The last time we went to the Vatican, we did the self-guided tour since the kids were so young. We also went in April when very few people are inside. This year’s guided tour was quite the experience. With our 25 new friends and our earpieces precariously hung from our ear, we set out with our tour guide and her little flag into a sea of people. She was short and fast and has done this tour 10,000 times, so she bolted ahead and rattled off a bunch of facts while also making inside jokes with other tour guides in Italian. We quickly lost her in the crowds and had to walk fast to keep up and try to find her flag again. Unfortunately, other tour guides have the exact same flag and hearing her say “this way everyone” didn’t always help. I looked with envy at the tour groups with the tall, calm guides. Amazingly, no one got lost.
Early on, my earpiece died and she made me hold the flag while she got another one for me. In hindsight, I shouldn’t have given it back.
By day four, we had enough of crowded and sweaty tourist sites. We took the train to the coast and toured the ancient Roman site Ostia Antica. A cool breeze and plenty of shade welcomed us (and strangely, so did a cat sitting on a motorcycle). Most importantly, there was hardly anyone else there.
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| I had a bad feeling about this |
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| This guy and his horse probably got crushed by tourists |
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If you look up, you see fewer sweaty tourists but your earpiece falls off
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| Ostia Antica from above |
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| Take note of the crowd here |
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| Roma drain and well-worn shoes |
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| Perhaps the best place to which no one goes |
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| Deputized tour guide who gave up the flag |
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