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Published: August 9th 2007
Rome
Via V. Veneto - finally a clean street!Ciao! Early Tuesday morning I took a stroll alone and stumbled across Via Vittorio Veneto. I walked down the grand avenue and noticed that it is lined with luxury hotels, shops and cafes. There is even a Harry’s Bar. I was thrilled, as the avenue was clean; there was no graffiti on the buildings and not a gypsy in sight. It reminded me of Santana Row back home. I also noticed that there were many good looking Italian men dressed in expensive suits. Yes! I couldn’t wait to get back and tell the rest of what I found, especially Skye.
I would have to put off strolling back down Vittorio Veneto, as we had a tour planned for the Vatican Museum and Basilica of St. Peter’s both located in Vatican City. Vatican City is a small country of 100 acres that is contained in Rome. It is has its own postal system, train station, helipad and radio station. Oh and did I mention it also has its own armed guards…. not just any guards, but the Swiss Guards. The girls were more than happy to ask them for directions, as the photos show.
We had a wonderful tour guide
Rome
Now this is what I've been wanting to see all week...nice cars and men in suits! who started our tour with the Vatican Museum. We marveled over the Greek and Roman statues and found humor in the broken penises and fig leaves. The church’s solution to cover up the naked statue was to either remove the penis or cover it with a fig leaf. I do not think the artist intended for his nude statue to be fig leafed. Thankfully there were so many naked statues that the church realized they could not cover them all up and left many of them nude.
We soon left the broken penises behind and walked down a long hall which hung tapestries; then another long hall that contained geographical maps; then on to what we all really wanted to see, The Sistine Chapel. There were absolutely no photos allowed in the Chapel, and you were required to be silent. We all marveled over the ceiling that took Michelangelo 4 years to paint. The ceiling is a pictorial of biblical stories. The most famous image is that of God and Adam reaching out to each other and touching. This is when God gives Adam his soul.
Our guide then ended our tour with the Basilica of St. Peter.
Vatican City
There are two other globes in the world by the same artist that created this one...can you guess where they are located? This is by far the largest, richest and most impressive church on earth. It is so massive that there are makers on the floor that show where other famous churches would fit if they were placed inside. The church stands on six acres and can house 95,000 worshippers! That is huge! We were all impressed with the main alter, as it can not be missed. It has a seven story-tall bronze canopy. It sits directly over St. Peter’s tomb. Michelangelo’s Pieta is housed here. Pieta is a work showing Mary with a dead body of Christ taken down from the cross. Michelangelo was only 24 when he sculpted it. It was believed by others that someone so young could not have created something so beautiful, and Michelangelo was not given credit for the work. Hearing this, Michelangelo broke into the church late at night and under candlelight carved his name on the piece. It is the only piece of art signed by Michelangelo. You need several days to see everything in the church. We did not have time to go below to see the tombs of Saint Peter and our beloved Pope, John Paul. Next time though, next time.
Vatican City
Skye is ready for the tour! We strolled through St. Peter’s square and back into Rome. We stumbled across a Scottish pub that served Shandies. I ordered one, as I remembered how great they were in London. It was so refreshing. It was also great to wash down my all-bun-where’s-the-beef hamburger.
Later in the evening I gave a quick 50 cent tour of via. V. Veneto and then we had some of the best gelato. The gelato quickly helped us forget the horrible meal we had last night. Tomorrow is a free day. Hurray! We’re looking forward to the adventures that lie ahead. Ciao! Renee
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