Sistine Chapel and the rest of Rome

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     We needed to be in line to enter the Vatican museums by 8:30am.  The line went quite a ways around the Vatican's walls.  We stood in line for about an hour.  The only way to see the Sistine Chapel is by entering the Vatican Museums.  This was a Saturday and the place was so busy.  While in line, I purchased 20 Rome postcards for 1 Euro.  I was able to fill out postcards while waiting in line.  This is a good tip for future travel.

     The Vatican Museum was filled with phenomenal art.  Marizzio was our tour guide again for the morning.  Marizzio pointed out different items to us.  At the Sistine Chapel, everyone was to be silent.  Marizzio pointed out some of the details to look for and then gave us a time to meet at the exit for the chapel.

     You could spend hours inside the Sistine Chapel.  We only got 20 minutes, but our necks still hurt when we were finished.  The funny part about being in the Sistine Chapel was that they demanded silence, but to get everyone to be silent the guards were clapping their hands and then played a recording very loudly about being silent.  I'm sure there is some other method of quieting people, say kicking them out!

     After we visited the Sistine Chapel, we went to St. Peter's Basilica.  Unfortunately, Marizzio didn't tell us anything else about the Basilica since we visited it in  Wednesday. 

     We then went to a gift shop where we could buy rosaries, crucifixes, etc. and have them blessed by the Pope.  I purchased some items that I will be giving to my Grandma and a good friend.

     Once we were finished, it was shortly after noon and we got the rest of the day to ourselves.   A few things that I wanted to do were attend a mass, buy some wine, and purchase any last Rome gifts.  Darryl, Abby, George, Keri, Chris and I decided to walk towards Trestevere. 

     In Trestevere, there was the Santa Maria of Trestevere Basilica.  The chapel was much smaller than others we had visited.  Darryl fell in love with the quaint-ness of it.  I lit a candle in remembrence of my Grandpa.

     In the Santa Maria Piazza, most of the group enjoyed a gelato or a sandwich.  I decided to eat the orange that I had grabbed from the lunch the day before.  I was able to wash my hands in the fountain in the piazza.  I'm pretty short so I was not always able to reach the water at some of the other fountains in Rome.

     Mass was scheduled for 5:30pm and we had to meet at the Piazza de Republica, across town, at 6:45pm.  I suggested taking a different route back to the Piazza that explored Tiber Island and based on the time crunch, mass seemed out of the picture.  Keri, Chris and I went to explore. 

     At Tiber Island, we visited the St. Barthalamew's Chapel and walked around the hospital.  It was a hot day and there were many Romans sunbathing on the concrete river walkway. 

     From Tiber Island, we headed to the Victor Emmanuel Monument.  Chris decided to wonder around on his own once we were at the monument.  Keri and I did some navigating and finally found the via Nazionale.  We stopped for our last chance at gelato.  The shop looked like it was just a store front, but once we ordered (pistachio for me) the men told us to go sit in the dining area.  We walked up a few steps and a cute dining room, decorated in pinks, blues, and greens.  We ended up running into Chris again. 

     Now Keri decided to go shopping on her own, while Chris and I went on a wine mission.  We figured that if we went off the main street, a side alley would have a wine shop.  The first street we went down, BINGO!  Chris was able to get some Chianti and Frascati.  It seemed that the local wine was all white, like the Frascati.  I got the same kind of Frascati for myself.  A little later down the road, we found another store and I picked up a bottle of Chianti. 

     We then headed towards the piazza.  The meeting place was near yet another chapel.  I believe this was another one dedicated to Santa Maria.  It had red granite or marble columns.  They were like nothing that we had seen in the rest of Rome.

     At our meeting place, we were all showing everyone our purchases from the day.  The most popular items were pasta shaped like penises, Italia zippered sweatshirts, and wine.

     We walked to our restaurant to have dinner.  It was also around the train station.   The restaurant had outdoor tables.  When you walked in, you walked down steps.  It was like the restaurant was in the basement of a place.  They had a back room reserved for us.  Unfortunately, they could not fit 5 people in the room.  Rosa pulled me out of the line and said pick 4 other people to eat with you in the restaurant.  I ended up picking students that had just graduated this year or last.  We enjoyed a great dinner, great company, and great wine.  The table red was so dark, it was like the strongest grape juice you could find.  They served us pasta with asparagus and I can't remember what else. The company must have been good, because this is the first meal I can't remember!

     Enzo took us back to the hotel.  I called it an early evening, since I needed to arrange my luggage for the ferry.