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The "eye" in the Pantheon - an art history major's dream come true

Today's itinerary was intense, ambitious. We headed out from the hotel before 8 a.m. to get to the Vatican Museum in time for our fast track admission. We went outside to see Michelangelo's dome, then inside to get a "Trafalgar Tours only" view of the Bramante staircase. Spoiler alert: there are no stairs. 

Then we scooted through the Etruscan art display and joined the sea of humanity surging down many galleries - of tapestries, of sculptures, of maps - on the way to the Sistine Chapel. Three mind-boggling things going on: the staggering beauty and quantity of the artwork, the staggering numbers of people. Our tour guide said 20,000 people a day; six million people a year see the Vatican Museum. I think the whole six million were there today.

You're not supposed to take pictures in the chapel, so I just cranked my neck and looked at the vast masterpiece, pretending I wasn't in a relatively small room crammed with a thousand or more people. Some of them took pictures.

Then we went to St. Peter's Basilica. I've been in big European churches before: Notre Dame, Strasbourg, West Minster Abbey. They all seem a bit understated and plain compared to St. Peter's. 

Michelangelo's Pieta: Another AHM dream come true.

Bernini's Canopy: AHM DCT #3

Michelangelo's dome: AHM DCT #4

All this was just the beginning. We bussed to the colosseum after we left the Vatican Museum. By this point, the thing I was most impressed with was the thousands and thousands of people who were doing exactly the same thing we were.

The crowds were unbelievable. 

After a couple of hours back at the hotel drinking frascati and eating pizza, we headed out for a walking tour. We saw thousands of people on the Spanish Steps, thousands of people in front of the Trevi Fountain and thousands of people in the Pantheon. It was getting late, so there were only hundreds of people in Navona square where we finished our tour and had frascati and pizza for supper.

I'd show you pictures of these thousands of people, but the hotel wifi is weak. 

I'll end with this shot of the "five Canadians," which, apparently, is our travelling name.

Tomorrow, Pompeii.

Thanks for reading!

Karen