Holy feast of senses at the Vatican City

Vatican City, to some, is a taste of Heaven, if not the stairway to Heaven in itself. For the faithful, a trip to the seat of Catholicism is like going to the Mecca for the Muslims -- a religious duty fulfilled for an incomparable spiritual experience. And for the avid travelers, going to the confines of the world's smallest state would be a Holy feast for the senses.

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When in Florence, live in a palazzo and sleep at the Queen's chamber

A view from the staircase inside the Hotel Garden in Florence, Italy. Notice the beautiful mosaic floor, which caretakers said is still the original flooring.

I've entered a couple of castles in Europe, and these being the ones that make up fairy tales already deserve a tick in a bucket list for an Asian boy like me, if not an ultimate dream-come-true. But only recently had I realized that I've also crossed out and fulfilled another element of that bucket list item -- to sleep inside a royalty's residence, that is.

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