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Geo: 41.8955, 12.4823
We were out of the hotel by 7:50 to take the Metro to the Vatican Museums. When we got there, we soon learned that there had been a power outage in the Vatican, so no one was able to go inside yet, regardless of reservation time. We waited in line for maybe twenty minutes before Reid decided to switch our morning and afternoon activities. So we left the museum line and went to Piazza San Pietro to stand in line for the security check to get into St. Peter's.
Walking inside is just as great as ever. And, as ever, I still can't get a good picture of the Pietà.
For the first time, I was able to walk around behind the Baldacchino. I've been told this before but I still can't believe it: there are no paintings in the basilica. It looks like the whole place is painted (wherever it's not marbled or gilded, that is), but it's all micro-mosaics. That's why you can take photos inside. The place is so vast and beautiful and, to be honest, kind of over the top, that you can see why Martin Luther got all exercised and slapped his 95 theses on
Piazza San Pietro
A nun and a priest are walking through the piazza ... a church door.
I wanted to take the elevator up to the roof, but I managed to get sucked into the vortex of a monster tour group and got swept along down to the piazza, at which point I would have had to stand in the security line again, and it had nearly tripled in size. Uh-uh. So I walked back out into Rome and stopped into a souvenir shop to buy magnets and a little “cats of Rome” calendar. And then I kept walking till I found a little bar for lunch. For five euros, I was able to sit at a table and have a prosciutto and cheese panini and a bottle of water. A pretty good deal, I thought.
Then I walked by Old Bridge Gelato and got a cup of limone and cioccolato. The limone was so good, and at one point I even found a lemon seed! There's nothing like sitting in the Roman sun enjoying gelato.
The group met up again at 1:45 and went back over to the Vatican Museums. They must have fixed the electricity because we were able to get in. We had whisper systems again, and these ones were pretty slick. Instead
of one ear bud, we had two; and instead of a clip-on mic,
Reid had a little headset that had two mics that stuck out in front of his chin.
The Museums were jam-packed, but we managed to go at a pretty good clip. I just realized that I missed seeing my favorite little statue of the Good Shepherd. Actually, we might have marched right past it and I wouldn't have known. We ended up in the Sistine Chapel, where we were
entertained by the guards shouting, “Silencio!”
A couple of people stayed at St. Peter's so they could go to Mass, but most of us went back to Repubblica on the Metro. I went to pick up my laundry and then back to the hotel. At 6:00, Sheree, Sandy, Lisa and I went for dinner at Reid's recommendation: Birreria Marconi near
Santa Maria Maggiore. I think it may have been an Irish pub because they serve Irish breakfast, have clovers sprinkled throughout, and also have lots of Guinness signs. It must be called Marconi because of all the old radios they have on a shelf that runs around the room.
I had a snakebite and penne all'arrabbiata, which had just the right kick to
it. We are all so freakin' exhausted, that none of us could work up too much enthusiasm though. On the walk back (in the pouring rain), Sheree and I decided to go the passaggio in the street behind our hotel to D'Agnigno to get gelato. I had bacio this time. Mmmmmm!
Even though the hotel has wi-fi and I've been given the password, I can't get it to work. Kevin couldn't get his iPhone to work either, so I don't feel like it's just me. I'm hoping the Cinque Terre has wi-fi.
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