Arriving at the airport three hours early was a good thing as we spent just about all of that time queuing. After an uneventful flight we arrived in Rome where we said farewell to Anne, David, Maria and Cath who were continuing on to Venice. Jim and I are now on our own. We were a little apprehensive leaving the airport but we had an extraordinarily easy transition from the airport to the hotel.
We are staying at a hotel recommended to us by a golfing friend of Jim- a great boutique hotel not far from the Trevi fountain and Spanish Steps which we visited after settling in to our room.
Love the concierge in his tails!
See if you can find me (Michele) amongst the crowd below.
We had a lovely dinner at the restaurant across the road and retired for the night, ready for a big day at the Vatican.
Today we used the metro system for the first time to head to the australian embassy to vote. A bit of a walk to find it but we have proudly done our civic duty and cast our vote.
Having advanced booked a 1pm time to visit the Vatican museum, we headed there next. We were warned that the ticket line could take up to four hours- would you believe there was absolutely NO queue. We walked straight in and began what must have been about 20km of walking.
I thought these garden gnomes were quite cute, but too heavy to carry home so I didn't bother asking the price!
The Sistine chapel was beautiful but photos no longer allowed. So much to take in.
Although quite exhausted from this marathon, we pushed on the St Peter's as we had worn "appropriate" dress for the visit and did not want to have to put on " modest " clothes again tomorrow- it's still hot.
It has been a long time since we have been to St Peter's and so had totally forgotten how impressive this building is.
Once again, there were a few people here but not a massive crowd as we expected. The tour guide in Turkey told us that St Sophia was the biggest Christian cathedral in the world- he must have forgotten about this cathedral - it is definitely bigger and probably more beautiful than either of the impressive churches/mosques in Turkey.
Here is a glimpse:
We found a little flight of steps in the corner which looked to be out of bounds but decided to head down anyway- what a surprise. It was the crypt where the tombs of past popes are located. It was really beautiful and there were only about four other people down there. Photos not allowed due to the sacredness of the place. It was amazing to be reminded of past great popes and their achievements.
After a very busy and tiring day, we got back to our hotel and ten minutes later joined the other guests for the Friday cocktail party- compliments of the manager. We spent most of our time chatting to a lovely couple from Argentina. Just before we parted ways, we found out that they would be visiting the Pope next week - uncle George to them!!!! He is a close family friend and had blessed their grand daughter on the day she was born- He was heading off to vote for the new pope the next day and never came home. It was wonderful to hear about him from people who were so close to him.
Before I end this post I must let our readers know that Jim and I take turns posting on the blog. Jim is the one who writes the really interesting posts- I basically just tell the facts!
So, you will know Jim's posts if you look at the alternating ones back and forward from this one. I wanted to make sure that you didn't think it was all my work.We are glad we have four nights in Rome as the Turkey trip was so hectic. So, more from Rome in the next post.
Loving the Garden Gnome reference - I would have loved one as a paper weight for my desk!!
ReplyDeleteSound's like you're having an awesome time