Rome - Day 8

Monday...we slept in a little bit and woke to a bright, sunny day.  So, we headed back to the Spagna station for another try at the night walk without all of the rain.  The Spanish Steps were less crowded and we headed to the Trevi fountain first.  It was much nicer than Sunday, and we took several pictures and even took a little video of ourselves in front of the Trevi fountain for Tyanne - Brett's step-sister - since it was her 30th birthday.

After this, we headed on the the Pantheon.  There is a big square just in front of the Pantheon.  Brett DID actually eat at McDonald's this time because Rick Steves suggested that it was the best seat in the square - directly across from the Pantheon.  We ventured into the Pantheon and took the Rick Steves' audioguide tour.  We saw the tomb of Queen Margherita and I thanked her for creating one of my favorite pizzas :-)  We then found a really cute little jewelry store and I found some garnet earrings to go with a ring that Brett got me for our 2nd anniversary.  They were perfect.  I had been looking for some all over the place without success.  Little did I know that all I had to do was go to Rome to find them!

Since I didn't want to eat at McDonalds, we found a little sandwich shop while we were walking back to the metro station.  I got a really good panini and ate it as we walked.  There was a scary homeless lady screaming at everyone when we walked by the Spanish Steps...weird!  So, we scurried through there and headed to the Octtivanio metro stop to try our luck again at the Vatican.  Sunday there was a 2 hour line.  But at 12:30 Monday, we walked straight into the place with only a short stop at a security checkpoint.  

The Vatican Museum is quite impressive.  It was similar to the Louvre because there were halls and halls and halls of paintings, sculptures, statues, tapestries, mummies...pretty much anything you can imagine.  Here are some of our pictures from the museum:

We then headed into the Sistine Chapel...this was BREATHTAKING!  One thing I would suggest to people who are thinking about going there...BINOCULARS!  The ceiling is VERY high and you will seriously hurt your neck looking at it.  Photos are forbidden here and you're not even supposed to talk, but it was REALLY difficult not to spot something amazing and want to point it out to Brett.  After listening to Rick Steves' description of the ceiling, we took his advice and snook out the back door of the chapel which is usually only for group tours.  We were really supposed to leave out of another door and walk to another security line, but everyone says that sneaking in with a group is the way to go.  So, we felt like rebels, but it worked!!  

We lined up to go to the cupola of St. Peter's Bascilica.  We had two options - elevator or stairs.  I had read on several websites and in the holy Rick Steve's guidebook that the stairs are intense, but we decided to take the stairs anyway.  So we climbed, and climbed, and climbed for about 10 minutes straight.  But, it was worth it!  We got to the top of the dome on the inside and the people on the ground looked like ants!!!  Truly amazing...I really can't even describe it, so I'm not going to try.  I think it's just something you have to experience.  Here are some pictures from inside the cupola looking down into the basilica:

After looking over the inside, we headed to the top of the dome on the outside for a birds-eye view of the city...lots more stairs in tiny, unlevel hallways.  You probably shouldn't do this if you're claustrophobic.   This is the highest point in all of Rome by law.  No building can be built higher than St. Peter's dome. These are pictures from the top of the dome:

We went back down and stopped in a little shop ran by some nuns.  We made a few purchases and got some water, then headed back down the stairs.  Down was much easier, but somewhat dizzing.  Here are some pictures of all of the different stairwells we had to go through:

After the trek back down the stairs, we headed to St. Peter's Square.  This is the circular atrium that you see in the pictures we took from the top of the cupola.  We did have to go through another security line and actually happened to see some of the Swiss Guard, which was very exciting!!  We then headed into the most breathtaking place of the whole trip...St. Peter's Basilica.  When we were standing at the top of the cupola taking pictures downward, I was amazing, but when we walked in the front door, my jaw literally dropped.  I was speechless for at least 5 minutes straight.  Everywhere you look, there is total beauty and on a GRAND scale!  The floors, walls, columns, statues, sculptures, stained glass, etc. were the most beautiful that you can imagine.  The altar is 7 stories high and sculpted out of pure bronze.  We roamed around the basilica as we listened to Rick Steves give a detailed description of when and how all of the beautiful things were created.  This is where the Pope leads his services.  It was truly the highlight of our trip.  I can't even begin to describe how awestruck Brett and I were while we were standing in there!  I can't wait to go back!!!

After leaving St. Peter's, we stopped in a chocolate shop and grabbed a large back to take back to the apartment.  Brett grabbed another pizza sandwich and we headed back to the apartment.  I took a nap and then we headed out for some groceries.  We ate dinner at the apartment and went to sleep...a great end to an amazing and exhausting day in Roma.