September 2, 2019

Sometimes it is hard to come up with a clever title.

On our first full day in Italy, we were carefully watching the weather and we decided that between Monday and Tuesday that the chance of rain was greater on Monday. Most of the attractions at the Vatican would be inside – so we decided this would be a safer bet. (Plus we didn’t really know how slick the cobblestone would be once it was wet).

We had breakfast at the hotel – this was a real treat. It was included and it was a feast! Fresh fruit, eggs, deli meats, cheese, yogurt, and lots of bakery items from the bakery across the street. There was also an espresso bar with a woman who took care of us – and carefully crafted some beautiful latte art.

If you are planning a trip to Italy – be sure to get to the Vatican early. We had gotten there shortly after it opened and the line was already long. When traveling with Jon – we often are ushered to the front of the line or a separate line entirely. So we didn’t have to stand in this line. We started off by walking through a few of the different halls/galleries – with a lot of items ranging back hundreds of years from different periods.

The main attraction that we had wanted to see was the Sistine Chapel. One of the women that helped us with our headsets told us that it would be best if we had gone in reverse and started with the chapel. And wow. It was more amazing than I thought possible. There is no photography – however – we may have a picture or two that Andy snuck.

I had heard so many references to the Sistine Chapel – but it is more astounding than you can imagine. I’m going to buy a book with all of the images. My neck had started to hurt from staring up so high. (Plus it was pretty crowded throughout the entire Vatican – with a lot of other tour groups).

Many of the other rooms you could take pictures. These were actually just as beautiful – and will give you an idea of how amazing these frescoes are. Listening to the audio tour really gave us an inside scoop on what was happening in each painting – and there were so many stories to learn.

Vatican City is it’s own country – so it was quite fun to realize that we were checking a second country off of our list. They even had their own little post office where you could send postcards out to friends and family back home!

We stopped to have a little bite to eat at a little restaurant before we began our adventure at the Basilica. This is one of the largest churches in the world – second only to I believe a church that was built in the Ivory Coast. I can’t even begin to tell you how large this church is. If you come to visit – you will need to set aside any beliefs you might have about religion. This place is impressive. To give you an idea – construction started in 1506 – and was completed in 1626. Michelangelo designed the dome but never saw it completed – and the dome is so impressive.

It is rumored that the first Pope – St. Peter’s remains are buried beneath one of the altars in the main nave. Pretty cool history to review. We also had downloaded Rick Steve’s Audio Europe app – which allowed us to experience his terrible jokes along with learning so much about the history of different landmarks. (I would suggest checking it out if you have an upcoming European trip – but please note: you will have to put up with terrible jokes).

Inside St. Peter’s Basilica you will also find one of his early sculptures – Pietà. You may have seen this sculpture or image previously – but it is after Jesus has died and Mary is holding him in her lap. Quite moving. Pietà is behind glass now – previously someone had come in with a hammer and started to hack at the sculpture.

We had read ahead of time that there was a dome climb. We had to climb 551 steps. It was hot and humid. But wow! It was beautiful. Once we had climbed the dome we were able to see in better detail that what we had thought were paintings, were actually mosaics! So beautiful. Once we were able to reach the top we were treated to a wonderful view of Rome – and some pretty amazing thunder in the distance.

We had decided that we had earned a treat – so we stopped for gelato on the way out. We are definitely trying to eat as much gelato as we can while we are in Italy. It is just so tasty!

I had also read about Castel Sant’Angelo – we didn’t feel like going in at that point and it appeared that there was limited accessibility. I had only really wanted to get a few pictures of the place – it is a very unique looking building.

We decided we wanted to rest, freshen up, and then head out to dinner. It was Jon and Yvonne’s anniversary – and we were in for a special treat. We went to Osteria Barberini. They had been here on one of their previous trips – and it was fantastic. It is a very small restaurant – and Jon had made reservations about 4 months ago. I can see why – and because we were sitting so close to the front desk we heard the man turn away no fewer than about 10-15 people.

Definitely look that place up if you’re in Rome!

It did rain in the afternoon/evening – and we weren’t impacted too much. (Thankfully). But we did get to enjoy a pretty good thunderstorm.

Up next: Colosseum/Roman Forum/Pantheon