After our 'excitement' in almost missing the train to Naples, I may have padded our AM schedule a bit. We were out the door for our walk to the 8:10am tour at 7am. I should probably mention that we can practically see the Vatican from our AirBnB, so this lead to us arriving at the meeting point well before our appointed meeting time.
Now I had booked this tour through a site called Viator in a bit of haste while sitting at the Atlanta Sky Club (I know, I know! Works been super hectic though, so I didn't do all my homework.) the first thing I didn't realize, and to be fair I'm not entirely sure I would have figured out with my usual research, is that Viator appears to sub out the work to a local company called City Wonders, Which isn't a huge deal, but does make me wonder how much of a mark-up Viator added. The other thing I didn't realize is that 'early access almost an hour before the general public' means practically nothing. At our meeting point alone there had to be 100+ people queuing. And as near as I could see, there were at least 4 other tour companies doing the same thing on streets nearby.
So, we join our 'semi-private' tour of 10 other people, get our stickers, our headsets, and our tour guide and head into Vatican City. After heading thru security and metal detectors (pro tip, do NOT bring a large bag or backpack with you. Security will make you store it for your visit as several people near us discovered,) you walk out onto a plaza with an amazing view of the papal gardens and the back of the Basilica.
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| The Dome of St Peter's as seen from the Balcony of the Vatican Museum |
From there we raced through part of the Vatican Museum to the Courtyard of the Pine cone. This garden was dominated by a huge pine cone (a pagan symbol of fertility) at one end, and Egyptian statuary along the one side. Having gone thru an Egyptology phase when I was young, I was particularly caught by the Egyptian statues (As a side note, there are supposedly ~13 Egyptian obelisks scattered around Rome out of an original 20 something. Between the ones here and in London and elsewhere, I'm guessing Egypt would like some of their history back.)
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| A well guarded temple |
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| Objects appear larger in photos. This was actually the size of a small dog |
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| Pagan goddess. Oh my! |
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| Imagine a football length hall in this style! |
From there we moved onto tapestries and who boy did we see a number of them. Some from the 18th century and one even older if I understood correctly. Then it was on the old Papal apartments and Raphael and Botticelli and more. It was weird, I felt both rushed and like we were stalling for the main event. Oh, and it was crowded. I mean jostled at every turn, watch where you step, don't trip over that kid crowded.
Eventually we made our way down the stairs to the entrance Sistine Chapel. After you make it through the cattle chute like entrance and get a chance to catch your breath, it really is amazing. If you can, find a spot near the center where you can stand stock still and just absorb. Oh, and try to ignore the guard shouting 'No pictures!' every 20 seconds. Seriously though, even if you aren't Catholic or don't subscribe to Christianity, I think you have to admire the scale of the work that was undertaken in the Chapel. It's hard to comprehend that Michelangelo completed the whole thing in less than 10 years and mostly be himself.
After an all too brief 15 minutes in the Chapel, it was time for us to exit to make room for the next 'semi-private' group. We headed out what is actually the front entrance of the Chapel (Oh, btw, that means that you've entered from the back making most of the ceiling upside down from your perspective. Make sure you pause just before you leave to see the whole thing 'right side up' so to speak.) From there we headed downstairs to St. Peter's.
We paused to look at the Jubillee doors, which have once again been sealed and cemented until 2025 and then head to the entrance. Walking into St. Peter's is a bit disorienting. The scale of all of the artwork sculpture, and structure is so massive that it takes a few minutes to understand just how huge the space you're standing is. After catching our breath, we stopped by the Pieta and Pope John Paul II's tomb. They appear to be preparing for some sort of construction on PJPII's tomb as they were putting solid baracades in place that kept us at least 200' from either monument. Our guide thought they were preparing to add a glass coffin so they could display PJPII's embalmed remains.
Etched in the floor of the main aisle are the locations and lengths of all of the major basillica's. We stopped by the marker for the one in Washington (which I visited not that long ago) and saw how relatively short it is in comparison. Our guide took us to the main alter and shared an amusing insite into meanings of the facial expressions of the woman on the coat of arms adorning the canopy pillars. From there we saw the tomb of the popes and walked thru a wedding being held at the Chapel. And just like that, our tour was done and we found our selves on the square.
We were both a bit wiped out from our early morning forced march to the meeting place, so we decided to head back to the hotel and change out of long pants and pick up our back packs. We also needed to refine our plan of attack for our last two days in Rome to make sure we didn't miss any of our 'must see' items.
