Day 19, May 13th: Catholic for a Day
Location
Roma, Italy
Summary
Crossed over into the Vatican, saw the Sistine Chapel and Saint Peter's Square, chilled in Piazza Navona, and saw the Pantheon
Highlight
Saint Peter's Square
Lowlight
Searching frantically for Ariel who went home on her own after she and Porter stubbornly disagreed on which way to go
Accommodations
Slept fine in same hostel; roommates loud as hell
Word du jour
Il Compto ~ bill
Porter Ass**** Meter (PAM)
1
Today, the two Jews and the Ukrainian Orthodox got in touch with our inner Catholic. We spent half the day in the Vatican.
Before we left for the Vatican this morning, I ran into the two cute Brits from Siena. They had made their way to the same hostel. I chatted with them briefly before losing them when I went to wash my clothes. The three of us then made our way to the Vatican. Just like for the Accademia, we woke up at a very decent hour and hoped that we wouldn't wait in line forever.
When we crossed the invisible border into the Vatican, I saw the longest line I had ever seen. It snaked around three street corners and as we turned each corner, we could only see more and more people patiently lined up. We did the same. Surprisingly, the line moved insanely quickly and we were inside within the hour.
To get to the Sistine Chapel, the main attraction, you have to walk through various other sections. Like sheep, we slowly made our way to the main attraction. While I confess that I wasn't in awe at first, its beauty and complexity slowly sunk in.
After the Chapel, we walked down this cool spiral staircase to Saint Peter's Square, from where the Pope sometimes sticks his head out. The Square did take my breath away. It was so very impressive, the fountains, the basilica, the space itself. From the post office in the Square, I mailed a postcard hoping it would arrive before my return home. It hasn't arrived yet!
As we left the Vatican towards some castle, a mass of people were chanting and praying, heading towards the Square. They were honouring a certain saint, I believe. I didn't enjoy the castle we visited. I don't know if I was still suffering from Museum Blues or what.
We were all exhausted after the castle so we headed to chill at another square, Piazza Navona. There we saw this street performer who was playing with this sock puppet who was supposed to be Michael Jackson. He had his Michael sock do the moonwalk to Smooth Criminal. It was great!
After the Pantheon and dinner, we called it a day.
Today, the two Jews and the Ukrainian Orthodox got in touch with our inner Catholic. We spent half the day in the Vatican.
Before we left for the Vatican this morning, I ran into the two cute Brits from Siena. They had made their way to the same hostel. I chatted with them briefly before losing them when I went to wash my clothes. The three of us then made our way to the Vatican. Just like for the Accademia, we woke up at a very decent hour and hoped that we wouldn't wait in line forever.
When we crossed the invisible border into the Vatican, I saw the longest line I had ever seen. It snaked around three street corners and as we turned each corner, we could only see more and more people patiently lined up. We did the same. Surprisingly, the line moved insanely quickly and we were inside within the hour.
To get to the Sistine Chapel, the main attraction, you have to walk through various other sections. Like sheep, we slowly made our way to the main attraction. While I confess that I wasn't in awe at first, its beauty and complexity slowly sunk in.
After the Chapel, we walked down this cool spiral staircase to Saint Peter's Square, from where the Pope sometimes sticks his head out. The Square did take my breath away. It was so very impressive, the fountains, the basilica, the space itself. From the post office in the Square, I mailed a postcard hoping it would arrive before my return home. It hasn't arrived yet!
As we left the Vatican towards some castle, a mass of people were chanting and praying, heading towards the Square. They were honouring a certain saint, I believe. I didn't enjoy the castle we visited. I don't know if I was still suffering from Museum Blues or what.
We were all exhausted after the castle so we headed to chill at another square, Piazza Navona. There we saw this street performer who was playing with this sock puppet who was supposed to be Michael Jackson. He had his Michael sock do the moonwalk to Smooth Criminal. It was great!
After the Pantheon and dinner, we called it a day.