A few stops later we exited at Cipro station and made a short walk to the Vatican Museum. On the way we stopped for our first Roman meal. We ordered a tomato and cheese pizza that was folded over on itself (sort of like a calzone meets a panini). It was hot and delicious and easy to eat on the move.
We met our tour group at a hosteria near the Vatican Museum entrance and started our tour. Our tour guide was a younger, American female. She was a lot of fun and very knowledgeable on art history and Vatican history. There were eight of us in the tour, including a family from Dallas with a daughter who was a sophomore at Baylor.
We went through room after room of amazing frescoes and paintings, followed by the piece de resistance, the Sistine Chapel. If you have never been to the Sistine Chapel before, then there is really no good way for me to explain it to you. If you HAVE been to the Sistine Chapel, then you know what I'm talking about. It is way higher, way bigger and way more detailed then you can imagine. The Last Judgement, Michaelangelo's altarpiece in the Sistine Chapel is equally brilliant. Unfortunately copyright laws prohibit the taking of photos inside the Sistine Chapel, so I have nothing to show. But the Sistine Chapel is something that you will never forget.
After the Sistine Chapel, we made our way to St. Peter's Basilica next door. If the Sistine Chapel was amazing, then St. Peter's was equally so. It is massive; I have never been inside a church that big. The dome is enormous. There is a large bronze structure that stands over the main altar that is the largest bronze structure in the world. St. Peter's is very cool and they were starting mass while we were there; also very cool.
After leaving St. Peter's and setting out on our own, we realized that we had not eaten any gelato since we arrived in Rome, which was going on 10 hours, so we made a stop for our first taste of the gelato goodness. Jessica had menta and ciccolato (mint and chocolate), while I opted for ciccolato and pistacchio (chocolate and pistachio). Wow, was it good. And eating it while sitting on a bench on Via della Concilliazione, not 100 yards away from Piazza de San Pietro made it even better.
We continued walking down the street and came to Castel Sant'Angelo. Jessica's comment was, "it's not every day that you turn the corner and see a castle."
It was a very impressive stone and brick structure, situated on the banks of the Tiber river. As we were crossing the street (never an easy task in Rome), Jessica yelled, "It's our first day, please don't kill us," to one of the crazy guys on a moped.
We crossed the Tiber, headed toward Piazza Navona in search of food. Of course we found another gelato shop first and had round two as an appetizer. We then found a restaurant called Il Piccolo on Via del Governo Vecchio that had an aperitivo special (think Happy Hour, but instead of drink specials, you get free food with your cocktails). We each had a wonderful pinot grigio and a heaping plate of porketa, pasta, polenta with tomatoes and some very tasty prosciutto.
We walked part of the way home and finished the night with a bus ride back to Termini Station. We are having an easy and early night tonight due to the long travel day yesterday and the slight sleep deprivation we are currently working on. We hope to wake relaxed and refreshed tomorrow morning for our tour of Ancient Rome. Ciao!
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