Travel, 50+, Holy See & SMOM

I'm just going to do "the Pope" right here. For your pleasure. It would have been a tad tedious to end the series with a mini, even as a threesome with SMOM. So, trying to keep it brief and proper (while maintaining the spirit of the series). And, let's face it, were you to have adventures in Vatican or SMOM, would you be out to tell the tale?

The Vatican was one of the trailblazers of overtourism. Long before it was fashionable, you would see endless masses gathering for events. Eternal serpentine queues slither around the area, even in the early part of the day. Scammers scour the area for gullible tourists to purchase their way up a few steps closer to heaven. Or, at least, the next best thing. Yet, somehow, people seem to find endless money to support the Vatican. Even if they fall for something and have to obtain more. In case you did not know, yes... tourism is a massive source of income for the place.

One curious thing about it is that the relationship between the Vatican and China PR is notably sour. In principle, the Chinese "cannot enter Vatican visa free". Despite this, at least when I visited, most places were packed with the Chinese. Especially the point of sales where you will be able to receive such as cards, stamps and euro coins with the face of one Pope or another. No one was driving them away, not even the Swiss guard.

The architecture is sound, the art is impressive and whether you are a choir boy or a regular Joe or Jane strayed away from the Colosseum tour, you will enjoy the visit for it's earthly merit alone. Just remember to fend off your pockets against sticky fingers of a stranger.

The Judgment:
If you happen to be in Rome, anyway, you should not miss the Vatican. It does bring elevation to your experience and it is pretty much the best maintained architecture in town. There are also certain "secret" bits you would probably highly appreciate, but I'll not get into that. The coin collectors will enjoy gaining access to the local coins. Even if it's through masochistic pain in your wallet, but you must understand that the world's largest business does not support itself on charity alone (currently, in fact, the world's second largest business after the Mafia). The stamps seem to be respected by the Italian post. I sent a few cards to countries that do not, per se, recognize Vatican stamps, but each one arrived. The queues tend to be painfully long, in case you want to see the more popular bits. There are some online options and some "proper" ways to skip the line, but there are also scammers going about, so... find out what's what. There's a chance your phones are not always working as the Vatican jams the signal for some occasions, but this is not a particularly common occurrence. If you're not "allergic to religion", I recommend going at least once. It is quite impressive how much high quality stuff they can squeeze in such a small area (most of which are not in any way visible in my pictures, here).

Would I go again? Maybe.

Hordes have zero idea SMOM (Sovereign Military Order of Malta) exists or that it is, in a way, a "country without land". But it does. The sovereign entity keeps its capital inside the city of Rome. They run two key buildings, one of which is the "main capital". In said "capital", you can get to know the organization a bit more, were you so inclined. You will be able to obtain some Knights of Malta cards, stamps (for collection rather than mailing) and even some coin (Scudo is one currency that still uses precious metals for minting). The coins are often sold out, though, so ask ahead to avoid disappointment.

The Judgment:
While the SMOM might not serve much of a purpose for your average holidayer, it is worth a visit for any history enthusiast, coin collector, stamp collector or just someone interested in who they are and what they do. It's a very blue-blooded organization until very recently, but you will be welcomed like in that Nirvana song. You know which one I'm talking about. It's also in a fairly peaceful location, so it can serve as a great break from the oceans of tourists streaming, taking selfies and whatnot. Even the pickpockets won't really bother hanging around the area.

Would I go again? Yes.