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Saturday, November 10, 2012

Italy- Day 3, Rome

Our last day in Rome was spent at the Vatican- or more accurately, waiting in queues at the Vatican.  Despite arriving before opening time, there was already a long line out into the street and it took some time before we actually got it.  When we finally entered the complex, it was overwhelming.  There were so many museums and galleries, each one which could have been the top attraction in a city other than Rome.

St Peter's Cathedral
With only a day to take it all in, we had to focus on the main attractions- the Raphael rooms and the Sistine Chapel.  There was long queues to reach these areas but they went through beautifully decorated hallways with ornate ceilings and walls covered with paintings.

In line for the Raphael rooms

The Sistine Chapel was no disappointment.  The floor to ceiling paintings, each telling their own story. were incredibly colourful and detailed.  Some art galleries and painting styles we have seen seem to be more acquired tastes, which require a trained eye to fully appreciate.  However, I found the paintings in this room very accessible- they are easy to look at and find beautiful even with no art training at all.  The room was packed shoulder to shoulder and was full of security guards who were constantly clapping loudly and shouting at people to be quiet and stop taking photos.  I felt as though the guards were were disturbing the peace more than the crowd that they were trying to control.

One of the rooms painted by Raphael
The ceiling of the Sistine Chapel
Michalangelo's The Last Judgement on the Sistine Chapel wall
 After leaving the Vatican complex we started queuing again, this time to see St Peter's cathedral.  It was extremely hot and sunny (at least compared to what we were used to in Amsterdam) but fortunately the long line moved quickly.  The church was beautiful but we did not have long to linger as we needed to catch the train that evening to our next destination- Florence.




The view from our hotel room- stereotypical Rome with scooters, tiny cars and fountains
Delicious cannoli
Nice view of the sunset from the train

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