 |
| St Peter's Basillica |
Unheard of for us to spend two
days visiting a city, but we did, and once again walked our feet off and
tonight we are both really feeling our age. It was a very slow trip back to the
train station for Ian.
After a good night’s sleep
decided to head back into town again this morning and caught the 8.50 train
which meant another good early start. Navigated our way over the Tiber River
and round the streets towards Vatican City and arrived at St Peters Square
quite early, and to see this place that we have seen so often on TV and in
photographs somehow made goosebumps. We were very pleased to find the queue not
too lengthy, and within 20 minutes we were inside St Paul’s Bassilica. And what
a moving experience, the hushed tones of the tourists, who were just like us,
utterly amazed with the sheer beauty of the frescoes on the vaulted ceilings,
the opulence and architecture. Before long a bell rang and a procession of
priests walked towards the chapel where a service took place. What a way to
start the day.
We wandered back outside and
found a booking office where we bought tickets for the Vatican Museums and Sistine
Chapel, paying €4 extra so we could go in the fast land and not have to queue. It
was quite a walk around to the entrance and as we had about 30 minutes to wait for our
entrance time, popped into a little pizzeria for a pizza and a sit. Soon we
were once again passing through the security lines, just like airports, which
all the major attractions in Rome seem to have.
There were tourists everywhere
and just so many tour groups with their guides talking at great length about
the history. We set off following the signs through the museum, with row upon
row of marble carvings and exquisite paintings and tapestries. There seemed to
be hundreds of very large marble torsos, many with broken pieces especially the
male “bits”! What really impressed us was the 100 metre plus corridor lined
with old topographical maps of Italy and a ceiling of the most beautiful
frescoes.
It was quite a battle dealing
with the crowds and moving around the tour groups who seemed to stop and block
the walkways. Finally, we arrived at the Sistine Chapel, with Michelangelo’s
famous painted ceiling. But sadly, the crowds were so large, and with so many
tour groups filling the centre of the room and the outside seats completely
full, that we were told to just keep moving and had no chance to really stop
and study the beauty. And of course, no photographs are allowed. Somehow felt
very cheated as we left the chapel and walked down another long corridor lined
with so many wonderful museum items. By this stage Ian was struggling and like
most people we just kept walking towards the exit.
But overall, we are very pleased
to have experienced the Vatican and hopefully learnt a little more. Yesterday
we had passed through Piazza Navonna on our way back to the train but had no
time to really enjoy it, so today after leaving the Vatican we crossed over the
very beautiful Pont St Angelo, and wandered the streets back to the Piazza. By
this stage there was drizzly rain so we found a seat in a café and enjoyed a
welcome Aperol Spritzer and watched the crowds.
The walk back to the station was
very slow, both of us feeling the effects of two days of walking Rome. But a
big highlight was passing by a church on the back streets, stopped and walked
in, no queues, no security and stunned by the most beautiful frescoes and other
art, a hidden jewel.
An interesting ride back in the
train when it broke down and we sat for 15 minutes wondering what was going to
happen. These trains are very basic, plastic seats with the outside of the
windows covered in grafitti, but thankfully we were back in time to meet the
camp shuttle bus.
After two days in Rome I feel we
are just starting to get the feel of the place and I know if we ever came back
again we would explore more of the back streets away from the huge tourist
areas, and see another side of the city.
Friday May 31, have tacked today onto yesterday’s blog as ran out
of steam getting it loaded last night. We were expecting a parcel to arrive
today with a new switch for Ian’s window that has been out of action for the
past two years. It didn’t arrive, but in fact it was probably a good idea to
have a rest day before hitting the road again, and plan to swing by here on our
way back north and collect it then. Have decided to take the Autostrada to
south of Naples tomorrow and then make our way towards Sicily. Will be interested
to see how much the tolls are!
Comments
We are great aunties again! Kellan is beautiful!