We decided to grab some lunch and then hit the Tivoli Fountains and Spanish steps. We headed over to a market square at Campo De Fiori. I love open air markets because they give you a sense of the culture. I think Campo Fiori is getting pretty touristy though because probably a third of the booths were devoted to tourist wares like Roma t-shirts and souvenir packs of dried pastas. However there is a great bakery at one end called Forno Campo De Fiori. They do a thin, floppy rectangular style of pizza that is amazing. We had a piece of Margherita and a piece of potato; both were amazing! From there we wandered the market and picked up some amazing strawberries (Teeny, tiny, and so strawberry-y you'd link they were made in a lab,) cherries, and two pieces of cheese for later snacking. I also noticed that artichokes, a Roman delicacy, were in season.
We headed back to the room to drop off our purchases and then back out to the city. We worked our way over to Trevi Fountain. My grandmother used to sing the 'three pennies in the fountain' to me when I was kid and often told me about having been to Rome. And yes, she deposited her pennies there, but I don't recall her making a return trip. As it didn't seem to work for her, I elected to save my pennies for some other body of water.
We then turned and picked our way over to the Spanish Steps. Somehow I was expecting less outdoor mall and more...Something impressive. The Steps are neat; they sort of remind me of Lombard street in San Francisco, inexplicably, but I wouldn't make another trip to see them. However, they are pretty good for people watching and provide a tie-in for a note about scams while travelling.
So, you're headed to Rome and everyone tells you about the pickpockets. What no one seems to talk about are all of the scams that get run on tourists. Now, the guys aggressively selling scarves and selfie sticks (!!!) everywhere your turn aren't great, but at least you get some sort of thing in return for your money. At the Steps I experienced a new-to-me scam. As we were standing at the top level, a guy with a huge bouquet of roses comes over to me and tries to hand three to me 'For luck, lady.' I demurred with a 'No, thank you' and he starts insisting. 'They're free! I'm giving to you for free!' and he proceeds to try to jam them in my folded arms. At this point a raise my voice and sharply say NO! and he tries again! Kris' hackles are now raised so as I say no louder still, Kris takes a step towards the guy with a no for good measure. The guy finally backs away. But at this point, we're both a bit fascinated with how this could possibly end. So we watch two other guys working the same idea on the level below us. The woman in a young couple accepted the roses. The hawker then insists the pair kiss. they sheepishly do so. The hawker then starts talking to the couple. We were too far away to hear unfortunately, but he soon convinces them that they should take a picture. The couple hands over their phone (!!!) to the guy who snaps a couple shots and then again insists that they kiss and he hands their phone back. the hawker must have made some implication for a tip because the guy of the couple suddenly jams his one hand in his pocket and keeps it there. The hawker is clearly getting more insistent about a tip and follows the couple as they shy away a bit. Finally, the guy hands the hawker something that folds and the couple and the hawker part. Now, she did get three roses and I'm sure they got a couple of cute snaps, but was it worth whatever he handed over? And how often does 'Give me a tip!' turn into marking where a guy keeps his wallet when he goes to protect it so someone can steal it later? Tough to tell. Net, if someone tries to hand you roses on the Spanish Steps? I'd say no as much as it takes.
In Paris the scam was that a guy walking in front of you pretends to see a ring on the ground and 'picks' it up. He then tries to get you to split the windfall of 'finding' a gold ring on the street by getting you to buy him out. I've not seem that one work but it was everywhere when we were there last. Again, regardless of where you are, if a stranger is trying really hard to 'give' you something, it's probably a much better deal for them than it will be for you.
Eventually we made our way down the stairs to the entrance Sistine Chapel. After you make it through the cattle chute like entrance and get a chance to catch your breath, it really is amazing. If you can, find a spot near the center where you can stand stock still and just absorb. Oh, and try to ignore the guard shouting 'No pictures!' every 20 seconds. Seriously though, even if you aren't Catholic or don't subscribe to Christianity, I think you have to admire the scale of the work that was undertaken in the Chapel. It's hard to comprehend that Michelangelo completed the whole thing in less than 10 years and mostly be himself.
After an all too brief 15 minutes in the Chapel, it was time for us to exit to make room for the next 'semi-private' group. We headed out what is actually the front entrance of the Chapel (Oh, btw, that means that you've entered from the back making most of the ceiling upside down from your perspective. Make sure you pause just before you leave to see the whole thing 'right side up' so to speak.) From there we headed downstairs to St. Peter's.
