On the metro we had a street performer who rolled on his speaker and microphone and set up. He used a taped music background and then played a harmonica to the tune of Ricky Nelson's "hello, Marylou, goodbye Marge, sweet Marylou, I'm so in love with you...". I'm not sure the name of the song and maybe that is just a recycled tune and he was really playing something else, but it was funny to me to hear that random song I used to listen to with my dad.
We arrived outside Vatican City, the world's smallest country tucked in the middle of Rome, and walked down the street along the shops and street peddlers toward the walled country. We passed by a fairly persistent woman who was trying to tell us the Sistine Chapel wasn't open. We didn't want to stop because we knew she was just trying to sell us another tour, and today we didn't want to pay. She pleaded for us to listen as we just walked by. There was no line, but along the way were plenty of beggars (many that seemed to have real physical issues) jingling hats or cups asking for money.
We got up to the entrance (where there was no line) and spoke with a security guard who confirmed what the lady had said. It was open 9-11, which it was just now past 11, and would reopen at 1:30. We decided we would come back a little early to see the other museums but for now would see St. Peter's Basilica (San Pietro - why does almost everything sound better in Italian?). So, we walked back the way we had come and passed the pleading tour peddler once more. She said a snotty comment about how she was right, but we just ignored her. Partly I had wanted to see if we bought tickets now to get in later or just what our plan should be. We hadn't necessarily not believed her about the open status of the Sistine Chapel, we just didn't want to get her particular slant about how we should deal with it.
We walked through the tall arches and into the piazza in front of the massive church of the pope. The line stretched all the way around the columns lining the piazza and wrapped back again a bit. A tour guide warned us it would be a 2-3 hour wait. I asked about the price of the tour and it was 40 euros, so we said no and discussed what to do. We ended up enjoying the outside of the church, which is so amazing and impressive in and of itself. We decided to get back to the museums early and go through them, hopefully avoiding a line to get in since we were concerned with it only open until 3:30.
This was a good plan since the line was already beginning to form for the museums. We had to walk through a series of other galleries to get to the Sistine Chapel anyway, so we ended up packed in a cattle shoot (or at least felt that way) in the beautifully painted hallways leading up to the chapel about 15 minutes before it reopened. My favorite gallery leading up was the one with the statues of animals. We found some Italian greyhound looking dogs with one licking the other. It looked like Nova to us. A set of muscular dogs had been guarding the entrance that had vaguely reminded me of Hannah. We both miss our babies so much. I am such a dog person and I'm glad Chris is too. It even made us comment that we missed Charlie, the Ibarra's sweet dog.
Going down the hallways there were so many statues. I found one that made me laugh and I told Chris, "this shows what I look like when I wake up in the morning".
After some really close, slow moving walking, we all stuffed inside the chapel and Chris got his first glimpse of the masterful Biblical scenes painted in the Sistine Chapel. It is incredibly impressive to think about how Michelangelo could have painted all of that. I can't say it's my favorite place or paintings, but they are certainly interesting and amazing to see this thing you've been hearing about almost your whole life!
We were hungry (or at least I was) and we were completely out of cash, so we found a nice restaurant that lined the street just outside of Vatican City and ate outside off the sidewalk. The host/waiter was so kind and friendly. You always have this feeling of these people serving you are not just fulfilling a job, but trying to make you feel welcome, give you good food, and make sure you enjoy your time there. It's such a nice feeling that I want to be friends with them all.
The problem, we discovered, of being on the sidewalk was the peddlers that came by trying to sell us their paintings, their trinkets, or just beg for money. The host shooed them away and we enjoyed our gnocchi (this time with mozzarella and a tomato sauce) and ham and pea tortellini. I love gnocchi and it's probably the fifth time I've ordered it here. I went in to use the restroom and had fun winding through the little rooms each with it's own feel and character, though distinctly Italian, down the stairs past the wine cellar and other service areas to a nice little bathroom. I really liked this place, even though it appeared to be something of a chain restaurant since I saw 3-4 other locations in Italy on the menu.
By the time we reached the line again at San Pietro, it was much shorter. Chris and I made a bet about how long it would take to get inside. We were both wrong...I had said 40 minutes, he 20, and it was really less than 20. I was happy to be wrong in this instance and let him win the bet (he was closer). I was so glad we hadn't waited in the line earlier, although I doubt with as fast as it moved it would have really taken 2 hours. Maybe an hour...We went through security, and the signs struck me as funny that showed we could take in water or and umbrella, but no switchblades. Hmm...that's surprising (sarcasm here.)
The basilica was quite crowded. We snapped some pictures of the famous Pieta by Michelangelo and walked around the ornate and expansive interior. Of course, there was a large and beautiful nativity with lights that changed the color and mood of it. There had also been an even bigger one set up outside in the middle of the piazza.
We didn't stay long. We walked back outside and I wanted Chris to see the guards in their colorful uniforms, that quite frankly, don't exude a sense of manliness or strength or protection to me. They looked better today since they had black capes covering a good portion of their uniforms (this must be a winter addition). We noticed that the post office was nothing more than a motor home set up in the piazza. Interesting, but in a country so small, I guess it makes sense. They just take the mail and drive it to wherever the next stop is!
