Awesome photos. I also went to Rome a few years ago - did a similar amount of walking, but 5 days in a row. That's what you get when you're on a trip with your Latin teacher, I guess. What did you guys think of Saint Peter's? I'm not a religious person but that immense building was awe inspiring.
I was relatively disappointed with Rome. I really enjoyed the sights and stuff, but the lack of organization makes it a very unfriendly place to visit on your own (not as a group). They really give priority to the group and group tours and there are practically no signs (especially at the Vatican) for people like Kevin and I to figure out where the hell we are supposed to go and what line leads where. The line/bus to the airport this morning and our flight (we are flying Ryanair so I guess we can't really complain) were both abysmal in terms of service. All in all, I'm glad we got in a trip stop in Rome and got to see the main sights, but I honestly hope to never return to Rome and Italy in general has been pushed pretty far down our list. There are thousands of beautiful awesome countries out there - I don't see the need to visit this one again. Also, so far, Budapest has been my favorite place. The friendliness of everyone we encountered (bartenders, random people on the street, airline staff, etc.), even with a the diversity of languages/people there, and cleanliness/safety puts it at the top of my recommendations. Plus, it's dirt cheap. 1 euro beers everywhere, amazing large-dished meals, etc. etc. I knew Rome would be more expensive but man, we have Italian food back home that doesn't cost 19 euro a plate and doesn't expect you to buy a bottle of wine with dinner.
Yeah, I can totally understand that. I liked Rome when I went there, mostly because we went with someone who knew the city like the back of his hand. We only had to wait like fifteen minutes to get into the Colloseum. But just like Paris, it can get so awfully touristy at times that all the other people can ruin the beautiful architecture and art that is there. I've heard awesome things about Budapest - it's much higher on my list than, say, Venice. Ryanair is godawful - they're like the Denny's of aviation. Especially when you're 6'4". The only airline I've heard worse about is Aeroflot.
Oh. Man. We flew aeroflot from LA to Moscow to Budapest (350 usd) and I had less than zero issue with them. Their food was old-school shit hot airline food, but they included a fat bread roll with butter and Chocolat mouse which made up for the inedibility of their hot food. From Moscow to Budapest we got an orange juice, grapes, and breadcheeseham sandwich, which was perfect. We flew Ryanair Budapest to greece and greece to Rome and Rome to Marseille. It's the Rome to Marseille people who were terrible though. I told Kevin (because I've been warned about ryanair) that we should count our blessings that it's the only ducked we've gotten.