Rome, Day 2 - Done!

OK, maybe not fully done with Rome yet. I did hit the main To Do items though. Today I slept in a bit since I didn't sleep well last night. The apartment being on the street, and without much in the way of sound deadening, lets in a lot of noise from people walking by or scooters going by. Not horrible, but kinda annoying. I did get in some sleep though.

Next time, I think I'll go for a hotel. I like having the kitchen options in the apartment but unless I'm travelling with someone else I don't think its worth it. Plus, there is no internet in the apartment :)

Today I hiked from the Campo Fiori area over to the Vatican. It's a bit of a long walk but it felt good to exercise a bit. I should have taken water with me though because I was in linen slacks and a t'shirt. It got very warm on the walk over so I overpaid for some water on the street. Better than dehydrating though,huh? I managed to arrive just as they were wrapping up the Wednesday ceremony by the Pope. I saw the little popemobile on the big screen but at first didn't recognize it. Due to the ceremony and the number of people the line to get in to the basillica was very long. So I walke around over to the Vatican Museum. The line there looked long but only took me 10 minutes to get in. I spent about 2 hours in the Museum looking at the artwork and displays. Most of the time was spent in the Sistene Chapel though. I just parked on a bench and took in the ceiling and the scenes. I wish I could have taken pictures of it but they were not allowed. One person was forced to show and then delete the picture he had taken. They were pretty strict.

After the museum I went out the 'secret' exit straight to the basilica cuppola (dome). I paid the EUR7 for the walk to the top including the elevator. I had walked enough already today :) The walk was pretty tight. Some of the circular stairs reminded me of the lighthouse steps, just not as wide. There were also some passaged where you had to lean to your right due to the slant of the roof. And there were a lot of steps! I think they said it was 320 in total (540 if you don't take the lift). I spent a good bit of time at the top outside. The view was great from up there. I think due to my Rick Steve's book a number of people realized I spoke english. So I was a temporary professional photographer. I must have taken a dozen pictures. Funny one was when I was handing a camera back to a couple and the lanyard got caught on my other hand's little finger. The camera dropped and the woman gasped before realizing I had hold of the lanyard and the camera was safe. She may have her color back by now but it left her at that time. After enjoyed the view in all directions for a bit I headed back down. Another 320 steps...

I then walked around the basilica itself and just took in the size of it. Standnig inside of it gives you some serious respect for its builders. Most of the churches I've been in could fit in about 1 quarter of this. I walked in here into each of the 4 areas, took more picture for people, and then concluded my visit. I had spent at least 5 hours in the vatican so figured it was time for lunch.

I popped up the GPS and searched for my standard foregin visit location - Hard Rock Cafe. It was a 2.5mi walk but I made it over. While eating I found out that President Bush was in town and they were closing down the street for his cars to come by. After lunch I walked down to a square and sat for a while to rest up and watch the large numbers of cops. It took about 2 hours for anythign to show up and in the end it was just a large protest march. The president may have been coming behind it but I doubt they would have put them on the same route. So I packed up and headed out. Now I'm here posting before I head back to the apartment. I need a shower and some rest. Tonight is going to be a casual dinner near the apartment but tomorrow with be a fancy place Simon says I must visit. I now have 7 minutes to look it up before my net time expires. New updates tomorrow.