Rome Day Three

Day three found Jon and myself back at the Vatican.  We had already toured St. Peter's Basilica the day before but, today we were going through the museums and the Sistine Chapel.

We figured hit the Sistine Chapel first and then go through the museums after if we still wanted too.  Unbeknownst to us, you have to walk through the museums to get to the chapel.

Here is the courtyard of the Vatican.  We happened to take the perfect picture with a pigeon (not a dove) flying right through the picture.

The way to the Sistine Chapel takes you through literally miles of hallways.  Every hallway was decorated and painted to the hilt.  Once we finished one hallway, we entered another.  Each hallway also had a theme to it.  One hallway would be paintings, the next maps, the next tapestries, the next statues, next artifacts, etc......

The Vatican had thousands if not millions of artifacts it has collected (or conquered) throughout it's couple thousand year existence.  There was even an Egyptian section that was full of mummies.

This sculpture is Michaelangelo's take on Troy.  The snake represents the Trojans as it wraps itself around this father and his sons.  There is nothing they can do, they know they will die.  Peachy!!!

After seriously four hours of walking, we finally entered the Sistine Chapel.  They didn't allow cameras in the room, although we tried, so I have no pictures of it.  The ceiling was everything that I had been taught it would be.  It was gorgeous!!  The rest of the chapel?  Serious disappointment.  All of the Catholic churches in Rome are decorated like crazy.  Gold and marble everything!  Paintings, mosaics, etc.  The chapel?  Nothing really.  Ugly tile floors, wooden alter, and wooden walls.  Seriously?!?!  I expected the grandest of the grand since this is the chapel that the Pope himself worhsips in.  Oh well, what do you do?  At least there was the ceiling.

After spending several hours at the Vatican we decided to wander our way back to the hotel and see what we could.  We happened to stumble our way upon Castel San Angelo.

Castel San Angelo is a crypt turned house of the pope, turned fort since it is right on the Tiber River.  It was built for King Hadrien to be buried in but then the current pope thought it would be a good living place (it had running water) while the Vatican was being built.  The Vatican wall runs right up to the castle and the pope can still walk acrossed the top of the wall to stay out of harms way.

The castle was named San Angelo later because supposedly, during the plaque, an angel came and stood on top and declared Rome clean.  After that, the plaque ended.

Castel San Angelo also has the best, hands down, 360 degree view of Rome.  Phenomonal!!!

Here is the angel that saved Rome. 

By the time we got back to our hotel, it was dark and late.  Dinner is always an event in Rome.  It was hard to get used to their habits vs. ours.  I am used to the American way where you get in, get out, and get on with you life.  In Rome, dinner is at least a three hour event. It drove me crazy!!!!  We would go to dinner at about 8 every night and not finish til after 11.  Grrr..  Day three was awesome!  Go Catholics!