Day 3
(6-2-2013)
Rome
Hello again family!!
Today was our last
day in Rome and we had planned to do the Trevi Fountain and Vatican City (the
two big things we had left). As we've been paying attention to the weather ever
since we got caught in that minor flood on Friday, we knew that it was supposed
to rain this afternoon and thus decided to wake up early and go to the Trevi in
the morning and then hike on over to Vatican City for the rest of the day. Yet
when we got to the metro station to head across town to the Trevi, we found all
the entrances closed with huge metal doors. After staring at these doors for
some time in bewildered, hopeless awe, a kind woman came and explained to us
that the workers on metro line A had decided to go on strike today, so the line
wouldn't be running. So even though it was supposed to rain in the afternoon,
we decided to flop our day around and head off to Vatican City.
On our way to
Vatican City we stopped at a cafe and got some cappuccinos and AMAZING pastries
in an effort to fuel up for our long day of Vatican City exploring. On our way
to St Peter's Square, we kept getting verbally assaulted by people trying to
sell tours of the Vatican museums. I (Elizabeth) was getting very frustrated
and told one of the guys that I didn't want to do a tour because I felt like
everybody in Rome is trying to rip us off. We kept walking and were stopped by
someone else trying to sell tours who said that he had overheard what we said
about feeling like everyone was trying to scam us. He said that while Italians
are nice,they're sleezy (he was Australian). He said that the big selling point
of the tours was that you could skip the lines, but because the metro to the
Vatican wasn't operating today, the crowds weren't bad at all. Even though he
was working trying to sell tours, he saw how frustrated we were and was honest
that it wouldn't be worth our money. It's nice to see there are people in Rome
who don't try to take advantage of you (even if they aren't Italian.)
We first went to St
Peter's Basilica, as our new Australian friend said that the Vatican Museums
would be less crowded in the afternoon after most of the tours had finished. St
Peter's Basilica is one of the most incredible, beautiful, awe-inspiring places
I have ever been to. We spent well over an hour soaking in the beauty and
trying to eavesdrop on English-speaking tours. One of the best things was
seeing Michelangelo's Pieta, which was, as Lonely Planet described it,
hauntingly beautiful.
We then headed over
to the Vatican Museums, for which there was NO LINE!! We bought a book to guide
us around the museum and then headed off to the Sistine Chapel (we figured we'd
start with the most important things to see and work backwards, just in case we
got tired). The Sistine Chapel was, of course, wonderful, but it was so crowded
that we couldn't sit, the room is horribly lit by tiny windows at the top so it
was hard to see, and it is physically painful to crane your neck for such a
long time. So needless to say, it wasn't our favorite place. We then headed off
to Raphael's room - a room that Pope Julius II wanted to become his library and
commisioned Raphael to paint. We sat down on the floor and spent about half an
hour reading the book and examining the frescoes, which were incredible.
Raphael's paintings depict his ideas about philosophy, theology, poetry, and
law, and they're fascinating to behold.
After the Vatican
Museums closed, we finally headed off to the Trevi Fountain before the rain :)
Sorry this was long.
We're heading to Florence tomorrow and may not have internet, so it may be a
day or two before we email again. Will wants me to stop writing now, so I am
now signing off!
XOXO,
Elizabeth and Will