9/25/05 – Vatican and Rome

Today was something of a repeat from earlier days. We started by going back to the Vatican. The difference was this was Sunday. We got there early and went right for the tombs that are underneath the main basilica. We had walked through this area 3 years ago, but it has changed. Now, Pope John Paul II is interned there. That makes this a popular tour. We were just pushed through the tour in about 5 minutes.

From there, we went upstairs into the basilica were mass was being held. This church holds a maximum of 40 thousand people. I think they ‘only’ had about 20 thousand in there today, but that is still massive (pun intended). We got the audio guides today which made the tour much more interesting. The weather outside was much better this time so the pictures are much better this time.

We did go outside for the Pope’s blessing, but the Pope was not in town and a conference call was not what I was hoping for. After lunch, we took a long stroll back toward our hotel, stopping to see the Temple of Vespa, Tibre River, Circus Maximus, and more. We got rained on a bit, but it was still fun.

After a little drying out time, we set out for dinner near the Coliseum. On the way back Tracey was kind enough to let me take some night shots of the Coliseum and the Arch of Constantine.

Tomorrow, we check out of the hotel, but don’t leave town until after 8 pm. That is when we take an overnight / sleeper car back through the alps into Germany for the last leg of the trip.