Another day in Rome.......(Day 2, part 1)

We had our breakfast early on our second day so we could be sure to hop in the line for the Vatican Museums before it got too long. The museum opens at 10:00 and we got in line around 9 and the line was already down the block and around the corner! We were lucky we got in line when we did or we would have been waiting in the sun for over an hour, we were VERY grateful for the shade trees where we were. There are two lines for the museum and ours did not begin moving until 45 minutes after the museum opened, it seems that they let all the people in the 'guided tours' line go in first. There were many people trying to take advantage of the situation offering 'special guided tours' for sale, bottled water, umbrellas and fans to help with the heat, and shawls or scarves for women whose shoulders were exposed. We were very glad to finally get through the doors.


The museums are immense, there is no way you could possibly see everything, and even if you wanted to the way they structure things I don't think you could. You are guided through the museums by signs directing to different areas and velvet cords and doors forcing you to follow the route they have set out. Most people are there to see the Sistine Chapel and are unaware that there are many other important works of art to see as well. As we followed the flow of people we were pleasantly surprised to find paintings by Van Gogh, Dali, and even entire rooms decorated by Raphael. There was gallery after gallery with ceilings and walls exquisitely painted just as spectactularly as the Sistine chapel, but not as well known. If it weren't for the heat and the constant crowds we could have spent the entire day enjoying it all.





After climbing up and down stairs, wandering back and forth through different galleries and even outside and back inside we finally arrived at the Sistine Chapel. Words and photos can't capture how amazing it is to actually see it in person. There are benches along the sides where you can sit and take it all in, but you are not supposed to take photos of the ceiling. There are many uniformed guards wandering around in there admonishing people with "No photos"! And every 10 minutes or so over the intercom in several different languages we are reminded of this policy as well. Bill commented that the LOUD messages were probably more damaging to the art than a digital photo without flash would be. Like many people we saw, we could not resist snapping a few pictures...even a group of priests had their cameras pointed to the ceiling until the guard said "Padre...no photos!" I could have sat there for much longer just looking at the detail, imagining Michelangelo on his back painting in that very room, just being amazed that I was really seeing the real thing, but we had to move on.



We had a nice lunch before we decided what else we wanted to see and set out to do that. Little did we know that the rooms we wanted to see would take us back through the same way as if we were going to the Sistine Chapel! They had rearranged the ropes and changed the route so we did see other rooms and courtyards on our way, but the crowds were unbearable and Bill and I were both more than ready to get out in the fresh air and get some people free space around us. We had one more treat before we left though....the stairways (ramps actually) leading to the exit are a beautiful double spiral that we both enjoyed taking photos of. So cooL!