Saturday, June 6th (Day 14)

Today was another stellar day of sightseeing. We started at the Vatican Museum. Besides the E14 entrance fee, it was a great visit. We first walked through a large collection of Christian art from the Dark Ages. We were impressed (or depressed) with the mournful looks on the faces of everyone. Even a lion in one of the paintings had the most mournful look on its face. Not being art critics or experts on the paintings of that day, we toured the images pretty quickly on our way to the main attraction of the day: the Sistine Chapel!

The walk to the Sistine Chapel was filled with anticipation. We followed the signs indicating the Chapel was just around the corner, but we had to walk through several large art exhibits, some narrow hallways, stairways, and more before we finally reached it. We kept wondering each time we entered a new hall if this was really it. If you have to ask that question, you are not there. I think they build the anticipation by forcing you through mutiple exhibits of lesser art, which heightened the impact of the Chapel when we finally got there. The room was packed with people, literally shoulder to shoulder in most places. The art was breathtaking. We used the Rick Steves audio tour to give us an interpretation of the paintings and some history.

Michealangelo was commissioned by the Pope to paint the chapel. It is a chronological series of paintings depicting creation to the last judgment. There are some very interesting subtle details which you wouldn't see unless someone pointed them out, such as a self-portrait of Michaelangelo in the last judgment. It would be easy to stand and gawk at the paintings for hours, but we had other things to do, so we moved on.

We next toured St. Peter's Basilica, including a walk through tombs of the popes and the alleged tomb of the real St. Peter. The basilica itself is a pretty amazing work of architecture. It's loaded with statues, tombs, and of course there is the dome itself which makes you dizzy while looking at it.

After a brief rest in our room, we made our way to the last significant stop in Rome: the Pantheon (greek for "all gods"). This was one of the most amazing sights we've seen on our trip. The Pantheon has been in continuous use for various purposes for over 2000 years. The structure and symmetry of the building is unbelievable. The 16 pillars in the entrance came all the way from Egypt, are made of solid one-piece granite, and weigh over 55 tons each. How they got them there, I have no clue. It turns out that when they arrived, they were not the right size, so they had to adjust the building to match them!

It was a busy day and a lot to take in! We relaxed in the evening and went out for dinner at a restaurant (they are everywhere in Rome!). Abel had pizza (real Italian pizza, which is different than ours) and I had lasagna. We also got salad, pork and gravy, french fries, potatoes (like tater tots), and a bowl of fruit with our meal. Everything seemed very Italian except the french fries.
What a day! Our last day in Rome. In the morning it's off for Venice.