The Vatican

We started our first day at the Vatican. Basically the Vatican Museum the Sistine Chapel, St Peters Basilica and the Piazza S.Pietro - awe inspiring.

Our visit was not during a weekend, nor were we in a high season – but the crowds of people here were just incredible. It was like being back in Beijing!

Everybody should take the opportunity to see the Vatican grandeur and hear about it’s history. No wonder the Vatican is worth billions!

So much has already been written so eloquently about the Vatican (and Rome), all we can attempt to add is a little irreverence, people watching and the odd-ball comment.

A word to the wise before you arrive at the Vatican..

As it happens we took a guided tour which ended up being well worth the extra few Euros.
When you sign up for a guided tour you are given a little sticker that you pop on your Tee Shirt. This of course tells the tour leader that you are one of them. I think any colour sticker will do.
But!
More importantly, it tells the hoards of tour sales people roaming the streets to stop bugging you as you are already signed up and have no money left for them!
The lesson to be learnt from this is to equip yourself with little coloured stickers before you arrive and you will never be accosted during the whole time you are here!
Easy.
In our case then, not being appraised with this new knowledge, we found the extra few Euros for the tour guide and the all important ‘sticker’ well worth it! 

“Keep moving please, keep moving..”

The Vatican has to manage so many visitors through a physically fixed and vulnerable area each day the whole process has become an art form. It is vital that visitors keep moving, don’t loose their way, wayward back-packs are kept under control from swinging through the precious objects - and that tour guides are not lost!
Armies of security staff ensure you keep walking and walking forwards - there is NO backtracking!

The Sistine chapel is a holy place.

But it is also high on the list of the world’s treasures and rightfully, people have a right to be there. You are limited to about 10 minutes to view the chapel and the authorities ask you, “to please be respectful” and “please not to chatter”, and “please don’t take photos and videos”.
What is wrong with that? – it not Disneyland.
So what is it that people find so hard to understand about this?

There was constant chatter and constant flashes. We even saw one person secretly trying his hand at video!
The staff tried their hardest but lots of people made their own rules!
So rude!

The chapel is magnificent and you can easily see why it took so many years to complete ..and why Michael Angelo was probably pleased to see the back of Rome    ..oooh! and the back ache he must have had!

Unfortunately we felt that with so many people and their chatter you never really got the atmosphere as it should be! But what else can the authorities do?

St Peter’s Basilica

..is a sight to behold.
The alter above St Peter’s actual tomb is awe inspiring. The details on every column are amazing and it is vast inside.  Vast.  For my part it was nice to notice the lack of gold!
Again, so many visitors but in this instance you felt the basilica was still empty it is so vast.
(I wonder if they have ever thought of installing one of those Jumbo Screens as in NHL hockey stadiums for when they have a big event.)

Well, you can’t call yourself a true tourist if you are not ripped off, right!

Our next visit was Piazza Navona with its famous fountains, artists and cafes. The walk to it was though winding streets and wonderful old houses that all beckoned you to sneak-peek through the windows. Everywhere you look you are impressed and excited.

We are now so tired that we are glad to get to the Piazza for a glass of wine and rest our poor feet. Luckily we have a great front row seat at one of the cafes and enjoy the view of the fountain, visitors, musicians, street vendors and artists - the atmosphere is electric.

Just don’t look at the VISA statement this month Les!

Oh please, can’t we just sleep in your doorway for the night?

Our original intention was to travel into the city each day from the boat but we were having such a good time we decided to stay the night in the city. Now we had to find a hotel for the night.  As we meandered the streets we came across the Pantheon built in 27 BC.
As an engineer, one of the things that impressed me the most was that they claim that today, using the same materials it would still take a feet of structural engineering to keep the vast roof with it’s open centre aloft.

After several attempts to find a reasonably priced room at such short notice we finally found a nice hotel just of Campo di' Fiori which by day is the flower and vegetable market and by night a wonderful square of restaurants. But we were in sore need of a complete body ‘reno’ so just a quick dinner was all we could manage and we fell into bed!

It turned out that the manager on duty that evening not only lived in Canada for 2 years but also lived in Toronto, he also played soccer in Oakville and spent his summers in Muskoka, Ontario!
He didn’t give us the room free though!