We needed to get money, so on our way to the subway we stopped at an ATM. We then boarded the train for a quick trip to the Pantheon, hoping to still get there in daylight. We got off at Spagna, which after climbing out of the underground, I realized was the Spanish Steps. So, this should have made sense before, but it just hadn't clicked - Spagna = Spain. I was absolutely delighted because my last impression of the Spanish Steps was really nothing. I was underimpressed for sure. Not this time. This time there was a massive tree of lights at the top and shimmering lights lining the streets in all directions.
We walked down the main street off the steps which had lights everywhere and a chandelier style of lights hanging down every so many feet going down the center of the street. The shops lining the street were Prada, Cartier, Gucchi, Pucci, Tods...so we were obviously in the Beverly Hills/Rodeo Drive area of Rome.
Every street we walked down was beautiful all the way down to the Pantheon. We knew we were close to the Pantheon because we saw those tell-tale colorful miniature birdie/helicopter toys flying up in the air. I was relieved it was still open - after all it was after sunset and with the ancient temple I wasn't sure on the hours. We walked inside the crowded temple/basilica. I had forgotten that it had been made into a Catholic Church centuries later. It's rotunda is stunning and so are the columns and pediments. We sat for a few minutes taking it all in. I noticed a very large crack in a part of the dome. That made me a little nervous, but a 2000 year old building is bound to have some cracks, right?
We walked over to the Piazza Navona because I wanted Chris to see it. It was filled with vendors and at first I thought it must just be a market. Then as we looked around more, we realized it was more like a carnival or festival. It was interesting to see everything, but it was too bad that the beauty of the square was hidden in part by all this. As we were leaving, I spied a booth that mentioned La Bufana, and saw the witch like woman on a broom hanging down. Andrew told us that the day we leave, Sunday, is a big festival here where they all bring their Christmas trees together and burn them. They place La Bufana at the top and apparently depending on which way the wind blows, it dictates something about the crops for that year. La Bufana also brings little toys and such to the children's shoes.
We walked back up other streets to the Spanish Steps. Chris was hungry, but I was not yet, so we decided a little gelato for him would do the trick. The gelato looked so good and they had a flavor that was a chocolate and pepperocini, which here means the red peppers. I love spicy chocolate, so I ended up getting some too - the smallest size with the peppery chocolate and a hazelnut. The pepper didn't hit you at all until after you had swallowed and then you felt it only in your throat. Chris asked the guy behind the counter if he was from the Philippines, which he was, and he was even from the same area Chris' mom had been from. They spoke a little Tagalog together (really just greetings, since Chris says he doesn't speak it anymore).
This area is so nice. Every little walkway in the middle of the buildings opened up to beautiful courtyards. The stores were clearly expensive as were the few cars. People packed the area and romantic dining was everywhere. Christmas decoration and lights were even more prevalent in this area. We found one square with Fendi and a Christmas tree decorated in Fendi fashion and a masse belt and bucket wrapping the building made out of lights. Across the streets was an even larger real Christmas tree with bows and Mercedes Benz emblems as ornaments hanging off it (oh, I forgot to mention that down this street lined in light chandeliers were Mercedes Benz symbols hanging from the bottom of each chandelier).
We had walked down other streets that also had a different style of chandeliers and one corner/square had a street performer on a violin playing classical music. It was truly enchanting. We sat and watched as little kids sat next to a Santa statue hanging out a bench surrounded by polar bears and other Arctic animals and taking pictures.
We headed back up the Spanish Steps to take in the views and sounds of the crowded upscale area we were looking over. I loved the lights. I think the time to be in Rome is now. It's cooler, it's enchanting with the lights, and people seem nicer than they did in July. It seems more crowded to me than July was though. I'm not sure if that is reality or not, maybe we just hit a year that was not such a good tourist time, or maybe I just blocked out the crowds...
We read some reviews and decided on a little restaurant a few blocks over called Sofia. We were trying to find a moderately priced place since we were feeling like we were going over budget with our trip (and now have a wedding to plan). The place was cute and quiet - not a real Italian feel, but very classy. We should have asked for a menu to look at before we sat down because it wasn't as inexpensive as we thought, but it wasn't bad. It was more like the price of a Maggiano's or Cheesecake Factory at home, and we were trying to do a little cheaper. Their menu wasn't extensive, so I had only a few things to choose from but I did get a tasty noodle dish that used olive oil and cheese (the first I've seen here...I thought so much more would use olive oil, but I've just seen mostly cream or tomato sauces) with a slight citrus flavor. Chris ordered the eggplant parmigiana which was also really good. We decided to get a classic tiramisu to split on our last night in Rome and it was so good! When the waiter/host brought us our check, he also brought us a large jar of biscotti (really, they were just small chunks of chocolate chip cookies, but so good).
We walked to the metro and easily found our way back to our hotel where we retired for the evening, thus ending our days in Rome.
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Location:Roma
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