Europe Week 2: Italy-Rome, Day 3!
After our marathon day of sightseeing in Rome, we elected to chill out at our nifty apartment the next morning, before heading out to meet Suzanne at the Vatican City entrance at 2pm. Luis and I woke up at 8:30am to catch the metro over to the train station where we bought our tickets on the fast train to Venice. Termini Station reminded me of Toronto, because it had a bunch of shops underground, like a mall. We got our tickets, then grabbed coffee and pastries and caught the metro back to our neighborhood. Heading back to the apartment, we next needed to find a market where we could get milk, eggs, butter, bread, and laundry detergent. Since we had arrived late on Saturday night, and the following day was Sunday, we hadn't realized that these big metal gates we had been passing each time we went out were actually the entrances to a large open air market. It was almost like going to a swap meet, with each vendor in their own little stall around the outside, and some open stalls in the center for vegetables. We picked up everything we needed and returned to the apartment around 10am.
Luis and I had miscommunicated with Tommy, and he thought we were supposed to all be going to mass that morning, so he had all the kids up and dressed when we got back. The girls looked so cute in their matching dresses and hot pink eyelet jackets. But, we really needed to do laundry, so Luis and I had decided the day before that we would go to mass after the tour, since we'd be there at the Basilica already. Instead, I made pancakes, eggs, and bacon for breakfast and the kids wolfed down the food. Then it was time for laundry. Man, oh, man. It was awesome to have a real washer. I think we did about three loads that morning, bringing everything out to the terrace to air dry (there were no dryers anywhere we went in Spain or Italy).
We left the apartment around 12:30pm and took the metro over to the stop closest to the Vatican, then walked with about a gazillion other people in the blistering heat a few blocks until we could see the walls of Vatican City. I'd say this was the most crowded day we'd seen as far as quantity of people. We found a restaurant where we could sit inside and grabbed some lunch, though it wasn't as good as the other meals we'd had. Because there were a lot of tables to serve, our food came pretty slowly, and we started worrying that we'd be late to meet Suzanne. After we paid and started walking towards the entrance, I started feeling like we were part of a worldwide pilgrimage. There were so few people walking in the opposite direction, and just hordes of people heading to the same place we were. It was surreal. Of course, we passed quite a few nuns in our walk, and Tommy had to get another shot in with them after the great pic from the day before.
Suzanne was waiting for us in the shade outside the entrance, and we headed through security then on to the ticket lines. The dress protocol is pretty strict, and men are supposed to be in long pants, while women have to have their shoulders covered. Thankfully, Suzanne had explained all this to us the day before, so we had come prepared. Luis went to change into his long pants, and the girls and I put on our jackets. (Tommy and Ethan had come with jeans on.) Suzanne explained to us that we were now in a different country, even though they don't stamp your passport, because the Vatican is run according to its own laws, and is not subject to Italian law. They have their own guards and police force, and even their own postal stamps.
Once we showed our tickets (very beautiful souvenirs, btw) and headed through the turnstyles, we went up a long escalator, and then walked out into a large open garden/courtyard. There were small poster boards up all over the place, and groups of people gathered around each one. Of course, all of the boards in the shade were taken, so Suzanne brought us out into the center and we held umbrellas to shade us all as she started talking to us about the history of the Sistine Chapel. I realized at this point that the poster boards were all identical, and that the other folks gathered must be groups like us with their guides, talking them through what they were going to see.
It was flipping HOT, but Suzanne had so much to share with us, and it was all so interesting, that even the kids were asking questions and wanting to be lifted up to see the pictures and illustrations on the poster boards. Suzanne took us through the massive background of Michelangelo's commission for the Sistine Chapel ceiling. He was literally forced to do it by the Pope, complete with being struck in the face by the Pope for refusing and having the mark of the papal seal on his cheek. He refused for hours and when finally asked why, he said he had no idea how to paint! I'm not sure if he just didn't know how to paint frescos or paint at all, but regardless it was astounding for me to learn this part of the background of what became his most famous contribution to art. Suzanne then went through each of the major scenes we would see on the ceiling, and then pointed out key things to watch for when we went in to see it and The Last Judgement huge wall mural also done by Michelangelo much later in his life in the same room.
After the fascinating history lesson, we started walking through the endless corridors of the Vatican museum. It really was overwhelming, since you could spend a day just in one of the corridors and rooms, in order to appreciate each piece of artwork on display, but there was simply too much, and luckily Suzanne kept us walking. Lots and lots and LOTS of statues or pieces of statues. Was neat to see one with the eyes still in place, the way they were back in when they were created. They look much more realistic that way. Had no idea they actually had eyes originally until I saw this and Suzanned explained it to us.
She stopped every so often to tell a story about a particular piece. One that was found by a farmer out digging in his field, that turned out to be all the way from Greece thousands of years ago.
The one of the partial torso that so inspired Michelangelo that even when he was losing his sight in his later years, he would come to feel the lines of the statue. In the alcove of one hallway, we saw what looked to be just a piece of a big toe that was literally two feet tall, made of while marble. When you try to fill in the rest of the size of the entire statue, it warps your brain. And, all of this stuff is tagged with a number, just so it is recorded. So crazy.
At one point, we came out into another courtyard and filled our water bottles then got a picture of us with the dome of St. Peter's Basilica in the background, and Suzanne told us more history about the original Basilica and the building of the current Basilica. And, then it was up some more stairs and on to more hallways. We passed actual tombs made out of pophyry, and a massive tub made entirely of pophyry that was said to be used by the Emperor's wives for bathing. It must have been 10 feet across in diameter, if not bigger.
