Tuesday: Vatican City

Today was Vatican City day, and I took the subway to the vicinity, feeling clever at figuring out how to buy a ticket while also using up a ton of small denomination coins. Upon arrival, I was thankful to have made online reservations beforehand – there was already a huge line snaking around the walled-in Vatican. I bypassed this and walked right in with my printed voucher. I had also signed up for a guided tour of the gardens, and had only a short while to wait for it to begin.

In a major contrast to the streets of Rome, the Vatican displays a Disneyland-like attention to cleanliness. Although it is hard to imagine any visitor being crass enough to flick a cigarette butt on these grounds, the streets and pathways are clear of leaves and litter, and gardeners wielding Papal leaf blowers were in evidence throughout our tour. The Vatican City gardens are extensive, including naturally wooded areas as well as sections that are intricately designed and manicured. Buildings are scattered around in no discernible pattern, giving the effect of a small college campus. The entire grounds are tended by only 35 gardeners, and the master gardener lives in a charming home just behind the enormous dome of St. Peter's Basilica. Visitors must be part of a tour to wander the Vatican gardens. As far as I saw, there was only ours, so we encountered few other people during our relaxing two hour walk.

Carla, our guide, delivered numerous interesting factoids. She told us that the current Pope takes his exercise by walking the gardens for one and a half hours each day when he is in residence (he is not now). The gardens are closed to the public after 1pm, for this reason, and also because residents of Vatican city often say afternoon prayers in the many outdoor chapels. There are around 1000 people actually living on the grounds, and another 2500 come in each day to work. Carla felt very fortunate to have been hired as a Vatican guide; because the Vatican is its own country separate from Italy, her Vatican paycheck is not taxed! She took us by the papal helipad, pointed out some 900 year old olive trees, and showed us a building that houses Marconi's first radio (sadly, not viewable by the public). We also saw the current radio tower broadcasting KPOP, reportedly with a strong signal that often overtakes the frequencies of neighboring stations.

At the conclusion of our tour, I took a break in the coffee bar, and I'm happy to report that the Pope charges an entirely reasonable price for an exceptional cappuccino. Next, I walked the lengthy corridor of the Vatican museum which was jam packed with tourists all ignoring the art and heading, as I was, to the Sistine Chapel. This, too, was jammed, but I spent a fair amount of time in there getting dizzy from constant gazing at the ceiling. I had always imagined that the familiar Creation of Adam scene took up most of the ceiling, but this is not the case. It's got a prominent location near the middle, but it is only one of many, many scenes and is no larger than the others.

My next stop was St. Peter's Basilica which I had not realized is just enormous. It can hold 95,000 worshipers (remember: Arco Arena – 17,000 the Colosseum – 70,000). There is a statue of a seated St. Peter extending a toe to be kissed. Tourists were not doing this, but they were filing past and running their hands over his foot which has been smoothed out and seems likely to disappear eventually.

Having missed out on the Eiffel Tower in France (long story), I was determined to get to the top of St. Peter's Duomo (designed by Michelangelo but completed after his death). So I waited in line for 20 minutes to buy a ticket, and then waited further to board an elevator that took me to the base of the dome itself. From here I climbed 320 steps, spiraling up an extremely narrow passageway (attention Matt: you must include a Duomo stairway scene somewhere in your novel). Toward the top, the entire stairway leans inward and you have to contort your body to fit the curve of the dome. Eventually, I reached a landing on the interior of the dome, looking down on the inside of the Basilica where I had just been. I followed more winding stairs to the top, outdoor platform where the views of Rome and beyond are breathtaking.

I'll finish quickly by saying it was around 2pm before I left Vatican City and I was famished and exhausted. I found a quiet-ish cafe where I had pizza and rested my feet. I walked all the way back to my hotel, detouring to Piazza Navona and some window shopping. I bought a new tourista bag from a street vendor – I needed something a bit larger – and got back at around 4:30, showered and crashed for a short nap. Tomorrow's agenda: The Spanish Steps area, and back to Capitol Hill where I realize I missed some sights.

Of course, I took a zillion pictures – click here for a small selection.