Transit strikes can kiss my ass.
Our plan was to spend most of the day at St. Peter's and the Vatican, and the Metro would take us right there. Based on the amount of walking we did yesterday, we weren't in any mood to walk over there. We got to the Metro station entrance and it was closed. There were people milling about in uniforms, so we thought maybe something wasn't functioning properly. Eventually Brenda went to ask what was going on and overheard that the trains were closed for awhile and we should take a bus. Great. We walked to the bus stop, just a stone's throw away from where we were, and it was getting pretty crowded. We tried to figure out what bus we needed, but it's a jumble of gobbledygook. We eventually figured it out though. In the process, we also realized that we needed to get our bus pass first. Whoops.
Okay, bus pass, check. Now, we just need a bus. I can't tell you how many busses passed us that would have worked for us before we gave up. Well, they would have worked, if we were the size of a 3 year old. Nearly all of the busses just kept going because they couldn't fit any more people. Because of the transit strike, which apparently only affects trains, the busses were too packed to fit onto. There was no way we were getting onto any bus any time soon. And more than 45 minutes had gone by since attempting to take some kind of transportation. We were getting increasingly annoyed as the minutes ticked by and the bus status kept changing from saying our bus was coming to completely disappearing from the in-bound list. SONUVA.
I think we finally hit our breaking point and opted for a cab. And of course, while waiting for our cab, our bus came. But, again, it was too bloody full for the 3 of us, and the other 800 passengers wanting on. We hailed a cab and decided the fee would be worth it. We pointed him to Castel Sant'Angelo, an old mausoleum and military prison near St. Peter's. I had become fairly decent at reading the map at this point, and I began to think the driver was either taking the long way around to get more fare, or he didn't understand where we were going. From our stop, we should have basically gone west to get across the Tiber River. However, at one point, we passed the Wedding Cake and that's directly south of where we started. I reiterated to the driver where we wanted to go and he assured me he understood. Dammit, he could be scamming us and I have no idea how to prove it. Maybe this is the quickest route. Maybe he's low on drinking funds for the month. Oh well, it only ended up being around 10 Euro, so it wasn't as bad as we thought.
Very sad tourists. With some random guy in the background trying to photo bomb us.
St. Peter's is in the distance.
The ceiling in the front before you walk inside.
Nothing can really prepare you for walking up to the main doors, let alone actually going inside the Basilica. It's so incredibly beautiful and intricate. It literally took my breath away. There was so much to see, that I didn't know where to look first. Oh wait, yes I do. Directly to the right of the main entrance is Michelangelo's Pieta. It is encased in glass due to an attack on it in the 70s, but you can still see it's impressive beauty. With my camera, I was able to get a close up view, and can even make out Michelangelo's signature on Mary. It's the only time he ever had to sign any of his work. After this, everyone knew who he was.
We started our tour in an open air part of the Vatican, where we had a great view of the cupola in the background. Then, we headed to a courtyard in the center where Brian regaled us with the history and stories of the Sistine Chapel. He wouldn't be able to talk much once we got inside of there, so he wanted to spend some time going over everything with us. And what we quickly realized was that, as Brenda put it, Michelangelo was the Kanye West of his time. A big egotistical sonuva-b who knew he was the shit and didn't give a rat's ass about anyone else. Maybe Kayne West did a little Renaissance research before he pulled out his own douchebaggery.
We next made our way down the length of the Vatican museum, where we saw hundreds of sculptures, paintings, tapestries, tubs, you name it. Even the floors and ceilings were part of the art and culture. I can't even begin to document all of the stuff we saw. We were allowed to take photos of just about everything, except for the Chapel itself. Brian basically warned us that we would be drawn and quartered if we even thought about it. Okay, nothing that bad, but he did warn us that if we were caught taking photos, the guards would not only insist upon deleting the photo, but they would demand the entire memory card to destroy. I didn't want to risk it, so I put the turtle away. However, people were still trying to take photos and all they got was a light scolding by an unenthusiastic guard. WTF. Where was the violent memory card removal used as an example to everyone? Dangit.
In we went to the Sistine Chapel, and two things hit me right away. One, I thought it was supposed to be quiet in here. These people are being obnoxiously loud in such a place of reverance. And two, I thought it would be bigger. Either I forgot everything I learned in art history, or I never really learned the size of the Chapel. But I was taken aback a bit by how small it was. Don't get me wrong, it's not tiny by any means, especially when you look at how much Michelangelo painted. But, I envisioned something much more massive.
