Strat wrote:Went to vatican city once. Left almost immediately. Zero desire to see that place or spend my precious time in one of my favorite countries at such a dump
i mean, if your definition of "dump" is based exclusively on the sheer overwhelming numbers of tourists at any given time, then i would agree with you. otherwise, there are probably better descriptors to use than "dump."
I use dump in many different situations.
But, i have zero desire to be a part of the vatican when im in rome or italy. Im off to the hill towns and walking in backdoors of restaurants and eating amazing food.
i lived there January to may, then went back in 2015 in early May. I know things have changed since Covid but i never felt it was too much during those time frmes.
Strat wrote:Went to vatican city once. Left almost immediately. Zero desire to see that place or spend my precious time in one of my favorite countries at such a dump
i mean, if your definition of "dump" is based exclusively on the sheer overwhelming numbers of tourists at any given time, then i would agree with you. otherwise, there are probably better descriptors to use than "dump."
I use dump in many different situations.
But, i have zero desire to be a part of the vatican when im in rome or italy. Im off to the hill towns and walking in backdoors of restaurants and eating amazing food.
for sure. and as someone who, like you, has spent time in rome and has been to the vatican, i agree. but for first timers, it's still something to check out and behold. otherwise, it's kind of like going to paris and turning your back on the eiffel tower or avoiding the louvre the entire time.
Strat wrote:Went to vatican city once. Left almost immediately. Zero desire to see that place or spend my precious time in one of my favorite countries at such a dump
i mean, if your definition of "dump" is based exclusively on the sheer overwhelming numbers of tourists at any given time, then i would agree with you. otherwise, there are probably better descriptors to use than "dump."
I use dump in many different situations.
But, i have zero desire to be a part of the vatican when im in rome or italy. Im off to the hill towns and walking in backdoors of restaurants and eating amazing food.
for sure. and as someone who, like you, has spent time in rome and has been to the vatican, i agree. but for first timers, it's still something to check out and behold. otherwise, it's kind of like going to paris and turning your back on the eiffel tower or avoiding the louvre the entire time.
I think there is enough amazing "touristy" things in Rome that you can avoid Vatican City, in my opinion. If you are religious then i guess sure....
Strat wrote:Did you go t height of tourist season?
i lived there January to may, then went back in 2015 in early May. I know things have changed since Covid but i never felt it was too much during those time frmes.
i've been to rome about 10 times, starting back in 1995 when i lived there for 10 months (which is way too long ago to even be a point of comparison). it's my favorite city in the world.
we took the family there last summer, which was the first time post-covid i had been back. we knew what we were getting ourselves into by going when we did. but nothing could have prepared us for what we experienced; there were parts that were simply unmanageable. i had talked rome up so much to my kids, and after they were like "cool, let's move on."
Strat wrote:I lived in Florence and always preferred that to Rome.
We are gonna go to Italy for honeymoon next April. I guess ill find out for myself!
i remember taking the train to florence from rome by myself like every other saturday morning when i lived there ... just because. i would wander into random historical or artsy places that were off the beaten path and it was amazing. that's the italy that i romanticized and built up to my kids and naively thought that they would see and experience. alas, i'm an idiot.
