Roma day 2

We started our day out a bit lazy.  We had grand goals of getting up early, but the kids slept on through my alarm and the snooze, which shouldn't surprise me because they were already snoozing through the sounds of traffic.  After finally getting dressed, we walked across the street to use our breakfast vouchers (Bed and Breakfast . . Vouchers?) at a cafe.  Italians do massive late dinners and big lunches, which doesn't leave much room for breakfast.  What we asked for raised an eyebrow or two, but they were very nice.  We all started with OJ, and then had more, and then more.  The girls started with chocolate croissants, but tomorrow they want plain.  Too much nutella, Jess said.  Isaac and I basically had grilled ham and cheese.  It was a better start than the dozens of sugary treats displayed at the counter.  Our server did bring a selection of treats all with some form of chocolate, cream or powdered sugar.  Don't worry, we spent the next 7 hours walking it off!

Our main goal of the day was to see the Vatican.  Our time slot was 10:00, so I wanted to be on the Metro by 9:15.  We were running 15 minutes behind my schedule, but still made it.  We had bought advance tickets online to avoid the often insane lines.  December 1, especially when on a Thursday, isn't the busiest, it turns out.  We only walked past 1/2 block of people today.  Having tickets in hand was still a benefti inside though.  So we started at 10, armed with 4 water bottles, granola bars, fruit snacks, beef jerky and Rice Krispie treats.  It was all gone long before we left and we were very ready for our big lunch/dinner at 5:00.  I'll let some pictures tell the story of our time in between.

We started at the Vatican Museum, but you can see St. Peter's Dome in the background.  The girls got kids' audio guides--so great--Isaac wanted the adult one.  The girls had a "treasure map" with pictures of the artwork to look for and then dial in the number listen to learn.  Isaac was listening to everything and was getting impatient with me that I wouldn't let him finish.  It didn't take too long though before he realized that to listen to everything about everything would take the better part of a week!  It's packed. 

#1 on the treasure hunt, the Stefaneschi Tryptich by Giotto.

Jess listening.  I'm grateful that in MOST of the museum, cameras were allowed as long as you don't flash.  So I have a bunch of pictures, but sometimes they are a bit fuzzy due to the mutes lighting. 

Isaac listening. 

An interesting version of Gabriel talking to Mary.  I saw so many paintings, I'm already forgetting who painted some.  

In one of the tapestry rooms.  HUGE tapestries   

This is a terrible shot with glass reflection, but it has an incredibly crazy story.  This is St. Jerome in the Wilderness, an unfinished painting by da Vinci.  According to the audio guide, this painting was unknown for years and at one point was cut up into 5 pieces and eventually purchased for the Vatican collection from the main pawn shop in  Rome.  Cuckoo.  

St. George killing the dragon is behind Makenna.

We all liked this huge, happy Virgin Mother and Child. 

This is a practice run by Bernini for an angel at St. Peter's.  You can see bundles of sticks and a wire skeleton under the plaster.  Interesting to see some of the process behind the genius. 

#5 and both girls' favorite painting.  Peter Wenzel's Garden of Eden.  I want to know how he knew how over 200 animals from all over the world looked without internet access, let alone air travel.  They are amazingly lifelike.  

 We then moved to the Egyptian wing.  This first piece is a false door for a tomb, so the spirit can pass through.  It dates from 2300-2100 B.C.!

Isaac liked this one.  It's a commemorative scarab from Amenhotep III, 1391-1353 B.C.  "He tried to change the Egyptian religion to worship just one god, suspiciously close to his own name.  But the boy King Tut came after him and set it straight."

A strip of papyrus (and Isaac's reflection, bonus) a "Book of the Dead".  It's a collection of sacred texts intended to help the deceased in the afterlife.  Close up below.

Amazing decorations inside the sarcophagus.  Because of the paintings, they value this piece above all others in the Egyptian collection.    

So many Shabti!  These little clay/limestone/rock/wooden figures are meant to do the work for the deceased in the afterlife. 

Isaac hanging with his main man, Osiris.  

Queen . . . we forget, but she was Ramses' mom. 

It's Cuniform!  Awesome.  from Sargon II

Her jaw dropped when we turned into this hallway/gallery.  The picture doesn't show the space well.  The ceiling is really up there, but a painted and sculpted masterpiece of its own.  And the floor has some amazing mosaics--one shows parts of the journey of Odysseus. They all found statues they liked in here.  

