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We had an early dinner at a restaurant near the Vatican. In my view, this turned out to be a big mistake because the food and beverages-although very good-were overpriced (mostly pizza and some wine and beer). We spent about 50 euros per couple. We took two taxis back to the hotel-about 45 euros per taxi.
Before heading off to bed, we decided to meet in one of the hotel rooms for a glass of wine. We opened up one of the 1.5 liter bottles and 7 of us quickly polished it off.
We then opened a second 1.5 liter bottle, and then the third 1.5 liter bottle. Before we knew it, all three bottles were gone. Finally, we all headed to our rooms and crashed from the jet lag and the wine.
Second Day in Rome
It was another sunny day in Rome. I had previously arranged via e-mail to have Roma Shuttle pick 8 of us up at the hotel at 8:30am to take us to the Vatican (70 euros for the group). We wanted to attend the Papal Audience that is held at 10:30am on Wednesday's. We had initially been led to believe that you needed tickets for this audience, but we were later told that you didn't need tickets. You just needed to arrive about an hour before the audience was to begin. We arrived at the Vatican at 9:10am and immediately got in a very long unorganized line for the Papal Audience. We eventually got through the metal detectors and x-ray machines and through another gate heading that put us in a very large courtyard just outside toward the Vatican building where the Papal Audience would be held.
We were about 5 rows back from a barricaded entrance before guards stopped the crowd from going any further. We didn't move after that and the crowd behind us just got larger and larger while everyone started pressing closer and closer to each other. At that point, you could quickly tell that personal hygiene practices were very different among those in the crowd. We heard the St. Peter's clock strike every 15 minutes at 9:45am, 10:00am, and 10:15am. At that point, one of the women in our group decided the crowded conditions were too much so she and her husband worked their way through the crowd to get back to some fresh air. At about 10:30am, we then heard someone say that the Pope's helicopter was landing. Then, about 5 minutes later, everyone in the crowd started looking to the right and the Pope appeared riding some type of open air vehicle. He rode right in front of the barricade waving and blessing the crowd. We were probably no further than 10 or 15 feet away from the Pope. We all held our cameras high in the air and started snapping pictures. We got several pictures of the Pope. Within a few minutes, the Pope entered the building to hold the audience. The crowd we were in then started to disperse. In St. Peter's Square, there were two video screens left and right in the Square that showed the entire Papal Audience.
We next got into another long line that was constantly moving to go into St. Peter's Basilica. We passed through another metal detector and x-ray machine and were into St. Peter's Basilica in a very short amount of time. We did confront some people trying to break into the line. These persons pretended to not understand English. I told them that if they had the nerve to try to break into a line to go into St. Peter's Basilica that they would definitely be going to hell as I gestured downward. I think they understood the tone and nature of my comments. We made sure that they wouldn't get in front of us.
The mammoth nature of St. Peter's Basilica is so difficult to describe. Your jaw just remains in the open position. It truly is something you have to experience on your own. For example, there are permanent markers in the floor of St. Peter's naming all of the other large churches in the world and also showing the length of each church. These markers show the distance as measured from St. Peter's alter to that point in the floor. Then, the distance from that point in the floor to the other end of St. Peter's shows how much larger St. Peter's is compared to all the other churches in the world. Again, the enormous size of St. Peter's is simply amazing. We then took a quick tour of the catacombs in St. Peter's to see the burial places of the past Pope's, including taking a picture of Pope John Paul II's tomb.
I had previously arranged via e-mail with Salvatore Lucibello of Drive Amalfi (driveamalfi@hotmail.com) for a Highlights of Rome tour to begin at about 12:30pm near the Vatican. Our driver/guide-Fabio-picked the 8 of us up at about 12:20pm. He had an air conditioned Mercedes van. We had a great time with Fabio and saw everything we could possibly see in one long afternoon. This ranged from the Coliseum to the Roman Forum to the Pantheon, to the Trevi Fountain to the Spanish Steps to St. Paul's Church to the Catacombs of Domitilla.
