It was warming up when we arrived in Rome, our hotel was near steps leading up to Vatican City. We stored our bags at the hotel and walked up the stairs to begin our visit of the Vatican. We tell people our trip included 7 countries, well The Vatican is a city-state surrounded by Rome. Lots of security but not as many people as we were told there might be. We were seeing smaller crowds all over Europe due to Covid. By this time several of our members had tested for Covid due to respiratory issues but none had tested positive. We continued our masks whenever we were in close contact with others. In the Vatican, we were able to wonder among the amazing artifacts, paintings, and grounds with our Rick Steves audio systems. The Sistine Chapel was of course the highlight. Thinking of Michelangelo spending 4 years looking up painting that ceiling was unbelievable. No pictures were allowed in there but the ceiling of the Vatican Museum isn’t bad either
Lisa, our guide, offered us an optional walking tour the evening of our arrival. We were grateful for these optional events. Some tour members were ready to just spend the evening relaxing but we were always wanting more. Thank goodness for the “nasonis” (public drinking fountains). These fountains provide perpetually flowing clean cold water drawn from the aqueducts. Our Fitbits nearly over heated on this day but seeing the Spanish steps, the Trevi fountain, the Piazza Navona and the Pantheon was well worth it. We stopped for dinner in a lovely square with outdoor cafes lining the street. Artichokes were in season and we tried to eat seasonal items wherever we went. The artichoke, pancetta, fresh pasta was almost too good to be true….maybe because by that time we had walked 20,000 steps that day!
Lisa offered another optional trip the next morning. Meeting at 6:45 am we walked to St. Peter’s Basilica. What an amazing time to visit. There was no line, hardly any other people except those brave Rick Steves tour members and as we entered there were masses being held so the chanting only added to our experience. Some of our braver or younger of our group climbed the 550 steps to the top of the dome but we were satisfied to view the Pieta. This beautiful carving by Michelangelo shows Mary holding Jesus after his crucifixion. We had time to wander through the Basilica and enjoy the beauty and the peace of this magnificent building.
We weren’t done yet!
We met the remainder of our tour group at the Metro stop which would take us to meet our local guide who would take us through the Colosseum, Roman Forum, Pantheon and other sites in Rome. Our group stopped for a photo in the Colosseum.