Rome Day 2. The Vatican

This was the day set aside for the Vatican. We set off early to get there using the Roman Metro. Not as complex as the Parisian Metro it proved easy to navigate but we were travelling at peak hour and it was a bit scary. Teying to get all 30 of us ontl the same train amd off at the same station wasa challenge but we achieved it with a lot of pushing and shoving to get on. All of the trains are crowded and you just had to push to get one anyway. Roman pedestrians are a bit like the drivers. Anarchy rules, no giving way but take your place or else! So we did.

Once off the Metro we walked up the the vatican museum entrance. With 30 minutes unr=til opening time the lines were aleady around two city corners. We wre very grateful for a letter of intraduction from Brother Xavier from Marist college that got us to the front of the booked tour line. Once in however there are still lines to get through security before we get to enter.

Finally we enter a courtyrad of magnificent proportions

Now everyone is really there for the Sistine Chapel but the is no fast track to that place. Y9ou have to walk through multiple different collections to get to the sistine. I guess this is a method of crowd control. Unfortunately we did not have a guide today and a lot of it was lost on me. There is obviously a history of popes collecting many Roman and pagan treasures to be housed in the Vatican and many of these are on display. Some of them include a hall of statues

And magnificent art works made of inlaid marble

And rooms and rooms of tapestries. I wish I knew more about them. I probably would have appreciated them better but the exquisite attention to detail in the work was very inspiring. We have to respect the talent of the people who produced these works of art.

Finally we reached the Sistine Chapel. Now, dear reader, I did not take photos. Instead I put in my head phones and listened to a podcast guide to the chapel that I had previously downloaded. I enjoyed every one of the 40 minutes in this overwhelming room whilst the commentator decoded what I was seeing. It was gratifying to see female figures depicted as sages and important forseers of the arrival of Christ as these days our church seems to forget the role that women have played. ( there ends the sermon). It is quite garishly colourful and every millimeter is covered in pigment. Quite over the top but beautiful and clever. And worth the hour it took to get there.

Our exit was down this beautiful staircase which I have seen photos of but didnt realise what it was.

After that we had lunch and it was interesting to sit with a Presbyterian woman from the UK who was struggling with how ornate everything was because her experience of sacred space is much more spare and she had difficulty not being offended by the extravagance her in the Vatican. We talked about how the artisans would not have been able to make a living without the sponsorship of the church or the rich people buying indulgences. It was an interesting exercise seeing things from another's point of view.

After lunch we headed to St Peter's Basilica. There was a lot of bunting and scaffolding around as all was in preparation for the beatification of Pope John Paul 2 To be held this weekend. The square is amazing. Apparently it can hold 60,000 people standing.

This is looking towards where the pope will say Mass on the weekend.

And this is roughly the view he will see as he makes the pronouncement.

Then we entered the Sistine Chapel. Again no photos do it justice. We only had 30 minutes and I could have spent half a day in this one building. The second biggest basilica in the world it was quite overwhelming. I didn’t see everything but I did see the Pieta which is as beautiful as the photos show and I did walk up to the tomb of St Peter. It was quite exhausting and we were glad to set off home for a bit of a rest.

Later that night we went back to the trevi fountain for a second visit. Michael wanted to throw his coin into the fountain correctly ( over the L shoulder with the R hand ). We were glad we went back because it was a little less crowded and we were more relaxed. Just across from the fountain was a little shoe shop having a sale and Maria, Gina and I all came away with some very good bargains. We shared a meal at another trattoria but thefood was a little disappointing this time. Never the less it was good company in a beautiful place

Finally we walked up to the coliseum to see it at night. It was worth it as there were lights projected onto the senate house

And the colusseum looks great at night but my photo dont because I need a tripod.

We finally headed to bed after another wonderful day in this beautiful city.