European update 7/9

This one is coming to you a little early, since we're already done for the
day. ;-)

Today we spent all our time in Vatican City, and once again I was stunned by
how much more there was than I expected. St. Peter's Basilica was vast
beyond anything I had guessed, even given the size of the courtyard that
appears so often in films. We didn't have to wait the 2 hours in line like
we were "supposed" to; it only took an hour to get in. Everywhere were
statues and paintings and ornate carvings that were very large compared to
what you see in fancy buildings like the Capitol over in the U.S. They
definitely went for grandeur, but when you were in the building it didn't
feel overlarge.

What did feel overlarge, in a sense, was the trek up to the top of the
cupola (dome). Supposedly it was only 550 steps, but I'm not so sure about
that. Regardless, they were intensely dangerous steps. The first half was
decent, if steep, but the second half was set after set of increasingly more
difficult steps (as we got more and more tired). They started spiraling,
with no handrail, which was bad enough, but the spiral grew tighter and the
steps grew shorter the higher you went. At one point the steps were only
about 15 inches wide, and the spiral about 3 feet across altogether. But
making it to the top was worth it. The view was magnificent, and that part
of Italy (a half hour's travel from our apartment) looked much more upscale
and "traditionally European". Getting down however...the tight, steep
spirals, all without handrails, made descending a nightmare. I'm surprised
no one fell, especially given how we were all slightly dizzy from our trip
up.

After that, we went to the Sistine Chapel and Vatican Museum. The signage
there was deceitful, IMO. (for reference, the museum is a large square
building with a courtyard hollowing out the middle; it's extremely large
though) A few feet after we entered the building, there were two signs: one
pointing towards Etruscan and Roman art, and the other pointing towards the
Sistine Chapel and religious art. Naturally we went to the latter first. So
we walked, and we walked, and there was some amazing art. I'm not fond of
art at the museums we've been to before, but everything here was worth it.
The sculptures of various Roman mythological figures and emperors were
stunning in person, and almost every wall and ceiling was painted and
engraved in complex and ornate paintings. But we were walking, and walking,
and walking, and no Sistine Chapel. Every few hundred yards there'd be a
sign indicating the direction we should go to reach it, but we never did. We
must have walked two or three miles in that museum, at least, and up and
down more flights of stairs (by this time we were sick of them), before
finally getting to it. It was more amazing added on top of what we'd already
seen; the biggest surprise was how small a part the most famous piece of it
is, and how it almost fades into the magnificence of the whole.

We decided to leave after this, but here is another point where signage in
the Vatican Museum was deceitful. Every so often was a sign pointing to
"exit" ("uscita", actually), but we had to walk around the entire rest of
the building (the Sistine Chapel was about halfway around the courtyard from
where we started) to find just a door to get out. *sigh* And we were already
pretty worn by that time, so we were exhausted by the time we got back to
the subway (more stairs, ugh) to get to our station and a place to eat. One
of the really nice things about Rome is their outdoor shady seating in most
restaurants; very refreshing after a long day's walk.

We didn't get back here until 5:30, and we're probably going to crash here
until dinner, and then go to bed. So far, it seems like everyone is getting
tired and worn out (and hungry, for that matter) at about the same time. Not
much debate about anything else, either, but I'm glad I don't have worry
about wearing myself out before everyone else. We were all discussing
things, and we think that by tomorrow we'll be fully used to the climate and
time schedule. It's almost feeling normal, although most of the culture
shock stuff is still confusing.

Oh, did I ever mention that our apartment is four floors up? Most of the
time we've taken the stairs (I'm not sure I'll ever want to see stairs again
after the thousands we must have walked on today), but there's also this
itty bitty elevator that barely holds 3 people, and even then it has to be 3
people who are comfortable in each others' space. It looks a bit unstable,
since the motor is very simple, but seems to work just fine and is quite
cute. And better than using the stairs.

Love to all,
MerryK


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Hello everyone,

Day 2 in Rome is almost over and we are all exhausted. We went over to the
Vatican City to see the Sistine Chapel, St. Peter's Basilica, and the
Vatican Museum. It was quite a trip. Here is how it went:

1. Find breakfast. This was our first time ever ordering from someone who
only spoke Italian. It was difficult, but we got things done. (Dad did most
of the talking...ok..all of the talking.)

2. Hopped on the metro (subway) and took a nice short ride over to the city.
When we got off there were tons of English speaking people trying to
persuade all the tourists to buy tours of the Vatican in English. That was
too funny because they would follow you around and continue to talk to you
even though you already said no.

3. Vatican City: waited in line for an hour to enter the Basilica and all I
can say is, "wow." That place is huge and beautifully made. Our group did
decide to venture on up the stairs to the top of the dome to get the great
view. Yep, all 551 steps. Let me say that again. 551 STEPS. We were huffing
and puffing by the time we got to the top. To be honest, I even felt sick
and had to sit down and eat a little bit of a power bar and drink some
water. Doing all that in the heat was not my cup of tea. But the view made
up for all of it and we can now say we have been to the top.

SIDENOTE: Let me give you an estimate on how many stairs we walked today.
Approx. 80 steps in the morning, 551 going up to the dome, 551 coming down,
and another 200 or so at the Sistine Chapel and on the way back. No more
steps today please.

4. Sistine Chapel: Next we headed over to the Vatican Museum. There are so
many neat statues and paintings. Almost every wall in that place is covered
in a painting. Everywhere you looked had something that was an amazing
creation. There were some beautiful statues of the Roman God's. Then of
course was the Sistine Chapel. No picture that I have ever seen in a book
could explain that painting. That room is covered from ceiling to floor. It
was breath taking. Of course, you are not allowed to take any pictures in
there. sigh. Yet, like I said just being able to see it in person was
wonderful.

5. We finished off the day with some gelato and then lunch near the train
station. We did our usual ceremony of the switching of the foods while
everyone tried the different meals. That way we each order something
different, but get to taste 5 foods. Delicious!

Now we are hanging around the apartment either: taking naps, reading,
laundry, writing stories, or on the computer. This has been the perfect
vacation thus far. :)

Lots of love,

Ladybug