Days 9 and 10: Rome, Italy to Home

Day 9:                                  Rome, Italy                                       6/26/14

The group got on the bus from Mentana under a threat of rain and we left at 8:00 for Rome. It sprinkled a little and we hoped that would be all we would see.

We got to the Vatican first and waited in line to get in. Our guide was pretty quick as we had to get around all the crowds.  Things he pointed out about the Vatican:

·       The map collection that hangs in the walls of the museum were very valuable in the old days as soldiers would come for an audience with the Pope to take a look at their maps to make battle plans.

·       At one point in history, the Pope was the most powerful man in the world, especially with an army and money. Anyone who said “No” to the Pope took great risk.

·       The Vatican is 110 acres of land

·       Pope Francis is very popular with the Italians. He has been known to go out and mingle with the public, doesn’t sleep in his quarters (he sleeps in simple quarters), and spends a lot of money on charity.

After seeing some of the Vatican’s treasures, we went to the Sistine Chapel to look at the paintings.

The guide told us that the Pope insisted that Michelangelo paint the ceiling, even though he had never done painting before. He was only a sculptor. Michelangelo refused and refused before he was threatened with jail. He relented.

He learned the art of how to paint and took a long time to paint the whole ceiling. He basically did the creation story on the ceiling.

He shaded the story a little bit out of protest, for example having Eve come out of a rock instead of Adam’s rib. He did this to show he was one who brought life out of rock. The flaws in the story he painted was not enough for him to lose his life. When he was done, the Pope thanked him for doing the work, claiming God called him to make Michelangelo come.

We saw the splendor of the paintings of the Sistine Chapel in silence. After appreciating the work, we went out and saw some more works of art before going out into the Basilica of St. Peter.

Paintings that look like two dimensions, but are actually one dimension (Trompe-l'oeil)

It started to rain hard as we took a tour of the big church, appreciating the Pieta and other works of art by Italian painters, sculptors, and the like.

When we were done, we went out of the basilica into the rain. We lucked out as it let up. We met at a meeting place and had some free time to have lunch and get money.

We ate at the Vatican Cafeteria, which was a little pricey. At least the food was good. I had a nice pasta salad with big chunks of cheese.

At the Vatican Cafeteria

With my meal finished, I went to get more money and bought some post cards and wrote them out. We met together as a group and then took the bus to the Colosseum.

We had a few minutes to admire the amphitheater. The weather had become warm again and the sun was out.

The entrance to St. Peter's Basilica

Elise Jorgensen at the Colosseum

Our guide took us around and we saw different parts of the coliseum.

·       The Colosseum survived a few earthquakes and was fixed up.

·       The place was used for killings and such to keep the people content. They would bet on outcomes and drink while they watched. Some even “tailgated”

·       The Vatican and other places in Rome used stone and other materials from the Colosseum for their own uses as it stood idle. This was their version of recycling.

The city was going to tear it down as it was unkempt. The Pope encouraged them to make it a place for people to see while they were in town.

Brien Simpson and Roger MacDonald listening to Johnny Cash at the Roman Colosseum

Phyllis MacDonald inside the Roman Colosseum

After seeing the Colosseum, we took the path to see the ruins of the Roman Forum. We marveled at how the ruins were and at what history they have seen. At the end of the tour we marched through town towards our supper site.

The Roman Forum

We had pizza for our last supper in Rome. They would bring pizzas out to each table and we would all grab a slice, eating it while we waited for the next one. We had salad and finished it off with chocolate gelato, One of the boys from Texas celebrated his 16^th birthday and there was cake made for him. He smiled as we sang Happy Birthday.

One we were done, we managed to walk to the Spanish Steps thanks to Anna. 
We got there, sat for 5 minutes, and then walked back to where the bus would pick us up.

Heidi Dygert resting on the Spanish steps

At the Spanish steps 

We got on the bus and went back to Mentana. The two other groups had to wake up by 3:00 a.m. in preparation of their trip back home.

The groups said their good byes, some staying up the whole night until they had to go to the airport.

Day 10:                                  Rome, Italy   to Home                    6/27/14

We got up for breakfast and was paced for our 8:00 am 12 seat bus to take us to the airport

Anna went with us to the airport as she was also leaving to go to London at 7:00p.m. A long stay at the airport for her.

The travel club with Anna at the airport. 

It was a long line but we got through the ticket line and checked our bags .We got off on the plane to Paris, and then home without incident.