Vatican
November, 2011
Friday, November 4 We took the bus to the Vatican, where the line was even longer, so we booked a walking tour thru the Vatican museum and Sistine chapel which gave us a free passage into the church without having to line up. The tour was brilliant, we saw some amazing works of art, and learnt all about the history of Micahelangelo and what he went through when he was painting the Sistine chapel. Halfway thru the tour, our tour guide told us that she had just heard that the Pope was in St Peter’s conducting a service, so we could not enter.
At 4:00, people were leaving, but we had not yet seen the Raphael rooms, so we raced back to the start of the museum, asking for directions to the Raphael rooms. When we got back to the start, they said it was too late, because they were closing in 5min, but one nice security guard let us back in, but he said stay out of the Sistine chapel. For the next hour, it felt as though we were the only people in the entire museum. Occasionally, we would come across the odd tourist, but it was amazing, as only 2 hours earlier the place was packed, but now we were strolling through the tapestry rooms and map rooms empty. We found the Raphael rooms. Two already had the lights switched off, but we looked around anyway.
Finding our way to the museum exit was a bit scary. We must have taken a wrong turn, following Zeke and we were lost in the bowels of the museum for 10 minutes, going in and out of doors, up and down stairs, not knowing where were going. Without a tour guide, we were lost, until we found ourselves back in a deserted Sistine Chapel. That was freaky, being alone in the place where all the cardinals of the world lock themselves up to elect the next pope. A security guard came in and told us how to make our way the exit of the museum.
Once out, we walked 1km to St Peter’s square, but the church was still closed and it was dark. We found somewhere to eat, then asked for directions to the train station, and took the train back to Termini Stazione, which we knew was close to our hotel.The Capuchin crypt was first on today’s agenda. It has been decorated with the skulls and bones of over 4000 capuchin friars who died between 1520 and 1870. It was quite an eerie experience to walk through the five rooms filled with human skeletons as ornaments. We jumped on the train to the Vatican because we had not yet been inside St Peter’s Basilica.
Saturday, November 5
St Peter’s is the biggest church in the world. Inside is full of works by Michalangelo and Bernini and many others. It also housed the tomb of St Peter, himself. We climbed the dome, all 530 steps… Piece of cake, I reckon we have climbed over 5000 steps in the last month.
We tried to book a tour to the catacombs that afternoon, but we were the only four who wanted to do it, so the tour company cancelled it. So, instead, after lunch, we took the train to San Popolo Piazza, where Gwen went shopping and I took Zeke and Jamaica to the Rome Travel Elevator, a 5D movie that takes you through the history of Rome. It was brilliant, we learnt so much about the history of all the things that we had seen over the last few days.
We walked back to the hotel, found Gwen and had dinner outside the main railway station. Probably not a good place to eat on a Saturday night… scuffles were breaking out everywhere, people were drunk, police were doing their best to sort things out. It felt just like Flinders Street!
At 4:00, people were leaving, but we had not yet seen the Raphael rooms, so we raced back to the start of the museum, asking for directions to the Raphael rooms. When we got back to the start, they said it was too late, because they were closing in 5min, but one nice security guard let us back in, but he said stay out of the Sistine chapel. For the next hour, it felt as though we were the only people in the entire museum. Occasionally, we would come across the odd tourist, but it was amazing, as only 2 hours earlier the place was packed, but now we were strolling through the tapestry rooms and map rooms empty. We found the Raphael rooms. Two already had the lights switched off, but we looked around anyway.
Finding our way to the museum exit was a bit scary. We must have taken a wrong turn, following Zeke and we were lost in the bowels of the museum for 10 minutes, going in and out of doors, up and down stairs, not knowing where were going. Without a tour guide, we were lost, until we found ourselves back in a deserted Sistine Chapel. That was freaky, being alone in the place where all the cardinals of the world lock themselves up to elect the next pope. A security guard came in and told us how to make our way the exit of the museum.
Once out, we walked 1km to St Peter’s square, but the church was still closed and it was dark. We found somewhere to eat, then asked for directions to the train station, and took the train back to Termini Stazione, which we knew was close to our hotel.The Capuchin crypt was first on today’s agenda. It has been decorated with the skulls and bones of over 4000 capuchin friars who died between 1520 and 1870. It was quite an eerie experience to walk through the five rooms filled with human skeletons as ornaments. We jumped on the train to the Vatican because we had not yet been inside St Peter’s Basilica.
Saturday, November 5
St Peter’s is the biggest church in the world. Inside is full of works by Michalangelo and Bernini and many others. It also housed the tomb of St Peter, himself. We climbed the dome, all 530 steps… Piece of cake, I reckon we have climbed over 5000 steps in the last month.
We tried to book a tour to the catacombs that afternoon, but we were the only four who wanted to do it, so the tour company cancelled it. So, instead, after lunch, we took the train to San Popolo Piazza, where Gwen went shopping and I took Zeke and Jamaica to the Rome Travel Elevator, a 5D movie that takes you through the history of Rome. It was brilliant, we learnt so much about the history of all the things that we had seen over the last few days.
We walked back to the hotel, found Gwen and had dinner outside the main railway station. Probably not a good place to eat on a Saturday night… scuffles were breaking out everywhere, people were drunk, police were doing their best to sort things out. It felt just like Flinders Street!