We set an alarm for 7am and went down to breakfast at 7:30am when the tiny cafe opened. Did I mention this small hotel has only 12 rooms? Well, half of them could be seated at a time in the even smaller cafe. There was a nice selection of food - not Hotel West End nice, of course (that was amazing)- but we had eggs and yogurts and cereal and fruit and all sorts of pastries...and espressos and cappuccinos, natch. I took a chance and ordered a decaf cappuccino and it was safe...and delicious.
We had talked to Oltjon at the front desk last night and he advised that we upgrade our Vatican Museum and Sistine Chapel ticket, purchased online, for a guided tour. Every Wednesday morning, there is a papal audience in St. Peter's Square (free, but one needs more then the couple of days notice we had to snag tickets). As a result, the front entrance of St. Peter's Basilica is closed off until 1pm or so. Oltjon said the line to enter would stretch down the street in front of the church for hours, but if we upgraded to a guided tour, we'd be able to enter the Basilica through a side entrance from the Sistine Chapel directly into the nave. Though we came prepared with Rick Steve's audio tours on iPhone, the promise of skipping lines both at the Vatican Museam and St. Peter's Basilica was too tempting. Especially as it rained on and off all day long.
My overwhelming impression of the Vatican Museum? Crowds. Never ending crowds, people wall to wall. And our guide told us that today was not a busy day at all. It was crowded and hot (and today wasn't hot) and about a trillion percent humidity. In the Vatican Museum courtyards, people were reluctant to stand outside which made the congestion even worse. And the sheer opulence of the art is almost too much to take in. I would enjoy taking the tour with about 2% of the visitors that we had today. As it was, it became a bit of an endurance contest.
Still, we saw some things we really liked. The gallery ceilings were incredible, hundreds of works of art in each one.The map hall was impressive. Long before Google Maps the early explorers did a pretty good job of mapping the Roman Empire. And the tapestries were breathtaking. I could have enjoyed those all day. But the sculptures were just neverending, so large and beautiful that they lost their impact. At least for us. But the biggest surprise was all the statues depicting Greek and Roman mythology. I didn't see that coming in the Vatican Museum!
One of the many soggy courtyards
Ceiling in the Vatican Museum
Missing human- mass of humanity
Vatican Museum ceiling (ditto below)
Before today, I was most anticipating the Sistine Chapel, but by the time we arrived there, after all those glorious ceilings in the museum, I had to tell myself to be impressed. Yes, Michelangelo painted this one, lying in his back, but it, too, was crowded and we kept being pushed onward, onward, and there was no time to just stand there and contemplate. And there no pews to sit in even if we hadn't been caught in this mass of humanity. G admitted that today was the first time he ever wanted to be pope, simply to have evening visiting privileges and the ability to view all of the splendors in the absence of people.
(Photos aren't allowed in the Sistine Chapel)
We exited the Sistine Chapel through the 'secret' door at the back right corner. We were routed outside for just a minute to purchase tickets for 6€ each to climb to the observation deck, almost at the top of the dome. When we made our quick trip outside, we saw the long lines of people standing in the rain that Oltjon had told us about. I'm sure glad we saved our energy to climb the 551 steps to the top of the dome!
Our climb started out gently, with wide steps with low rises. But before too long we realized why there were signs advising that people with heart issues avoid the climb and and instead take the elevator as far as the Basilica rooftop. We reached the rooftop and took a few photos of a bride and groom (please tell me they took the elevator) posing there for photos and then continued back inside. Another hundred or so steps brought us to an observation platform on the inside of the dome. G said my first words were OMG OMG OMG (that's gosh, not God...I was in St. Peter's Basilica, after all!). Looking down on the Basilica for the first time was absolutely breathtaking. Only a semi-circle of platform was open, and we made our way around it, snapping photos through the plastic wire fence as best we could.
Stairs continuing up from the rooftop
Rooftop of the Basilica
A rare break
Our first glimpse of the inside of St. Peter's Basilica
The Apse where 5pm Mass was held. The dove window above the altar is actually 6 feet tall, and the
letters in the words that encircle the Basilica, which are Jesus' words to Peter from the Bible, are 7 feet tall.
