Rome: Day 2- Vatican City

A pagan statue representing the Egyptian goddess of fertility in a Catholic museum. Let me know if you figure this one out (only of it
doesn't ultimately come back to money).

My feeble attempt to sneak a picture of the Sistine Chapel. Don't worry, I also got some video footage!!

The Pope's view of St. Peter's Square!!!

The inside of the St. Peter's Basilica.

Ode to bull testicles...not sure what it's really called but I like my name!
Despite the rough start to the day, I was excited to have a plan in mind for the rest of the trip and to actually get a reservation on the overnight train since it wouldn't leave again until Monday. A little too close to my flight home to still be two countries away from Spain!

I headed back to the hostel feeling good about life! I stayed downstairs to eat breakfast and get some coffee. Now, I think I left this out, yesterday I was sitting on the patio writing and planning when I saw someone walk out of the hotel across the street. It was Amy, the mom from the reality show "Little People, Big World." I tried to get a picture to show/torture my sister but I didn't get a very good shot. This morning, just as I was sitting down, she and her youngest two kids sat down three tables away from me. Needless to say, I snuck the picture to share with/torture my sister! I knew it was a good day!!!

I ordered, got some coffee americano, and settled into the day. Then Oliver came down from the room and I invited him to join me. We talked about a variety of topics and I learned that he is Israeli and just finished his first year of study in London. I also learned that Tel Aviv is a very liberal place, according to him. I had no idea. We both base our humor on sarcasm so I had a great time!!! He had to leave to catch his train, so it was me and my breakfast yet again.

I really enjoyed the tour from yesterday, so I decided to take the Vatican City tour with the same company. Justin was leading this tour. He was not a history major, and had only been working the tours for 4 months. Considering this, he did a great job. Unfortunately for him, Tad rocks his tour and is a tough act to follow.

I'm getting ahead of myself, and the tour. He started out with a crash course on the history of Catholicism and a brief overview of Rome. He touched on some of the same info from yesterday, but the reminders were nice. He tried to drop the same type of humor as Tad but his came off as being scripted and somewhat forced. Even so, the information was great. We started at the bridge that has St. Peter and St. Paul (I think) the #1 and #2 dudes behind Jesus who really helped spread Christianity. Also on this bridge were scultpures (maybe Bernini??) that represented the passion of the Christ, the 10 things that happened to Jesus durin his cruxifiction. It was the starting point for the Vatican approved pilgrimage route.

Something about this trip has been very spiritual for me. Perhaps it is all the discussions about religion, or the many visits to churches, or being on this church approved path. Regardless, all the time alone has given me time to think about a lot of things including what I believe. I won't tell you here, not enough room, but don't be afraid to ask me if you're curious. :)

Then it was on to St. Peter's Square. Let me again reference Dan Brown: this is where one of the priests was left in Angels and Demons and where everyone was waiting to watch the smoke announcing the selection of a new pope. (Sorry Kandi, people need a point of reference!) he showed us where the Pope makes his appearances, where his bedroom window is located, and threw in some jokes and random knowlege. He is called the Prada Pope because everything other than his robes is Prada including his shoes and sunglasses. I walked by one of the guards, his secret service, and he had
on Prada sneakers. Sweet gig, huh?

Then we headed to the Vatican Musuem. The main star: the Sistine Chapel. Here are some random things I learned before the chapel:
-there is an Egyptian statue thy represents the goddess of fertility in one of the courtyards...in a Catholic museum. Hmmm..
-I forgot this from the last blog (I think) the Pantheon is now a Catholic church and the famous artist Raphael is buried there. He died of complications from syphilis at the age of 33, no easy feat in the 1500's (aka: He's a man-slut). The statue above his crypt/grave is none other than the Holy Virgin Mary! I loved that contradiction!!
-there is also a statue of a woman with bull testicles scattered around her body. No idea why, but I took a picture
-the idea that faces repeat: there was a Greek statue with a face that look like Bill Clinton and Captain Spock (probably distance spell that right, but the dude from Star Trek!!)
-there is a guard at the Sistine Chapel whose whole job is to check to make sure you don't take pictures, but mostly to shhhhhshhh the crowd! I can't imagine doing that hours and hours at a time.

Of course, snuck some pictures(which didn't turn out) and video of the Chapel. They practically begged me to do it with all the guards and signs saying it wasn't allowed! The video turned out, sort of, but the pictures are blurry. Either way, it is still beautiful! I didn't know the history behind it. Michaelangelo and Raphael didn't get along. Michaelangelo had never really painted before so Raphael got the Pope to offer him the Sistine Chapel commission. If he screwed it up he would get kicked put of town, and the same would happen of he turned the job down. His plan backfired and he rocked the gig! I can't believe he did this whole thing, his first time really painting, while painting basically upside down. It's crazy if you really sit and think about how remarkable it is.

After the Chapel we were free to wander through the Basilica on our own. It was huge and beautiful. The afternoon sun poured through the stained glass, and a thin layer of dust in the air helped trace the sun's path through the building. I completed the pilgrimmage by touching the right foot of the statue of Jesus. Better safe than sorry, right? ;) Actually, I enjoyed the process and really loved watching the faithful as they finished they're own journey. It had a completely different feeling than the tourists, like me, who were there mainly for the picture.

After exiting the Basilica I headed towards the metro, but had to stop to try the two places the tour guide suggested. One panini shop and one gelato shop. He claimed they were among the best in Rome. I'm not sure if they were the best, but I really enjoyed it!

I headed back to my fancy little hotel, at least fancy compared to the places I've been staying, to rest my tired stinky body (the tour lasted 4+ hours...we definitely got our moneys worth). Once I got there I just laid on the bed listening to the BBC news, thankful for English, for the next hour. I ate my panini then hit the shower for a very long time. I'm so thankful that I brought a razor. I'm not sure I would have been able to handle myself without shaving anything for three weeks. No thanks.

After the shower I went downstairs to book my next hotel, then stared to nod off. I went upstairs and slept hard again...only to wake up at 4am. :) Oh well, I think I'll figure the time change out just in time to head bak home! Sorry Maria. :)

I woke up at 5am to get ready to cath my train at 6:50am. Goodbye to Rome and on to the next leg of the journey...