Rome/Vatican

Wednesday 6/24/09

Today was packet full. We started our day with breakfast in the roof top garden. It was fantastic… the garden I mean, the breakfast was toast and coffee. Our first stop of the day was the Vatican. Somehow things were very different then I remembered them from 10+ years ago when I had seen them before. Everything was much more crowded, and security seemed even more lax, which seems strange post 9/11. I remember having to go though customs to enter Vatican City, I even have the stamp in my passport to prove it, but this time we just walked in, no security, no checkpoint. We had to go through a metal detector for St. Peters, but that was the worst of it. We saw the Vatican museum first, going fairly quickly through the exhibits, so we only spent 3 hours there, including our time at the Sistine chapel. The Sistine chapel was packet to bursting. People standing shoulder to shoulder with barely room to breath. I felt bad, because this was Morgan’s first time seeing it, and it’s not as spectacular if you can’t sit back and just look at it for a while. Next we went to the Basilica, after waiting in line for 45 minutes we were allowed to enter. It was impressive, but somehow after our recent time in Florence it just wasn’t as impressive as I had remembered it. Morgan was impressed, but again a little overwhelmed by the crowds. People in large groups get a little overpowering, but odor isn’t everything. Next we walked to St. Angelo’s castle but didn’t go in because the entry fee was a little ridiculous and we’d had our fill of castles. We spent the rest of our afternoon wondering through Rome visiting the Pantheon, Trevi fountain, and the Spanish Steps. We finished the day by stopping at a grocery store and getting pasta and a frozen seafood mix to put over it. We also picket up a couple bottles of wine. Believe it or not, it seems Italy has made a convert out of me in the wine department. I have decided that I really like red wine. So tonight we spent the evening sitting in the roof top garden, enjoying wine, a little sun, a lovely dinner and some much needed time unwinding. Morgan and I have both been delighted to find that school has not completely stamped our desire for leisure reading. Both of us have been spending evenings devouring books the way we did when we were kids… it has been really wonderful, just like I’m on vacation.