Are we there yet?

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I don't think I have ever walked up and down so many stairwells, through so many halls, through so many corridors, as we did to get to the glorious Sistine Chapel, Michangelo's masterpiece! Each hall and walkway had just thousands of pieces from ancient Rome. Art work, marble furniture, statues, carvings, mosiacs, tapestries, coins and what seemed like an unending number of interesting artifacts. (Keep in mind, there is no AC). Some of the marble "bath tubs", I am sure the Romans referred to them as something else, (but that is what they were) had to be probably 10 feet long and 5 feet wide, with a height of 4 feet. RJ said, "they were the first to invent the jacuzzi!" showed how lavishly they lived. But, although the words were never truly spoken by either of the four of us, we were all thinking to ourselves, as we kept following the signs and arrows pointing to the Sistine Chapel, "are we there yet?" Of course, all this was leading up to Michangelo's frescoed ceiling painting, and it did not disappoint! I am not even going to try and describe it with words, I'll leave it at that. From there RJ and I headed back to the Coliseum, gained entry and and walked around the Coliseum from the ground and then the top levels. Spectacular! Touching the walls of something so old really makes you think who else was there or could have been standing in the same spot as you. Next to the Coliseum was the Roman Forum area which was like the ancient Roman marketplace of the time that still had standing temples, arches, a basilica and places where politicians made their speeches, breathtaking! So much history! From there, RJ and I took off to find the Pantheon which was somewhere in the middle of town. We got off our bus and followed the map a few blocks up and a few blocks to the right asking directions along the way. We are now in the urban part of the city which was bustling. Cabs, buses, vespas, bicycles etc. We turned a corner and there it was, the Pantheon, the temple dedicated to all the Roman Gods, right there in the middle of town. Again, hundreds of people just standing around admiring this ancient structure, (125 AD). We finally made our way back to our hotel to meet up with the girls and since they had eaten already RJ and I walked to a pizzaria for our last meal in Rome before coming home, one that I think we will both always remember as we reminisced about the last 18 days of travel.

Bob

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Photos

Vatican Museum
On the way towards the Sistine Chapel. Amazing artwork along the way.