Met by Stefano of Rome Cabs as we exited customs, he quickly took us to his van and we headed into Rome with a running commentary on the sights as he took us to our hotel, Hotel Isa near the Vatican.
After checking in, we walked about and found a restaurant where the waiter kept pouring wine over the 2 1/2 hours of dining even though we'd only paid for 3/4 liter. Then it was to St. Peter's Square around 11 pm which was blocked off by railings and circling police cars but beautifully lit in the Roman night. We got a little disoriented on our way back to the hotel, and with no taxis around, I tried my feeble Italian ("scuze") while showing the hotel's business card to several shop/restaurant owners who were able to give us enough hand signals so we could find our hotel a little after midnight.
Thursday morning I awoke with a slight headache (wine and jet lag) but the buffet breakfast on the rooftop terrace helped. Unfortunately, at 9 am most of the food was cleaned out, but we made do with fruit, very strong coffee, cheese, sliced meat and rolls.
We walked back to Vatican City (appropriately dressed) to the museum which cost 12 euros/person and toured Etruscan and early Roman artifacts and sculptures before entering the rooms of Renaissance paintings and then into the Sistine chapel.
It was crowded with wall to wall people all craning their necks up to the ceiling to watch Michelangelo's amazing murals! "Silence, please" was the constant refrain from the guards (always in English) and the volume would dip and then the murmur would rise within seconds as friends pointed out the many amazing Biblical scenes in vivid colors to each other. We sat along the wall with heads craned upwards to see Michelangelo's vision of the Day of Judgment or the creation of man or Adam and Eve's fall. Bryce read from his tour book to us about each scene as we added to the murmuring of the crowd.
Upon exiting, we headed to a local restaurant where we ate lunch at a fashionable 2 pm. We chose inside because it was "air conditioned" and the outside was humid only to find a/c meant more than one fan. The other three had lasagne while I had spaghetti with tomato and bacon. All were very good and the portion size was reasonable.
We walked towards St. Peter's and stopped for gelati at a small shop. As we ate under a canopy, lightning struck a few miles away with a large bang and it began to rain, but just for a short time which helped to clear out the crowds waiting for St. Peter's at least for a short while.
St. Peter's is HUGE with the length of two football fields and a height of over seven stories. Tall columns support the elaborate roof and 6 foot high wording rims the inside just below the curve of the ceiling. Elaborate marble designs (some taken from the Coliseum) make for an amazing floor.
Back to the hotel for a two hour nap, we left again around 6:30 via a taxi as Bryce led us on a walking tour from Rick Steeve's book - Trevi fountain, Spanish steps, the Pantheon, Bernini's fountain. We ate in a plaza with good pasta and wine and then watched the artists and street musicians (Italians love accordions). Taking a taxi from the Spanish steps to our hotel, we walked four blocks for our evening gelati fix before calling it a night.
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