Roman Holiday

My drinking problem arose again in Rome.

Unbeknown to me, there was a bottle of prosecco in the door of the hotel minibar with no support, so when I opened the door looking for milk the prosecco came flying out and smashed on the floor. The force of the explosion spread glass fragments throughout the room - quite spectacular. 

Not to worry, it was replaced. To enter Vatican City we had to dump our water bottles. We bought some more at an on-site vendor, and somehow it turned into wine...

 

We originally thought we were being clever going to the Vatican early Wednesday morning as we figured it would be quiet. When we arrived we were surprised by a crowd of many thousands. Google never mentioned that Wednesday morning was when the Pope gave a public audience in St Peter's Square, and this particular Wednesday was special as His Holiness was blessing those taking part in the marathon this weekend. As Liz observed, when there are so many people in a Catholic church "It's reaching critical mass".

We took the advice of a tour company and booked a walking tour of a small section of the Vatican Museums, followed by the Sistine Chapel, and then St Peter's Basilica.

They have beautiful mosaic floors that according to our guide, Giovanni, are allegedly ancient. But they're not on display as such, they are the actual floors one walks on. 

Giovanni described it as "The Vatican has so many treasures that they don't know what to do with them all, and in 10 km of galleries only about 30% is on display". 

One particular example - there were two stone lions from ancient Egypt, but they are not in the museum, they are outside. In the weather. Accessible to tourists. 

The galleries were spectacular, and as Giovanni said the treasures were everywhere and, of course, were fabulous. Once more, there was a bit of sensory overload. 

The Sistine Chapel was the star attraction for most tourists and it felt to me like we were inside a gigantic painting. Personally I found it interesting but not as spectacular as the Basilica, which is apparently the largest church in the world.

The high point of the Basilica was climbing to the high point of the Basilica - to the viewing platform on top of the dome. 

The climb was at times a bit challenging, especially near the top as tall people like me had to lean sideways to cope with the curvature of the roof. And it's a long way up... 

The views were spectacular, naturally.

The Basilica was even more impressive on the inside. 

We also went underneath to the burial chamber of the Popes, St Peter, and assorted dignitaries over the centuries. Like the Sistine Chapel, photos were not allowed. 

So once again we wholly underestimated the scale of things. What was meant to be a quick diversion turned into a full day activity, and we only scratched the surface. 

What to do to recover?