After the events of today, I can conclude that the pope is evil and will rot in hell. Mr. Infallible doesn’t allow shorts in the Vatican so when you visit the museum you have to wear long pants. When the day is in the high twenties to low thirties in temperature, those jeans become a sauna. I didn’t bring light pants because I figured I would wear shorts on hot days.
The organization of the museum is the second reason the pontiff is evil. We lined up at 8:00 in the morning and got in at around 10:15. (The line cutters really started working at ten o’clock.) I got in and I thought I was taking the logical route which led into the Egyptian exhibit and on. Bad move. I took too long in that side adventure (A lot of statues of ancient Rome. I mean A LOT!) so that the main route which leads to the Sistine Chapel was filling up. I didn’t have much time, I had to meet the others at noon. So I rushed through the important exhibits. (I liked the map gallery.) And I recognized a few other important paintings that I would have liked to ponder for more time. In the end, I was sprinting. I spent more time looking at a big brass sphere in a courtyard than I did at the Sistine.
Overall, it would have been nicer to spend more time there. It was my first real museum in Europe (not devoted to sex or booze.) The placed oozed with so much culture that I got overloaded. It began to lose meaning. Especially when you are actually running.
I missed St. Peter’s Basilica. That is something I will regret.
I actually ran through the streets of Rome to get to the meeting spot. Then a pizza lunch followed by a tour of ancient Rome. It is a lot smaller than I expected. All of the major ruins fall within a few large blocks. I suspect it is roughly the size of the West Edmonton Mall. I’m probably wrong.
Then we had free time. I used it to go to two spots recommended for a good view of the city. One was by peering through a keyhole. The other in a nearby park.
I then went to the Mouth of Truth followed by a walk along the river. The river isn’t much a part of Rome. They have walled it up so you don’t see it until you cross.
I saw a building and thought, “That is an amazing example of architecture, probably unique in all the world.” And I couldn’t be bothered to take a picture.
I did not have any gelato today.