There are two square sections in the ceiling that the cleaners left untouched years ago when all the dirt and soot were removed from the paintings. It's just to show the difference between how it looked in Michelangelo's day, and how it looked after centuries of smoke damage. The difference was incredible. One girl's dress was supposed to be an orangeish color, and underneath the uncleaned portion, it looked dark brown. I hope that whoever restored it got paid a lot, because I can imagine it wasn't easy!
Brian had told us a few stories about how Michelangelo's first ceiling sections were much more intricate and full of more people and objects. The Pope eventually wanted to see what was being painted and he tore down all the scaffolding. Until that point, Mike hadn't seen his own work on the ceiling. He quickly realized that from the floor, the intricate scenes were difficult to discern. Brian said it was probably the best thing to happen to Mike, since he rethought out his process and changed what he was doing. His paintings became less intricate and involved fewer people.
After almost 4 hours, we made our way out of the Vatican, impressed and a bit overwhelmed by all that we had seen. Brian was a fabulous tour guide and he made everything come to life. I think my art history professor could learn a thing or two about that since she always made me want to jab myself in the eyes during class.
My friend Chris had recommended a restaurant called Al Picchio for dinner that was both close to our hotel and the Trevi Fountain. I was still a little sensitive about the whole lift thing, but when it comes to food, Chris usually doesn't mess around. Nikki opted for a Peroni, an Italian beer, and Brenda and I kept with the wine theme. I ordered Insalata Caprese for my first course, which is basically just fresh tomatoes and mozzarella drizzled with olive oil and herbs. Delicious. Fresh mozzarella has totally rocked my world. My second course was lasagne al forno, or baked lasagna. Not the best I've ever had, but still very very good. I kind of had food envy because Nikki ordered risotto and it was absolutely amazing. Brenda ordered some kind of roast beef and it was pretty damn weird looking. Not like any roast beef I've ever seen!
Lasagna.
We kind of got a second wind at this point and headed over to Trevi to throw our coins in. Brenda couldn't remember what shoulder we were supposed to throw our coins over, but hopefully we got it right so we will return!! Brenda did all at once, but I opted for two tries. One over the shoulder and then two granny style! The stupid a-holes with the flowers were also here and we shut them down pretty quickly. Nooooo! I don't want your damn roses!
We checked out three different gelaterias until we found one that looked good. Yes, today was a 2-gelato kind of day. :) This place was by far my favorite gelato the entire trip. I mixed raspberry with white chocolate and it was like there was a party in my mouth. And it came with a tiny cone on top. What's cuter than that? I downed this ice cream in no time flat. Nikki and I quickly realized that when it came to ice cream, we pounded it like a shot, where Brenda nursed it like a fine scotch.
St. Peter's is in the distance.
Castel Sant'Angelo first started as a mausoleum, turned into a fortress, a papal residence, a barracks and a military prison. Now, it's just a national museum. Since it had an entrance fee and we wanted to to spend the most time inside St. Peter's before our tour of the Vatican got underway, we opted not to go in. So, we made the short trek over to St. Peter's and it loomed up in front of us. Good grief, I can see why this is the largest church in the world. It was beautiful. We stopped at a shop right before it to pick up a few souvenirs. My mom wanted a rosary for herself and my grandma, and I picked one up for myself as well. We then made our way into the square and I couldn't believe how massive it was. Fortunately, the line for entrance was not very long at all and it was moving incredibly quickly. Airports could learn a thing or two about the Swiss Guard and getting through security quickly!
They are renovating/repairing one end, so they placed partitions up hiding the work.
No swimsuits or wrestling singlets allowed.
Swiss Guard. Michelangelo designed these uniforms in his day and the designs are still used today.
The ceiling in the front before you walk inside.
Nothing can really prepare you for walking up to the main doors, let alone actually going inside the Basilica. It's so incredibly beautiful and intricate. It literally took my breath away. There was so much to see, that I didn't know where to look first. Oh wait, yes I do. Directly to the right of the main entrance is Michelangelo's Pieta. It is encased in glass due to an attack on it in the 70s, but you can still see it's impressive beauty. With my camera, I was able to get a close up view, and can even make out Michelangelo's signature on Mary. It's the only time he ever had to sign any of his work. After this, everyone knew who he was.
The photos won't be able to do it justice.
