Rome - Day 13 Tour - Vatican & Catacombs

Up early to get ready to have brekky and meet our guide. First really small room, no room to swing a cat and sharing a bed.

So a long day again today. We were picked up by a driver to deliver us to a meeting point in the city somewhere 😁😁😁. We were then divided into groups of language and then walked to the Vatican and delivered to our guide - Roberta - loved here, she was my age and has such a passion for this job and life.

The line up to get into the Vatican was astounding but because we had pre-booked with a guide we were straight in.

We went first through the museum, then the Cistine Chapel, the St Peter's Basilica, then the Pizza San Pietro or St Peter's Square.

There were soooooo many people and a lot of it does not get air flow, got a bit claustrophobic at some points 😁😁😁 but the art work, the sculptures, the carpets, the mosaics and the history in indescribable and photos can never do this justice.

We then had lunch with a couple from Sydney as it turned out as like us they were doing a second tour, Just married and on their honeymoon.

From there we were organised and put in a taxi to our next meeting point and again organised into an English speaking group and then onto a bus to take us out to the catacombs. There are 600 catacombs on Roma, only 60 are open to the public and this is the largest one. Catacomb of San Callisto was the official cemetery of the Church of Rome in the 3rd century AD. Around half a million Christians were buried here, among them many martyrs and 16 popes.

From here we then went to Saint John's (Basilica di San Giovanni in Laterano) and Saint Mary's (Basilica Papale di Santa Maria Maggiore) churches. Again the art work, sculptures and the history are amazing.

Finished off with a quiet meal best our hotel which is right near the Trevi Fountain and an early night.Read more