands of churches. After 3 or 4 I was already dying (maybe even before the first one.. You guys should know this, I'm not a church person). And in order to to see the baroque ornates and other details we had to add coins to turn on the lights. It recalls me an amusement park in Lisbon when I was a little girl. If I paid they would allow me to go in, turn on the lights and I could say hi to Frankstein and his friends. OK, not exactly the same.

Somewhere in Rome

If you are travelling to Europe during the winter, you should consider Lisbon, Portugal. It's much warmer, sunnier and considerable cheaper than many other destinations in Europe. And no need to add coins to see the churches, they let you see all the details for free.
I have a preference for the south side of Portugal. Food is delicious and the landscapes are breathtaking. But if you have some time, in one week you can travel from one side to the other. Keep this in mind.

Cabo Espichel, Portugal