Days 9 and 10

Day 9  (April 8, 2006)      Rome, Italy

We got up and left the hotel around 7:30 a.m. so that we could go to the Vatican museum. We entered the museum and used the Whisper headsets that allowed us to hear what the guide was saying while being away from her. We saw the tapestries and art of the Vatican as we headed for the Sistine Chapel.

Once we entered the Sistine Chapel, everyone stood in awe. Patches of what the chapel looked like before it was cleaned demonstrated how bright the colors were that Michaelangelo used. There was theories that the artist painted it dark on purpose. He even ended up creating his own plaster to complete his frescos as he did not like the quality of plaster that was made for him.

After the chapel, we went inside the cathedral to see the preparations that were being made for Holy week. There were a lot of people inside touring and looking at the objets des arts. Pope John Paul II's symbol was installed on the floor inside the cathedral. There were a lot of chairs set up in the square outside the church in preparation for Palm Sunday.

St. Peter's square in preparation for Palm Sunday

Bob Murphy posing in from of Basilica of St. Peter

We ate lunch and shopped around the Vatican and then took a bus to the Colosseum. We still had our headsets on and it was probably the most stress I had on the whole trip. While we were warned by our guide about pickpockets, she proceeded to tell us when she thought pickpockets got on the bus. She mentioned that she was quite sure that two gentlemen in the back had picked pockets before, which caused us to be uptight. Then some gypsies got on and she warned us about them also. Between the warnings, the loudness of the gypsies, and all the people on the crowded bus, it was very tense.

Unfortunately, a member from our group had her pocket picked and she lost her passport, money and the group's tip money. She realized it during the bus ride. That cast a pall on the day as she went off with Mike to do a police report. Italy was not looking pretty good during our trip because of these thefts.

We continued with our tour starting with the Colosseum. As we gazed around the structure, we found out that the stones and stuff was taken by the Romans from the Colosseum to help build the Vatican. The pillars at St. Peters square and the front of the church used rock from the colosseum. There is a white line around the colosseum that shows where it originally stood before parts of it were stripped away.

Inside the Colosseum

The Arch of Constantine

We saw the Arch of Constantine, named after the emperor who incorporated the Catholic church into the Roman empire. From the Arch, we went through the Roman Forum.

One of the curious places was where the pyre for Julius Caesar was. There were flowers there that had been put there on the Ides of March. When I asked our guide who was doing that and why, she replied that it was American and British college students who come to the who put the flowers in the place of the funeral pyre. forum and reenact Julius Caesar's last day. They are the ones who put the flowers in the place of the funeral pyre.

The place where Julius Caesar's pyre is celebrated

We finished our tour and said good bye to our guide. Mike met us and we walked up to the Spanish Steps. The group noted how much walking we had done and how healthy we were eating.

We saw the Spanish Steps and there were a lot of people there on this Saturday. We went shopping for a few hours and I got a chance to learn more about downtown Rome by walking around, reading the maps and looking for shops. I found the Plaza Nuvona again and it was much more festive than last night. I had some cinnamon gelato, did my shopping, and waked back to the Spanish Steps. I enjoyed the nice weather while I waited for the rest of the group.

The Spanish Steps

We met and took the metro to ear our supper of pork and pasta. I thought the food was prepared very well. After the meal, we took the bus to the hotel and saw said some good byes to the Indiana group. We were going to have a 3:45 a.m. wake up call and so we packed and got ready for bed.

Day 10 (April 9, 2006)  Rome, Italy to Home

Despite the early wake up call, we made it to the airport in plenty of time. We waited quite a bit during our layover in Frankfort, Germany.

We arrived in Detroit and was driven home to Saranac by limo. We arrived after midnight pleased to be home.