After breakfast, Cas plotted out which city bus we needed to take to get to a building that Jon called the wedding cake. It does look an awful lot like one. I forget the name at the moment, but it features the tomb of the unknown soldier from World War I. It also features a whole lot of steps with a glass elevator at the end of the climb to get you all the way to the top. You can walk up the steps for free, but the elevator will cost you 12 Euro.
It was a very cool thing to see, and a pretty good walk. We did get pretty warm on the way there, and we managed our trip so we got back to the hotel with 15 minutes to spare. What we forgot was food. We failed to eat lunch, and we were headed to the Vatican in the middle of the day. I got out four of my five breakfast bars and handed a pair of them to Nicci and Jon. It was just in time, and between the snack and a well-placed gelato vendor, we were just fine until dinner time.
Side note- those breakfast bars came with from Dallas. They’ve been in a box the whole time, and I had that box in my carry-on when I went through TSA at the airport. My bag was pulled and hand-searched. The agent pulled out the box of breakfast bars and took one of those little wipes out to check the box for explosives or drugs or whatever. She wiped the box, then told me it came back positive, though she never said what it was positive for. So now, my whole backpack was disassembled and the dangerous box was put through in a bin with all my other stuff, spread out. Goofiest thing ever- but I got to rapidly reassemble what had been a carefully packed bag- all while shoeless- and take my questionable breakfast bars along with me. It’s a good thing they came in so handy, or I would have gone through that and dragged them all across Italy for no reason. Mission accomplished, if you ask me.
But back to yesterday- two city buses, a few blocks of walking and a whole lotta stairs later, we had breakfast bars and a sunscreen reapplication, then headed to our big bus for the trip to Vatican City. We had a local guide who took us through what was a pretty heavy crowd, walking us past museum exhibits and on into the thing everyone wants to see, the Sistine Chapel. It was a very full room- I think everyone who had to delay a trip there for the past few years due to covid restrictions all showed up yesterday. Cas and I had each seen it before, but this time, we went in with a better understanding of some of the art we were looking at. The panels at the top center of the ceiling depicted a timeline from the book of Genesis- the separation of dark and light, the creation of planets, the making of plants and animals, and of course, the birth of man, which everyone knows all about. That is actually followed up by the creation of Eve and the Garden of Eden, along with some other pieces of the puzzle. It’s very interesting. The final judgement, which covers a whole wall was done much later in Michelangelo’s life, was as grand and strange as I remember, but this time around, I found out that he painted everyone nude, and another artist was brought later in to cover all their private parts with black or white pieces of fabric many years later. That man was hired by Pope Pius IV, and his name was Daniele da Volterra. He became known as the master of underwear, which our guide said was unfortunate, as he was actually a good artist in his own right. The more you know…
We went from there, through more museum exhibits to St. Peter’s Basilica. It was enormous, grand, and a bit confusing. There were so many chapels, so many statues, so many mosaics. All the art that you think is a painting inside that basilica is a actually a tile mosaic- wow! After the basilica, we waked out, past some very colorfully clad Swiss Guards and off to St. Peter’s Square and the surrounding gift shops, gelato vendors, etc. As is our practice, we picked up a refrigerator magnet. When out of the US, we take home a magnet from every country we visit, and since Vatican City is its own country, we had to get one from there. Makes sense, right?
After that wrapped up, we headed back to the bus and made our way to the hotel. We had just a little bit of downtime before the farewell dinner. The regular tour ends today for some people, while those of us who added the extension have a few more days in Rome. The restaurant was called De Meo Patacca. The waiters and the staff dress costumes and there is a quartet of musicians who walk around, playing for the customers. There are two guys playing stringed guitar-like instruments and two accordion players. They played while we ate a multi-course dinner, and for extra fun, Mizia ensured that Jeff was the center of attention. He had a birthday while we were on tour, and at the start of the tour, I let it be known that he and Reema were on their honeymoon (two years delayed by covid). The musicians came out to sing to Jeff, and he had a cake with a very pyrotechnic candle on top.
It was a great meal, and our last time to see Mauricio, our amazing bus driver. The rest of this trip’s transportation will be handled by smaller vehicles and shuttles. We also said goodbye to Mizia last night, as well. She is stepping in for another tour director who evidently broke his leg and can’t possibly do all the walking that a tour director needs to do. We’re getting a new tour director for those of us who booked the extension, and we should meet him in a bit for the walking tour we have scheduled. We have that and a cooking class today, and tomorrow, we see the famous Catacombs. Then, we throw all the dirty clothes into a bag and head home. Andiamo!
Arrivederci, Mizia:
Here are photos: https://photos.app.goo.gl/PR6jn1ZzhDS6cx8q8
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