Rome : Il Vaticano!

Rome : Il Vaticano!

Monday (the 17th December), another day in Rome. This time a bit overcast, chilly and a little harder to get out of bed this morning.. I woke up feeling a little sore in the head today but with that thought I also had the "We are in Rome! No time to waste feeling sick...!!" and dragged myself out of bed...

Steve and I grabbed some breakfast and headed to Roma Termini to catch the Roman Metro to Ottaviano the closest Station to the Vatican. We figured there was heaps to see so we didn't want to waste time walking there. The Roman Metro was very easy to navigate. We walked around in circles for a bit trying to find somewhere to buy a ticket, but once we found it I confidently asked for "Due Biglietti per Ottaviano per favore!" I had a total blast relearning the language already and we were only 2 and half days into the trip! On jumping on the train we realised that the Roman Metro was very cool. Very clean (unlike our friends in Paris!) and very helpful! Just like on the London tube there is a voice over that tells you which stop is next and even which side of the train to exit from either "Sinistra - Left" or " Destra - Right". It has like an LCD display that scrolls the station name and cute little arrows indicating which side you should be hopping off... Noice!

Just a short walk from Ottaviano, Steve and I found ourselves at St Peter's Square... or Piazza San Pietro. The centre is marked by an Egyptian Obelisk all of 25.5 metres tall constructed of Red Granite. It is the only surviving obelisk from ancient Roman times. I was starting to feel off at this point and my head was bothering me more than I had let on.. but we ploughed onto St Peter's Basilica. On entry we had to pass a security point and a sign indicating the appropriate/inappropriate dress code for this enormous place of worship. I don't know what we were expecting but neither of us were prepared for what we saw when we entered this amazing structure.

Breathtaking was what I was thinking despite my pounding head and stomach churning around madly. The sheer size of the place was unimaginable like some sort of optical illusion because it certainly doesn't look like it from the outside. Basilica Di San Pietro covers a grand area of 5.7 acres and has a capacity of 60,000 people. The Dome itself rises to a remarkable 136. 57 metres with a diameter of 41. 47 metres. Catholic tradition holds that St Peter's tomb - an apostle of Jesus and the first bishop of Antioch is beneath the Baldachin and altar. Construction of the current Basilica over the old Constantinian one began in 1506 and was completed in 1626. It has had contributions made by Michaelangelo & Giacomo Della Porta.

Within the Basilica also stands a pavilion like structure called a Baldacchino. This structure stands at 30 metres tall and was designed by Gianlorenzo Bernini. He also created the Throne of St Peter or " Cattedra Petri" There is just no way to describe the feeling when you realise where you are standing. For those of you that have visited St Peter's Basilica know that there is a grotto underground which houses the tombs of a number Popes including Pope John Paul II. Some of the tombs are quite exquisite and large sarcophagus'. But not of our Pope John Paul II. It's quite a normal and simple design. Some people told me that was his wish. Still, it was surrounded by flowers and a small group of people stopping for a short prayer out of respect. There we guards standing to each side and no photographs were allowed. Although I am not a fanatic nor practicing catholic as I passed I felt the need to stop, pay my respects regardless and have a quiet prayer with thought of those we have lost recently.

What I did find peculiar and disturbing (well at least for me), was the handful of perfectly embalmed (in a glass tomb) Popes within the Basilica itself. As curious as I was, I actually couldn't bring myself to take any pictures as I found alot of other tourists doing. The Basilica itself also contained a number of chapels scattered around the outside of the main area. Steve and I spent a considerable amount of time admiring with quiet awe what this place had to offer, but my head was really getting the better of me and I suggested we go grab some lunch and then consider moving to the Vatican Museum & Sistine Chapel.

Before we went to get lunch, Steve and I stopped at the Vatican Gift Shop picked up a couple of postcards and sent them off to our loved ones with authentic Vatican City stamps on them. The Vatican area is surrounded with places to eat because of such a high influx of tourists. Steve and I found a quiet little place to eat hoping that I could relieve the pain in my head and keep going. Unfortunately, my body decided I was only going to dream of seeing the Sistine Chapel that day... because suddenly I felt horrendously sick and had to abort the rest of our afternoon plans. So Steve and I ploughed our way through the crowds back to the Metro Station at Ottaviano.. that was the easy part.. *chuckles* The fun part was actually surviving the ride back to Roma Termini with all the motion. I managed just to make to Roma Termini before turning a ghost white and having the urge to evacuate the contents of my stomach underground.. sucking it down Steve grabbed me and dragged me up the stairs and probably praying he could get me home before it all went down!

Needless to say we had a very peaceful afternoon that day. I retired with a heavy head to bed and Steve for an afternoon nap. Mental to note to travellers you simply cannot get anything decent/stronger for a headache over the counter ANYWHERE in ITALY! Dinner wasn't a problem for Steve because he took himself downstairs to one of the million little take away Pizzeria's for his dinner and to bring home something dry and sweet for me to slowly digest for my own dinner a crumb at a time. Stuck in a hotel room all afternoon and evening gave nothing much to do but to watch the box in Italian.. interesting when they have "Star Wars - Revenge of the Sith" playing dubbed in Italian with no English subtitles. Still both of us had seen it a couple of times so it was easy to follow the plot regardless. I snoozed in intervals anyway still trying to relieve the pain in my head...and we both finally fell asleep hoping to recuperate for another full day in Rome..

Tomorrow was a new day and we hoped that it would be more peaceful and successful than today!

Photo's from the Vatican can be found here : http://picasaweb.google.com/hillsj/Vatican

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