DAY 50: For Pete's Sake

If Ethan Hunt could do it, I figure I can too. Scale the Vatican Walls that is. Tommy Cruise is spry, but I've got the reach... the only problem I had was forgetting my handy-dandy Spiderman wrist wire fish hook cable to let myself down from the top.  If I could have lunch with anyone in the world, tomorrow, I'd call Dan Brown up and we'd grab slices of pizza in the cafeteria of the Vatican Museum... Hello oxymoron? Here's a conspiracy Theory for ya: A country within a city within a country... Vatican City's population is less than 1,000 and consists of 2 groups: clergy and those who clean up after the clergy. The city's economy is supported by postage stamps, souvenirs and museum entry fees (that's a lot of stamps); it has it's own private bank with ATM instructions in Latin (only one in the world); the city spans over 110 acres with gardens accounting for over half of the territory. High walls surround to protect the Pope, who doesn't trust Italian Catholic men, so he recruited Swiss Catholic men serve and defend him (maybe the Italians were TOO good looking...). Vatican City is not a member of the United Nations, as the Holy See is a permanent observer state, though they didn't allow Ron Howard near the place for "Angels & Demons," so crew members posed as tourists and snapped thousands of pictures and video footage to recreate St. Peter's Square. Hmmm, a little sensitive are we?

Enough of the political jabs and onto the good stuff... "The Harv" led the pack to the Vatican Museums- housing some of the most famous art in the world and visited by over 4 million people a year. He told us we had 30 minutes to see everything and get to the Sistine Chapel and I nearly had a heart attack... you can't even get to the Sistine Chapel in a half hour! So I pulled my usual whinen'moan and stretched our time out to a few hours... there is SO much to see, it is overwhelming. Bronze statues, marble busts, mosaics, maps, globes, Egyptian pots, vessels, masks, books, jewels, frescos, animal mummies, oil paintings, tapestries, sarcophagus, antique wooden furniture, Jesus Christ, Mo' Mary, Constantine the Great, John the Not-So-Great Evangelist... all spread out into 54 galleries- 53 of which you are forced to enter if you want to see the Sistine Chapel. It was hard to appreciate my surroundings while I was sprinting through galleries under the control of "The Vatican" and "The Harv's" time constraint. I wish I had an entire afternoon to spend weaving through the 4 miles worth of rooms... of notable interest, Stanze della Segnatura decorated by Raphael- 4 reception rooms covered in frescos by Rafi. Of course the Sistine Chapel was magnificent (of course... Raphael, Michelangelo, Bernini and Botticelli), but I was distracted by "Sebastian" who took his job very seriously... if he even saw a camera, he kick you out. No questions asked. He would clap and push through the herds of people motioning for the naughty photographers to follow him out... of course as he was escorting the poor dummies that didn't know any better, everyone snuck pictures until they heard "that clap" again.

Another peanut butter, orange honey and banana sando for lunch today... and "The Harv" had to introduce us to "the best gelato in Rome"... Old Bridge is right outside the Mission Impossible walls and has a line out the door from open to close. I rallied with coconut, pistachio and touch of coffee on top. I may turn my connoisseuring of tiramisu to gelato... following the sugar high came Petey's Square and St. Peter's Basilica- the Motha' Church. This sucker holds 60,000 people and is the largest Christian church in the world. With Michelangelo's help, it was said to be the greatest building of it's age and nothing can be built higher than the dome in the entire city of Rome. It was overwhelmingly beautiful... I am taking some friend's back next weekend, so I'll give it a little more attention. Beneath the church rests all the Popes that came before Pope Benedict XVI... kinda creeped me out walking through hallways of tombs holding a bunch of dead guys. When an air freshener went off at my feet, I'd had enough of the Dead Guy Dungeon and went to Pete's Square for some fresh air... the sun was shining bright and the rounded cobbles looked oh-so inviting... and hour later I woke myself up with a mini-throat-snore- the hum of people, church bells and a cool breeze put me right to sleep. I can now say I napped in St. Peter's Square... rays were disappearing behind clouds, so a few of us took the long way home, down a shopping street, across the bridge and along the Tiber to watch the sun set.

After putting our feet up for awhile, Jessie, Kate, Becca, Jesine and I took a stroll to Campo Fiori to window shop and check out the scene. Funny how window shopping (along with everything else I do) makes me hungry... we decided to do our token "Last Night Dinner" a few days early, simply because we felt like it. Culda Sac has been recommended to us and boasts the best pate' in Rome. We started witha bottle of shiraz, Sweet and Sour Wild Boar (with chocolate!), Phaesant with Truffles and Partridge with Lingonberries. Very interesting combination of flavors and textures- we had fun trying to guess what each one was, since "Ricky" didn't inform us. I ordered Tagliatelle with Hare and Vegetables- gourmet Hamburger Helper is the best description I can think of, very good. Jesine and I shared Ox Tongue with Mustard Sauce- tasted like bland roast beef with a mustard pesto sauce... won't know 'til you try! Chocolate mousse and orange almond were shared for dessert... a great dinner with great company. Once we reached the hotel, we realized we weren't ready to go to bed, so we walked to Trevi Fountain (biggest in the city) and sat on the steps, taking in the bewitching water scene in front of us...  Tritons guide Oceanus' shell chariot, taming seahorses. We made a wish and threw a coin over our shoulder before leaving... great day in Rome... 2 more days and we're out of the city and in to the country... More later... ciao!