Some of the other sites we saw were the Arch of Constatine, Capiloline Hill, the Roman Forum, the Pantheon, and the Spanish steps. At one time the Romans were very powerful people and very smart. They had indoor plumbing and central heating way before then. There is so much political and religious history here which really goes hand and hand here. Of course, there is also the art history.
The statues are huge and they are all over the place. Most of the old statues are housed in the Vatican museum. There are many statues that had been brought here from Egypt.
The walking tour was about seven hours. It was a lot to absorb and I don't thing I absorbed 20%, but I did learn something. It just inspires me to want to learn more though.
We also went to the Trevi fountain. Daniel told us that the custom of throwing the coins in was actually three coins. The other coin was to find an Italian lover, hmmm, why not try it.
The walk ended and Daniel told us an interesting place to go. It was a church and they had a cellar with rooms where the deceased Capuchin monks were stored. They had the bones of 4,000 monks separated and displayed in various designs. It was rather creepy.
Lauries and I walked back to the hostel. Daniel was there and we stayed to talk with him and the other people that were there. Dimtri was there and he is the one that does the Vatican walking tour, which we plan to take tomorrow.
For dinner Laurie and I went out with Lisa and Kerrin, the couple we met on the walk. We went to a place that Daniel recommended. I had pasta with crab and pawns. I ate it, but didn't care for it. It tasted way too fishy.
After dinner I was in the mood for some chocolate, so Laurie and I went to the train station to the store. We got in just before it closed at 10:00. We went back to the room. I read and went to sleep.
September 26, 2003
Laurie and I got up early again. To most people they wouldn't think 7:00 is early, but it is for us. Anyways, we got up and took our packs and walked over to the B & B. She looked at us and said "full". Now what are we going to do? We really didn't want to go back to the same hostel we checked out of. We decided to go to the M & K hostel which is the first one we looked at when we got to Rome. They had beds, but it was too early to get into the rooms. We checked in and left our packs there.
From there we walked over to the post office and it was open. I mailed my notes home. I have heard bad things about the Italian mail, so I hope the notes get there. I didn't mail my film home because I didn't want to lose them. I will mail the film from France.
We got back to the Freedom Hostel where we signed up for the Vatican tour with Dimtri. He was only going to do the tour if there were three or more people. When we got to the hostel Daniel was not there and no one signed-up. So we waited for a bit. Dimtri had led the nightly pub crawl last night and he might not be in much shape to lead any tour today.
Dimtri showed up and said that two others said that they would come and we waited for them to show. The two others were on the pub crawl, so they might be sleeping it off. They showed and we were off after a while.
Dimtri is from Bulgaria. He has been in Rome for five years. He started working at the hostel, then managed it, and now he does these tours. He just started doing the Vatican tour in the last five months.
Vatican City was granted full sovereignty by Mussolini in 1929. It is were the papal residence is and it is the richest area per capita. Besides the pope's residence, Vatican City is best known for St Peter's Basilica. St. Peter's is the largest and most famous church in the Christian world. If we were visiting on a Wednesday, we would have been able to see the pope in front of St. Peter's.
The first part of the walk was over the bridge of St. Angelo. Along the bridge there are large statues on either side. If Dimtri had not explained the statues I wouldn't have understood what they represented. That is why it is great to have a guide.
We then walked towards St. Peter's. He pointed out an oblelisk and a red canopy in the distance. He asked what we saw. What he pointed out was that from the distance we were at, the oblelisk and the canopy looks like an upside cross. That was how Peter was crucified and it stands in front of the church where Peter was crucified.
From the outside, the church isn't very impressive, but the inside certainly is. The first church was built in the 4th century, but a new one was started in 1506. Michelangelo took over the project in 1547 and had also designed the dome.
Inside the church, Michaelangelo's "Pieta" is on display. He sculpted it when he was only 24 and it is the only work that has his signature. "Pieta" is of Mary and Jesus.
There were many art works on the walls. They looked like paintings. They were actually mosiacs. If you looked close enough, you could see the small pieces of tile. They were beautiful.
The other piece of work that is incredible is the Baldacchino. It is a heavily sculpted bronze canopy that hangs over the Papal altar. It is 29 meters in height. It was done by an artist/architect by the name of Bernini who is very well known for his work throughout Rome.
We took a lunch break after St. Peter's. We went back to the Vatican City to go in the Vatican Museum. This is where the Sistine Chapel is. Dimti sat us outside in front of posters of the artwork of the Sistine Chapel. He explained all about it. Michelangelo did the whole ceiling himself and it only took four years to complete. It is quite amazing, but difficult to really see clearly because it is up so high and your neck gets very sore looking up.
