The High Adventure Log: Rome: Day 2

And it is off to see the Vatican and St. Peter's Basilica. For a speed tour, it was highly effective. However if we could ever go back and do it again, we would just pay to tour the Vatican Museums just to see all the stolen treasures from around the world and throughout history that can only be seen there.

First thing we did was rush out the door to get to the tour on time, stopped for a quick coffee before walking up to the huge walls and into the complex.

The exterior gardens were so much fun.

There was a fascinating explanation that was given for many of the paintings we were going to see inside the Vatican and in particular in the Sistine Chapel. Prior to entering it the tour stops to explain outside what you are going to see upon entering it.

I will give it one thing, it is very obvious that Roman and Greek history is very much encapsulated within the walls.

Sculptures, sarcophagi, awesome detailed statues of dogs. Gods and goddesses from around the world are displayed, it truly is like walking through a huge world history museum.

Oh and let's not forget the paintings...every inch of the miles of ceilings covered in fresco and oils.

Well when they were not huge arching domes that is.

This brass statue is the only one of it's kind totally unmarred, it was erected and then thought to be cursed because it kept being struck by lightning (gee, wonder why? Huge metal statute..) so they buried it in the ground and there it stayed until it was unearthed and moved to it's present location within the Vatican.

Ooo look more Egyptian stuff...aww the tour is going the other way.

So much history, so little time.

Hey the Roman Emperor who died before becoming an adult, note he's wearing the golden bulla still.

So much art!

Fun three dimensional effect created long before that was a thing.

So this was what you used back before Google maps to plan out your travels and such. HUGE maps.

The art is constantly being maintained and refurbished by people like this lovely lady.

Ooo weird paintings of killing lots of people...why don't we have those in our textbooks?

I know you are all looking forward to pictures from the Sistine Chapel...well HA suckers, no photography allowed! See.

Well okay, here are some pictures of the outside of the chapel. Nice and boring eh?

Okay onward...time to head to St. Peter's Basilica. The scale is impossible to capture in photos.

I mean really, this place is ginormous! A ton of open space that totally makes the average person look minuscule by comparison.

See those letters? Yeah, they're each 10ft tall. Doesn't look it though does it.

We totally loved looking at the pretty things, wish the tour had been more focused on the basilica itself and less on all the random piles of bones encapsulated there. Dude one dead body is the same as the next. Ashes to ashes, dust to dust, encasing your bones in iron just means you can rust.

Ah yes lets all look at the creepy way they used to pretend the bodies didn't decay by merely coating them in metals, waxes, or paints. Pretty sure that will fool everyone that it is not just a mummified body in a pretty glass box...oh wait nope, still looks like a dead mummified corpse in fancy clothes.

Got a kick out of the shiny toes on this statue.

Okay it is cool to think that this is where Peter, Jesus' disciple was supposed to have been buried. (Although there is debate as to whether or not his whole body is here...or if it was stolen at some point. Interesting story on that one.)

So as we're wandering around (legs croaking and miniona starting to fade and hearing about random people they have never heard of and such didn't really make it easier to enjoy this part.) we find out that we haven't even gotten to the part where they buried most of the people.

Also...if you don't know what a relic is, most of the things talked about go over your head. So the minion...troopers, but fairly bored at this point.

Thank goodness for really really creepy burial areas. Skeletons, Angels of Death, and Dragons will always perk up a bunch of miniona one way or the other.

We wandered through a whole area underneath where the catacombs were, but it was another "no photographs, be quiet" area that the minions were restless.

Refilled our water bottle at the fountain here and watched the pigeons watching us.

Then we watched the changing of the guards.

We thanked our guide who did an amazing job keeping the minions entertained the whole time.

Okay now time to figure out how to get back home...we always find the weird places. Like the practically abandoned Vatican metro stop.

Stopped for some very very much needed food and rest before busing home.

Our cute little maiden and of course adventure is always out there...very nerve wracking night not sure if Grins got himself a spider bite. Turns out no, he's just still really allergic to mosquitoes.