Vatican City
It's the world's smallest country and they even call it Vatican City and not Vatican Country themselves. I wouldn't even call it a city, it's more a part of the Italian capital Rome that is dedicated to Roman Catholicism. It's home to the pope and about 1000 others, and the tourists are as many because of famous paintings in the Sistine Chapel.
My ex-girlfriend Felicia and I went to Rome for a weekend and we rented a room in an apartment close to the Vatican. I had heard that there was a dress code for women that they have to cover up to enter the Vatican and not be lightly dressed. Felicia was in her summer dress so just outside the Vatican she would change to a sweater and pants to cover up, and she hated to do so because of the heat, and of course because it's ignorant to not let people wear what they want to. I knew I couldn't go there in shorts either but I always wear black jeans no matter how warm it is, so it was no trouble for me. After all this trouble for Felicia we realized that many of the tourists hadn't covered up because the rules were just if you wanted to enter inside the buildings, and here we were at the main square of the country with The Vatican obelisk in the middle, that was originally taken from Egypt by Caligula.
If we didn't buy tickets and stand in line for hours we wouldn't get much further than this, and I was disappointed. I could see the balcony from where the pope gives his speeches and the colourful guards.
Finally we would be together for real again and she gave me a promise that if she ever felt that the relationship was going in the wrong direction, she would let me know this time, so we would have time to fix it. Last time when I ended it, it was because she treated me badly for no reason at all and never let me knew what was on her mind. This time we would be open and help each other out during bad times and I promised her that we would be together for the rest of our lives if she just commited to it too, and she said she would.
Well a few years later I realized that the devil had been to the Vatican in the disguise of Felicia. Because she kept none of the promises and turned out to be the worst and most selfish person I've ever encountered, with no feelings for anyone else but for herself.
* Best things about Vatican City – it's beautiful and grand, especially at night when everything lights up, and it's funny to think that this country is all a big show where 1000 people pretends that there is one special man, the pope, sent from God, inside one of the buildings, while he probably just lies in bed, watches TV and eats crisps when no one is watching
* Most mediocre thing about Vatican City – it's hard to judge a country by just visiting a square, in my opinion it's just a part of Rome, a city which I love, but others see it as an own country and I never got to see the heart of it
* Worst things about Vatican City – that you have to pay and stand in line for hours just to see more than a square, I don't want to support any religion but I can still enjoy the grandness of the monumental buildings
Best countries in the world according to the nerd (will be updated with every post):
1. USA
2. Croatia
3. Montenegro
4. Andorra
5. Cyprus
6. Turkey
7. Greece
8. Italy
9. Spain
10. Monaco
11. Malta
12. Netherlands
13. Iceland
14. Denmark
15. Sweden
16. Lithuania
17. Macedonia
18. Portugal
19. Hungary
20. Slovakia
21. Slovenia
22. New Zealand
23. Ireland
24. Germany
25. United Kingdom
26. Belgium
27. Poland
28. Vatican City
29. Estonia
30. Czech Republic
31. Switzerland
32. San Marino
33. Kosovo
34. Romania
35. Finland
36. Latvia
37. Moldova
38. Norway
39. Ukraine
40. France
41. Bulgaria
42. Luxembourg
43. Liechtenstein
44. China
45. Serbia
46. Bosnia And Herzegovina
47. Albania
My ex-girlfriend Felicia and I went to Rome for a weekend and we rented a room in an apartment close to the Vatican. I had heard that there was a dress code for women that they have to cover up to enter the Vatican and not be lightly dressed. Felicia was in her summer dress so just outside the Vatican she would change to a sweater and pants to cover up, and she hated to do so because of the heat, and of course because it's ignorant to not let people wear what they want to. I knew I couldn't go there in shorts either but I always wear black jeans no matter how warm it is, so it was no trouble for me. After all this trouble for Felicia we realized that many of the tourists hadn't covered up because the rules were just if you wanted to enter inside the buildings, and here we were at the main square of the country with The Vatican obelisk in the middle, that was originally taken from Egypt by Caligula.
If we didn't buy tickets and stand in line for hours we wouldn't get much further than this, and I was disappointed. I could see the balcony from where the pope gives his speeches and the colourful guards.
We went back in the evening and the pope seemed to be sleeping
Colourful outfits for guards make them look less intimidating
The square looked grand with its two fountains that lights up at night and the colossal Tuscan colonnades, four columns deep, that frame the entrance to the basilica on each side. I was intrigued and wanted to enter the rest of the Vatican but Felicia refused to stand in line for hours when we had just 2-3 days in Rome, so we never did.
We walked by The Vatican every day on our trip and we often stopped by just to enjoy the beautiful atmostphere. I had asked Felicia to be my girlfriend again since we were pretty much together already, we just hadn't made it official. The last night of our trip when we walked inside the columns of the Vatican she said "let's make it official" and it was one of the best nights of my life.
Finally we would be together for real again and she gave me a promise that if she ever felt that the relationship was going in the wrong direction, she would let me know this time, so we would have time to fix it. Last time when I ended it, it was because she treated me badly for no reason at all and never let me knew what was on her mind. This time we would be open and help each other out during bad times and I promised her that we would be together for the rest of our lives if she just commited to it too, and she said she would.
Well a few years later I realized that the devil had been to the Vatican in the disguise of Felicia. Because she kept none of the promises and turned out to be the worst and most selfish person I've ever encountered, with no feelings for anyone else but for herself.
* Best things about Vatican City – it's beautiful and grand, especially at night when everything lights up, and it's funny to think that this country is all a big show where 1000 people pretends that there is one special man, the pope, sent from God, inside one of the buildings, while he probably just lies in bed, watches TV and eats crisps when no one is watching
* Most mediocre thing about Vatican City – it's hard to judge a country by just visiting a square, in my opinion it's just a part of Rome, a city which I love, but others see it as an own country and I never got to see the heart of it
* Worst things about Vatican City – that you have to pay and stand in line for hours just to see more than a square, I don't want to support any religion but I can still enjoy the grandness of the monumental buildings
Best countries in the world according to the nerd (will be updated with every post):
1. USA
2. Croatia
3. Montenegro
4. Andorra
5. Cyprus
6. Turkey
7. Greece
8. Italy
9. Spain
10. Monaco
11. Malta
12. Netherlands
13. Iceland
14. Denmark
15. Sweden
16. Lithuania
17. Macedonia
18. Portugal
19. Hungary
20. Slovakia
21. Slovenia
22. New Zealand
23. Ireland
24. Germany
25. United Kingdom
26. Belgium
27. Poland
28. Vatican City
29. Estonia
30. Czech Republic
31. Switzerland
32. San Marino
33. Kosovo
34. Romania
35. Finland
36. Latvia
37. Moldova
38. Norway
39. Ukraine
40. France
41. Bulgaria
42. Luxembourg
43. Liechtenstein
44. China
45. Serbia
46. Bosnia And Herzegovina
47. Albania
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