When in Rome........Part 3

Next stop was Rome! Oh how I have dreamed of seeing Rome. I don't know what it is about Rome that fascinates me but I have just always looked forward to seeing Rome. It was, hands down my favorite stop on the cruise. Jeff and I had said all along that he really wanted to see Vatican City and I REALLY wanted to walk through the Sistine Chapel. Again I go back to me studying art and architecture in college and I never dreamed I'd get a chance to walk through the Sistine Chapel and see Michelangelo's work in person. So when we were looking at excursions Jeff found one that took us to Vatican City and also did a walking tour through Sistine Chapel. We were torn the whole time because as much as we wanted to see Vatican City we also wanted to see the Colosseum. But we decided that we'd rather see Vatican City and that we'd have to try and go back one day to see the Colosseum.

It was a bit overcast that day and raining and sprinkling on and off. It was warm though........probably in the upper 60's. We weren't bothered with the weather much though. But one thing you will learn about Italy is that the peddlers are deep and VERY persistent. I think in every place we went we were greeted by half of dozen peddlers as soon as we got off the bus trying to sell us umbrellas. They don't just stop with a simple "no" either. And we were deeply warned about pick pockets in Italy too. Thankfully we weren't bothered by anyone and no one we knew in the group was either.

When we set off that morning on our tour we got a pleasant surprise as the tour guide let us know that we were going to be stopping for a restroom break before we went to the Colosseum. At first I was wondering if we were on the wrong tour but then she went on to say after that we'd be on to lunch and then Vatican City. So yay........we were gonna get to see it all.

The Colosseum

Our tour guide was really awesome! She's an archaeologist that works in Vatican City and two days a week she does tours. Yay for us because she had A LOT of knowledge and told us things I never knew. She was a real treat to have as a tour guide. She took us to the Colosseum and while she gave us some free time she spent a lot of time telling us about the Colosseum and just painting a picture of how life was back then. She told us that the various tiers of the stadium was based on where you ranked in society and women and children were not allowed to sit with the men. So the men sat at the bottom, women and children on the second tier and then slaves and servants on the very top. Of course the emperor had his own area. It's amazing to me that the Colosseum is still standing to this day.
She told us that they had a concert there last year and she said the sounds from the singer literally caused parts of the walls to fall down. So it's under constant moderating to make sure that it remains stable and safe.

Inside the Colosseum

See where part of the wall is missing at the top and you see the rock, that's where the walls started coming down after the concert

They teased us with a drive by Vatican City on the way to our restaurant for lunch. But we went on to a great lunch of Italian pasta, dessert and coffee. Italian coffee is REALLY good. And you all know how much I love my coffee!
So after a good lunch the sun came out and we set off to Vatican City. I can't say enough positive things about our tour guide and I wish I had the time to tell you all the wonderful history she shared with us. But since I can't, I'll try and focus on some of the highlights and tell you about the visit.

Vatican City

She spent a great deal of time talking about Michelangelo's time in the Sistine Chapel. She said that the Pope back then was an emperor type in that he told people what he wanted and he didn't ask. So at that time the Sistine Chapel's ceiling was blue and had kind of little stars on it. The Pope didn't like it and so he called Michelangelo there to paint the ceiling. He told Michelangelo he had three weeks to paint it. Michelangelo told him that he couldn't possibly paint it in three weeks that he'd need that long to decide what to paint because he was a sculpture, not a painter. The Pope told him not his problem and he had three weeks. So Michelangelo prepared and locked himself inside with scaffolding and he began his work. He was locked in there for five years! So when he was finally done he came out and the Pope came in and he said to him it was "okay". But he refused to pay Michelangelo. And Michelangelo ask him why he wouldn't pay him when he'd practically blinded himself painting and spent five years never coming out. The Pope reminded him of telling him he had three weeks to paint it and he took longer, so therefore he was not going to pay him. And so Michelangelo was never paid for painting the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel.
When the Pope decided he wanted him to paint the wall that has Judgment Day on it, again he called Michelangelo. This time Michelangelo locked himself in and it took him 4 years to paint it. He painted it in such a way that the good people and the people that would be delivered to heaven are on the right and the bad people and the people that were doomed to an eternity in hell are painted on the left. The Pope is painted on the left for never paying him.

A VERY small fraction of the sculptures inside the hallways

I wish I could have taken pictures inside the Sistine Chapel. But unfortunately there is no pictures allowed, even without a flash. However you can take pictures in the hallways leading up to it and they are remarkable. Our tour guide studied under the man that did the cleaning of the Sistine Chapel years ago. And inside they left a spot that has been untouched and it's amazing how much they were able to clean and restore. That one spot is practically black. She said that he said while he was up there that there were paintings where the hand alone was bigger than his face. I still have a hard time wrapping my head around being able to paint something to that scale. Even when I seen some of the large paintings at the Louvre I thought the same thing.

Beautiful mosaic flooring in the areas of the hallways

Just a small part of the ceilings inside Vatican City's hallways

One of the many hallways leading up to the Sistine Chapel

This is the rotunda of as you turn to go into the Sistine Chapel

So from the Sistine Chapel we headed to St Peter's Basilica and got to go inside and take a few pictures and just marvel at it's beauty. The area to the crypts is secure but I tried to take a picture peering down to the door and it was very difficult to get a good shot. The area going down is very beautiful and it's got lots of red velvet and brass and gold trimmings.
And I couldn't help but take a picture of the Swiss Guards in Vatican City.

The door into St Peter's Basilica. All those that pass through it, sins are forgiven

At first glance inside St Peter's. It's huge and there is so much to see and not enough time to take pictures of it all

One of many sculptures inside

The door to the crypts

A view of Vatican City square from St Peter's Basilica

It was an amazing day! I really think that Rome is my favorite place that I have got to visit and see history in all my travels so far. It was not only a treat to see it but it was a treat to have such a great tour guide.

Swiss Guards

The to the right of St Peter's, where you see the small square atop of the roof is the Sistine Chapel and that is the famous chimney that the people await the white smoke when a new Pope is determined

Next will be Pisa and Tuscany!
To be continued.................