Our Final Day

Honeymoon Day 11 - Rome Day 2

Today is our last day on the honeymoon.  We are getting to the point where we are ready to go home and sleep in our own beds and see our puppy dog again.  But before we can do that, we have one last tour...the Vatican.

We headed out early this morning and even check at the front desk to make sure that our travel to the tour office was less than the amount of time we had allotted.  The front desk lady assured us that we would be fine.  So off we went.  Two metro stops and a 15 minute walk later we arrived at the address on our tour voucher...only to find that they moved their office.  Thankfully it was only around the block and down the street, but it was a bit stressful for a minute.  We finally arrived at the tour office, checked in and waited.  And waited some more.  Finally our bus arrived and we were off to the Vatican.

As we approached it became very clear that the "skip the line" part of the tour was more than worth the cost of the entire tour.  The line around the Vatican stretched forever.  We guessed that the people at the end of the line would wait a good 2-3 hours before they got in.  Our bus driver dropped us off at the end of the line, so we walked past everyone as we made our way to the tour entrance to the Vatican.  After much confusion (which became a theme for the tour) and about a half hour wait, we finally made our way into the Vatican museums behind our teeny tiny tour guide and her rolled up piece of paper (note: the top of the paper she held up was about at head height for most of our group, so it was a challenge to keep up with this little Italian lady). 

We slowly made our way into the Vatican and would stop from time to time for our guide to explain the history of the Vatican and that much of it is museums housing both very old pieces of art and even newer, more modern art.  Our guide also explained that just a few days ago, Pope Ameritas Benedict had moved back to the Vatican from his vacation home away.  So there were two Popes at the Vatican the day we were there.  Very rare.  We didn't see either of them, but it was pretty awesome to know that both of them were nearby.

We walked through many galleries on our way to the Sistine chapel filled with amazing tapestries and paintings and art work.  They were all beautiful, but due to time restrictions on our tour, we didn't have much time to stop and admire them.  Finally we made it to the Sistine Chapel.  Our guide informed us that pictures were not allowed and that no talked was allowed, not even by her.  So we were told we had 10 minutes inside and to meet her outside the exit doors.  The Chapel was much smaller than I had anticipated, but so magnificant.  The paintings on the ceiling and the wall behind the alter were stunning.  The room was packed, but everyone in it was walking around with their head tilted back admiring Michaelangelo's finest work.  The guards were constantly shushing the crowd and going after anyone that they saw take pictures.  I could have stayed in there all day, but we had to move on.

Next up was Saint Peter's Bascilica.  Again we waited for quite awhile to get in, but once we did, we were not disappointed.  Of all of the churches we saw in Paris and Italy, this was by far the most amazing one we saw.  It was so grand and stately.  Everything it in was magnificent from the floors to the ceilings.  There really is not way to explain this place with words other than you must go see it sometime in your life.  Again we were limited on time, so we had to move on.  Both of us would have loved to stay there and explore more. 

As our tour was wrapping up and we were tired of waiting, we handed off our headsets to our guide and went off on our own.  As we stepped out of Saint Peters we found ourselves in Saint Peter's Square.  It was pretty amazing to be in the middle of a place that just a few short months again we saw the new Pope emerge and greet the crowds on tv.  We grabbed a few sandwiches and sat down to enjoy the view. 

As we walked away from the Vatican we decided to hit up two more spots in Rome before calling it quits for the day.  Due to the lack of metro stations in Rome (mostly because the city is built on itself so much that they can't dig tunnels) we gave up and hailed a cab to the Trevi Fountain.  Trent had not heard of this fountain before, but he went along with it.  Our cab dropped us in the middle of a busy sidewalk (or so it seemed) and somehow managed to tell us in english that it was around the corner.  We both thought he was crazy, but paid our fare and sure enough as we stepped around the corner there it was.  It's so strange to find such an elaborate and beautiful foundation in the middle of a busy intersection in the middle of Rome.  It took us a little while to make our way to it, but we finally made it to the front and enjoyed the rushing sounds of the water and the amazing carvings. 

Once we had our fill, we wandered a few blocks to our final destination for the day, the Spanish Steps.  Again, Trent had never heard of them, but they were also a sight to see.  The flowers were in full bloom and lit up the stairs the church at the top of the hill.  We decided not to climb them, mostly due to the sheer number of people, but enjoyed the view and got a few pictures.  As we headed back to the metro to make our way back to the hotel, we enjoyed one last gelato. 

We took naps back at the hotel and then got a final recommendation for dinner from the front desk.  Again we were not disappointed with the food.  It was by far the best pizza and lasagna we had ever had.