Today, we spent all day at the Vatican, and if I had to describe it with one word, it would be overwhelming. Everything was beautiful, but there was so much to see.
Anyway, we got to the Vatican around 10 or so, and as luck would have it, Pope Benedict actually speaks in the morning on Wednesdays. So, we hung around the piazza right in front of the Basilica for about half an hour before the Pope began his procession around the square. We actually got to see him drive by and Teo got a great picture. We hung out for a little bit to listen to them talk, and there were several different men that read the same gospel in different languages. It was amazing.
Afterwards, we headed over to the Vatican Museum. This is where it got overwhelming because there is so much to see. We started at the Pinacoteca, which is a picture gallery. Got to see some paintings by Raphael and Da Vinci. In one of the galleries, we saw a tapestry of the Last Supper! Then we followed the throngs of people to the Sistine Chapel. On the way, though, we got to see several salons with paintings, the Hall of Constantine, the Gallery of Maps, and the Raphael Rooms. Most of these are fresco paintings, so by the end of the day, my neck hurt from staring up as I walked.
We finally get to the Sistine Chapel after walking in what felt like circles, and as soon as you walk in, there is a guard telling you to be quiet and to not take pictures. Actually, there were many guards around. So Teo and I sat and just looked at everything. The room is smaller that I would have thought length-wise, but it was surreal. Where we sat, to our right, was the painting of the Last Judgement. Definitely, more anger and more nudity (but according to our guides, the fig leaves were added for modesty). Directly above, on the ceiling, was the paintings of Creation. This was much more intense to focus on because of all the different scenes. Gorgeous, though, and I was able to pick out some stuff, but Teo and I both missed the famous touching of the finger to God. On the walls, looking like a border, where different scenes of Moses and Jesus. Where I was sitting, I saw a scene of the parting of the Red Sea and Moses reading the commandments. It was so cool.
Oh! And another weird thing happened while we were sitting there. This guy and girl holding hands came up to us. The guy just looked at us and said "Do you remember me? I'm Satish". Yeah, Satish, our class valedictorian from high school - haven't seen him since UVA, and we run into him and his wife in the Sistine Chapel. Unreal. But because of the silence in the room, we really couldn't talk, so they went on their merry way.
After the Sistine Chapel, we ended up getting something to eat at Da Cesare down the road. Here is what we had: antipasto consisting of salami and some other meats (course 1), fettucini with a tomato sauce (course 2), beef with lettuce and lentils (course 3), some type of amaretto liquour with biscotti and cafe (course 4). Yes, we ate for 2 plus hours and were the last people to leave. Luckily, the courses weren't as big as they are at home, so we were still able to walk around. Man, was it good though!
The next stop, after walking through Vatican City itself, was St. Peter's Basilica. Since the Pope was there this morning, nobody could get in until the afternoon. Anyway, after shoving around way through security, we ended up going to see the tombs of the popes first. Of course, everybody was crowding around Pope John Paul II's tomb, which was very nice - there were fresh flowers there and everything.
Once we finished there, we made our way to the Basilica itself, which is enormous, beautiful, with lots of gold everywhere. There was lots of sculpture and artwork there, and we even got to see the altar and tomb where the apostle Peter was buried. We have tons of pics, but will never remember everything we saw. We even got to see several church services and watched the procession of a cardinal as he was coming in to lead a service.
Next (yes, we crammed in a lot again), we went to the Dome of St Peter's. Because we were so close to closing time, there was no line, so we made our way up there pretty quickly. The first level was above the Basilica inside, so we got to see everything from pretty high up. Next, we walked outside to another part of the Basilica, so we could enter the Dome. They included on the sign that it was 320 steps, and pretty much every one of them sucked. There was spiral staircases, slanted stairs, steep and short stairs all in a row. Once we got up, you got to see amazing arial views of Rome and Vatican City. It was neat, but I'm not really sure I'd do it again with those stairs (yes, going down was easier, but these were really narrow!)
By the time all this was done, it was 6 and raining down pretty hard (our first day of rain), so mostly we were done. We caught the bus back to the hotel, watched the Break Up, and went to a small cafe for dinner. Oh, and we stopped by and got a cannoli on the way home.
The crazy thing is that as much as I typed just now, I didn't even cover half of what I saw. It is amazing how much they've done in that small city. I still can't believe we got to see and hear the Pope speak (even if I didn't understand a word he said). Luckily, Teo took a mess of pics, so that should help me remember some of the stuff...
Good night! Buona Notte!
