Alice’s Birthday
Well our 4th day in Rome was my birthday. And what a wonderful way to spend it. Greg snuck out of our room this morning and went looking for a bunch of flowers for me – unfortunately the florist was shut. So I got a beautiful box of creamy chocolates and a birthday card on his return. A lovely way to start the day.
After another wonderful breakfast on bed (we weren’t in it anymore), we went and visited the Vatican. True to all accounts the line to get inside in the morning was gigantic (in keeping with all of Roma really). It stretched four people deep around the block.
So we decided on a tour – which in the end was a great decision because we enjoyed the insight into the art, architecture, and religious significance of specific elements of the vatican – and importantly it skipped the line. (Well actually they just knew the line to the Basilica was shorter in the morning – and after visiting there, and then having lunch, we could stroll right on in to the Vatican Museum as the line had disappeared.) Nonetheless we are pleased to report that our Tour Guide was hilarious and when impatient to make his point would refer to Michelangelo as ‘Michy’. (‘Now, this is what Michy did’, and so on).
I found St Peters Basilica an exercise in excess. The size, the artworks, the precious metal decoration, and the dead popes on display – all amount to a jaw dropping building. But left me wondering what the connection was with any sort of spirituality – it seemed more like a wonderful glorification of the church and those within it. A glorious, beautiful glorification none the less. The dome at the centre of the Basilica is meant to be the largest in the world (not counting the Panthenon which has a hole in the middle) – it was also 150 metres high.
My favourite part of the Basilica was at the very back – the small (in relation to everything else) stain glass window above Peter’s throne. It was an oval with elongated yellow panels pointing in to a dove with its wings outspread (the symbol of the holy spirit). I found the simple beauty of it slightly hypnotising.
After the Basillica we had a wonderful lunch at a restaurant about a block away. I had a Vegetable Pizza, and Greg had a Chili Penne. (Accompanied by an ice tea and beer – it was my birthday celebration after all so we could break the budget.) Also at lunch we met a real live Buckingham Palace guard who was in Rome on holidays – interesting guy to chat to because last year he also spent six months in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Inside the Vatican museums my favourite elements was the mosaic floor we crossed – the tiny tiles creating detailed pictures such as the horses head with flowing mane – that apparently was old enough that Nero himself could have walked on the same floor.
Obviously the highlight of the day was the Sistine Chapel – which really I think should have been renamed the Sistine Hall (it didn’t really resemble a normal chapel at all). The sheer size of the paintings is what makes the largest impression (or possibly the crowd all trying to squeeze in).
It really is something to visit at least once – I already would like to go back and spend longer there (we were inside for 15 or so minutes) because there is just so many small details to take in.
We also took the time to visit Pope John Paul II – who is the most popular among all the dead popes (people were leaving letters for him next to his headstone). And yes under the Basillica where all the dead popes are kept does smell a bit funny.
I am actually a little surprised they haven’t put John Paul up on display above… probably a bit concerned about the crowds he would draw.
After all of this we went to the supermarket named the “drug store” near our hotel and put together a picnic dinner (eggplant parmagiana, nectarines, and apricots) and collapsed (again) back into our hotel room.
Happy Birthday to me!!!
Thanks everyone for your lovely birthday messages on Facebook.
Alice
