Trip to Rome Part IV - The Vatican Museum

The last big thing on our list of things to do in Rome was to go to the Vatican Museum.  We had been past the walls and on St. Peter's Square, so we were familiar with the area and the route.  It was about a 12 minute walk from our hotel to the entrance, so we were set.  We had gone online to buy tickets in advance, so when we arrived, we just went right in.  In fact, there weren't really any lines for non-pay-in-advance folks, so we thought that maybe it was a slow day.

The museum is huge and winding.  All the signs point to the Sistine Chapel right from the beginning, so you think that you will get there soon.  You do not.  You are routed through rooms full of items from Egypt, acquired in the 1840s, full of rooms of sculptures and paintings by the Italian masters, and through rooms and hallways decorated in the most elaborate manner.

Egyptian Hall. It was girls' favorite room, probably because they had a couple of mummies there. 

Egyptian gods

This was a courtyard full of Roman sculptures...

... and stone bathtubs! Our girls are wishing we had one of those!

Most of the items were marked and had descriptions in Italian, English, and German.  Some did not have descriptions in English, but there was so much to see that we usually were okay skipping over some descriptions.

A room with a huge marble table but it was the floor that got our attention: it is a mosaic floor made out of tiny tiles.

One of the ceilings

The had this huge hallway full of these big tapestries, most were made around 1400 AD

A big old map

Courtyard of the Vatican Museums. We walked through all 3 floors all the way around.

The museum winds around on a number of floors.  One of my favorite rooms was the one I spent the most time in: waiting while the girls used the restroom.  The room had been the dining room of one of the popes.  It had been painted by the students of one of the Masters (I want to say Donatello, but it is all just a blur - and WAS just a blur at the time).  The walls and ceiling were just covered in these intricate paintings.  And the only one who enjoyed them was the pope sitting down for his soup.  It was quite a place.

If I am not mistaken this was one of the rooms painted by Rafael.

More of the museum with its crowds.

Stained glass. 

The highlight of the tour was the Sistine chapel.  By the time we got there, it was quite crowded.  It is kept quite dark and no photography is allowed.  The size and detail in the paintings is fascinating.  The thought of spending days and days and days lying on your back with paint dripping on you doesn't really appeal to me, but the finished product is certainly impressive.

After we had finished the tour (in about 3 hours) we stopped and had pizza in the Vatican museum cafeteria.  The prices were as good there as anywhere else around and there was enough space for us to sit down.

Kids playing right outside of the Vatican Museums

We also spent about twenty minutes hanging out in the courtyard outside.  It was a trick to keep the kids from running on the grass, but we managed.  When we left the museum, there were huge lines stretching around the block.  The same was true of St. Peter's Square.  We had gone on Sunday and it was nearly deserted.  On Wednesday it was crowded with huge lines.  Once again we had timed things very well.

A LONG winding line to get into St. Peter's Basilica

We walked from the Vatican to the Castle St. Angelo.  We walked around the outside, but didn't go through the tour - we figured the girls had spent enough time in the museum for the day.  We did walk home and stop for Gelatto at a little shop near our hotel.

Castle St. Angelo

Loving our time in Rome!

Rome has these old drinking fountains everywhere. This one is at St. Peter's Piazza and is one of our favorites.

While walking back to our hotel we came across this tiny little truck - perfect for super narrow streets of Rome!

In the evening we went looking for a new place to eat.  We found a little family-owned cafe  a few blocks from the hotel. The prices were in between the cheaper cafeteria pizza places we had eaten and the restaurant we went to the night before.  We had pasta and other dishes that were enjoyed by everyone.  We ate out on the street under the stars and had a nice time.

At the little family owned cafe.

This is the owner who was serving us. He was super nice and even taught our girls how to eat long pasta properly using a spoon and a fork!

Happy Sophie! Or is it crazy Sophie? Maybe both!

In between the Vatican Museum and our dinner we were at the hotel.  We had an interesting time.  I had a message that I needed to call Travelocity right away.  I did.  It turns out that our flight from Rome had been cancelled.  The representative told us all of the information we knew (that Transaero was ceasing operations, that if they cancelled, we would need to contact them for a refund - through Travelocity - and that they would get back to us within 24-48 hours about a new itinerary. That was a problem since our flight was supposed to be less than 48 hours away.

We told them that we had called them at their request and that we would wait.  We looked at some flights to start to plan for the contingency that we would be stuck.  We decided that we would wait a day to see what would happen before we did anything.  Our trip had just gotten a bit more complicated.

Our Fall Break Trip to Rome Part I - Saint Peter's Basilica

Last year for fall break we didn't go anywhere.  That was fine - the kids had school and I had plenty of work to do.  This year Yulia was really anxious to go somewhere new and different.  One of the appeals of living and working in Kazakhstan was the chance to travel.  We decided on Rome (over Istanbul) and made arrangements.  Yulia booked our flight through the Russian airline Transaero and rented a two-room bed and breakfast flat near the Vatican.

