MONDAY, MARCH 23
Vatican Day. If you get to Rome and decide to go to the Vatican (and how can you not, really?) spend the extra money for a "Skip-the-Lines" tour that Viator offers. Only 12 people in our group, we met at 8am (Vatican opens at 9) and we walked passed several lines of people to enter, then into a different Security Line, then into a different entry line once we were in the building. Of course, it doesn't last forever and tour upon tour upon tour begin to co-mingle, but only having 12 people in your group helps you to not get separated from your guide. You get separated, you probably get escorted out of the building, your day ended.
The noise level stays acceptable because everyone has little headphones so the guides can talk quietly and you can hear everything. It's very well organized. It's also every bit as huge inside as it looks. Room after room and after room of art work. It's hard to take it all in unless you do some studying before you go (no, I didn't).
And you cannot -- can. not. -- take photos of the Sistine Chapel, even though you can take photos everywhere else of the magnificent art pieces. And not because TPTB are trying to preserve the ceiling. I found this on line:
"The prohibition against photography has been in place for several decades now, and while many assume that the no-photography rule is in place to prevent the flashing of cameras from affecting the art, the real reason dates back to the restoration of the chapel's art that began in 1980 and took nearly 20 years to complete...When Vatican officials decided to undertake a comprehensive restoration of Michelangelo's art in the chapel, the price tag for such an endeavor prompted them to seek outside assistance to fund the project. In the end, the highest bidder was Nippon Television Network Corporation of Japan...In return for funding the renovation, Nippon TV received the exclusive rights to photography and video of the restored art...For the record, Nippon has stated that their photo ban did not apply to "ordinary tourists," but for simplicity's sake—lest some professional photog disguised himself in Bermuda shorts and socks and sandals—authorities made it an across-the-board policy.
The full article is on a web site http://mentalfloss.com/article/54641/reason-why-no-photography-allowed-sistine-chapel
Oh well. I didn't take many photos in the Vatican and I haven't been taking a lot of photos on vacation. I think you can run the risk of seeing foreign countries and experiencing new adventures filtered through a camera lens instead of letting them wash over you. But a few would have been nice. I'm now on a quest to find the definitive book on the art of the Sistine Chapel. Michelangelo inserted himself and few Popes in a few places and had an angel give the Pope the equivalent of "the finger" in one corner of the ceiling. Cool stuff like that is in there (we had a very great and knowledgeable guide). But here are a few of the photos I did take:
I am not sure what this represents, but it's famous in Italian lore. It is the acorn that Dante refers to in the Inferno. It's pretty darn big.
This is the "Door of Forgiveness" (yikes that title sounds like something out of a Monty Python movie). It was opened every 25 years and anyone who passed through it had all their sins forgiven. Over the years, the time in between opening it has shrunk and now Pope Francis will be opening it up some time in December, a mere 10 years after it was last opened.
The Pieta is still a gloriously beautiful work of art. Michelangelo was only 24 when he sculpted it and it is the only piece he signed, probably because he was unknown at the time. After this piece was revealed, he no longer signed any of his works. It must now be seen behind glass after a crazy guy took a hammer to it some years back, requiring restoration.
This is the crypt of Pope John XXIII. He is fully exposed behind glass. It's fascinatingly creepy, for some reason. Later on we were able to walk past the crypt of what is believed to be the remains of St. Peter. It is in a small room with a glass door, so tourists are separated by about 10 feet or so from the actual sarcophagus. No photos at all allowed there.
After the Vatican tour and a lunch -- pizza & beer at a restaurant's outside tables again -- Gene, the trip's designated map reader, decided we would take the "shorter" way back to the Metro to get to our apartment. About an hour later, and many uphill blocks, we were still walking. Part of our journey involved this nice outside staircase:
Goes back up there pretty far...... Took a telephoto shot to see how far up it goes.
At least it was downhill. We did finally get back to the apartment, ready for a nap. My Fitbit went berserk and registered.......
22,436 steps for the day (I believe a new record)
Total for the vacay to date: 129,810
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