Today was another hectic yet fantastic day. We were up early again and had left our hotel by just after 7:30am. Today we started at the Vatican museum. We had the most amazing tour guide who was so knowledgable, we both really felt we gained so much from our tour. We walked though the many rooms of the museum looking at sculptures, tapestries and art work. All had a history to tell and we learned so much about not only the items but the creators as well. Some of the items were many hundreds or even thousands of years old.
From the museum we went to the Sistine chapel. It was 1986 when I last saw the chapel and it was being restored at that time. It remember it being really dark, and full of scaffolding while they carefully restored the entire ceiling and walls. I was only able to walk down the centre in between the scaffolding, so I really didn't get to see much. Today, however was completely different. The entire restoration is complete and while the chapel is still darker than the museum we could clearly see all of the paintings on the ceiling and walls. It was all so beautiful. Michelangelo was such a talented artist as well as a sculpture.
After leaving the Sistine chapel we went to St. Peter's square and the basilica. We had to line up for nearly an hour to get in because the entire square had been closed from 9 - 12pm for the papal audience. We didn't get to see the Pope because he had already returned to his apartment. Once inside the basilica we were both amazed by the beautiful sculptures and art work. The ceilings and walls were adorned with beautiful paintings and the mosaic on the floor was stunning.
We were hoping to climb the dome of the cathedral but there were just so many people in the square it was impossible to get from one side to another. Our guide told us that up to 100,000 people can attend the papal audiences and I think most where still there, even after the Pope left!
We left St. Peter's square and walked to Castel Saint'Angelo. It was a glorious sunny day (28 degrees) so it was beautiful walking around the buildings. We crossed the Tevere and headed back into Rome. Our next stop was the Piazza Novona. I really liked this piazza, it has a positive feel to it. There were market stalls and the usual sellers but it just had a nice vibe about it. The piazza had two small fountains at each end plus a large one in the middle known as the Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi or the Fountain of the Four Rivers. It is really beautiful.
We left the Piazza Novona and weaved our way along the narrow roads until we came to another plaza called Piazza di Pietra which has the Templo Adriona the fifteen Corinthian Columns of the Hadrian Temple. This is an amazing structure that was built in the first century!
We then went to the Pantheon. Gary had recently seen a documentary on the Pantheon so he was able to give me a private tour of all he could remember. The Pantheon is considered to be in the best condition of all the ancient buildings in Rome. It was also built in the first century. We sat outside the Pantheon and watched the sunset behind the buildings while enjoying a glass of chianti and peroni. It was perfect until a pigeon pooped on my arm!
We left the pantheon and wandered back past the Trevi fountains again. It is a magical place, where you could just sit and stare at the water for ages. It's very peaceful. But we left and headed back to the hotel. It was now 5:30pm and we had been on the go for 10 hours! We had and hours rest then went back out for tea. Tomorrow we are going to look at the ancient part of Rome including the Forum and the colosseum.
