We woke up and dressed very modestly. You see, we’re going to the Vatican today, and fortunately Andrea read all about the dress code (no shorts, short skirt, bare shoulders, etc). So we covered our shoulders, put on long pants (yikes, it’s still around 90 degrees Fahrenheit here) and caught a taxi for Basilica San Pietro (St. Peter’s Basilica).
The piazza in front of St. Peter’s is huge, with another tall Egyptian obelisk in the center. That obelisk has stood for many, many years, paying witness to quite a few martyrs who were executed nearby. The sweeping colonnades around the sides (meant to symbolize either the pope’s or Jesus’s outspread, encircling arms, I can’t remember) are lined with 120 statues of Christian martyrs. There was a small makeshift parade going on in the piazza when we arrived, complete with drummers and ancient Roman soldiers, all in period armor carring SPQR banners and marching in time. Now, that sounds pretty cool, but honestly it was cheap looking, shiny plastic armor; in a way it looked like a bunch of the guys that try to get you to take a picture with them for 5 Euros in front of the Colosseum banded together to form a Conga line. 🙂 But we enjoyed it nonetheless, it added a cool importance to the beginning of our visit.
We went through security, picked up two Audioguides, and headed into the basilica. First and foremost, St. Peter’s is massive. There are lines on the floor inside indicating where other massive churches of the world (i.e. Notre Dame, St. Patrick’s, etc) would fit wholly inside it. Michaelangelo’s original Pieta (sculpture of Mary and Jesus) is there, behind bullet-proof glass. There’s a huge winding altar, tremendous statues and domes, the remains of St. Peter, and the remains of several popes are interred in the basilica. The remains of some popes are actually in glass cases at the base of an altar, which is interesting to see. Most of them are surprisingly well preserved. One seemed to have a bronze head and hand…we couldn’t quite figure that out.
Let’s get this out of the way: when you’re planning your trip to the Vatican, evidently there are free podcasts available from Rick Steves to narrate your visit to St. Peter’s. There are also books that’ll give you oodles of relevant information. We did not enjoy the audioguide that we picked up at St. Peter’s. Each clip would give you a tiny bit of relevant information (i.e. what this is, who did it, when, and why) and then talk at great length like about the religious reminders present in each piece (i.e. Mary seems to be reminding us of our call to serve the Lord, worship Him, for He is the one true Lord….etc). After the fifth time this becomes very redundant, and it turned our visit into a much longer stay. By the end we’d just let the voice ramble on as we moved to the next thing to see.
Some of our favorite sights: Bernini’s altar, the amazing statues, especially the four saints in the original basilica pillars, the huge dome itself, and the doors to the basilica, which are covered with bas relief sculptures. One illustrates the 7 sacraments (although there were 8 panels, we’re still trying to figure that out), another is the Jubilee door, which is only opened every 25 years (next in 2025), and finally “Death’s gate,” a door formerly used for funeral processions, covered with images of Christ and martyrs.
We headed back into the piazza. They were cleaning the fountains today, so they weren’t turned on. We headed WNW out of the Vatican walls in search of food. We found a little cafe with a decent lunch deal (pizza + salad + drink for 10,50 Euros). Andrea had pizza and the worst salad she’s ever had (tasted like it was soaked in salt water), and I had penne alla’arriabata. The waitress actually came back to warn me that it’s hot. It wasn’t hot. 🙂 She should try some Thai food; that’s hot! This was tasty, but totally safe. 🙂
We headed back and tried to make our way to the Musei Vaticani (Vatican Museum), but we learned it was already closing (closes at 4:30 on the weekdays). We tried to catch a cab, but were told that the ride that cost us 8 Euros to get in, would be 18 Euros to get back. I asked why there was a difference, and the cabbie said there was a parade they’d need to go around. A parade sounded cool, so we skipped the cab, headed east of the piazza in the direction he’d indicated, and took a shady seat on the street next to a snack cart. We never saw a parade. 🙂
We did, however, do some great people watching. We saw two nuns driving a small foreign hatchback, not terribly successfully, and parking it 2 feet off the curb at a 30 degree angle, pointing the nose back out into the street, grinding the gears the entire time while two female traffic cops watched, trying in vain to help. We’ve decided that these nuns shouldn’t drive, or at least practice. 🙂 During this scene our new favorite tourist appeared. Decked in a sun hat, bright flowered shirt, shorts, crocs, blank stare, gaping mouth, and point-and-shoot in hand, he shamelessly stood a few feet away from the nuns, taking pictures while they backed up from various angles. Sadly (as we quietly hoped against it), he turned out to be an American.
We got some strawberry and lemon gelato and continued to sit and watch our corner. Next, a very frazzled older Italian gentleman drove by, talking very emphatically on his cell phone as he drove. He came to a stop in the middle of the street in front of us (for no apparent reason), still very passionate about whatever it was he was saying to the person on the other end of the phone. The two traffic cops approached him and motioned that he can’t use the cell phone and drive, at which point he started arguing with them, and on the phone, and finally hung up the phone. They had him pull of the road to talk it over, forming another 30 degree angle with the curb in front of the nun car, now with the tail pointing into the street, forming a huge V of bad parking. He got out of the car, arguing very loudly, pointing at his car and up the street (man I wish I knew Italian). At this point, our subtle American friend, got up again, and walked in tight circles around the car, taking pictures. All in all, we’re really glad we took a break at that particular corner.
We got a bottle of water and walked back to the hotel (it wasn’t very far). After a short rest, we headed east of the Trevi Fountain to a small restaurant with painted ceilings and walls; it was a fun little place with friendly staff. Andrea noticed they had giant beer mugs there (probably between 750 ml and a full liter), so we ordered one. We got two, so we each had our own! 🙂 Unexpected, but we figured this’d probably be good practice for Germany anyway. Happily we both got through them, with no ill effects. Andrea had lasagna and I had ravioli. We shared a mixed salad to start. It was decent food, a great atmosphere, and we had a great time; we’d go back.
Finally, we headed back to sleep. We used the detergent we brought along to do our laundry in the bathtub since we haven’t found a und a und a laundromat and the laundry fee at Hotel Tritone is per item (i.e. 2 Euro for underwear, 7 Euro for jeans), and hung it in the bathroom to dry.
matt & andrea 