Kind Strangers & Unused Tickets – Rome, Italy

Hi there & apologies for being absent on DanVenture Travels for a while, my schedule has been quite busy & I’ve now got time to add an update.

Rome, Italy. There must be millions of blog updates & books written about this city so I won’t waste time trying to accurately describe it. However, Rome is such a beautiful city & I absolutely loved walking the streets & soaking up the ambiance.

I knew that I wanted to go to the Vatican while I was in Rome & I actually felt it was more important than the other sites so in order to make the most of my time, I bought a ticket online before getting to Rome. I booked a slot for 11:30. I decided to walk (as usual) to get a better feel for the city & I usually use Google Maps Offline to find my way around new places. This time, however, I’m not sure what happened, but my map wasn’t accurate & after some time I couldn’t navigate my way around.

I decided to stop & ask for directions. I approached a guy around my age & asked which way the Vatican was. At this point, I wasn’t actually sure I would make there by 11:30. Anyway, this guy was slightly confused at first & then said he would take me. I got super suspicious & thought he would demand a huge payment later on. I explained I didn’t want a guide, but he kept repeating “No payment”. He took me right to St. Peter’s square, told me to enjoy Rome & then disappeared. I wanted to thank him properly, but he didn’t stay for long enough. I’m so grateful though & my day would have been very different if it wasn’t for him.

I was too late for my slot so my pre-booked ticket was wasted. Fortunately for me, there was virtually no line & there were very few people visiting that day. I got to spend time at the Vatican without the crowds that I was expecting.

Overall, perhaps not my usual red-faced, embarrass self, but the day was wonderful & possibly one of the best I’ve had while traveling so far.

Keep traveling, keep safe.

DanVenture Travels