So intricate and beautiful.
Ceiling.
Michelangelo's Pieta....Mary holding Jesus's body.
Don't worry, the turtle has awesome zoom skills.
So pretty.
Zoom in a bit more.
Now zoom in some more.
Zoom in allll the way.
Brenda getting a photo of me getting a photo. ;-)
The ceiling is so beautiful!
Having Mass at the very front.
One of many confessionals spread out throughout the church.
List of all of the popes.
The square from the front door of St. Peter's.
We spent some time walking around and seeing as much as we could see. I'll let the pictures do all the talking, but I can't possibly post all of the ones I took. There was actually a mass going on in the very front, and I'm not sure who was attending. I assume people who live in Vatican City, because there was no way to get up there from the visitor section.
After we finished with the inside, we headed to the line to go up to the cupola. Unfortunately, the line was moving a bit slower and we quickly realized we were running out of time. We had to meet our tour guide at 2pm for our tour of the Vatican Museums, and we had less than two hours to get up inside, take photos, come back down and eat lunch. It just didn't seem feasible at all. I didn't want to cut our time at the top, but we couldn't be late to our tour or it would leave without us.
So, we opted to come back the next day and go up in the cupola. We had time on Saturday, and it seemed like the best idea. We quickly realized that was the best idea ever since we were all wearing our cranky pants from being so bloody hungry. It took us a bit of time to find a restaurant (Brenda and Nikki refused cart pizza again), and we eventually found one on the main drag. It probably wasn't the best idea, since it would be overpriced, but we didn't care too much at this point. We just needed food. (Our tour would be 4 hours long, and we couldn't make it on empty stomachs!)
The restaurant was Nova Caffe and the waiter assured us we could get a quick lunch in time to be at our destination. I felt weird ordering food in a place that also sold calendars, books and magnets. But, oh well. I ordered the tortellini papalina, which was tortellini in a cream sauce. It was pretty good, not the best, but not bad either. Some of the tortellini weren't cooked all the way through. Unfortunately, we got our bill and it cost us the same amount as our dinner from the night before that had included wine and 3 desserts!
This is what everyone warns you about. Don't sit down to eat because you will be charged a fee. Well, we fell trap to this only because we were tired and starving.
After we finished with the inside, we headed to the line to go up to the cupola. Unfortunately, the line was moving a bit slower and we quickly realized we were running out of time. We had to meet our tour guide at 2pm for our tour of the Vatican Museums, and we had less than two hours to get up inside, take photos, come back down and eat lunch. It just didn't seem feasible at all. I didn't want to cut our time at the top, but we couldn't be late to our tour or it would leave without us.
So, we opted to come back the next day and go up in the cupola. We had time on Saturday, and it seemed like the best idea. We quickly realized that was the best idea ever since we were all wearing our cranky pants from being so bloody hungry. It took us a bit of time to find a restaurant (Brenda and Nikki refused cart pizza again), and we eventually found one on the main drag. It probably wasn't the best idea, since it would be overpriced, but we didn't care too much at this point. We just needed food. (Our tour would be 4 hours long, and we couldn't make it on empty stomachs!)
The restaurant was Nova Caffe and the waiter assured us we could get a quick lunch in time to be at our destination. I felt weird ordering food in a place that also sold calendars, books and magnets. But, oh well. I ordered the tortellini papalina, which was tortellini in a cream sauce. It was pretty good, not the best, but not bad either. Some of the tortellini weren't cooked all the way through. Unfortunately, we got our bill and it cost us the same amount as our dinner from the night before that had included wine and 3 desserts!
This is what everyone warns you about. Don't sit down to eat because you will be charged a fee. Well, we fell trap to this only because we were tired and starving.
Tortellini!
It was also here that I experienced my first uni-sex bathroom, and my first toilet with no seat. This would unfortunately not be the only time this would happen. I walked in to the only WC in the restaurant and I'm in line with a guy. WTF. I walk into the first stall and there is no seat. I think this is a mistake, a broken toilet, so I head out and walk into the next vacant stall. Same thing. Huh. This is weird. Guess I'll be perfecting the hover technique today. Come to find out, this is a very common occurrence in Italy. So, either they are really afraid of germs and want everyone to hover, or they don't need an actual seat. Either way, I'm disturbed.
