Category: Europe13

We also went to the Vatican museum, (the Sistine Chapel is closed so no Michelangelo), left the Vatican and went to the Etruscan museum. Saw lots of old stuff.

Now we are lying down in the hotel. We are both sick. A) We rarely get sick B) we never get sick at the same time C) we never get sick on vacation.  Our luck has run out. Went to an Italian farmacia this morning on our way to the Vatican and got some meds. Made the day more tolerable. 

è questa farmacia vendere qualcosa per aiutare con un naso gocciolante e tosse

We’ve shuffled our schedule a little today due to the Pope. We figured if we were going to see the Vatican, we’d better get in there as soon as possible. We arrived Saturday and didn’t do anything because of the time when we arrived. Sunday, Vatican stuff is closed. Monday we had a prearranged ticket for the Coliseum tour. So today we went to the Vatican. We squeezed in to St. Pete’s just as all the Cardinals were entering for the mass before they all get locked up for Conclave.

Couldn’t see a thing. The basilica is huge and a tour destination in its own right, but there was no room to move in there.

Today we did a ton of walking (again). Saw the Coliseum, Forum, Palatine Hill, Circus Maximus and Trajan’s Column. They all looked a lot closer together on the map than it felt in my legs and feet. Plus there was a lot of what I call museum walking, really slow small steps. I took a ton of pictures, just not with my phone. So you’ll have to wait until I get home and write up some full pages.

Boy the Coliseum is big!  There are many old Roman arenas, but  only one coliseum, so says the tour guide.  We booked an extended tour by phone a few weeks ago (no online way) which got us into previously off limit areas, like down to the lowest level.

They don’t let you walk around much in the lowest level.  You only get a side view, but still pretty cool.

The Romans built aqueducts to transport water to their cities. We saw a big one in France a few years ago. Here’s what’s left of one into Rome.  Some sections are longer than others.