First order of business is the Vatican museum which includes this little known place called the Sistine Chapel. When we got there, we were pleasantly standing in line enjoying each others company when we realized that the night before was Daylight Savings for Europe (it was a week earlier than in the US). We gained an hour that day and were there an hour early. Everyone decided it was actually worth it in the end because the line was getting ridiculously long at that point. I think that had something to do with the fact that it was free admission for that day. Italy, I think you should be awarded 34 points. Anyways, back to the more important things. The entire museum was great to go through. You could see sculptures, paintings, tapestries, and tons of religious stuff from way back in the day. We got a self-guided audio set thingy so that we could go through at our own pace and still be explained everything.
Check out the baby on the bottom?
The Sistine Chapel was near the end of everything, and I think I sat there for a while. I can't be sure how long it was. I got this Italy travel book from someone and in it had all the descriptions of the paintings in there so I happily read that while I waited for the rest of the gang to show up. (I guess I am a fast museum goer.) You couldn't take pictures inside and they had these security guys in there that said the same thing over and over again: "No foto!" and "Shhh!" (If you say these with an Italian accent, the outcome is WAY better.) Too fantastic. I saw some not-so-smooth individuals get their camera looked at and possibly pictures deleted. Great entertainment for me. Yeah, I know I was supposed to be admiring the art.
Oh! And, we mailed some postcards because the Vatican postal is super fast. If you didn't get a postcard, sorry! It has nothing to do with how much I like you. Honestly, I probably don't even know your address. Some days, I don't even know my own address.
After that, we made our way to Bascilia di San Pietro where we climbed to the very top. (For those keep tracking, that is over 500 stairs. No big deal.) This gave us such a great view of the city. Nothing was taller. We decided there must be some law against building something super tall in a city like that. When we were done oooo-ing and ahhh-ing at the aerial view of Rome, we descend down all those stairs once again to get our look inside this little place. It was huge. I can't even image the heating bill for a place like that! There are tons of sculptures of past Popes and Michaelangleo's Pietà which is the Virgin Mary holding Jesus (picture below). The latter is currently behind a bullet-proof glass because in 1972 some guy came in and throw a hammer at it saying he was Jesus. I am not going to say he wasn't but I don't think that Jesus would do that. I could be wrong, but I hope not. So maybe I AM saying he wasn't Jesus. This was also the only work that Michaelango ever signed. Among two of the chapels, there were two Popes that were decaying at a much slower rate than us "normal" people. I can't remember what they are called so any help is appreciated. While I am all for slow decay, I don't like seeing it. So those gave me the heebie-jeebies.
My day ended where I get to a more close-up view of the Swiss guards that protect the Pope. (And, some of them are easy on the eyes so a closer look was needed.) These guys are the ones that make sure no one gets him. While they wear comical outfits (see photo below), they are very serious about their duties. I mean, would you want to be the one that screwed up in a situation where something happened to the Pope? I definitely wouldn't. A majority of the world would be super mad at you. If anyone is interested in such a job, make sure you fulfill all the requirements first. I don't know many, or any, of you that fit this bill but if you do, good luck with that. You must be:
- Catholic
- Single male with Swiss citizenship
- Completed basic training in the Swiss military
- Between the ages of 19-30 years
- At least 5'7" tall
On our last day in Rome, we got to go to a Papal Blessing which is each Wednesday at 11 am and the Pope talks about whatever that week led him to think about. Basically, he said the same thing in a bunch of languages to a lot of people, I wish I could say more about this but I don't really know that much about it. We got some things blessed. We got to see the Pope pretty close-up which was pretty cool. Then (in a totally unrelated event), we went down underneath Saint Peter's and got to see all that jazz under there which is basically super old mausoleums, what is believed to be Saint Peter's body, and some other stuff. Romans just liked to build onto of something that was already there. I really think that is all they ever did.
Pope Benedict XVI talking the talk
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