The Vatican
(Friday, 02 October 2009) Written by Keith Rhoades
After I wrote you all last night, Craig and I went for a walk to the famous Trevi Fountain which I had never seen at night...it was beautiful all lit up at night.   We went and had Gelato and then I was exhausted and got back to the St. Regis and passed out at 9 pm.
 
The next thing I knew it was 7 am and the alarm was going off.  We got ready and headed out for coffee and croissants and then decided to take the subway up to the vatican.   Its always an adventure using public transportation but we managed just fine and go the vatican at 9:15 for our 9:30 tour.    I had been to St. Peters before in 2001 but missed the vatican museum and sistine chappel because the line was too long.  Again the line was a 3 hours wait..but luckily we had previously arranged a private tour so we didnt have to wait.  The tour was nearly 4 hours long....it is the 2nd largest art collection after the Louvre in Paris!   I learned so much about Michaelangelo and Rafael that admire them even more than I did before.  To see the Sistine Chapel was incredible and they recently restored it to it glory and color...was magnificient.  The collection of ancietn greco roman art and sculptures were wonderful...and it helped me appreciate it more having travelled to Turkey..ephesus..pompeii, istanbul, troy before so i could better understand the antiquities.   The life of Michaelangelo complete fascinates me...genius.
 
After the tour of the galleries we went to St. Peters basillica.  Believe it or not...it was very hot here today...and to visit the vatican you have to wear pants and more formal clothing so I was getting very hot.  After we toured the Basillica we went for a very late lunch of pizza followed by more gelato.  Got back a while ago and Craig is taking a nap so Im doing my internet stuff and I think we are heading out later back to Trevi Fountain and possibly the Coloseum and Forum tonight.  We still have some time tomorrow morning as we dont head to the cruise terminal until 2 pm.
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