Today, the boys saw St Peter's Basilica, the Musei Vaticani including the Sistene Chapel (all within the Holy See), as well as Castel Sant'Angelo (outside only), and Piazza Navona, and the Pantheon, and the Trevi fountain.
Jos says that, like the Colosseum, St Peter's was bigger than he expected. For me, the crowds were bigger than I expected, and the security much stepped up from last time I was here. There were queues to get into just the basilica, including metal detector and bag scan, and far too many aggressive touts along the way. We left St Peter's in time to get a coffee/tea/chocolate and a panini for the boys, and walked briskly for ten minutes past the queue for tickets (I had pre-purchased tickets, for a 4 euro premium (each), but clearly worthwhile). Inside, there were swarms of people, including tour group after tour group after tour group. Ultimately, the boys were suitably impressed by the various highlights, including the map room, Raphael's rooms, and the Sistene Chapel. Despite imprecations against talking and taking photos, we did manage to spot Josias (Josiah) and the panels for Genesis and took a suruptitious selfie.
[Pics to come]
We found a tolerable if touristy lunch near Castel Sant'Angelo, and then went on to Piazza Navona and some excellent gelati, and then onto the Pantheon. Re-purposed to St Mary and the Martyrs, there were again repeated, recorded requests for silence, which were again mostly ignored. We took a couple more selfies while sitting in one of the pews to rest back and feet.
[Pics to come]
Home again, past the Trevi fountain (empty and scaffolded for repairs), for a rest, or in JD's case, a chance to respond to yet more concerning emails from work. We left him to that and went out for a prosecco and some nibbles (free with alcoholic drink), and chocolate/coffee for the boys, bringing him back an Americano (long black). Later, we found another restaurant for dinner, and each had a simple pasta dish, and Ky again couldn't finish his dinner and all but fell asleep. (Last night I ended up walking Ky home halfway through dinner.)
The blisters on the balls of my feet got blisters under them, and I'm now hobbling quite badly. Hopefully, the whatsits the chemist recommended will help somewhat. Thankfully we shouldn't need to walk quite so much tomorrow, as at least an hour or two will be on a train, and Florence is even more compact than Rome.
Jos says that, like the Colosseum, St Peter's was bigger than he expected. For me, the crowds were bigger than I expected, and the security much stepped up from last time I was here. There were queues to get into just the basilica, including metal detector and bag scan, and far too many aggressive touts along the way. We left St Peter's in time to get a coffee/tea/chocolate and a panini for the boys, and walked briskly for ten minutes past the queue for tickets (I had pre-purchased tickets, for a 4 euro premium (each), but clearly worthwhile). Inside, there were swarms of people, including tour group after tour group after tour group. Ultimately, the boys were suitably impressed by the various highlights, including the map room, Raphael's rooms, and the Sistene Chapel. Despite imprecations against talking and taking photos, we did manage to spot Josias (Josiah) and the panels for Genesis and took a suruptitious selfie.
[Pics to come]
We found a tolerable if touristy lunch near Castel Sant'Angelo, and then went on to Piazza Navona and some excellent gelati, and then onto the Pantheon. Re-purposed to St Mary and the Martyrs, there were again repeated, recorded requests for silence, which were again mostly ignored. We took a couple more selfies while sitting in one of the pews to rest back and feet.
[Pics to come]
Home again, past the Trevi fountain (empty and scaffolded for repairs), for a rest, or in JD's case, a chance to respond to yet more concerning emails from work. We left him to that and went out for a prosecco and some nibbles (free with alcoholic drink), and chocolate/coffee for the boys, bringing him back an Americano (long black). Later, we found another restaurant for dinner, and each had a simple pasta dish, and Ky again couldn't finish his dinner and all but fell asleep. (Last night I ended up walking Ky home halfway through dinner.)
The blisters on the balls of my feet got blisters under them, and I'm now hobbling quite badly. Hopefully, the whatsits the chemist recommended will help somewhat. Thankfully we shouldn't need to walk quite so much tomorrow, as at least an hour or two will be on a train, and Florence is even more compact than Rome.
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