Vatican Circus

Parused the Musei Vaticani today for all of 3.5 hours! Honestly, you can spend a whole day there... but my feet were not having it! And of course, on the way to the museum I was asked 15 or so times if I was in need of a guided tour for the bargain price of 40€... No thank you! I bought a student ticket at the Vatican ticket counter for 8€, and I was lucky because I only had to wait in line for approximately 20 minutes to get in. I made sure to see the key wings of the museum, which can be difficult to muster as there are over 1000 rooms in that place.

There were rooms and rooms of marble statues, busts, gods and goddesses... the collection is endless, and the walls and ceilings are so rich and opulently decorated. Everywhere you look it is framed with flowered gold leaf frames or detailing... the papal logo (2 keys, a Pope hat, and crest) is represented in the ceilings and mosaics on the floor. Literally no end to the art... I wonder if the Catholic church has had the Vatican appraised as to what its value would be in today's currency. I cannot even venture a guess... I'm only speaking of appraising the building itself, without the art... the art alone might even surpass the value of the building! I don't know, but I do not that the benches I sat on, the posts I leaned on, and the flower beds I admired were all entirely made of marble. I promise to post pictures as soon as I can get wireless working on my iPod!

And yes, I was able to take a few pictures in the Capella Sistina! In addition to the halls and chambers of frescos and marble, the museum had on display some of the super high-end Catholic utensils, chalices, ceremonial papal capes, oil lamps, gold bibles, and jewelry. These were left closer to the end of the tour, so one could pop into the gift shop and purchase copies for a couple hundred euro. No, no I did not purchase anything from the Vatican gift shop... I waited and bought a small, blessed rosary from a small boutique a few blocks away. My other reward is that some of the pictures I took with my Olympus are so pretty that they will likely be turned into Christmas cards for family and friends! Yay!

I did not go to the beach today however... instead I wandered in the Villa Borghese which is a massive parc full of busts and statues, small museums, outdoor stages, scenic lookouts, and a zoo! Those who know me can just guess what I did for the remainder of the day... Zoo! The Rome Zoo is not large, but it is beautiful, and has ample of everything. When going to view animals in an unatural habitat, going in the afternoon is a gamble because they will typically be napping inside their dens and hidden from sight; not the case today! This zoo has the right idea, make the mid afternoon feeding time so the animals will be awake and animated for the tourists. Perfect! Quite surprising was that the enclosures were really clean, and most had staff nearby busy doing something: feeding, interacting with the animals (the seals in this case), grooming the animals (de-mucking the donkey's hooves), or just cleaning the site. Out of all the animals parks and bio attractions I have visited this one makes the top of the list!

My room mate, Milka, and I are currently splitting the cost of laundry. Rome hostel wants 4€ for use of the washer, and another 4€ for the dryer... so we have combined forces to chop the price in half. Hiya! So glad I have such a cool roomie!

Before I went to the Vatican this morning, I stopped by the train station and booked my seat for Firenze in the a.m.! Travelling in Italy costs 10€, as a sort of flat-rate even if it's not a high speed train. Weird.

I've been thinking a lot about my film, and a lot about Tasha and Tatyana! I cannot believe I left home nearly 2 weeks ago for Europe... I can hardly believe I'm here! And that the Camino is happening in less than a month!!! I have been walking non-stop since being here, and I just want to keep on going... I cannot wait to get on the trail, with Tasha and Tatyana, positive thoughts through and through! Wash cycle is over, time to put my clothes in the dryer!!