Day 30 Rome

We had grand plans for today, perhaps the most important of which was not to be among the Roman tourists with a good pick-pocket story. Well, we made it through the day with our belongings intact. So far so good. We began the day with a 3 hour tour of the Vatican Museums, the Sistine Chapel, and St. Peter's Basilica. We were afraid it might be a little much for the boys but their enthusiasm and interest carried them through. One of the first things to amaze were the ceilings which, though they were two dimensional, appeared to contain very intricate 3dimensional molding and statues.

Dave was excited to find that Raphael's School of Athens was among the frescoes in the museum.

His joy was compounded as Johnny took interest in the painting for many of the same reasons Dave found it so thrilling. The vast accumulation of artwork is beyond comprehension - our guide told us that if one stood before each piece of art for 1 minute, it would take 10 years to complete the tour. From what we saw that seems entirely realistic. It is clear that much of the art was accumulated and set up for display at a time when temporal powers and spiritual powers were more closely intertwined.

Given the widespread and readily available images of the Sistine Chapel it should be easy to overestimate the thrill of seeing it first-hand, yet we found ourselves near tears due to the beauty. Michelangelo's work is breathtaking. The restoration work has made a dramatic difference between when Dave first visited in 1983 and now. The boys stood in slack-jawed wonder, their excitement dancing in their eyes.

The size of St. Peter's Basilica was another thing that we were simply unprepared for despite having the requisite intellectual foreknowledge. There is no preparation for gazing up into the dome and trying to grasp the actual dimensions. Or for that matter seeing the elaborate mosaics which from any distance beyond a few feet look convincingly like paintings.

Michelangelo's Pieta was the highlight of St. Peter's. Surely Christ's body which is draped so heavily across Mary's lap cannot be of stone. Nor can Mary's expression be formed of anything other than flesh and blood.

Outside in the St. Peter's Square (actually an oval) we were thrilled to take turns standing in one of the two points designed by Bernini to make all of the two hundred plus columns stand one behind the other. We offer this panorama. Each row of columns is actually 4 deep.

We rode the infamous bus #64 into town where we wound our way through the streets to Piazza Navona where we had a delicious meal sitting outdoors and watching the crowds pass. From there, more winding streets and alleys to Trevi Fountain. The heavy reconstruction did not stop us from throwing coins into the fountain and making the traditional wish for a return trip to Rome. It worked for Dave back in 83 so why not give it a shot.

We got gelato and made our way through even more winding streets and alleys to the Spanish Steps.

Our sightseeing concluded, we returned to our apartment for homework and antipasti - though that is a misnomer as it was filling enough to be the whole meal.