Rome: Lost and Found Luxury

I pride myself on my superior sense of direction. Whether attributed it to an internal compass or my ongoing fascination with maps, I always seem to get where I intend with a modicum of drama. So when my trip to Italy included only a few days each in Rome, Tuscany and Venice, I was confident that I could put these powers to use and feasibly cram in more sights than the average person.

How wrong I was. After a few hours in Italy, I realized that my skill of orientation isn't any more acute than your average Giuseppe. I'm just good at navigating New York -- a city built on a grid with tall buildings as landmarks. Eliminate the right angles and skyscrapers, throw in a few hills and I'm as lost as the next guy. For much of my journey, I would fumble with out-of-scale maps, pray for a strong signal for my phone's GPS and struggle with Italian as I explored the sites as fate intended.

Fortunately, for those who prefer a more structured experience, a first-class touring company is a great solution for everything from hotel and restaurant reservations to skip-the-line sightseeing guided by local historians. I combined the best of these two travel strategies while in Italy. And for a trip that was a lifelong dream, I wouldn't have had it any other way.

HOW I WENT TO SEE AUGUSTUS AND ENDED UP BEFORE MOSES

My on-foot adventure in Rome began in front of my hotel, the Regina Baglioni, located on Rome's uber chic Via Veneto. I was one of the first by hours to arrive in our group put together by Insight Vacations' Luxury Gold, so I took advantage of the time to hit some of the spots that weren't on my itinerary -- starting with the Tomb of Augustus.

My trusted traveling concierge gave me a city map but warned that it was out of scale and missing important streets. According to the map, the tomb was about a mile or so to the southeast. Filled with (over) confidence, I said, "Game on." How hard could this be? It turns out that when you're a history nerd with slight ADD, getting lost in a city with no right angles and where you don't speak the language is easier than you might think.

The map indicated that Augustus's tomb was on the other side of the famed Spanish Steps, which I would have found if they weren't under renovation. Passing my landmark by hundreds of feet, I noticed something old and big. I approached the ancient building, and it was a case of "close but no cigar." I had ended up at the Pantheon.

"The temple of every god," the Pantheon is as impressive as its name and -- thanks to its ongoing use as a church for the past 13 centuries -- the best-preserved building of the Roman Empire era that I saw on my trip. After a quick stop, I proceeded onward in my quest to find the final resting place of Emperor Augustus.

Heading into the square outside the Pantheon, I found that my map was missing. It hadn't done me any good up to now, I thought, trudging on until I found a tour group. Surely they were headed somewhere of note. Following the crowd, I turned a corner to see a blindingly white Baroque building with giant marble statues and rushing water. I recognized it as the famed Trevi Fountain, which recently received a multi-million dollar restoration.

At this point, I reconciled that I probably wasn't going to find Augustus. I remembered going downhill from my hotel, so I headed up the nearest hill hoping I'd end up home. It turns out, however, that Rome has seven hills. The hill I chose took me past government buildings to a square dominated by a massive statue of Moses. Tired of being lost, I sucked it up and hailed a cab. Ironically, I was about a five-minute walk from my hotel.

FROM PIZZA TO THE POPE

When I arrived back at the Regina Baglioni, I had but an hour to enjoy the room's comforts before meeting up with my group and heading to dinner.

The experience at Pizzeria San Marco is a far cry from your standard American fare. With atmosphere that is a mix of modern Italian minimalism and a subtle nod to mid-20th-century Pop Art, it serves up a variety of thin-crust pizzas, bruschetta and antipasto that includes fresh mozzarella and prosciutto.

After a sound sleep, quick workout and sumptuous Italian breakfast at the Regina Baglioni, I was ready for Day Two in Rome. Only this time, rather than doing it on my own, I placed my trust in the experts with a trip to the Vatican and Colosseum.

Passing through the gates of the enormously walled Vatican City, we made our way through corridors of gilded ceilings, passing scores of priceless Renaissance-era tapestries and sculptures.

I could have spent the day here, but our mission this morning was to see the Sistine Chapel. Our touring company, Insight Vacations, secured our admission to the chapel early in the day, before it opened to the public. As such, I breezed my way past all this amazing artwork to make our date in the chapel.

Entering the Sistine Chapel, I first noticed the intimacy of the space. At 40 feet wide and 130 feet long, logic says it would be easy to take in the iconic ceiling and Last Judgment by Michelangelo. However, given its recent restoration and subtle inclusion of ceiling illumination, it is almost impossible not to get drawn in by the slightest detail.

A caveat to visitors at the Sistine Chapel: talking is not allowed. If you're caught, you get a stern look from one of the chapel's matrons accompanied by the sound of a "nun clicker." Also, don't even think about taking photos -- the biggest no-no in the room. A few in my group surreptitiously snuck shots on their phones, but raised Catholic with an ingrained fear of "the rules," I refrained.

From the Sistine Chapel, our next stop was St. Peter's Square for the Pope's biweekly audience. If I was taken aback by the intimacy of the Sistine Chapel, the opposite can be said for St. Peter's Square. It's massive.

A papal audience consists of the Pope reciting readings and teachings in upward of seven languages, depending on visiting groups. We passed the Swiss Guard in their colorful 15th-century uniforms on our way through the metal detectors to the square, and I was overwhelmed by the enormity of space.

The square can hold 100,000 people -- evident by the crowd but augmented by the size of Pope Francis himself, a mere speck on a platform 623 feet from me. That's more than the length of two football fields. The experience was not completely unlike Woodstock for the faithful, with people milling about while the Pope spoke. We cut our visit short after learning that the English portion of the program wasn't happening for an hour or so. Sorry, Francis.

BREAD, CIRCUSES, PASTA AND OPERA

Our trip to the Colosseum had my inner history and movie buff on sensory overload as our motorcoach took us past the Circus Maximus (the famed chariot racetrack immortalized in the film versions of "Ben-Hur") and the Arch of Constantine (through which Elizabeth Taylor as a violet-eyed Egyptian entered the city in Cleopatra.)

The forerunner of the modern stadium, the Colosseum, built in the first century AD, could hold between 80,000 and 100,000 spectators and is the largest amphitheater ever built. Years of stone robbers have stolen most of the third tier, and so we were only able to make it up to the second level, which is a climb but well worth the effort. The view inside is awe-inspiring.

After a full day of religion, art and artifacts, it was time to unwind back at the Regina Baglioni before heading out to dinner. Our supper that evening at Ristorante Le Volte had the requisite gourmet thin-crust pizza and delicious varieties of pasta that I quickly had become accustomed to. The surprise came during our meal, when Insight Vacations arranged for two singers to perform a private concert of classic songs from some of the best-known Italian operas.

Heading out of Le Volte, I saw that we were close to the Pantheon. Because I'd been there the day before, on my journey to find the Tomb of Augustus, I was confident that I could find my way home. Grabbing two of my travel companions, we set out on foot to walk off another meal.

True to form, I got us lost.