Where are we? Hmmm let me check my Rick Steves guidebook. Oh, I know! We are in . . .
Vatican City
I think the main reason the kids were so excited to visit Vatican City is because they could add one more country to their count. I was excited about that too, but there were so many other reasons to visit Vatican City too.
The ship docked in Civitavecchia, an hour by train from Rome. We didn't have too much trouble getting on the train, except it took a while to get to the train station, and by the time we got there, we missed that train and had to wait nearly an hour for the next one (Argh!). The train ride itself was smooth and easy though (double decker too). Anyway, we got into Rome later than expected, but we still thought we could do everything we had planned. We were so wrong.
Here's how the day was supposed to go. First stop, Vatican City. Check out St. Peter's square, then venture into the basilica, climb to the top, check out the amazing views. Then, hop a short bus to the Coliseum, take a few pictures just to say we'd been there. Eventually find out way to the Pantheon just because. Then make our way back to the train.
Here's what we really did.
We got to St. Peter's square and found it packed with tourists. We saw a massive line for something, and at first we thought it was for the Sistine Chapel (not on our list of sites). Nope, it was for the Basilica. It started on one side of the square (which is more like an oval), and snaked completely around (and away) from the Basilica until it came back. Let me say now that hindsight is 20/20.
Thinking this shouldn't take too long, we jumped in line. And so began our epic Vatican City queue extravaganza. At least it was a nice day (though a little chilly in the shade of the colonnades), but that didn't slow anyone down. Actually, the line slowed us down. No matter. While I held our place, Lyana and the kids were free to wander.
Sometimes they just goofed around.
Other times they just goofed around . . . wait a minute, that's all they wanted to do.
That's a mobile post office. More on that later.
A view of the Basilica from where I was standing in line (it took about 1.5 hours to get this far). The Egyptian obelisk in the foreground there is 4300 years old and was (you guessed it) originally from Egypt. (I don't know the guy posing in the front)
Amazingly (?) we were all still happy and smiling even after waiting in line for. . .ever. Lesson learned though--ALWAYS check your family pictures that some stranger takes. Seriously...we really didn't need a close up kind of picture here, trying to capture the church in the background.
Lyana says we should have just taken a selfie like this woman and just left to see something else. Story about this picture. While Lyana, Alex and Katya left to grab some lunch, I stayed in the line with Mark. In order to keep him occupied, I gave him the camera and played an 'I spy' game with him. I'd say something like "find something green" and he had to take a picture of it. We ended up with some fun shots (too many actually).
After I ran out of things to spy, he went and sat down. He would find a place further ahead, and as I'd approach him in the line, he would move ahead again. That turned into a little game of its own, and I thought it would be funny to snap a photo of him at each spot.
Can you see Mark?
How about here?
Again.
And again.
This one's easy. Now he's chomping on some pizza. I think it's funny to go back to our photos and 'people watch' to see what we inadvertently captured. I wonder what we look like in other people's photos.
Almost there.
To get into the Basilica we waited 2.25 hours. Then we waited in another line for 30 minutes to climb the 501 stairs to the top. Halfway to the top, we came out into the cupola where we could look down onto the main floor of the church where the people looked like ants we were so high. And then (trying not to get vertigo) we could look up and see the amazing artwork on the ceiling.
Then back into a very crowded hall to sloooooowly ascend more steps to the tip top and outside.
Those are the backs of a few of the 401 statues of saints that stand guard over the square below (if that's interesting to you).
More steps.
We are actually standing straight, it's the walls that are slanted.
I think it was worth it just to see this postcard perfect view.
The Vatican City gardens seen from the dome. We literally had a 360 degree view of the Vatican and Rome as we walked full circle around the dome.
Then we descended 501 steps (much more quickly than the ascent) and found ourselves inside the largest Catholic Church in the world!
And this is the famous window with the dove. It's way in the back behind the enormous (96 feet tall) bronze-covered (supposedly taken from the Pantheon) canopy. You can see it in the background in the photo above.
The canopy again.
Looking up. Don't get dizzy.
Like Leonardo's Mona Lisa in the Louvre, Michelangelo's Pietà is preserved behind bullet proof glass. The story goes that Michelangelo overheard someone attributing the statue to lesser-talented sculptor, so with pride he grabbed a chisel and etched his name into the ribbon on Mary's robe. The story also says he was so ashamed afterward that he swore he'd never sign another piece of art again.
The statue itself is the Mother Mary holding Jesus in her arms after he was taken down from the cross. I cannot do it justice with words, so I took a picture instead just for you.
We weren't allowed to have a picture with this Swiss Guard, so I just snapped a photo of him anyway (pretending to be taking a picture of something else. I am so sneaky).
This why we really came to Rome (now outside the Vatican). GELATTO!!!! Everyone's happy now.
Absolutely couldn't leave without this one. Straddling the border between two countries -- right foot in Vatican City and left foot in Italy.
I said I'd come back to this. The mobile post office is a must. Buy a card and a stamp and mail it to someone. We were cheap and just mailed a couple to ourselves. Next time we'll send one to you.
Until then, you can just read this blog.
Rob
And there will be a next time because we didn't get to see anything else in Rome and I still want to visit the Coliseum.
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