IMO Rome is way way way cooler than London. London was cool, but I get such a hard-on for history that Rome > almost any other city (leave out Berlin).
Cut out London and do 4 days in Rome. You'll have a way better time in Rome than London.
As for the language barrier, who cares. I spoke like 4 words of Italian when I was there, everywhere I went I'd either ask if they spoke English, or I'd point to what I want (ordering stuff off menu's, tickets, etc.).
The Vatican itself takes about a day, the Coliseum can be done in 2 hours, however there is a tonne of "Old City" stuff around that area, and I spent a day exploring all the ruins near by. I spent a day doing a tour of the city (I really recommend a free tour, you should see pamphlets in your hotel), which was awesome because you learn thousands of years of history in like 4 hours. They took me everywhere.
Just thinking about Rome now is getting me excited. DAMN my low income!
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