There‘s something about arriving in new cities, wandering empty streets with no destination. I will never lose the love for the arriving, but Im born to leave. - Charlotte Eriksson
Well, we only had a short time in Rome, but we have loved it. Tomorrow we fly back home (that is, hopefully we fly back, provided we make our flight, more on that later). We had another full day today, roaming around this vibrant, beautiful, exasperating, and amazing city.
We headed out this morning about 8:30, stopping for cappuccinos and croissants at a nearby coffee shop, before hopping on a bus to take us to St. Peters Basilica. We could have taken the metro, but the bus would get us closer to St. Peters than the metro.
We waited in the security line for about 1/2 hour before we got inside, but we listened to the Rick Steves audio tour, and the time passed quickly. The audio tour was excellent, and really added to our understanding and enjoyment of St. Peters Basilica. It started with describing the area outside the basilica, so was perfect for listening to as we were waiting. St. Peters Square is an enormous space,
not square at all but kind of oval shaped. There was lots of seating set up for the Wednesday morning papal audiences (which was why we couldnt go to St. Peters during our tour yesterday). We passed through security, and entered the atrium, and then into the basilica itself.
Words really cant describe St. Peters. It was truly spectacular. We roamed around, awestruck at the soaring heights of the dome, and listened to the audio tour as we moved through the vast interior. I felt unexpectedly moved by being in this holy space. You are Peter and upon this rock I will build my church. It was an unforgettable experience and Im so glad we were able to go today. Thanks Ross and Beth with us on their 4th time (the last only 4 weeks ago) seeing St. Peters! The only disappointment at St. Peters was that Michelangelos Piet was hidden behind curtains and we couldnt see it. It is always behind protective glass, but today it was also covered by thick curtains, so we couldnt even catch a glimpse of it. I dont know why it was covered up, as it wasnt when Ross and Beth
were here just a few weeks ago. So we will have back to Rome (and we tossed a coin into the Trevi Fountain, so that means we back 😀) and see the Piet, and to climb the basilica dome.
We also went to the Vatican Grottoes underneath the basilica, which contain the tombs and sarcophagi of many popes. No photography was allowed in the grottoes. On the way out we checked out the gift shop (I got a beaded bracelet and tree of life necklace, but Susan didnt find a gold cross - shes been looking for one).
We walked past the Castel SantAngelo (built as a mausoleum for the Roman emperor Hadrian, and later converted into a papal fortress), and over the Ponte SantAngelo, a bridge which crosses the Tiber River and is lined with statues of angels. The views from the bridge were very pretty. Ross and Beth showed us the apartment building where they stayed at the start of their Italian trip in September, and Beth led us to a shop where she had bought a couple of nice leather purses. I bought a purse and a wallet (I mean, its
Italy, you have to buy purses!). By this time we were ready for a bite to eat, so we found a place nearby and shared two pizzas, by nice cold beer. It was a little cool in the morning, but got quite warm later on.
We continued to a mens shoe shop to pick up Ross shoes (he had ordered them when they were in Florence, to pick up in Rome). They are very nice indeed! While we were there it was time for us to check into our flight home tomorrow. We are flying standby, so its really important to check in as soon as we can (24 hours before the flight), as that determines our priority. For the past few days we have been checking how many seats were available on the flight, and how many other standby passengers were listed, and it wasnt looking good.