Transaero has been going through a difficult time.  The airline was expanding quickly and had purchased a number of new aircraft.  When sanctions hit Russia and the Ruble started to lose value, the company was hard hit.  Right after we booked our tickets, it was announced that the company would be purchased by Aeroflot.  The week before we were supposed to fly, that deal fell through and the company announced that it was going bankrupt and would cease flying on 15 December.  Starting on October 2, they started cancelling flights - and would only confirm 24-48 hours in advance whether a flight was still going to occur.

We had booked our tickets through Travelocity, so we tried to call on Wednesday (October 7) to see if we could cancel our tickets.  They said that we couldn't unless the airline cancelled the flight, and we wouldn't know that the airline cancelled the flight until Friday evening or Saturday morning.  We were scheduled to fly out on Sunday morning (the 11th) at 6:20 a.m.  We decided that we would wait and see (we had thought if we could cancel that we would try to fly somewhere else - maybe Poland or Germany - because flights are cheaper and more available there).

Our flight wasn't cancelled - so we were on.  We decided that we would roll with whatever came our way flightwise.

Ready to fly!

Sunday morning we woke up early and took two taxis to the airport.  We packed in all carry on configuration in case we were stuck somewhere.  We checked in with no problem and got seats near the front of the plane.  We knew that Transaero was a discount airline and didn't expect to even be fed, but we were given a nice breakfast.  The seats had enough room and the plane was clean and nice.  We landed at Vnukovo airport in Moscow at about 7:00a.m. local time.  Neither of us had flown through Vnukovo before (Just Sheremetyevo and Domodedovo), but the airport was nice.  We were able to get through our second security and passport check and find a seat.  There was a big group of orthodox jews waiting for a flight to New York at the gate next to us, and another group on its way to Israel a few gates down.  It was an opportunity to have an interesting conversation with our children about religious differences.

At Vnukovo airport in Moscow

It's been 4 years since we were in Moscow last time. We were barely here this time!

Our flight to Rome was nearly empty, but we had another nice flight - sitting in economy plus with LOTS of leg room.  We landed at Leonardo Da Vinci airport at around 1:00 p.m. and made it through passport control and customs without problem.  We were met by our taxi and driven to our hotel.  We had to wait for about twenty minutes for the them to come and open the doors and check us in.  Pierpaulo was the owner and he was very friendly.  He and his girlfriend Chiara talked to us for awhile, showed us the map and how to get around, and got the kids hooked on soy milk (it's in the fridge for breakfast).

Look at that awesome legroom on our flight to Rome!

Mediterranean Sea!

A view from the balcony of our B&B mini hotel

We unpacked and relaxed for a little while and then decided we'd walk around to get our bearings and to find the Metro station.  We found the Metro station easily (about a two block walk from our apartment). Then we started walking and accidentally found St. Peter's Basilica.  It was Sunday afternoon and there were quite a few people there, but there wasn't a big line, so we went in - for free - and were able to see the Basilica for a few hours.  We paid extra to go to the museum.  There was some art, a lot of artifacts, and some very interesting items - including little holders that have body parts from dead saints and popes.

Wandering on the streets of Rome

A view from the top of the steps that took us to Vatican

While wandering we came right to the Vatican wall!

Entrance to the Vatican Museums. It is closed on Sundays, so you see no lines!

Saint Peter's Plaza

Saint Peter's Plaza

Saint Peter's Plaza

Saint Peter's Plaza, view of the Basilica

The Basilica itself is very impressive.  We explained to the children that even though we have different religious beliefs, that this was a place of worship and that we should be reverent and respectful.  They did well.  The basilica is where they entomb the popes, and some of them are really on display (Lenin style), so that really got the kids' attention.  We spent about two hours walking around and really got to see things.

Entering Saint Peter's Basilica

Inside St. Peter's

Pope John Paul II Tomb

Another pope's tomb. There were a number of them here.

A view of the beautiful building.

Storm grate on the floor of polished brass. Papal keys in the middle.

Confessionals for Catholics who want to confess.

Girls examining a massive door at the exit

Swiss Guards at the entrance to Vatican City

The view of the Basilica. The chairs behind us are from the Pope's address to the public earlier that morning.

On our way back to our apartment, we stopped at a little pizza place.  One of the workers spoke a bit of English, and we used hand signals, smiles, and pointing to order.  It worked out well.  We had a very nice day and it really set the tone for the rest of our stay in Rome.

Some Sunday street market we came across while walking home from Vatican

Eating outside at the little pizza cafe

Rome at night! Beautiful!