Day 96
Wednesday. December 9, 2009.
Happy 21st Andrea!
We woke up early to take our bags to the train station for them to hold until we got back after our day at the Vatican. On our way there, Taryn was stopped by a nun who handed her 20 euros she had dropped. We dubbed her Taryn’s personal savior. We had a lot of time to kill before our tour, so we sort of ‘cafe-hopped.’
We had a new tour guide this time, Ian, but saw some familiar faces from previous tours, including a stereotypical American couple from Alabama and a girl Sydney, Australia traveling the world by herself. We started off the tour with the papal audience. Ian told us to all look at the back and point, because people always thought the pope came in from there. And while they were looking there, we could get the best picture of him coming in from the side stage door. So as surreal as it felt, I got to see Pope Benedict XVI. He seemed very sweet, even though I couldn’t understand a word he was saying.
After the papal audience we went into the Vatican museums, the home of the best art collection in the world. All those days sitting in art history really came to life. We ended the tour in the Sistine Chapel. I thought it would be very overrated, but I have to admit it was really magnificent.
After the tour, Taryn and I stayed around to explore some more. We went to the papal tombs first. I got to see the most popular one, JPII of course. It’s amazing how you can really feel like you know someone you’ve never met. There’s constantly a security guard standing by his tomb to make sure people keep moving and no pictures are taken. I could be biased, but it appeared to me that he had the most beautiful tomb there.
After the tombs, we went into St. Peter’s Basilica. It completely makes any other church seem insignificant. It is truly magnificent. I also got to see Michelangelo’s first sculpture and only signed work of art. It was his piece of Mary hold Jesus’ body in her arms. It’s totally one of my favorite pieces. I was sad there was the glare of the protective glass in front of it, but that’s what happens when some guy from the ’70s jumps up on top and chops off a nose proclaiming he is Jesus. It just ruins it for everyone else. Too bad.
After that, we went shopping in the souvenir shop. Everything in there is so beautiful, and it’s all blessed by the pope, so you really can’t go wrong in a purchase! =)
After we left the Vatican, we ate at an English pub we found close by, a little taste of ‘home.’ After eating, we headed back to the train station and made our journey to the airport. We had our last taste of Italy in the Europe, quite literally, with some gelato before we boarded the plane. It was nice to be heading back to London. It really always feels like going home.
Once we arrived in London, we were a little concerned about the underground closing before we got to it, so we were a little rushed. Hindsight shows that was completely unnecessary, but better safe than stuck and sorry! We got off at our stop on the tube and realized we were surrounded by construction when we reached street level. Therefore, we didn’t know exactly what street we were on, but I asked some guys I saw, and they ended up giving us exact directions to our hotel. It was nice not to have to ask if they spoke English first. So we arrived at our hotel, and found it to be very quaint, like one would think of a grandmother’s house.