Page 3 > > Mediterranean Cruise on the Carnival Liberty - More on Touring Rome, Embarkation on the Carnival Liberty from Civatevecchia, and a Day in Naples > >
We had an early dinner at a restaurant near the Vatican. In my view, this turned out to be a big mistake because the food and beverages-although very good-were overpriced (mostly pizza and some wine and beer). We spent about 50 euros per couple. We took two taxis back to the hotel-about 45 euros per taxi.
Before heading off to bed, we decided to meet in one of the hotel rooms for a glass of wine. We opened up one of the 1.5 liter bottles and 7 of us quickly polished it off.
We then opened a second 1.5 liter bottle, and then the third 1.5 liter bottle. Before we knew it, all three bottles were gone. Finally, we all headed to our rooms and crashed from the jet lag and the wine.
Second Day in Rome
It was another sunny day in Rome. I had previously arranged via e-mail to have Roma Shuttle pick 8 of us up at the hotel at 8:30am to take us to the Vatican (70 euros for the group). We wanted to attend the Papal Audience that is held at 10:30am on Wednesday's. We had initially been led to believe that you needed tickets for this audience, but we were later told that you didn't need tickets. You just needed to arrive about an hour before the audience was to begin. We arrived at the Vatican at 9:10am and immediately got in a very long unorganized line for the Papal Audience. We eventually got through the metal detectors and x-ray machines and through another gate heading that put us in a very large courtyard just outside toward the Vatican building where the Papal Audience would be held.
We were about 5 rows back from a barricaded entrance before guards stopped the crowd from going any further. We didn't move after that and the crowd behind us just got larger and larger while everyone started pressing closer and closer to each other. At that point, you could quickly tell that personal hygiene practices were very different among those in the crowd. We heard the St. Peter's clock strike every 15 minutes at 9:45am, 10:00am, and 10:15am. At that point, one of the women in our group decided the crowded conditions were too much so she and her husband worked their way through the crowd to get back to some fresh air. At about 10:30am, we then heard someone say that the Pope's helicopter was landing. Then, about 5 minutes later, everyone in the crowd started looking to the right and the Pope appeared riding some type of open air vehicle. He rode right in front of the barricade waving and blessing the crowd. We were probably no further than 10 or 15 feet away from the Pope. We all held our cameras high in the air and started snapping pictures. We got several pictures of the Pope. Within a few minutes, the Pope entered the building to hold the audience. The crowd we were in then started to disperse. In St. Peter's Square, there were two video screens left and right in the Square that showed the entire Papal Audience.
We next got into another long line that was constantly moving to go into St. Peter's Basilica. We passed through another metal detector and x-ray machine and were into St. Peter's Basilica in a very short amount of time. We did confront some people trying to break into the line. These persons pretended to not understand English. I told them that if they had the nerve to try to break into a line to go into St. Peter's Basilica that they would definitely be going to hell as I gestured downward. I think they understood the tone and nature of my comments. We made sure that they wouldn't get in front of us.
The mammoth nature of St. Peter's Basilica is so difficult to describe. Your jaw just remains in the open position. It truly is something you have to experience on your own. For example, there are permanent markers in the floor of St. Peter's naming all of the other large churches in the world and also showing the length of each church. These markers show the distance as measured from St. Peter's alter to that point in the floor. Then, the distance from that point in the floor to the other end of St. Peter's shows how much larger St. Peter's is compared to all the other churches in the world. Again, the enormous size of St. Peter's is simply amazing. We then took a quick tour of the catacombs in St. Peter's to see the burial places of the past Pope's, including taking a picture of Pope John Paul II's tomb.
I had previously arranged via e-mail with Salvatore Lucibello of Drive Amalfi (driveamalfi@hotmail.com) for a Highlights of Rome tour to begin at about 12:30pm near the Vatican. Our driver/guide-Fabio-picked the 8 of us up at about 12:20pm. He had an air conditioned Mercedes van. We had a great time with Fabio and saw everything we could possibly see in one long afternoon. This ranged from the Coliseum to the Roman Forum to the Pantheon, to the Trevi Fountain to the Spanish Steps to St. Paul's Church to the Catacombs of Domitilla.
Page 3 > > Mediterranean Cruise on the Carnival Liberty - More on Touring Rome, Embarkation on the Carnival Liberty from Civatevecchia, and a Day in Naples > >
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