Cherie's Place

Before catching the ‘I Love Rome’ bus to the Vatican City we had breakfast inside where it was cooler and we wouldn’t be pestered by wasps.

After we got off the bus, we decided to have a drink (to keep hydrated) before embarking on the 15-minute walk to the Vatican City. The service in the café was extremely slow but we waited because we could not guarantee that any other café would have quicker service.

At the Vatican City there was a bit of confusion where I thought Mr C was going to see how our ticket worked. I was left standing in the baking heat expecting him to come back. He didn’t, he had been expecting me to follow him because he (we) was exploring.

When we caught up with each other we were in need of another refreshment stop before joining the fast-track queue for our 1.30 ticket time. The queue slowly wended its way to the entrance. After a while our tickets were checked and we were informed that our email code needed converting to a ticket in the nearby ticket office. I stayed in the queue, eventually arriving at the front where I stood to one side waiting for Mr C to return. When he did, he informed me that our ticket had been converted to a 2pm time slot as he had arrived just too late for our 1.30 slot.

We joined the 2pm queue which moved much faster than the one we had previously been so as it turned out we only lost a few minutes of time. We were surprised that our ID wasn’t checked as we passed through the gate. ID is required to gain entry.

We bypassed some of the Vatican museum’s collections and headed to the Sistine Chapel. Before arriving at the Sistine Chapel, you pass through many of the museum’s collections and rooms. There is an overwhelming amount of art and artifacts to see along the route; far too much to take in. Every now and then the museum guides barked ‘keep moving’. What they really meant was that people should not block entrances to rooms. Each room opened with an awe-inspiring view which we able to explore at leisure after stepping towards the side of the rooms.

There were never ending groups of guided tours surging through and taking over the spaces en masse, which made it a bit difficult to see and appreciate the items on display.

When we arrived at the Sistine Chapel, it was packed with people and anything but serene. Museum guides were loudly telling people that they should stand in the Chapel’s central space to allow a free flow walkway around the edges. This was interspersed with tannoy announcements requesting silence. The first time it happened I was expecting a prayer or other religious contemplation. But no, it was for people to be quiet and it didn’t work.

The artwork in the chapel is absolutely stunning although it is not possible to view it in context of a chapel space due to the volume of people in the room. As Holy places go, I didn’t experience any spiritual feelings which have come easily to me in many other places I have visited, including the Pauline Chapel in the Papal Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore which we visited the day before our visit to the Sistine Chapel.

Before leaving the Vatican City, we visited the café for a drink and ice cream. I found this to be a hostile place with staff being quite rude and aggressive to customers. It made me grateful for the lovely service I get in church and cathedral cafés in the UK. The two approaches are quite different; one is service and the other is commercial.

We also browsed the shop where I was specifically looking for a guidebook for the Vatican Museums. It was available in several languages but not English. Luckily, Mr C was able to find a more detailed book about the museums which I purchased.

Purchase completed; we walked back to the bus stop. Along the way we had confirmation that the street traders trying to force goods on us were in fact trading illegally. En masse they all upped sticks and ran with their goods gathered in a cloth because they thought they had seen the police.

We got back at our hotel rather late and had a hasty shower to wash off the days heat before walking the short distance Restaurant Fuocolento for dinner. This was a lovely restaurant and what I would call ‘Fine Dining’ with attentive service and attention to detail and presentation.

Despite our long day we chose to have a nightcap on the hotel rooftop before retiring for the evening.

Tags: Italy, Restaurant Fuocolento, Rome, Sistine Chapel, St Paul's Basilica, Vacation, Vatican, Vatican City