Meanwhile Amy and Patti were standing in the very long line to set reservations for our train to Bari tmw. Success! We leave at 2:44pm tmw, get to Bari at 6:44, and then take a shuttle to Monopoli (small town on the west coast, near the heel of the boot) - tons of Greek influence, since its right across the water.
It was late by the time we got back, but we wanted to show Dana a little Roma at night. So we walked down to the Piazza Venezia - massive structure there with guards watching over two eternal flames... Beautiful at night.
This morning we were up early - 6:00 to shower (me) and get ready for our early reservations to the Vatican. We felt for Dana because she's still dealing with jet lag, and we're pretty accustomed to the time now. We ate our fruit that we bought from a vendor on our stroll back to the apartment, and headed out for our first Roma Metro ride. All good... And we get to the Vatican and there is a huuuuuuge line, and its only 8:30am. We had reserved tickets (following the internet advise to not waste our vacation in line) - and let me say that if you ever go, reservations are a MUST - There was no line for us, and we got in before they open so other than tour groups who had reservations we were in there alone until 9 (when they actually open) we got in at 8:40. I did have a little scare with the passport - they said they do a document check (because its a diff country, and because of security). I go to get it out of my bag - not there - not anywhere... So we go through, never offering passports, just to see... And we got in (and my passport was in my other bag).
In order to go to the Sistine Chapel you must go through the Musei Vaticani, halls and halls of statues and tapestries - gorgeous ceilings and architecture... And then you go into the chapel. Wow. Its not exactly what I expected because there are no pews or alters present - its all cleared out, so you can stand in any part, and its wall to wall paintings, its not just the ceiling (although that and the one wall with The Final Judgement are only parts by Michelangelo) - the other paintings are older. We eaves dropped on some of the other tours and learned a few things about it. Like the end walls are shaped like the tablets with the commandments, and the end wall actually leans out - Michelangelo wanted it that way so people could see it better.
We went through the rest of the Vatican and sent a few postcards from the Vatican post office - including a couple to ourselves for souvenirs. :). When we left the Vatican the line was even longer! I have not idea how long of a wait that would have been - but I would say its at least 5 city block long, and still no line with the reserved tickets. We rounded the corner and headed to St. Peter Square - we had met a couple the day before that had been to the Square and were thrilled to see the Pope riding around in his Pope-mobile, and we were hoping for a glimpse too. As were going through security we could hear a voice echoing over the PA system and through the Square - It was Italian, and not in the tone of a public service announcement. I turn to Patti... Is that the...Pope! YES! He's giving mass right now! It was all in Italian of course and we don't speaka the language - but Amy knows a little Spanish, and she said the gist of his message was "Listen with love". We repeated it often as the day wore on. :). After a few pics and a refreshing spritz from the fountain, we headed out. We didn't get to see inside St. Peter's Basilica, why? Pope was blocking the door - we were Pope blocked. And it was the number one thing the tour book told us to see... Dang Pope giving his mass. (And totally kidding - seeing the Pope was worth missing the Basilica, just in case you were scared for my soul).
We found a nice tent (restaurante) - with a nice breeze and excellent people watching. We've seen many beggars here and when you go by they are twisted up, kneeling, praying, looking as helpless as possible... But we saw one lady crumpled up on one side when we went in, and on the other when we left... And during lunch she walked by and walked back more spritely than we were moving at the time (she was on her lunch break). Lunch was good, Dana's 4 cheese pizza was the top choice - one of the four cheeses was blue cheese, and I'm a fan of that on pizza now! Yum!
We sat next to people from Maryland (we chatted briefly as we sat down because they recognized our American accents) and we overheard some very interesting conversation. We're on Via Ottovianna, the road that leads into St. Peters, so we see many nuns and priests going toward St. Peters. - so this lady comments, "look at all the nuns or sisters, or whatever people call them - they're all in different colors, who knows what that means... Man, no husband, no children? What a sad, horrible life... But I guess you're supposed to "have" God... And all the priests are gay... I guess the sisters or nuns are gay too, or whatever you call that" ... Then she couldn't pronounce Basilica.. Bat-sul-a, Basilla?? Is that what its called? We're going to go up to the Vatican, but not the Bas-u-la.. I'm not into no churches. (Amy's eyes roll and at one point she kicks me... Later she reminds us that Vatican is "church")
Whoa - Amy and I shared many looks. Then she started talking about African items - you come to Italy to buy Italian things... I was ready to stop Amy from jumping up - but it was all good. They made our day. And we felt sorry for the hubby.
Today was a day of walking and resting, walking... Man our feet still hurt - I've been on mine touring cities for 11 days now - ouch. We took the Metro to Spanish steps - and discovered that escalators don't really work here. They were all out of order - and very steep (60 steps).. Then we walked up the Spanish steps (150) and saw a beautiful view of the city... From then we walked to Trevi Fountain, and I thought it would be "fountain" size.. YIKES! You come in from these winding, narrow streets, and you walk into this Piazza, and the fountain is over 2 stories high! Its huge! And the water that flows through it is still supplied by the ancient Roman aqueducts. They do good work, those Romans. All of the fountains have places where people can drink and refill water bottles - great Roman spring water for free.
On our way to the Pantheon we ducked into a McDonalds just out of curiosity. The Big Mac is "il Mac" and its served on panchetta bread - no sesame seed bun in Italy. The Pantheon is HUGE! There is a hole in the center to be closer to God - and its a perfect circle, and the largest dome up until the 1800s...
Just a few blocks away from that is the Piazza Novona - its exactly what the movies make Rome look like, 3 fountains in the center, beautiful colored buildings with flower filled window boxes... And the best gelato we've had so far. We stuck our feet in the fountain (cold!!) To try and bring back some life, and then trekked across town back to the apt.
On our way we ran into the Piazza Venezia again - just as lovely during the day. As soon as we got back we did what we could to help our feet pain, and we napped. LONG day - and Dana was still tired from her day of travel.
Things we've learned so far about Rome - Green means go (crossing the street) - yellow mean keep going (its longer than the green). If there are no lights - you just have to walk in the middle of the street on faith - and traffic will stop for you. Getting the check is a process... Sometimes up to an hour... Makes us miss the pay before you eat method in London even more. :)
We have internet - kind of... On the host's laptop which is all in Italian, and only if you sit near the window. So I'll upload Rome pics to facebook when we get settled in Monopoli. Tmw we go to the Bocca della Veriti (the mouth of truth) - made famous by Roman Holiday. If you are dishonest and you stick your hand in the mouth, you will lose your hand! We'll see. Then train out at 2:44 - and we'll be in Monopoli tmw night.
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