Rome, Day 1

Meeting our guide was no problem at all, as she was standing in front of the cafe, holding a sign with my name on it.  She introduced herself at Guia, and she was fabulous.  We immediately went into the Vatican Museum, and once we'd made it through security, we had a celebrity sighting.  Antonio Paolucci, Director of the Vatican Museums walked down the stairs right behind us.  Guia was a bit starstruck, so we were duly impressed.  She reminded us to be extremely aware of our personal belongings, which was consistent with everything we'd already heard, and told us how much it bothered her that she had to give that warning.

We saw so much again today that I can't do it justice, but particular highlights were seeing the third (for us, first chronologically) of Michelangelo's pietas, and finding out why it's behind glass.  Because in 1972 a man claiming to be the second coming of Christ broke pieces off the statue with a hammer.  My favorite of the three is the still the one in Milan.  Lyle refuses to commit, saying only, "Today's was pretty cool."

The tapestry created from Leonardo's Last Supper at a time when it was still fresh and undamaged.  Notably, you can see Christ's feet, which were destroyed when a door was cut through the frescoe.

An unfinished Leonardo that allows some insight into his process.

The original Lacoon and His Sons - a copy of which we'd already seen in Florence.

This famous torso, a Roman sculpture that was a major source of inspiration for Michelangelo.  It's called the Belvedere Torso, for the gallery, not the butler.

This statue of Hercules in the original bronze.  This was the point where I was getting shoved and brushed and used my reserves of good behavior in not retaliating.

We walked through the Raphael rooms, and if our guide in Milan was all about Leonardo, and Charles was all about Michelangelo, Guia was all about Raphael.  Unfortunately, some of the rooms were being restored, but we saw enough to be amazed anyway.

Then we took a quick break for coffee and to get an explanation of the Sistine Chapel before we went in.  And then we went in, but no pictures in there, of course.  It's amazing, but really, not quite as awe-inspiring for me as either the Last Supper or David.  It was really cool to see it, especially after Guia had told us all about it.

After that, we went into St. Peter's Basilica, which was more impressive than I was expecting.  Even with all the other chuches we've been in on this trip, this was stunning.  The Pieta is there, St. Peter's throne is there, and Holy John Paul II's tomb, which has been moved up to its own place in the basilica from the grottoes.  There's also a statue of him that's quite impressive.

We went through the grottoes on our way out, walking through the tombs of popes going back to the 12th century.  You can see the tomb of St. Peter from here, and our guide told us that archaelogical findings are consistent with the teachings, which I found awesome.

When we left St. Peter's we walked around the square for a few minutes and talked about how cool Pope Francis is.

Then we caught a cab over to the Pantheon, which is one of the most intact ancient temples (largely because it had been converted to a Christian church, and thus using it for materials would have been seen as sacreligious).  It was also a particular inspiration for the Renaissance artists, and is where Raphael is buried (and two kings of Italy too).

After the Pantheon, we saw the Trevi Fountain, where one is supposed to toss a coin and make a wish (traditionally one wishes to return to Rome), but it's under restoration, and you can't throw coins right now.

From there to the Spanish Steps, which were built to celebrate peace between France and Spain (the steps were built into the hill that separated the French and Spanish embassies).  Interestingly, the French paid for the Steps, but they've always been called The Spanish Steps.  They're also closed at the moment for restoration.

By that point we were done in, and starving (note the lack of any food in today's description), so we said goodbye to Guia and caught a cab back to the B&B.  Elisabetta met us here for the longer orientation, where we got suggestions on how to use the tram, and where to eat and all that.  Then she walked us to her favorite pizza place, told them to take good care of us and left us.

We had great pizza (Lyle says the best yet) and then walked back here again.  Long day, kinda in overload, but looking forward to getting into the swing of Rome.

Marty and Lyle