So, we met our local guide Susannah and she took us to the Sistine chapel first thing within the Vatican city. She gave us a big lead up though, as she wanted us to see it for more than what we may have if we were your everyday tourists. After her explanation of all it entailed, we definitely saw it in a different light.
Inside the Sistine chapel, it smells kind of damp from all the people that have walked that floor, and also there is no electric light in there so only the sunlight has a chance to air the room out.
The Vatican city had some gorgeous gardens and we strolled through them first and looked at some more modern sculptures and art pieces. The big gold globe was one of them, and this was huge - like 10 feet tall, but our guide was naughty and went into the roped off barrier and turned the globe with one hand and it began spinning like it weighed nothing. It was amazing to see and we would have never seen that without her.
The Sistine chapel itself is a small room with the ceiling and the walls painted by Michelangelo. The popes bedroom backs onto this chapel so it was kinda surreal being there and seeing it all; sometimes it doesn't feel like we are really there and we need to slap ourselves to realize "yes we are here".
The work on the ceiling is amazing and the detail and the time it would have taken is something you truly appreciate once you have seen it. Also the pain the artist must have felt when doing it, as we both had sore necks after just 20mins of looking up at it! The ceiling is the story of the creation of Adam and Eve, really the creation of life by God, and the back wall is the last judgement by Jesus, which is yet to come. Regardless of whether you are overly religious or not, this place gives you an appreciation for the work and why it was created in the first place.
We then went to St. peters basilica which is where the pope gives his mass blessing every Sunday lunchtime and all of his public addresses from here also. The basilica has the remains of the last Pope there and the one before him also. The interior was stunning and there were lots of mosaics and sculptures and it was very gaudy and embellished inside, but nice to see also.
We then headed off to the colosseum where the gladiator battles took place and a lot of history was behind those walls. The colosseum is a huge place, with many layers to it; it isn't just one layer of bricks in a round shape, it's 3 layers of bricks thick, except most of it has fallen away after standing for almost 2000 years, so we forgive it!
It was great to stand inside and see what the general public and also great emperors like Caesar saw. We saw the gallows where slaves were held until they went to battle and we also saw where they kept the animals like lions and elephants, etc to be slayed or to slay the gladiator.
After this we went to the trevi fountain, where it's tradition to throw 3 coins into the fountain; 1 for a wish to be granted, 1 for luck, and the last one for your return to Rome. I hope they work for both of us, even though we were stingy and used our left over English pence and copper coins! The fountain itself was lovely, but it was so busy that the atmosphere could not be enjoyed, but we made the most of it in the 10mins we were there. When we arrived tho, we saw another tour bus which had broken down and was being pushed by its tourist group... I guess they forgot to throw their coins in and as a dose of bad luck, they are probably still pushing the bus toward the alps by now!
If you thought that was a lot to pack into one day, there's more!
We went to dinner to a place called mangrovia and this place has been a regular on our tour guides list for 21 years so we knew we were in for a treat. When we arrived, we were greeted by some very handsome young Italian waiters. They were very attentive and very good at their job, which entailed more than we bargained for.
First course was a caprese salad with cheese, tomato and cured meats, then we had 2 - yes 2 courses of pasta, ravioli and rigatoni. When the 2nd pasta dish was served, I was not given a plate and wondered why at first. Four other girls were not given plates either and when the waiter banged a big metal spoon on the table really loudly and announced there were special dishes to be served I knew something was up. Each girl that did not get a dish at first were given special dishes, but to eat them, we first had to be kissed by the waiter.
It was lots of fun and they gave roses out to you and then kissed you on your neck and from your hand to your neck until they felt you were satisfied! It was lots of fun and the women were all screaming. I think they were jealous as only some ladies received this treatment - I was only glad I was one of them - sorry Steve!!
Tomorrow we head to Venice, where there's a lot of romance for lovers being serenaded on a gondola ride. Maybe we should take one of the waiters with us!
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