We paused to look at the Jubillee doors, which have once again been sealed and cemented until 2025 and then head to the entrance. Walking into St. Peter's is a bit disorienting. The scale of all of the artwork sculpture, and structure is so massive that it takes a few minutes to understand just how huge the space you're standing is. After catching our breath, we stopped by the Pieta and Pope John Paul II's tomb. They appear to be preparing for some sort of construction on PJPII's tomb as they were putting solid baracades in place that kept us at least 200' from either monument. Our guide thought they were preparing to add a glass coffin so they could display PJPII's embalmed remains.
Etched in the floor of the main aisle are the locations and lengths of all of the major basillica's. We stopped by the marker for the one in Washington (which I visited not that long ago) and saw how relatively short it is in comparison. Our guide took us to the main alter and shared an amusing insite into meanings of the facial expressions of the woman on the coat of arms adorning the canopy pillars. From there we saw the tomb of the popes and walked thru a wedding being held at the Chapel. And just like that, our tour was done and we found our selves on the square.
We were both a bit wiped out from our early morning forced march to the meeting place, so we decided to head back to the hotel and change out of long pants and pick up our back packs. We also needed to refine our plan of attack for our last two days in Rome to make sure we didn't miss any of our 'must see' items.
We decided to grab some lunch and then hit the Tivoli Fountains and Spanish steps. We headed over to a market square at Campo De Fiori. I love open air markets because they give you a sense of the culture. I think Campo Fiori is getting pretty touristy though because probably a third of the booths were devoted to tourist wares like Roma t-shirts and souvenir packs of dried pastas. However there is a great bakery at one end called Forno Campo De Fiori. They do a thin, floppy rectangular style of pizza that is amazing. We had a piece of Margherita and a piece of potato; both were amazing! From there we wandered the market and picked up some amazing strawberries (Teeny, tiny, and so strawberry-y you'd link they were made in a lab,) cherries, and two pieces of cheese for later snacking. I also noticed that artichokes, a Roman delicacy, were in season.
We headed back to the room to drop off our purchases and then back out to the city. We worked our way over to Trevi Fountain. My grandmother used to sing the 'three pennies in the fountain' to me when I was kid and often told me about having been to Rome. And yes, she deposited her pennies there, but I don't recall her making a return trip. As it didn't seem to work for her, I elected to save my pennies for some other body of water.
We then turned and picked our way over to the Spanish Steps. Somehow I was expecting less outdoor mall and more...Something impressive. The Steps are neat; they sort of remind me of Lombard street in San Francisco, inexplicably, but I wouldn't make another trip to see them. However, they are pretty good for people watching and provide a tie-in for a note about scams while travelling.
So, you're headed to Rome and everyone tells you about the pickpockets. What no one seems to talk about are all of the scams that get run on tourists. Now, the guys aggressively selling scarves and selfie sticks (!!!) everywhere your turn aren't great, but at least you get some sort of thing in return for your money. At the Steps I experienced a new-to-me scam. As we were standing at the top level, a guy with a huge bouquet of roses comes over to me and tries to hand three to me 'For luck, lady.' I demurred with a 'No, thank you' and he starts insisting. 'They're free! I'm giving to you for free!' and he proceeds to try to jam them in my folded arms. At this point a raise my voice and sharply say NO! and he tries again! Kris' hackles are now raised so as I say no louder still, Kris takes a step towards the guy with a no for good measure. The guy finally backs away. But at this point, we're both a bit fascinated with how this could possibly end. So we watch two other guys working the same idea on the level below us. The woman in a young couple accepted the roses. The hawker then insists the pair kiss. they sheepishly do so. The hawker then starts talking to the couple. We were too far away to hear unfortunately, but he soon convinces them that they should take a picture. The couple hands over their phone (!!!) to the guy who snaps a couple shots and then again insists that they kiss and he hands their phone back. the hawker must have made some implication for a tip because the guy of the couple suddenly jams his one hand in his pocket and keeps it there. The hawker is clearly getting more insistent about a tip and follows the couple as they shy away a bit. Finally, the guy hands the hawker something that folds and the couple and the hawker part. Now, she did get three roses and I'm sure they got a couple of cute snaps, but was it worth whatever he handed over? And how often does 'Give me a tip!' turn into marking where a guy keeps his wallet when he goes to protect it so someone can steal it later? Tough to tell. Net, if someone tries to hand you roses on the Spanish Steps? I'd say no as much as it takes.
In Paris the scam was that a guy walking in front of you pretends to see a ring on the ground and 'picks' it up. He then tries to get you to split the windfall of 'finding' a gold ring on the street by getting you to buy him out. I've not seem that one work but it was everywhere when we were there last. Again, regardless of where you are, if a stranger is trying really hard to 'give' you something, it's probably a much better deal for them than it will be for you.
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