On Saturday morning we ate breakfast and then joined our group to start our tour. Unfortunately, it was overcast and even a little drizzly outside. That wasn't enough to slow us down though! We first walked over to Saint Peters. Even though we had just been yesterday, it was great to come back with an actual tour guide. Tour guides are not allowed to speak while inside cathedrals, so she gave us lots of interesting information outside which I enjoyed. I love hearing all the details about something!
This was a beautiful sand sculpture of the nativity outside of the cathedral.
The artwork inside is so beautiful, like the Tomb of Pope Alexander VII by Bernini (left) or the copy of Raphael's Transfiguration (right) which is actually a mosaic if you look closely.
Because it was overcast outside, the inside was much darker and not as great for taking pictures as yesterday, so we didn't take very many this morning. However, it was still an awe-inspiring place to be.
We left Vatican City and headed back into Rome. We started to walk down Fashion Row which has things like Gucci, Armani, and Prada. At the start though is the Lego Store; we couldn't resist snapping this picture.
We continued on to the Spanish Steps. I don't completely see what the draw is here, but it appears every tourist comes by. The girls ran to the top with Miki and the other kids to get a good view and count the steps.
Next we walked over to the beautiful Trevi Fountain. Of course we threw a stone in for good luck in coming back!
Korey treated everyone to gelato while we were here too.
After we left the Trevi Fountain, we walked over to the Pantheon. This is such a imposing structure.
I have been to Rome twice before, and both times, the Pantheon was closed where we couldn't go inside. I was excited to go in today! It was worth it too; this was an interesting place. We all liked seeing the tomb of Princess Margherita who had the best pizza named after her!
After this we walked around the corner where we had the most fun (though late) lunch. It was all about pizza tasting! They brought out a small pizza to each table for us to try, then they would bring out a different one, then another different one, and so on. We tried the margherita, four cheese, vegetarian (no sauce), vegetable (sauce with vegetables), prosciutto, sausage, and a couple others that I can't remember right now. They all had the cracker-thin crusts, and they were so good. We all enjoyed this meal!
We had a few hours in the afternoon on our own, and we, like most people, headed back to the hotel to rest up some. In late afternoon, we gathered back together for what was quite possibly the coolest part of the whole trip. This is where Disney magic really pays off. Our group of 43 people were given after hours access to the Vatican Museum and Sistine Chapel. This place sees an average of almost 30,000 people per day. We've gone through before and it's simply shoulder-to-shoulder herding through; you can hardly enjoy the artwork. This was completely different though. Our guide (and two security guards) led us through the otherwise empty and beautiful areas.
This Mexican nativity was the first thing we saw; it was in the lobby around the security checkpoint. I found it interesting there was no Jesus in this nativity. Miki explained that the Catholic tradition is that Jesus arrives at midnight on Christmas, so he's not in most nativities at this point.
We were then escorted through, and we enjoyed seeing and learning about so many interesting and beautiful artifacts, paintings, mosaics, sculptures and such. Here were a few of our favorites.
This hall of old map tapestries was fascinating and gorgeous.
The breathtaking School of Athens by Raphael.
Finally, we were allowed in to the Sistine Chapel. It was unreal to be in there with so few other people and see these unbelievable masterpieces up close. We were thrilled when they said near the end that we had three minutes to take pictures (without flash of course). Ryan and I devised a plan where I would take pictures of the ceiling (with the Creation of Adam), and he would get pictures of the end (with the Last Judgment). Our plan worked well.
This was truly an unforgettable experience.
We went back to the hotel quite content and yet hungry, so we decided to simply eat in the hotel bar. We were surprised at just how delicious the food was. Every one of us enjoyed our meal and went to bed very satisfied from the day.
On Sunday morning, we were glad to see beautiful skies again. Unfortunately, it was time to spend our last few hours in Rome. We started out by driving the bus past a few monuments; Ryan got this great one of the Wedding Cake.
We ended up back at the Arch of Constantine and Colosseum. Great picture spot!
We then had the chance to walk through the gladiator's gate into the massive Colosseum. That was quite a feeling if you imagined what they must have been thinking and feeling at that time.
Our two decided this made a good dueling spot with the guides' light sabers.
What a view.
"What would your face look like if you found out you had to be a gladiator?" Lily went with sad while Mia choose determination.
We walked upstairs to the top walking level so we could look down too. This architecture here is amazing!
From here, it was time to head back to the bus to start our drive north. Mia was thrilled to get to lead the group with our Roman guide by carrying the light saber!
Thanks Rome! You've been amazing!
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