Today I set my alarm(!) for 7:30 so we could be ready to go by 8:30. We had decided we needed an early start today because we were going to the Vatican Museum, and this is a major undertaking.
We had read that Wednesday mornings are slightly easier because that is when they have the Papal audience. So most people in the Vatican City are (in theory) there for the Papal Audience. Except of course, for all the zillions of people like us who have read that little trick in the guidebooks.
But today seemed like our lucky day. We breezed into the museum in about 15 minutes. It took another 10 minutes or so to get through the metal detectors and up the stairs and through the ticket booth. Then we stopped dead. Apparently they were having some sort of trouble with the ticket reader machines. I don’t really understand why you have to have ticket reader machines. It seems to me that once you buy the tickets you should just be able to go in. But every museum here seems to have them.
So we stood there, and stood there, and stood there some more. We also listened to the tour guide in the line next to us talking to his group. It was pretty interesting. We were slowly oozing forward all the time, but it was slow going.
When we finally got through to the other side we learned something: there are no free maps. You have to either shell out for the Audio Guide or the Guide Book. We decided to throw caution to the wind and just wander around, secure in the knowledge that the path to the Sistine Chapel is Very Clearly Marked.
The Vatican Museums are enormous. It is just slightly smaller than the Louvre, which I think makes it the second largest art museum in the world. There is no way to see them all in one visit. Luckily, they have divided the collections into themes, so it is pretty easy to decide what you want to see and avoid the stuff that doesn’t interest you.
We wandered into the courtyards today, which we didn’t do last time, and saw the Pinacoteca. That’s the Papal Picture Gallery. It’s a real Renaissance Hall of Fame including works by Raphael, Leonardo Da Vinci and Caravaggio among others. Of course, I missed the Da Vinci and the Caravaggio because I didn’t know to look for them. And apparently, I can never see a Caravaggio ever on this trip.
After the Pinacoteca we opted for the direct, do not pass go, do not collect $200 route to the Sistine Chapel.
We stopped in the Raphael Rooms so I could show mom the School of Athens. I really think it might be my favorite painting ever. Well, one of them anyway. I would go see it every day if I could.
Once again, we finally arrived in the Sistine Chapel. We even managed to score some seats on the bench. Cool. The Princess was sitting next to me and she said, “you know what mom, this never gets old” as she was gawping open-mouthed at the ceiling. It’s a shame there is no Art History section on the Iowa Test of Basic Skills. These kids would totally ace it.
From there we went to St. Peters. Mom was very impressed by everything, and she agreed with me that that whole thing seems a tad overdone. The motto “leave no stone undecorated” has never been truer. We saw the Pieta and the tomb of St. Peter, and all the other stuff. Once again, we did not climb the dome or go into the crypt. I do not think these would be child-friendly activities.
Finally we were all worn out and got the bus home. When we got on the bus there was a group of high school age kids sitting together and being loud. The bus was kind of crowded at first, and poor C-man was hot, squished, and tired. He had his big sad face on and looked especially cute and pitiful. Anyway, next thing I know the man who was sitting next to where the C-man was standing is yelling at these kids. And one of the kids is yelling right back. I had no idea what they were saying. Something about ragazzi (big kids) and bambini (little kids). Then a couple of women from the front of the bus joined the fray. It was quite a scene. I have absolutely no idea what anyone was saying.
It was, as predicted, a 100 mile an hour day.
Posted by goitaly 
