4 Oct,2025 By Fake Travel News
How a cat-obsessed gamer in Rome had the best holiday ever
Okay, so this is embarrassing but also hilarious and I need to tell someone about it. I’m Jules, by the way…trying to meet other neurodivergent travelers like me.
I just got back from Rome and I’m pretty sure I did the entire trip wrong. Like, spectacularly wrong. My friends keep asking about the Vatican and the Colosseum and I’m just… well, I spent most of my time hanging out with stray cats and playing 40-year-old video games.
But here’s the thing – it was amazing? Like, genuinely the best trip I’ve ever taken. So if you’re someone who gets overstimulated by crowds and has very specific interests that other people find “weird,” this might actually be helpful.
So there I was on day one, already feeling overwhelmed by the sheer number of tourists everywhere, when my friend mentioned something about “where Caesar died” being nearby. I figured okay, fine, let’s get some culture in before I have a sensory meltdown.
Except when we got to this place called Largo di Torre Argentina, it wasn’t just ancient Roman ruins. It was ancient Roman ruins FULL OF CATS. Like, hundreds of them. Just living their best lives in what’s basically an outdoor cat paradise built on top of where Julius Caesar got murdered.
I am not making this up.
Apparently back in the 90s, Italy passed laws protecting stray cats, and this historical site accidentally became Rome’s most famous cat sanctuary. The volunteers there told me it’s a no-kill shelter where the cats just… exist. In these 2000-year-old ruins. For free.
My friends wanted to leave after like 20 minutes because “we’ve seen it.” I stayed for four hours. Four. Hours. I learned more about Roman history from the cat sanctuary volunteers than I did in my entire high school Latin class. Plus the cats didn’t judge me for asking seventeen follow-up questions about feline behavior patterns.
There was this one orange tabby who kept sitting exactly overlooking where tour guides said Caesar might have fallen. I named him Brutus. We bonded.
After discovering the cat sanctuary, my algorithm brain immediately searched “more cats Rome” and found this vegan cafe called Romeow where cats just wander around while you eat. Well, okay, they mostly sleep while you eat, but they are still cute to look at.
I’m not even vegan, but I ate there seven times in five days. SEVEN TIMES. The staff started recognizing me and would just bring me my usual – those cabbage roll things with pumpkin and raspberry sauce that sound gross but taste incredible – without me even ordering.
The cats there are different from the sanctuary cats. When they’re not sleeping, these ones are more social, probably because they’re around food all day. This gray and white one kept trying to steal my napkin, and honestly? Better dinner entertainment than anything on Netflix. This white one shown here was overwhelmed with all the lights and ledges…so cute!
My travel companions were getting increasingly concerned about my “obsession,” but joke’s on them because the sensory environment there was perfect for my brain. Soft lighting, cat purrs as background noise, no one rushing you to leave. I got more actual rest and regulation sitting in that cafe than I did at our fancy hotel.
This is where the trip gets really weird. Apparently Rome has a video game museum. A legit, world-class video game museum called Vigamus. In ROME. The city of gladiators and pasta has a museum dedicated to Pac-Man and I was NOT prepared for this information. They also propped up Mrs. Pac-Man…good, way more bad-ass than her male counterpart.
The whole place is basically a love letter to gaming history and I went full hyperfocus mode. Did you know the first video game was called “Tennis for Two” and was created in 1958? Or that there was a game in 1976 called “Death Race” where you run over skeletons escaping from a cemetery and it caused this huge controversy even though the graphics were so bad the skeletons barely looked human?
But the thing that really got me was their E.T. exhibit. You know that legendarily terrible Atari game that was so bad they literally buried thousands of copies in the New Mexico desert? They have one of the actual excavated cartridges there with a certificate of authenticity and everything. Seeing this monument to spectacular failure displayed like precious art made me unexpectedly emotional.
It also made me wonder…what if E.T. lived in Rome, and had a cat…how cute would that be?
They also had this whole section on text-based games from the late 70s, especially Zork, where you just typed simple commands like “go east” or “fight troll.” No graphics, just pure imagination and problem-solving. Seeing that honored in a museum felt like validation for every time someone told me I was “wasting time” on games.
I stayed there for six hours over two days. The interactive exhibits meant I could actually play these vintage games, and the information plaques were detailed enough to satisfy my need for ALL THE CONTEXT. Plus it wasn’t crowded, so no sensory overload.
My friends kept saying I was “missing the real Rome” by avoiding the major attractions. But honestly? I think I found something more real.
The cat sanctuary volunteers taught me about ancient Roman architecture while I helped them feed cats. The Romeow staff shared stories about modern Roman life while cats knocked over my water glass. The gaming museum showed me how Italian culture embraces unexpected combinations of old and new.
I did try ONE traditional tourist thing – a street food tour – mostly because my friends guilted me into it. The guide, Rosaria, was actually great, and I managed to try truffle spreads and these amazing sun-dried tomato chunks that I’m still thinking about. But even then, the highlight was the deep-fried artichokes from the Jewish quarter, which looked so much cooler than they tasted.
Cat Sanctuary (Largo di Torre Argentina):
Vigamus Gaming Museum:
Romeow Cafe:
Look, I’m not saying everyone should skip the Sistine Chapel to hang out with cats. I am saying that following your actual interests instead of someone else’s “must-see” list might lead to better experiences.
While my friends were fighting crowds and checking boxes, I was having genuine conversations with locals who shared my interests. I learned about Roman history, Italian culture, and gaming heritage all while staying in environments that worked for my brain instead of against it.
Would I go back to Rome? Absolutely. Would I finally visit the Colosseum? …Maybe. Would I definitely go back to that cat sanctuary and probably cry when I have to leave Brutus again? Oh, for sure.
Rome taught me that the best way to experience a new place is to find the parts of it that speak to who you actually are, not who you think you should be as a tourist. Turns out, I’m someone who finds ancient history more interesting when there are cats involved and thinks video game museums are legitimate cultural institutions.
And honestly? I’m good with that.
If you’re also a neurodivergent traveler who finds traditional tourist advice overwhelming, hi! Let’s be friends. I’m planning my entire next trip around global cat cafes and gaming museums because apparently that’s my brand now.
The non-fake disclaimer: Fake Travel News is a satire travel blog. We have fun creating and exaggerating travel stories from around the world, but we also love travel and the very real magic it grants to the human experience. For non-fake information on the cat scene in Rome, you can visit the following link: Exploring the cat sanctuary in Rome: Torre Argentina
