Stairway to Heaven

Yesterday morning we left the hotel in the driving rain and made our way to the Vatican. Our first stop was the Vatican Museum with the Sistine Chapel. This was a good move since the weather was really not good so it was good to be indoors. The buildings were amazing (especially the ceilings and here follows just a selection of photos.























Fortunately by the time we were finished in the Vatican Museum the weather had started to clear. Our next stop was the Cuppola of St Peter's Basilica. Both of us were rather impressed with ourselves that we made it to the top of the endless stairs with only two little breaks and we left behind some people far younger than ourselves. At the top the wind was howling madly, so much so that my earrings blew right out of me earlobes! Some photos from this part of the day follow.
















With shaky legs we made our way back down to the ground again and went into the Basilica itself. Another mind-blowing experience. The detail in all the decoration is unbelievable. We also went into the Treasury Museum where no photos are allowed but there we looked at incredible solid gold chalices and all the other opulent paraphernalia associated with the Catholic Church. Here are some of the things that caught my attention in the Basilica.












After all this walking around the two of us were bushed. We decided to head back to our B&B to have a rest and to eat our leftover pizza. We strolled back looking at the sights along the way.



After our rest we went for a walk to a building we have been calling the horse building but its actual name is the Vittoriano. It is a huge imposing white building that really stands out. It also has an elevator that you can take up to the roof to see the city from a bird's eye view. Both us us really enjoyed this building a lot.














After that long exhausting day we headed back to the hotel for a shower and then went to Luigi's Restaurant across the road for dinner. Charles had cannelloni and I had lasagne, both were fantastic.

It is raining again today but we will soon set off for the Colosseum, Roman Forum and the Pantheon, etc.


Location: Rome, Italy

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