Private Tour of the Sistine Chapel

St Peters
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This was our last morning on our own for a while.

The day started off rather wet -- not outside, but inside. As my eyes were closed shampooing my hair, the shower head moved into a different direction and the bathroom floor was flooded! After mopping up, we headed to breakfast again and prompty met another couple on our cruise. They are from Green Valley (near Fairfield) California ...... Neighbors!

We could set our watches....

Castel Sant'Angelo, near the Vatican.
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We caught a taxi and went to Castle San Angelo which is next to Vatican City with excellent views of St. Peters, the Tibur River, and of the city. There were lots of stairs and walking again but worth it. We then headed toward the Vatican and stopped at a little sidewalk cafe on Via della Concilazione for lunch before we headed back to the hotel.

At 3:30 we all met to get our wireless radio/headsets & to make sure they were all working so that we could hear the guide on our tour. By 4:15 we were on the bus ( there are two so we have lots of room with about 33 on each one).

View from Castle Sant' Angelo
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We were informed that the Vatican Museums closes at 4:30 and they were going to open up for just our group of about 65 people at 5p.m. sharp. Our tour guide, Ulysse mentioned that the Vatican is guarded by the Swiss and they are known as being very punctual and we could set our watches by the time they opened the gate for us.

The tour of the Vatican Museum and the Sistine Chapel was just awe inspiring and amazing and even more so to be there with no one else. This place is usually "wall to wall" people. Gary was able to take some incredible pictures. There is no flash allowed but his camera is very good.

Inside Castle Sant' Angelo
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One sad note though, as I was reaching in my pocket, my camera strap slipped off my wrist and my favorite camera went crashing to the marble floor of the Vatican and broke. :-( ... very sad! Luckily, Gary brought along a "back up" camera that I will be able to use...

After returning to the hotel, we met at a reception and met more of our fellow travelers and then on to dinner at eight. The man next to us has been on a National Geographic Expeditions trip to Russia. It sounded very interesting. Basically it was a boat trip from Moscow to St. Petersburg with many stops between.

Entrance to Vatican Museums
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Breakfast is at seven and we will board our bus tomorrow at 9a.m. so it's early to bed tonight. I'm really excited about this tour. We've met some very nice and interesting people.