Italy - Rome -Day 2

Started the day early to be part of the crowd at the Vatican.

There were thousands and thousands of people, all in this little country, the Vatican. We were initially a little skeptical about attending then thought why not , it is not a daily occurrence. We were squeezed into Piazza San Pietro , people had been camping there overnight to get a spot. We were at a decent place, facing St Peter's Basilica, could not see the pope except on the screen. There were helicopters flying above filming it , guards and medical personnel ( a lot of people fainted ) manning the grounds. We did not stay for the complete mass for the beatification but managed to squeeze our way out.

The rest of Rome was practically empty. Went to Piazza Navona, lined by restaurants , open market in the middle, various sorts of entertainment and obviously great fountains and statues. Visited a museum, yes another one, due to the beatification most museums were open ( May 1st is a national holiday) and a lot of them were at a special price of one euro.

Decided to walk to Galleria Borghese, along the way chanced upon a large building. It was a chapel with the most beautiful frescos on the ceiling, a lot of them had a three dimensional aspect to them.

Passed the Piazza della Rotunda , stopped at the Pantheon, which I then realized was a church containing tombs. In days when machinery was limited and man power was heavily relied upon the Romans really made impressive buildings.

Sat at the Piazza del Popolo, applied some sunscreen, yay the sun was out, and continued through Villa Borghese.

Reached the Galleria Borghese, the plan was to try our luck at the tickets. There are fixed slots each day and advance booking is required. We managed to get the tickets, the audio guide was the best we have used. It made the whole experience so entertaining, two hours was just not enough ( that is the time limit for the slot). Pauline( Napoleon's sisters) nude statue, Bernini's sculptures ( his David, Apollo and Daphne, Rape of Proserpina,Truth) , the frescoes and the paintings were marvelous. The stories accompanying them as well as that of the Cardinal's (who actually owned the building and the collection) unscrupulous methods to obtain the art was quite amusing. This has been a major highlight of Rome for me.

Went back to the Vatican, the lines to the St Peter's Basilica was so long, it was going to take all night, that we decided to try tomorrow.

Took a bus that dropped us off nearly five kilometers from our hotel, this was after confirming with the bus driver that it passed the hotel. Being so late at night with no other means of transport we practically jogged our way back. I am glad there is two of us as it was quite deserted, a dog really frightened me, it's growl was super menacing. Never been happier to see a hotel.




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