Day 13: St. Peter's & the Vatican Museum
Daily Briefing
Day 13 and the tour is more than half over. We both were getting tired but the prospect of seeing so many new things and having so many different adventures pushed thoughts of fatigue to the back of our minds. We ignored the old saying "the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak" and we pushed on to another adventure.
At 8:00 AM we boarded another Rome subway. It was crowded but very efficient. By 8:20 we had arrived at the Vatican Museum and were about to meet our local guide, Ilaria. She was another example of the knowledgeable and friendly guides who work with Rick Steves' Tours. The museum was crowded and hot. We walked through a maze of many halls with statues from ancient Rome and eventually came upon a series of papal chapels which had exquisite wall paintings from past centuries. The tour ended with time in the Sistine Chapel, the official chapel of the Pope in Vatican City. The ceiling was painted by Michelangelo and it's viewing is the high point of the museum tour. Once you pass through the Sistine Chapel, you're almost in St. Peter’s. After our tour of St. Peter's, we were on our own. Pam and I chose to visit the Castle de Sant’Angelo to get elevated views of both the Vatican and the City of Rome. We took the subway back to the hotel and visited the Ecstasy of St. Teresa at Santa Marie della Vittoria church and the Basilica of St. Mary of the Angels and Martyrs which was built inside the Diocletian Baths. These were within easy walking distance of our hotel. All of our hotels in large cities were well located for free time explorations. This was another long day, the standing at the museums is harder than walking. We walked 18,500 steps and about 8 miles. |
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Daily Photo Gallery
A Few Words About: Free Time
A great feature of a Rick Steves' tour is the mix between tour time and free time. The free time enhances the "Back Door" experience by allowing you to include the things that are important to you. Our tour guide, Reid, was excellent at giving advice on activities for free time. Because he took the time to know us individually, he was able to tailor his advice to our interests. See the slideshow below for a sampling of how we spent our free time.