Europe 2007 – 6/25/07 – Rome. Click here for pictures.
The alarm goes off early this morning, and we have lots of things to do today. I get my shower first (it is so nice to have your own bathroom, I’ll miss it tonight). Shawn gets his shower and then we eat a quick bite for breakfast and board the metro. It is a long way to the La Romanina – the local mall. After taking the metro to the last stop, we board a bus. The bus driver is not very friendly to us and I don’t think he speaks much English. There are no announcements about our stop, so we ask a passenger and get off the bus when she does. Let’s hope this is the right place. Fortunately, we walk about a block and find the mall.
Once inside we find Media World, but they do not open till 10am. We walk around the mall and rest awhile. When they opened, we were able to get the camera Shawn picked out for us last night. We purchase it and quickly test it. It works and the pictures look great. We paid 219 Euros and will try to get some of the tax back at the airport. The camera is definitely an upgrade and now our vacation can continue. We board our bus and get back to the metro; it was much easier this time.
Our first stop with our new camera is San Giovanni in Laterno. This is the original church of Rome – the home to the bishop of Rome (the Pope). Before a new pope is crowned, he must sit on the throne in this church. The church is situated right next to the ancient Roman wall which means the church is barely inside the city.
Right next to San Giovanni is a small chapel containing the holy steps. These are the steps that were located outside of Pilate’s home. Jesus walked these steps when he was arrested. There are blood stains on the steps (now covered by plastic windows). According to history, Constantine’s mom had these step moved here from Jerusalem.
We entered the chapel and saw several people praying on their knees. They climb from step to step on their knees till they make it to the top. It is very difficult to see the blood stains because the area is meant only for praying, not for site-seeing.
We leave this chapel and walk toward San Clemente. This is a much smaller church – it has two levels. WE only view the top level because it costs money to go below. The top level is the more modern 17th century church while the bottom dates back to early Christianity. We briefly walk through the beautiful courtyard, but then move on to our next stop – The Vatican.
The Vatican is about a 10 minute walk from the metro station. Once we arrive, we encounter a very long line. It extends around the first corner of the building. We are fearful that we will be in line for and hour and it is very hot. However, it only takes about 20 minutes. We get inside, purchase our tickets easily and take the stairs to start our tour.
The museum is huge! We start in the Egypt rooms and see a mummy and her remains. Next, we view the tablets of Samarian times and the Mesopotamia. Then we entered a courtyard with some elegant statues. First the Apollo – he is meant to represent perfection, grace, and peace. Next to him is the Laocoon which is supposed to be powerful and harsh. We then wonder through the hall of animals – Shawn took a picture of a lion, there were no tigers. We then proceed to Michangelo’s statue of a torso, and it was very ugly.
And the museum continues…more rooms – a statue of Hercules, a purple marble basin, some elaborate purple coffins, several statues of gods (one has boobs hanging all over its body), lots of other statues with fig leaving covering the private areas, and a few tapestries. Still more…a map gallery with huge maps of Italy and other regions, rooms with frescos done by Raphael, and finally the Sistine Chapel.
Words and pictures cannot describe the beauty of this room. Shawn and I locate a seat against the wall so we can stare for about thirty minutes. Each individual pane is amazing and there are so many little fun facts involved in this room. Shawn and I watched the movie, “The Agony and the Ecstasy” prior to coming to Rome. It was fun to think about the agony that was experienced in painting this massive fresco, and then see the marvelous end result. This is something we will not forget. After a few photos we head for the door.
Our next adventure is 500 steps away. We are going to climb to the dome of St. Peter’s Basilica to see the view. It was a tiring journey, but well worth the effort. You can see the entire city of Rome from the Dome. You can also see a layout of Vatican city – the papal gardens and Vatican square.
We descend down and enter into the Basilica. Here we spend plenty of time appreciating the magnitude and standing in awe of some fabulous pieces of art. Michelangelo’s Pieta causes a quiet stillness. There is a mass taking place so we stand quietly observing the ritual. We view the massive alter that only the pope is allowed to serve from. St. Peter is buried below this altar. We see the possible site where Peter was crucified and rub the toe of another saint's statue. This place is massive.
We head out to the square of the Basilica and take some photos. The arches are huge. The statues all along the Basilica are enormous. We’ve taken so many photos with our new camera that Shawn has to adjust the memory so we can get a few more.
We leave the Basilica through the front of the square and go to dinner. We picked a place in Piazza Navona so we could people watch. Shawn had delicious cheese ravioli while I had a steak. We sit and watch for awhile. 
There are musicians, artists, and mimes everywhere. After about two hours we start the journey to our hotel. But not before stopping to get some gelato, at a shop that was recommended to us. Shawn gets melon and kiwi while I get crème, caramel, and white chocolate. What a perfect end to a perfect day.