Breakfast at the Vatican

There is one place in the world that I have always wanted to go, for a plethora of reasons...The Vatican. (okay, that's a bit of lie there, since there are a whole lot of places I have always wanted to go). First, though I am an atheist, I am enthralled by Catholic art (the tackier the better, by the way). Second, I am such a history nerd. Within this category, I am fascinated by the Borgias and the historiography of the Popes. Third, I dig the fact that the Vatican is a city-state unto itself within the larger city of Rome. And finally, fourth, Art...So Much Art.

In 2018 I had the opportunity to visit Rome, and thereby, the Vatican. I was traveling with my daughter (9 years old at the time) and my friend Christopher. We had already visited Venice and Florence. Both of these cities surpassed my expectations in every way. I was curious about how Rome would compare.

To be honest, Rome did not live up to my hopes as a whole. When put side by side with Venice and Florence, it was trashier, the people were less intriguing, and even the street vendors had less fun personality. However, the Vatican on its own truly did meet every expectation. I was excited to see the art, the Sistine Chapel, the Borgia Apartments, and to buy as many cheesy souvenirs as possible.

Chris had booked our Vatican Museums tickets so that we could skip the line...and thank goodness because that bad boy went for BLOCKS, and it was actually multiple lines, making it even more confusing. As we made our way through the lines to the entrance, Christopher was talking about how these tickets got us breakfast as well...but there weren’t really any details other than where to go first so we didn’t know what that entailed.

Once inside, there was even more confusion, among even more lines but we finally made it. Then we had to figure out where this breakfast situation was happening. By this time, I was hungry and frustrated...which is not a good look on me. Basically, I was being a cranky bitch and couldn’t navigate my way out of the ubiquitous wet paper bag.

After a few false starts, Christopher found it. It was in a large white tent that was built to be a fairly permanent installation. It had a wooden floor and was filled with tables and chairs. The spread was decent, but no better than a mid to high end hotel continental breakfast. That was fine considering we had no idea what “breakfast at the Vatican” meant up until that point...other than joking around about having eggs with the Pope.

As you likely know either from movies, photos, or having visited yourself, Rome is one of those pigeon heavy cities like New York City or Paris. My daughter loves loves loves pigeons. It is one of her favorite things about traveling...all the crazy pigeons in parks and public squares...and in this, inside the tent in the middle of the garden in the Vatican. These were fatty pigeons who had clearly learned that breakfast time at the Vatican was where it was at.

The attendants were doing their utmost to shoo the pigeons away without interrupting everyone's meals...but these guys were stubborn. This was perfect for my kiddo since she got to spend the meal feeding them and making little birdy friends...and taking tons of pictures.

So, when anyone asks me what my favorite part of visiting the Vatican is, I always say it was breakfast. Even having gone through the Sistine Chapel twice that day and touching the fireplace mantel of Pope Alexander IV (Rodrigo Borgia), those chubby birds were the highlight of the day. Seeing my daughter laughing and enjoying herself as she tossed them bits of croissant and how happy it made her that they came so close to her in that setting will always be one of my favorite memories.