The swarm of the tourists

The scrum in the Vatican museums

A oasis of peace in St Peters

Sending postcards to our Mums

Jane and Catherine in St Peter's Square

Jane at Trevi Fountain

Today is the day I have been waiting for our Vatican tour. First obstacle is to find the train station. Tick. Then we buy a ticket then we even get on the right train. I love the adventure of trying out public transport in other cities.

We meet up with the hordes at the entrance to the Vatican museums after getting through security we wind our way through many different rooms and amazing sites. It was a great idea to go with a guide who shares many insights and explains what all the works are about. We have earphones on that are linked to the guide otherwise we would never hear her over the crowd. About 5 million people a year visit the Vatican and I think most of them have decided to do it today. I am impressed by a tapestry with shifting perspective that follows where Jesus follows you as you walk past, cannot fathom how you do that. I wonder about so many of the great techniques we see – could people do this today, or are all these skills lost in time?

The guide shares with us lots of stories, including the origin of Nepotisim, Micehlangelo’s habit of doing things his own way and how the map room is like an early version of google earth. The Vatican has amassed a lot of treasures over the years even a rock from the moon given by an astronaut.

Finally we get through the hordes into the exquisite Rapahel Rooms and the Sistine chapel. What can you write about such beauty and skill. This really is like stepping back into another time.

The last part is to enter St Peter’s itself. It’s like going through the crowd at a football grand final to get in. This is the largest church in the world and just as well with the amount of tourists it needs to cater for. The inside is massive and there are angels everywhere for Jane to snap when we are not getting pushed out of the way by tourists. The whole experience is a bit intense. Finally we escape and I see the famed St Peter’s square. It is also massive, a good place to hold a rock concert which the Pope does every Wednesday. We also see where he looks out the window at the crowds on Sundays. The first Sunday we where in Rome he had blessed 20,000 Harley Davidson motorbikes and their riders in the square.  The pope is very popular in Italy, there are postcards, flags and Tshirts everywhere with his smiling face. Everyone seems very positive that he will modernize the church.

Time to move on, the Spanish Steps are next, guarded by policeman that look like a cross between Nazi’s and super models with their harsh outfits and chiseled good looks. Then the Trevi Fountain to throw in some coins so we can return to Rome.

Finally using Jane’s innate sense of direction and improved map reading we make it back to Nationalze street, the shopping street just near our accommodation. Its been a big day but like the troopers we are we keep going. Desigual gets work out by all of us but Fabriano is still declared our favorite shop in Italy.

After showers we don our new clothes and head back to the historical centre of town for our last dinner together before Sue heads for Sicily.