Every inch of wall in the dome is covered with mosaic tiles
I thought that was it for our climb, and even mentioned to G that it seemed far easier than 551 steps, until we saw the sign saying there were an additional 165 steps to the exterior observation deck. And these were the toughest steps of all. I was shaking from claustrophobia as these stairs narrowed and tightened with stone walls on either side and and only occasional slits letting in light and fresh air. At one point the stairs were about two feet wide...and the walls were tilted to the right. Walking required keeping one hand on the right side wall, and there was no stopping without holding up the people coming behind. I thought that was the worst part...until we got to the tightest circular stairs without room for even a handrail, just a rope hanging vertically. There was certainly not enough stair width for my size 11 boats to step on.
The walls were starting to lean
Narrower and leanier
I was living for the window openings
Another brief section of easy steps
The hardest part
Just when I thought that I couldn't take another second of feeling locked in with no escape; the stairs opened up to an observation deck overlooking all of Vatican City and much of Rome. The views made it almost (almost!) worth the climb. Because we had entered the Basilica from the Sistine Chapel, this was our first view of St. Peter's Square. Just as on Easter Island, it's kind of wild to see something in person that we've seen on TV all our lives. We were trying to figure out which residence was Pope Francis' (he doesn't live in the usual pope apartment) and another visitor heard us talking about it and took us over to where we could view it. He was Italian but had understood our English. That was lucky...and nice!
St. Peter's Square
The papal garden
Pope Francis' apartment (2nd floor left, shuttered windows)
Even the top of the dome was packed
All smiles on the way down
We eventually made our way back down a different set of stairs with a different vertical rope and a different set of fun house stairs to the rooftop of the Basilica. There was a gift shop there, and a small cafe, and G went to have a bite to eat while I shopped (and found the most perfectly perfect gift for Mom!) and then bought postcards and Vatican City stamps. I joined G and we wrote out the postcards and mailed them at the Vatican City post office. Feeling a bit refreshed, we opted to take the stairs all the way down, instead of the elevator, and exited right into the nave of the Basilica. I have to say that, as impressive as it is from the floor, it was even more impressive from the observation deck above.
Looking up at where we'd been
The main altar where the pope says Mass and located over St. Peter's tomb
Religious tours entered praying and singing
We were limited to walking around the nave and spent our time viewing the Pieta (in its own alcove fronted by bullet proof glass) and the Chapel of the Blessed Sacrament. We went into the latter (no photos, just prayer), and then continued on to view the body of Pope John XXIII. And this is when whole 'tourists taking photos' things started to get to me. People were crouching down so they could be included in a photo with the dead pope. I really don't understand people who have a need to take a photo of themselves in front of everything, but in front of a dead pope? That's just strange.
The Pieta, carved my Michelangelo when he was 23 years old.
In an alcove behind bullet proof glass.
With people for scale. It's the largest church on earth.
By this time it was almost 5pm, and we had spent most of the prior eight hours on our feet. We were sagging, but wanted to stay for the 5pm Mass in Latin in the apse, with its throne of St. Peter. We worshippers were allowed past the roped off area of the nave and past the main altar, built over the tomb of St Peter, where the pope celebrates Mass. Even for an everyday Mass, our Mass in the apse had music and pipe organs in stereo (one on each side) and it was all very moving...plus we were able to sit for an hour (that alone would make a believer out of me). We had seen many nuns and priests all around the Vatican but no where near as many as at the Mass.
Latin Mass in the apse at St. Peter's Basilica with the throne of St. Peter.
A definite 'pinch me' moment!!
The six o'clock bells were chiming as we walked out the front of the Basilica and into St. Peter's Square for the first time. We took a minute to get photos of the Swiss Guards in their uniforms designed by Michelangelo. It was just starting to get dark, and as we turned around to look back at the church we saw that the lights had been turned on. Stunning! We walked down the pedestrian street leading from St. Peter's Square and exited through an arch in the tall wall surrounding Vatican City. We were only about a ten minute walk from our hotel. What a perfect location!
We were so tired that having dinner in one of the many sidewalk cafes held less appeal than getting pizzas to take back to the room. We went to the restaurant right across the street from the hotel and ordered two small pizzas and crossed back to the hotel just as it started to get really dark. We felt so dirty that we had to wash our hands before we used the bathroom, before we undressed and then again before we ate. That's pretty dirty! G was asleep before he finished his pizza. He was feeling better today but I think his cold caught up with him late afternoon. I am going to publish this post and then will upload photos before we check out of the hotel Friday morning. I'm just too darn tired to publish them tonight!
We had plans for the Colloseum tomorrow but will wait to see how we feel. We knew that we couldn't see even a small percentage of Rome's sites before leaving Friday for the Pacific Princess. What we didn't realize is that even a fraction of that many might be all we squeezed in.