More Views of Rome: Part III

Our second full day in Rome we decided to go to Vatican City. Jeff had been there before and graciously agreed to go again for my sake. So after a breakfast of coffee and croissants (our daily breakfast on this trip), we headed out. After consulting our guide book and maps, we found the metro stop we needed to go to the Vatican. (It's the Ottaviano stop in case you were dying to know!)

After talking to some women from Wales that we met at our hotel, we decided to go to the museum part of the Vatican first as it closes daily around 2pm. The Vatican has several museums which house many famous and beautiful works such as Michelangelo's frescoes on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. The other main sight on our agenda, St. Peter's Basilica, was open until 6pm. Therefore our plan was to visit the museums first, have lunch, and then go to the Basilica.

As mentioned above, we met several nice people on our trip. We met two women from Wales, a family from Ireland and England, and a nice couple from Pennsylvania in our hotel. I think hearing the English language being spoken strikes up conversations between fellow travellers. We also met a very nice couple from Australia while waiting in the 45-minute (or longer) line for the Vatican museums.

Once inside the entrance to the Vatican museums, we plotted out what we wanted to see. There is so much to see that it is not possible to see it all. Here's what we did see: gorgeous paintings, interesting sculptures, amazing tapestries, ancient mummies and other Egyptian artifacts, old maps, modern art, and beautiful gardens. I know that I could not remember all the names, but you will get the idea from the pictures. Standing in the Sistine Chapel (attached to the museums) that housed the famous paintings by Michelangelo was amazing. Seeing the picture of God and Adam (the famous fingers-almost-touching painting) was really neat. (Note: However it was hard to see as it is on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. You really have to crane your neck to see it!)

After leaving the Sistine Chapel, we decided to take a break for some nourishment. The Vatican museums took three hours to see, so we were definitely famished. We found a small restaurant along the way to the Basilica. After a quick pizza, we headed towards St. Peter's Basilica. The line to get inside the Basilica was another long line, but it seemed to move quickly. The inside of the Basilica was truly amazing. It was so ornate. Being that it is a church, there was a church service being held in one part of the chapel. Many churches do not allow you to take pictures (or talk loudly for that manner), but we were allowed to take pictures. It was really beautiful as there were great works of art here also including Michelangelo's sculpture Pieta (Mary holding Jesus).

We spent a lot of time in the Basilica as it was hard to take it all so quickly. Once we did leave, we decided to make our way back to the hotel, as we were both feeling tired. Our typical day usually started around 9am and ended around 6-7pm. That's about all this pregnant woman could handle each day! We looked at a few stores along the way home and picked up some paninis for dinner. Another successful day in Rome was complete!