We made it to our meeting point for the tour and were introduced to Brian, our tour guide. He had a faint accent we assumed was British and talked kind of quietly. This did not make me happy as I have a hard time hearing people. Hopefully it was just a problem since we were on a busy street. And Brian did inform us about how the transit strikes work. The workers wait until the rush hour people make it to work, then they strike and close down the trains until rush hour in the evening, when they stop their strike, and open the trains again. Are you kidding me? That sounds like the damn dumbest thing I've ever heard. Doesn't that defeat the purpose of a strike? But, at least it means we should be able to take the train back home that night.
Brian took us around the perimeter of part of Vatican City to the entrance to the museum. The walls were very fortress-like, and who do you think designed them? Michelangelo, of course. He's a real mult-talented fellow, that Michelangelo. ;-)
It was also here that I experienced my first uni-sex bathroom, and my first toilet with no seat. This would unfortunately not be the only time this would happen. I walked in to the only WC in the restaurant and I'm in line with a guy. WTF. I walk into the first stall and there is no seat. I think this is a mistake, a broken toilet, so I head out and walk into the next vacant stall. Same thing. Huh. This is weird. Guess I'll be perfecting the hover technique today. Come to find out, this is a very common occurrence in Italy. So, either they are really afraid of germs and want everyone to hover, or they don't need an actual seat. Either way, I'm disturbed.
We made it to our meeting point for the tour and were introduced to Brian, our tour guide. He had a faint accent we assumed was British and talked kind of quietly. This did not make me happy as I have a hard time hearing people. Hopefully it was just a problem since we were on a busy street. And Brian did inform us about how the transit strikes work. The workers wait until the rush hour people make it to work, then they strike and close down the trains until rush hour in the evening, when they stop their strike, and open the trains again. Are you kidding me? That sounds like the damn dumbest thing I've ever heard. Doesn't that defeat the purpose of a strike? But, at least it means we should be able to take the train back home that night.
Brian took us around the perimeter of part of Vatican City to the entrance to the museum. The walls were very fortress-like, and who do you think designed them? Michelangelo, of course. He's a real mult-talented fellow, that Michelangelo. ;-)
We started our tour in an open air part of the Vatican, where we had a great view of the cupola in the background. Then, we headed to a courtyard in the center where Brian regaled us with the history and stories of the Sistine Chapel. He wouldn't be able to talk much once we got inside of there, so he wanted to spend some time going over everything with us. And what we quickly realized was that, as Brenda put it, Michelangelo was the Kanye West of his time. A big egotistical sonuva-b who knew he was the shit and didn't give a rat's ass about anyone else. Maybe Kayne West did a little Renaissance research before he pulled out his own douchebaggery.
Photo op!
Our tour guide, Brian, talking about the different scenes inside the Sistine Chapel.
Hall of sculptures.
Tub made from Egyptian marble that one of the popes used to use for group bath time. The Romans mined every single bit of that red marble from Egypt. Seriously, none left.
Hall of tapestries.
This is an effect called trompe l'oiel, which means "fool they eye". It's actually painted on the wall, but the effect makes it appear as if it is sculpture on the wall. Hey, it's one thing I remember from college!
Brenda likened this hall to a Vegas casino. The gold leaf in the ceiling art reflects the lights and gives it a neon-type glow.
We next made our way down the length of the Vatican museum, where we saw hundreds of sculptures, paintings, tapestries, tubs, you name it. Even the floors and ceilings were part of the art and culture. I can't even begin to document all of the stuff we saw. We were allowed to take photos of just about everything, except for the Chapel itself. Brian basically warned us that we would be drawn and quartered if we even thought about it. Okay, nothing that bad, but he did warn us that if we were caught taking photos, the guards would not only insist upon deleting the photo, but they would demand the entire memory card to destroy. I didn't want to risk it, so I put the turtle away. However, people were still trying to take photos and all they got was a light scolding by an unenthusiastic guard. WTF. Where was the violent memory card removal used as an example to everyone? Dangit.
In we went to the Sistine Chapel, and two things hit me right away. One, I thought it was supposed to be quiet in here. These people are being obnoxiously loud in such a place of reverance. And two, I thought it would be bigger. Either I forgot everything I learned in art history, or I never really learned the size of the Chapel. But I was taken aback a bit by how small it was. Don't get me wrong, it's not tiny by any means, especially when you look at how much Michelangelo painted. But, I envisioned something much more massive.
