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.
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.
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