Ah, Roma: The Vatican

Roma... Pigeons, cigarette butts, mopeds, and pushy street vendors. Luckily there are also amazing sights to see and excellent food to eat! 

This morning we got up early for 9:30 tickets to the Vatican Museum and Sistine Chapel. Dave and Ben left without rain coats, which was a mistake. We quickly doubled back and got them as well as the umbrellas from the apartment. That meant we abandoned the idea of taking the bus to the Vatican, as we were unsure of pickup times and routes. 

I was worried that I'd have to go without a cappuccino before the museum, but we got there five minutes early and there was a bar across the street. My Italian for ordering cappuccinos and food in restaurants is on point! Once in the Vatican, we took it slowly through some of the early rooms and found it uncrowded. There were quite a few pieces of art that featured babies' heads with wings... and no bodies. The museum was awesome- one highlight being the hall of maps, which featured maps of Italy from centuries ago. The Sistine Chapel was amazing as well, and it was not as crowded as I remember. I was also able to get a second cappuccino from the museum cafeteria! 

Weird baby angels

Not the Sistine Chapel (no pictures allowed in there)

After leaving the museum, we walked across the bridge of Sant'Angelo and headed back towards our apartment to find lunch. Everyone ate pasta at a trattoria. We are staying near Campo di Fiore, which we walked through after lunch. 

Most people (pushy street vendors) approach us speaking in English, and we try to reply in Italian. I'd like to think that we are not dressed as tourists, though Ethan was an exception after lunch. The boys both wore pants (over shorts) to the Sistine Chapel to meet dress code requirements. The pants unzip into shorts, and the shorts he had on underneath the pants stuck out under the top layer...

We are taking a siesta at the apartment for a few hours. Then we will head out to see the Pantheon, since it wasn't open last night, a dinner snack, and our evening tour of the Colosseum.