Roma - Citta di Vaticano

Vatican City today - another country! We went early to the Basilica San Pietro. There were already lots of people but we got in fairly quickly. We had a quick look around, then decided to sit through a mass. It was right at the very top of the church in the apse. The interesting thing was the number of clergy attending. There must have been between 150 and 200 priests of many different nationalities occupying the first 8 rows. The general public sat behind them. The apse was cordoned off - the only way to access that part of the basilica was to attend the mass. It went for over an hour, then all the priests processioned out of the basilica. Because the barriers were packed by that stage, the people attending the mass had to follow the priests down into the bowels of the basilica. We walked out through the Grotte Vaticano - the crypt - where the popes are buried in their sarcophagi. It was quite amazing.

By this stage the crowds were pretty bad (not to mention the cigarette smoke!) so we went for a walk towards Castel Sant'Angelo. We crossed two bridges that were beautifully decorated with sculptures: Ponte Vittorio Emanuele II and Ponte Sant'Angelo. We walked around the Castel and sat for a while (new bird here - a Serin, which is a bit like a Greenfinch but smaller and yellower).

We headed back to the Musei Vaticani around 2pm. There were still lots of people but we got in fairly quickly again. The last thing on the walk was the Cappella Sistina (which was what Phil particularly wanted to see). Feeling tired and footsore already, we decided to do the Sistine Chapel first, then backtrack. Nice idea. It took almost an hour to actually get to the cappella, and that was without stopping to look at things (until the Raffaello Rooms). They are really into ceiling frescoes here. The paintings are amazing, considering the height of the ceilings and the vast area to be painted. We finally got into the Cappella Sistina. The chapel is quite dim, you are not allowed to take photos and the security guards kept telling everyone to SSSHHHH!  I managed to find seats on both sides so I could sit and look; Phil wandered. It was really nice, but Phil was surprised to find it much shorter than he thought. I actually preferred the basilica. What a heathen!

Also enjoyed the public drinking fountains which are all through Rome.

We walked to the Colosseum in the evening. It's lit up, but the postcard pictures are better as they have more light and colour through very low shutter speeds. Our photos didn't work out as well. We walked past Constantin's Arch, the Roman Forum, Trajan's Column and Forum (a current archaeological site) and the Vittorio Emanuele Monument. Rome is very busy at night, with lots of families out eating and wandering, and street hawkers selling gadgets that light up at night.

Gelato flavours tonight: watermelon and coconut.  Coconut has been my favourite so far.