Rome - To the Vatican and sightseeing

Final day of the Via Di Francesco and our first full day in Rome. There were three things planned for the day, but this is Rome so we did more 😉

First stop, coffee. Anne found a cafe called Barnum on the way to the Vatican that had amazing coffee and eats. Some of the best coffee of the trip. Along the way, we ran into a marathon being run.

Next stop, St. Peter’s Basilica, the final stamp in our pilgrim credential and issuance of the pilgrim testimonium. The Basilica was the culmination of 23 days of walking through Tuscany, Umbria, and into Lazio: 443 km / 275 miles, 12,035 m / 39,484 ft of gain, The walk in and around the basilica was a stunning finish (especially with the marathon), the heart of Christianity spares nothing in grandeur.

The final planned stop of the day was the Pantheon, an incredible testimony to the engineering and artistic prowess of the Romans.

Heading back to the hotel required passing by the Monument to Victor Emmanuel II, also known as the wedding cake, which then led us to Capitoline Hill, and down the Via dei Fori Imperiali overlooking Roman ruins.

Coming into Rome, it felt like this was a large impersonal city, and it is, but the ancient Roman artifacts around this city are awesome and I can’t wait to see more.Read more