I'm going to Vatican city where the church is big and the cieling is pretty

Today, we got into Rome. The Florence update is posted as a separate post below, so check that out after this.

We started the drive from Florence at 7am so we can make it into Rome by noon. It was harsh because the night before, I got back at 2am. Regardless, I just slept on the coach.

We were warned by our tour guide that in order to get into the Vatican Museum, we'd have to play dirty and cut in line. I was all ready to do that. So, first thing I did as I approached the line was to scope out for asian families that I can pretend to be apart of. Once I found my target, I moved in slowly and sneaked my way into the line. When I looked ahead of me, I saw other people from the tour cutting way up front. I felt good because at least I was less amoral.

The Vatican Museum is relaly cool. They have heaps of rooms full of paintings, tapestry, furniture, frescos. Of course all these are depictions of Biblical stories. Here, I saw Raffaelo's School of Athens. (Side note: after seeing italy, definitely getting sick of Michelangelo, Raffaelo, and Bernini. These guys did EVERYTHING ART)

Of course, the real goal is to see the Sistine Chapel. Must say, Very impressed by the shear execution of this large project. The audio tour definitely gave a great explanation of what everything is supposed to be on the ceiling and the side walls. Being my less amoral self, I refrained from snapping a picture of ceiling. Go me!

One surprise in the Vatican Museum is the collection of Modern religious art. Modern art and religious are, to me, are always two very separate entities, since modernity is often more concerned with the laypeople. Anyhow, here, you have these very non traditional representation of Biblical tales, using very old media, but with a definitely fresh sensibility. My favorite was this large completely white stained glass window that depicted the Pieta scene.

After Vatican museum, went into the largest cathedral on earth, St. Peter's Basilica. No they were not kidding in terms of size. I was blown away by size, but not so much by the art within it. Of course there is Michelangelo's great work, the Pieta. However, I found the ceilings unimpressive. For being THE church on earth, I think St. Mark's in Venice beats it, hands down!

So we finished seeing the Vatican, and decided to roam into Rome. One of my top objectives is to see the Pantheon, which is this tour de force of ancient architecture. As one of the best preserved buildings from 1AD (ish), it still stands very well. Really cool use of space to have this empty dome. It's small, but feels really big. The height of the building is the same as the dome's diameter.

It was about time to catch the coach back to the campsite. Decided that I wasn't gonna waste any time sitting in the campsite and being bored so ventured out to dinner in town. Need to get back really soon.

Final side notes

1) Bug bites: 35 and counting.

2) Gelato flavors: tried: amaretto, bacio, pistachio, caffe viennese, cacao amsterdam, lima tropical, mela verde, cocomero, torronita, crema gran soiree, tuttobosco, passion fruit, caffe, panna cotta, melone, kiwi, macedonia. total count so far: 23! Go me for becoming a fatty!