We got up really early to make it to the Vatican tour appointment, probably one of the earliest days we’ve had. Nevertheless, it was already mobbed when we got there, so we were very happy that we had booked a tour. Our tour guide Janette, an art history major from FL who now studies in Rome, told us that there were nine miles of stuff to see in the Musei Vaticani and if you looked at every piece of art for 60 seconds you’d be there for 12 years. So a lotta stuff, a lotta people (bottlenecked in some places), and too much information – perfect situation to have a tour. Probably the best opportunity for one thus far. And she was an excellent guide, really spirited even though she does two of these three-hour things a day. We got a very informed welcome to Popeland, complete with pope treasure, a story about a pope punch (how the pope convinced Michelangelo to paint the Sistine Chapel ceiling, even though he was a sculptor), lots of pope bling (huuuge diamonds on some chalices), etc. Eventually we made it through the museum, the Rafael rooms, the Sistine Chapel, St. Peter’s basilica, and the papal crypt. Whuf! The Chapel was cool, even cooler with some story behind the way it was painted. One of my favorites was when a cardinal opposed the painting of the Last Judgment, and ended up getting his likeness painted in the corner with donkey ears and a snake running around him. Michelangelo seems like a pretty depressed weird dude, but he did good work! The basilica was simply stunning, gigantic and impossibly decorated (7-foot tall letters in gold? No problem!). That whole section of Rome (technically its own country) was really just larger than life. Crazy popes.
In the end the only thing we didn’t get to was the climb up to the cupola, because we didn’t have enough change and they didn’t take credit cards. I probably wouldn’t have made it anyway, as my legs were already whining about having done Vatican City in sandals. But we did see the Castel Sant’Angelo / Hadrian’s Tomb next, and saw Rome’s skyline anyway, which is not actually as exciting as I would have thought. But it was even free because of our Roma pass – we’re half paid off already, woo hoo. Walking around the fortress was pretty cool too, although by then it was pretty darn hot and it was even more exhausting. I really need to find another pair of capris…wearing a skirt to cover my knees for churches necessitates sandals but that makes walking harder. Oy. On the plus side, I assume I must be getting more into shape. I felt like I petered out really early at 5pm today but then I realized we’d been walking since 8:30am, so it wasn’t so bad.
Going back for a shower, even in our tinier-than-life stalls, was perhaps just as great as sightseeing at that point. Sweaty tourists. We took a nap but it was already time to get dinner so it wasn’t that long. We didn’t feel like walking very far afterwards, but there seem to be plenty of ok restaurants on our street so we picked one at random and got some unimpressive but very edible things. I suppose this is a short update for the amount of stuff we saw today, but I am pretty much on sightseeing overload and I assume that I will fall over as soon as I finish this. Zzzz.
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Don't know when you are leaving Rome but if you have more time you should get yourselves to the Basilica of St John Lateran (San Giovanni in Laterano). Rome's tallest real Egyptian obelisk is sort of behind it, and it is part of the Vatican even though it's outside the boundaries. I KNOW I heard the heads of Sts Peter and Paul were there but I can't find that... it's way less crowded and very impressive and the Pope's official seat. Has more dead Popes.
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