Some of the hallways we walked through had painted ceilings done in some method that made it appear to be covered with wood work. Of course, I can't remember what it was called, but it looked very real, and totally tricked your eyes to make you think you were seeing multiple layers of ceiling with shadows and crevices, not just one surface with a bunch of paint on it. So creative!
I remember one air conditioned hallway (no wonder I remember!) that was climate controlled for the massive, MASSIVE tapestries that where hanging in order to be observed. Suzanne took us briefly through the art of creating a pictoral tapestry, and again my mind just gave up trying to understand it after awhile. The size of these tapestries must have been 20 feet tall by 25 feet wide. They took something like 30 years to complete. Mind boggling. And, Suzanne was pretty disgusted that with all the money that the museum takes in each day from visitors, that they weren't putting more into the preservation efforts of all this priceless stuff.
Towards the end of all the corridors, we walked through rooms of paintings, and the huge pieces done by Raphael. Suzanne had given us the option to skip the Raphael rooms, since we were so tuckered out, but we unanimously voted to keep pushing through to make sure we saw as much as possible. They were so worth the detour. The stories she told first about Rafael, and then about Raphael and Michelangelo's dislike for each other made it that much more poignant when she shared how Raphael had snuck into the Sistine Chapel towards the end of Michelangelo's work, and once he saw what Michelangelo had done, he came back to his completed painting of the Greatest Minds (sorry, don't know the real title), and added Michelangelo as a tribute for what he'd seen.
And, then it was time to reach the Sistine Chapel. The experience was hard to describe. The guards were definitely checking for covered shoulders, hats removed by guys, and overall decorum as we entered. The room was utterly packed with people, with everyone craning their necks upwards to see this massive and beautiful life work. It was relatively quiet for having hundreds of people all jammed in together looking at the same thing, with most people speaking in whispers. Photography was prohibited, but I saw dozens of people taking pictures and video. The ceiling was higher up than I expected, and gave me even more appreciation that Michelangelo could paint these huge figures with perfect proportions and positions while practically painting upside down and 60 feet up in the air while balanced on scaffolding. Suzanne gave us 20mins to wander through the room, and I took some time to sit at the very back of the room with the girls, so I could stare up at the paintings without overbalancing. It was worth all of that time she'd spent in the hot sun explaining the different things we were now looking at.
Once we finished with the Sistine Chapel, it was time to say goodbye to Suzanne. We were sorry to part ways after the phenomenal job she had done to impart as much history and reality of Rome to us. She dropped us at the entrance to St. Peter's Basilica, and we walked in to join the mass that was underway. Just getting to the mass was a five minute walk across just stunning architectural beauty. Once we were seated, it was all conducted in Latin, which made it useless to likely 99% of the people there, but I spent the entire time looking at the art everywhere. The 6ft wide dove in the stained glass brought tears to my eyes as I stared at the sun shining through it down into this stunning cathedral.
After mass, we wandered around the back of the cathedral, which is where Michelangelo's Pieta statue is located. It is so beautiful. Brought more tears, both from the subject matter and the talent of Michelangelo when he was only 23 years old.
Once we went outside, we convinced Tommy to head out to go shopping, since he'd been waiting to do that all day, and we still wanted to go see the tombs of the Popes with the girls, then go to the Vatican shop for souvenirs. So, off he went, with a bit of trepidation, and we proceeded first to collect some holy water from the one water fountain that was blessed, and then down into the chamber with the tombs of the past Popes. The one that meant the most to me, no surprise, was that of Peter, the first Pope, and the founder of the Christian church (be you Catholic or Protestant!). His tomb is set way back from the walkway, behind plate glass, and just gorgeous.
I have to admit that I turned the video camera on down in this area and tried to shoot some video as I walked by, with my camera down at hip level. Haven't checked it yet to see what it turned out like! Gracie and Alanna kept repeating for days, "I can't believe I got to see Peter's tomb!", so it obviously meant a lot to them as well.
Our last stop inside the Vatican was at the gift shop, where we picked up rosaries for the kids and Luis' parents, some beautiful postcards, plus I found one of those flippy books of Rome that Suzanne had used the day before. I spent a few Euro buying Vatican stamps so the kids would have them as souvenirs, but they are extremely plain, so I'm not sure it is going to be all that exciting for them once I get them into their scrapbooks. Oh well.
We began the long trek back, stopping for pictures at the huge fountain in the square outside of St. Peter's Basilica, then exited Vatican City and were back in the streets of Rome.
Gracie shot this one of Luis and I at the end of our long day.
My feet felt like they were molten lead stuck on the end of my legs by this point, and we still had blocks to walk to the Metro. So, we stopped for some well-earned gelato and then continued on our way to the Metro station. The kids had once again stuck through all of this walking and history lessons and museum and church service all with minimal whining and complaining about the heat or having to be quiet or not being able to stop and rest much. We have the BEST kids in the world...seriously.
Returning to the apartment, we realized that Tommy had no way to get back through the electronic gate, plus Luis needed to find some medicine at a pharmacy, so he went back out to Piazza del Popolo while I stayed at the apartment with the kids. It was meant to be, because he ran into Tommy as he was coming back with all of his bags of goodies...Italian shoes, belt, purse (for Brittany), and oodles of souvenirs for folks back home. He was flying high with all of the wheeling and dealing he'd done to knock down the prices. :-)
We ended our last full day in Rome with dinner back at the first restaurant we'd eaten in. The one with the caprese and flatbread to die for. It was once again a meal to remember. We toasted our success at the past two days, and talked about getting ready for the train the next day.
Luis and I stayed up until after midnight doing all of the packing again, and then got up at 7am to have another two hours before our car service picked us up at 9am. I think we got the least amount of sleep in Rome, because we had packed our days so full, but boy was it worth it!
Next up...Venice!