Eternal City

Tuesday 6/14/11

The Sistine Chapel, and especially the finger of God touching the finger of Adam, giving him life, made me weep.  How exquisite!  Perhaps even more than the ancient ruins, this iconic image encapsulated the idea of the Eternal City for me.  Of course, no photos can be taken in the Chapel but I know you know exactly what it looks like.  The eclectic collection of 100+ photos that I took elsewhere in the Vatican Museum will not be shared in any blog, but some of you at least, may see them, and hear what it was about certain pieces of art that caught my attention.  Remember to ask me about "laser Jesus".

Since we had bought our tickets to the Vatican Museum online, we were able to by-pass the line.  Even before 9 o’clock in the morning, the opening time for the museum, there was a LONG line.

We had read that wheel chairs could be “borrowed” inside, and apart from the convenience of being able to “go against the flow” on the route for visitors with disabilities, we were grateful because g’pa couldn’t possibly have walked for 6 hours – the amount of time we were in the Museum and later St. Peter’s Basilica.  

We laughed when, at one point, I rolled him up to an open window on the second floor with the dire warning NOT to wave at the crowd lest they think the pope was the one waving!

We enjoyed a very late lunch close to the Piazza Navona.  The pesto pasta was delicious, as you can hopefully see.

A shortish stroll around streets that looked more like I had imagined Rome would be like, took us to the Pantheon, a former pagan shrine, built in the time of Augustine.  The amazing thing about this ancient structure is that until the 1960s, it was the largest dome in the world – its height and circumference being the same.  Recently (in the 1700s) it was consecrated as a Christian church, which it is still today.

Having been on our feet for 10 hours today, we are pooped!   Dinner will be take-out pizza, and not a few glasses of vino.

To be continued...