Daddy holding baby Dionysus.  He makes a very tender father figure, but I am letting him keep his privacy.  

Makenna found Athena, her favorite.  

These next few shots are all from one large statue called "The Nile".  There is a river god that doesn't look one bit Egyptian and a dozen plump babies crawling all over him.  There is a crocodile, a river otter, a sphinx, wheat and grapes.  The babies made us laugh.

"NOT sharing.  MY grapes."

"Ich bin Schnappi, das kleines Krokodil."

I'm happy that this is how they were acting over 5 HOURS of walking through museums.  They seemed to enjoy the art, talking about it, and finding funny things.  I hope they remember it!

Beautiful ceiling.  I really liked how light this room was. 

These next two were outside and right by each other.  I was stuck by the extreme differences in emotion, and that the artists are showing this emotion in rocks!  I have no idea who they are, no plaques. The first looks as though he is greatly troubled and has a great weight upon him. And the next is just merry.

This one tells a rough story.  It's placed during the Trojan war.  The guy Laocoon, was a priest to the god Apollo. He was opposed to the wooden horse being taken into the city.  Athena and Poseidon were for the Greeks and decided to send two sea serpents/monsters to strangle him and his two sons.  In went the horse, down went Troy.

Under another beautiful dome. It's okay to lie on the floor and take these right?  The fact that no one else was just means they don't bend well, right?  At least the guards never said to stop.

Those are grown adults standing in front of gigantic Hercules, but even he looks small in the open space of the room.  In the center, is a massive basin.  You can just see a sliver of it on the left edge.  Isaac said, "They need that under the hole in the Pantheon."  We are all wondering what happens there when it rains.  

Jess touched Ceres' toes.  She just read the story about Ceres' daughter Proserpina being stolen by Pluto and dragged down to the underworld by way of Mt. Etna.  We thought it was very cool to read that days after hiking on the active volcano ourselves, and today she saw a statue of Ceres herself. 

She's labeled Juno, but I've never known Juno to be such the warrior. 

Jess posing with the statues.  

We couldn't enter this room, but the spirited horses caught our groups' eyes.  The window light is blocking them though. 

Neat tapestry, especially after a talk we heard in our German branch.  It shows Christ scaring the Roman guards after his Resurrection simply by his appearance.   

In the Gallery of maps.  

How would you like to wake up in the middle of the night and find him by your bed?

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Yeah!  The School of Athens was being restored the last time I was here, 16 years ago.  There's Pluto and Aristotle in the center, Socrates in green towards the left and Pythagoras at the bottom explaining about this cool thing he figured out about triangles!

At this point we zipped through the contemporary art sections and found ourselves in the Sistine Chapel.  It was much less busy compared to August 1995, but I have no proof because cameras and video are no longer allowed.  Jess gave her report just outside.  After a good long look, we left the Vatican to walk around the wall and reenter the Vatican and see St. Peter's. 

Isaac is reading his notes, getting ready for his filming of the St.Peter's report.  Also, notice the lack of crowds.  There were exactly 9 people in front of us at the metal detectors.  No lines rock!

Michelangelo's Pieta.  I think it's my favorite of his works.  

Isaac is pointing out something to Makenna.  We don't have a single good picture inside because it's just too big.  Look up images on google and get your wow on. 

I think Peter is supposed to be buried under the dome.  

It's up there. 

This is between the ginormous doors of the church an the real outside.  It's a covered walkway?  Bigger than most people's houses?  

The ceiling right above the previous picture.

Looking out at the square "it's not a square mom.  Look it's completely round." from in front of the church.

Swiss guard wearing his fancy pants.  

Nice light as we left.  Time to eat is what they are all thinking. 

Dinner was wonderful.  Then we walked back to the subway to join the rush hour traffic.  When we exited at our stop, this is what we saw.  The moon looked a lot better in person.

We also stopped for gelatto.

And I had to take a picture of this gas station down the street.  This is how every gas station we have seen in Rome looks.  It's a couple of pumps right on the side of the road.  You pull up to the curb for a fill-up as traffic zips by you on one side and shoppers walk by on the other.

Another full day.
Good night.