August 3 - Rome, Italy / Vatican City

Weather is a repeat of yesterday…H…O…T – not much more to say

St. Peter's Basilica

We started off early today because we had a tour booked for 9:15. This was excellent because the heat was only about 28 at that time of the day and the crowds were no where to be seen. It was also nice to go to the hotel breakfast before most people. Chris decided against breakfast this morning, so at one point I was there all alone with the workers. This would be the first time today when someone would point to my Rome soccer shirt and tell me how great it was - funny.

outside the Vatican offices, pre-tour

Today is all about the Vatican. Months ago we booked a tour of necropolis under St. Peter’s Basilica, where the tomb of St. Peter is. This tour was only 13 euros, and was limited to 12 people (there ended up being 14 on our tour) so both of those things were good. They only let a certain number of people in which is why we had to book this a long time ago. Apparently, they only let in 250 a day compared to the 30 000 that visit the Vatican. After being met by 2 Swiss Guards, going through security and being told for the second time today that my Rome soccer shirt was great we started the tour.

All of this tour is under St. Peter’s Basilica. We walked

over dirt floors, had to duck our heads and could only walk single file due to the narrow passage ways. When we booked the tour months ago, it was described as not good for those with claustrophobia and the humidity will be high. It certainly wasn’t spacious, but I never felt confined…the air was humid, but compared to the humidity combined with the heat outside, this was pleasant. We also had to dress conservatively…knees and shoulders covered…no problem, Chris wore pants, but could have gotten away with shorts, people were allowed with long knee-length shorts – it’s good to just follow the rules. Unfortunately, no photos were allowed. Of course I would

have loved to have take a shot or 2, but there wasn’t much to take a photo of.

We were 2 levels directly below the main alter in the current St. Peter’s church where the original St. Peter’s church with his tomb was. This area was originally an open-air cemetery. In the 40s Pope Pius XII ordered the excavations to find Peter’s tomb, which was known to be there, but not known where exactly. It was super cool to be down there. In addition to Peter’s tomb (which by the way, is a very small thing to see and had to be pointed out) we saw

mausoleums from the same time as Peter-ish with frescos still visible.

Michelangelo’s Pieta

The tour ended with where tombs of other popes are. Then we were able to skip the line to St. Peter’s Basilica – nice. Just like last time we were here, it strikes me that this place is HUGE – and packed. Not nearly as packed as the Trevi Fountain yesterday, but there are many people here. Michelangelo’s Pieta (behind a big piece of glass) is a pretty big attraction for me here, so we spend a bit of time in front

of it.

Next we visited the Vatican Treasury museum. This wasn’t packed at all and was very interesting. The wealth of this place when in your face is incredible. Huge jewels cover much of what we saw – papal rings, crowns, broaches. Then there were the Eucharistic ‘items’ covered in gold or made of solid gold – all this with very little security. Again..no photos.

Unfortunately, we couldn’t skip the line for the Vatican museums which include the Sistine Chapel, but we’d seen that before, so not a big deal.

not much lunch left

By now it is about noon, and we are off to find lunch. By now I am drenched, but once again, the perfectly good air conditioned indoor spots weren’t good enough for us…we had to find a place outside…of course this is more atmospheric, but not as ‘climate-controlled’. We find a place with misters, which cool the air a bit. We both start with bruschetta, then I had ‘strips of beef with arugula, pecorino and tomatoes’ – it was great! Chris had spaghetti vongole (clams) – that too was great! All washed down with a bottle of wine and water.

Chris doing what Chris does best...

Next was back to the hotel for a siesta…not sure what the Italians call it.