The Vatican. It was quite an experience, shared by tens of thousands (evidently they get 25 000 visits a day) and it seemed to me I spent most of my time being defensive about my shoulder.
We started with the grand daddy of all Catholic Churches, St. Peter's Basilica. The process to get in was daunting. I spent my time in 'line' mentally composing a note to Pope Francis about possibly sending a logistics person or two to Disneyworld and learning how to do a lineup. It isn't rocket science folks, and the Vatican has the space and budget to do it right, enhancing everyone's experience. I know I was more sensitive than usual about the pushing and jostling because of the shoulder, but trust me, remarks in the so called line weren't flattering about the organization. Seems we tourists all want to see the same things, and some thought needs to be put into how to best make that work. It isn't like this is the first time they have done it.
On our way to St. Peter's. Too bad about the billboard in the foreground.
Once inside it is unbelievable. The wealth, the size, the art, the number of tour groups. I am so short I couldn't see much in many places, there were that many people, but the staggering size and the wealth it represented were pretty obvious. We took our time, and it was amazing to see, but as a young woman at the hotel said, that box is checked off and we won't be going back.
Inside. It is the second largest church in the world. Good thing too, given the number of people who want to visit.
Next were the Vatican museums and the Sistine Chapel. I wanted to see the Sistine Chapel so badly and it turned into one of those hilarious experiences that are completely unlike what one had anticipated. There were no issues getting in, as we had bought tickets online and that was seamless. But then the long road to the Sistine Chapel began. It reminded me of walking through an IKEA store...they take you past everything they have before you get to where you want to be. A woman back at the hotel said she felt like a cow being led to slaughter, and the people we met at dinner described it as a route march. You get the idea. Again, the size, the wealth, the over the top was everywhere. The ceilings in the Vatican museums have to be seen to be believed. Pictures and exclamations of awe, and idle chatter were allowed. The CC was getting tired and didn't really care if he saw the Sistine Chapel at all. And then we were there.
Well, it reminded me of the first time I saw the Mona Lisa. The iconic Michelangelo painting which I had imagined was huge and taking up a whole cupola was instead smallish and flat. Keith said the Chapel reminded him of a gym with a very nice ceiling. To really round out the experience the guards kept hollering "silencio" in very loud voices (the irony of their shouting seemed to be lost on them), which had no effect, and then one poor fellow in front of us missed the memo about taking pictures. He got a dressing down at full volume that had to be heard to be believed. No silencio there at all. We were able to sit down and admire, which we did, but mostly we were commiserating with the people around us who were having similar thoughts about the whole thing. It truly was absolutely, completely different from my expectations. I can't complain about all of the tourists, because I am one, but it is pretty hard to appreciate something properly in a crowd that large.
By the time we had finished the Vatican Museums we were ready for a quiet walk back to the hotel and a glass of wine. It was quite a day.
The next morning, our last full day in Rome we reverted to form and wandered cluelessly. We had an absolutely wonderful time. We roamed (sorry) the old streets, admired the churches, wandered the Jewish Quarter, ate gelato and pizza and went out to dinner one last time.
We also passed the Roma Termini train station so picked up our tickets to Siena. We had two of the most helpful Tran Italia representatives who sorted us out. My favourite was the second man. He pointed out the fasted connection was to change at Chiusi and take a bus to Siena from there. The way I said "A bus??" made him laugh and he told me I would be okay in a manner that made me laugh out loud at myself.