There are two square sections in the ceiling that the cleaners left untouched years ago when all the dirt and soot were removed from the paintings. It's just to show the difference between how it looked in Michelangelo's day, and how it looked after centuries of smoke damage. The difference was incredible. One girl's dress was supposed to be an orangeish color, and underneath the uncleaned portion, it looked dark brown. I hope that whoever restored it got paid a lot, because I can imagine it wasn't easy!
Brian had told us a few stories about how Michelangelo's first ceiling sections were much more intricate and full of more people and objects. The Pope eventually wanted to see what was being painted and he tore down all the scaffolding. Until that point, Mike hadn't seen his own work on the ceiling. He quickly realized that from the floor, the intricate scenes were difficult to discern. Brian said it was probably the best thing to happen to Mike, since he rethought out his process and changed what he was doing. His paintings became less intricate and involved fewer people.
After almost 4 hours, we made our way out of the Vatican, impressed and a bit overwhelmed by all that we had seen. Brian was a fabulous tour guide and he made everything come to life. I think my art history professor could learn a thing or two about that since she always made me want to jab myself in the eyes during class.
Pretty staircase back down!
At this point, I don't think we could have walked one more step without screaming in pain, so we took a few moments to rest our poor feet and aching backs. We weren't looking forward to the journey back home, but at least the trains should be working at this point. We stopped to get some gelato at a shop by our hotel and I mixed strawberry and lemon. It wasn't as good as I had yesterday, but it wasn't bad. A quick cat nap followed and we were then ready for dinner.
At this point, I don't think we could have walked one more step without screaming in pain, so we took a few moments to rest our poor feet and aching backs. We weren't looking forward to the journey back home, but at least the trains should be working at this point. We stopped to get some gelato at a shop by our hotel and I mixed strawberry and lemon. It wasn't as good as I had yesterday, but it wasn't bad. A quick cat nap followed and we were then ready for dinner.
Rome at night.
My friend Chris had recommended a restaurant called Al Picchio for dinner that was both close to our hotel and the Trevi Fountain. I was still a little sensitive about the whole lift thing, but when it comes to food, Chris usually doesn't mess around. Nikki opted for a Peroni, an Italian beer, and Brenda and I kept with the wine theme. I ordered Insalata Caprese for my first course, which is basically just fresh tomatoes and mozzarella drizzled with olive oil and herbs. Delicious. Fresh mozzarella has totally rocked my world. My second course was lasagne al forno, or baked lasagna. Not the best I've ever had, but still very very good. I kind of had food envy because Nikki ordered risotto and it was absolutely amazing. Brenda ordered some kind of roast beef and it was pretty damn weird looking. Not like any roast beef I've ever seen!
Al Picchio!
Mmmmmmm....wine!
Lasagna.
We kind of got a second wind at this point and headed over to Trevi to throw our coins in. Brenda couldn't remember what shoulder we were supposed to throw our coins over, but hopefully we got it right so we will return!! Brenda did all at once, but I opted for two tries. One over the shoulder and then two granny style! The stupid a-holes with the flowers were also here and we shut them down pretty quickly. Nooooo! I don't want your damn roses!
One over the shoulder.
Two in granny style. That damn jacket is glowing!
We checked out three different gelaterias until we found one that looked good. Yes, today was a 2-gelato kind of day. :) This place was by far my favorite gelato the entire trip. I mixed raspberry with white chocolate and it was like there was a party in my mouth. And it came with a tiny cone on top. What's cuter than that? I downed this ice cream in no time flat. Nikki and I quickly realized that when it came to ice cream, we pounded it like a shot, where Brenda nursed it like a fine scotch.
BEST gelato the whole trip!
Brenda was also approached by a guy who said, "Can I have a taste?"
Um, no.
A little more than tipsy and stuffed from ice cream, I maneuvered us back home like a champ with no map..."Rome you are my bitch lover!" This is a Wedding Crashers reference in case you were wondering what crazy crap I was spouting. The Map Maven was conquering Rome and its jacked up streets.
Brenda was also approached by a guy who said, "Can I have a taste?"
Um, no.
A little more than tipsy and stuffed from ice cream, I maneuvered us back home like a champ with no map..."Rome you are my bitch lover!" This is a Wedding Crashers reference in case you were wondering what crazy crap I was spouting. The Map Maven was conquering Rome and its jacked up streets.
One more photo shoot before bed. Time for a "duckface" photo. Duckface is the annoying lip-pursing photo that people take all the time. We definitely exploited this the entire vacation.
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