(no subject)
We went to (the) Vatican City on Monday, April 23. Despite getting there around 9AM, the line to get in was still all the way around St. Peter's Square. It moved surprisingly quickly, and we eventually figured out why. First of all, there is no entrance fee to the basilica or to the papal tombs, so there's no lag there. But the big reason was the security. All though there were several guards and metal detectors and x-ray machines... pretty much whatever you had with you was okay. I immediately beeped going through the metal detectors and I was told to move along. It was a strange trust that nothing would happen in the holiest of holies... despite the fact that they had the metal detectors there in the first place. It's kind of like the bulletproof Pope-mobile. Nothing is going to happen, but just in case.
When we finally made it inside the world's largest basilica and the Mecca of Catholicism, I couldn't help but feel blasé about the whole thing. It was definitely impressive but after our year long tour of Europe's greatest cathedrals and basilicas, it's hard to get excited about a 25% bigger, 30% golder, and 50% more marbley church. My favorite part of the interior was Michelangelo's "Pieta." But it is now standing 20 feet back behind bulletproof glass after some nutjob tried to go at it with a hammer a few years back. Even in its protective cage it was still one of the most impressive sculptures I have ever seen.
After getting a tour of the basilica, we exited and did the walkthrough of the tombs. This was not all that exciting given our combined lack of knowledge about previous Popes, but John Paul II's was there and it was intriguing to see the followers surrounding it and praying. Maybe he'll get canonized after all. Then we left St. Peter's and walked down the street (stopping along the way for some 6 euro sandwiches with 4 euro Cokes) to the Vatican Museums. Even though this is one of the largest museums and collections of art work and artifacts in the world, most people visit these museums for one reason and one reason alone: The Sistine Chapel. This is made abundantly clear by all of the signs pointing you from the Entrance to the Exit, where the Sistine Chapel is located. I find it kind of cheap and demeaning of everything else that is there, but at the same time it does seem to take at least an hour just to walk straight through to the chapel, so I can understand it, too. We probably took the medium length tour, going in most of the rooms but not lingering anywhere for very long. Still took a good 4 hours or so, not including the 2 hours in line around the block, down the street, around another block, etc.
Finally, the Sistine Chapel. It was one of those things where it was great to have seen, but the general experience was dampened by the circumstances. The room was packed full of people, the security guards were constantly yelling at people to stop using flash photography, to stop talking, to stop sitting on the ground. I found it to be much more impressive in person than in close up photographs, despite the fact that it was straight up and a 100 feet away. You get to appreciate the work it took when your neck starts hurting after minutes of looking at it.
After that we got ripped off on another Roman dining experience: two plates of pasta and some water comes out to be almost 30 euro after taxes, cover charges, mandatory tip, patio charge, tourist charge, just for fun fee. And then we spent the last night in Rome in our hostel. The next morning, bright and early as usual, we went to catch a train back up the western coast for Pisa. This was only to be a lunch stop after we were told by numerous people that it took some imagination to make a trip to Pisa last more than 2 hours. And everyone was right. It was good to see the Leaning Tower, and the accompanying church and baptistery, but that is pretty much it. We had some pizza, walked through the tower square, then made our way back to the train station, and caught a 14:12 train to our next destination.
-BCV
When we finally made it inside the world's largest basilica and the Mecca of Catholicism, I couldn't help but feel blasé about the whole thing. It was definitely impressive but after our year long tour of Europe's greatest cathedrals and basilicas, it's hard to get excited about a 25% bigger, 30% golder, and 50% more marbley church. My favorite part of the interior was Michelangelo's "Pieta." But it is now standing 20 feet back behind bulletproof glass after some nutjob tried to go at it with a hammer a few years back. Even in its protective cage it was still one of the most impressive sculptures I have ever seen.
After getting a tour of the basilica, we exited and did the walkthrough of the tombs. This was not all that exciting given our combined lack of knowledge about previous Popes, but John Paul II's was there and it was intriguing to see the followers surrounding it and praying. Maybe he'll get canonized after all. Then we left St. Peter's and walked down the street (stopping along the way for some 6 euro sandwiches with 4 euro Cokes) to the Vatican Museums. Even though this is one of the largest museums and collections of art work and artifacts in the world, most people visit these museums for one reason and one reason alone: The Sistine Chapel. This is made abundantly clear by all of the signs pointing you from the Entrance to the Exit, where the Sistine Chapel is located. I find it kind of cheap and demeaning of everything else that is there, but at the same time it does seem to take at least an hour just to walk straight through to the chapel, so I can understand it, too. We probably took the medium length tour, going in most of the rooms but not lingering anywhere for very long. Still took a good 4 hours or so, not including the 2 hours in line around the block, down the street, around another block, etc.
Finally, the Sistine Chapel. It was one of those things where it was great to have seen, but the general experience was dampened by the circumstances. The room was packed full of people, the security guards were constantly yelling at people to stop using flash photography, to stop talking, to stop sitting on the ground. I found it to be much more impressive in person than in close up photographs, despite the fact that it was straight up and a 100 feet away. You get to appreciate the work it took when your neck starts hurting after minutes of looking at it.
After that we got ripped off on another Roman dining experience: two plates of pasta and some water comes out to be almost 30 euro after taxes, cover charges, mandatory tip, patio charge, tourist charge, just for fun fee. And then we spent the last night in Rome in our hostel. The next morning, bright and early as usual, we went to catch a train back up the western coast for Pisa. This was only to be a lunch stop after we were told by numerous people that it took some imagination to make a trip to Pisa last more than 2 hours. And everyone was right. It was good to see the Leaning Tower, and the accompanying church and baptistery, but that is pretty much it. We had some pizza, walked through the tower square, then made our way back to the train station, and caught a 14:12 train to our next destination.
-BCV