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  • Carmel CarlsenVia Francigena - part 2
    4226
    Day 55

    Day 51: Vatican City and Rome

    June 12, 2024 in Vatican City ⋅ ☀️ 19 °C

    I attended Pope Francis' weekly audience today! The Aussies I met on my way to La Storta were lucky enough to get tickets, and as Steve didn't want to use his, Leontine offered me the ticket. We joined the ticket holder queue at 7 a.m. and unbelievably, we were only three rows from the front when we got to sit down! The 38th Irish Brigade of Irish soldiers, playing the bagpipes, entered the square before the pope (yes, he was in the pope mobile) - the soldiers were brilliant and the pope was greeted like a rock star. As I only understand English, most of what was said was lost on me, but I do know from the crowds reaction that he was funny and made a real connection with those present. After a coffee and a sit down (I did not get much sleep last night), I walked through Saint Peter's Basilica, then met the American pilgrims, Tammy and Allan, in Saint Peter's Square as they have now completed the VF also. We had lunch together, it's also Tammy's birthday, and then I went off to collect my credential for the Via di Francesco and ended my day with a walk along the Tiber.Read more

  • Rome
    Day 3

    Vaticaanstad

    June 1, 2024 in Vatican City ⋅ ☀️ 19 °C

    Vandaag bezochten we de St. Pieter basiliek inclusief de koepel met fantastisch uitzicht na 500 traptreden omhoog. Vervolgens het Vaticaan museum met muur- en wandschilderingen, beeldhouwwerk, mozaïek etc. Oude pauselijke verblijven en tot slot de Sixtijnse kapel met muur- en wandschilderingen van Michelangelo.Read more

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  • TravelerPals in Croatia & Italy 2024
    6357
    Day 19

    Vatican City & Roma

    May 14, 2024 in Vatican City ⋅ ☀️ 17 °C

    Come to Rome and there are must-see attractions. Vatican City was our first guided tour, lasting 3 hours. Included was the Vatican Palace, Sistine Chapel & the Basilica Church.
    Our tour included a breakfast - no doubt the most expensive breakfast we will ever eat!
    Opulence, indescribable beauty & art, thousands of people and being herded through by Vatican staff sums up our experience.
    We then did a round of Rome on the Hop on Hop Off bus - a great way to see the city.
    Back to the apartment via a little market in our street to buy food for dinner.
    We then walked about 1.5 km to the nearest post office to send home clothes we no longer need and Kerrie's CPAP which is just too cumbersome to travel with.
    Home to cook veal schnitzels and salad - a nice change from pizza!!    Read more

  • TravelerPope's and piazzas
    1
    1
    Day 7

    It's my birthday

    April 12, 2024 in Vatican City ⋅ ⛅ 16 °C

    Early to rise and off to The Vatican.
    8.00am and a queue as long as your arm. Jumped ahead at our alloted time but still qued to clear security.
    It's amazing how efficiently people disperse and the museum manages to stay calm and relaxed. The Sistine chapel is smaller than imagined. (Tone sneeked a photo) The art and artefacts from around the world are amazing.
    Tony managed to sneek us into the front of the que for St. Peters Basillica. It is vast and highly elaborate inside, but i can't help wondering if all this oppulence is necessary in the pursuit of devotion to a religion?    Read more

  • TravelerCiao a tutti !
    11
    Day 2

    La cité du Vatican

    April 8, 2024 in Vatican City ⋅ ☁️ 25 °C

    Hier était la première vraie journée à Rome. On avait décidé de faire le Vatican mais sans billet réservé…A ne plus refaire, 4h de file d’attente : 8h-12h mais ça en valait le coup ! En attendant on a pris un petit déjeuner dans la file. Site gigantesque, mais beaucoup trop de monde, impossible d’apprécier l’endroit. Je conseil d’y aller à la période de Novembre. Mais le plafond de la Chapelle Sixtine en vaut la peinte ainsi que les nombreux musées !! Malheureusement on a pas pu visiter la basilique saint-pierre à cause de la foule et sans billet… Mais le place est très impressionnante et très blanche !!Read more

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  • Europe Trip!
    11112
    Day 4

    Last day in Rome :(

    January 17, 2024 in Vatican City ⋅ 🌧 16 °C

    Our last day roaming rome :( we started off by going to the Spanish Steps which had…wait for it…a bunch of steps. Then we made our way over to the Trevi Fountain which was absolutely gorgeous. We also witnessed a proposal which went successfully so yay for them! At that point the fountain was my absolute favourite thing about Rome (soon defeated by something else…) Afterwards we headed to the Piazza Navona which was also beautiful! Big square with lots of shops and cobblestone. Thennnn we headed off to the smallest country in the world! Vatican City was absolutely spectacular. We headed to the Sistine Chapel and wowzers. To say it was jaw dropping would be an understatement. I suddenly have a new appreciation for art and Michelangelo. Unfortunately we couldn’t take photos inside but wow it quickly became my favourite. Then we headed to St Peter’s Basillica which was HUGE. To see Peter’s grave and see La Pieta (also Michelangelo!) in person was incredible. At that point it was pretty gloomy and getting late so we headed back to the air bnb for some rest before Gregory’s Jazz Club! We got there a bit early so we just had some drinks at the bar. One aperol spritz and I was in happy land. We experienced the best hospitality we’ve had so far, and met some nice people from the UK! The show started pretty late so we only stuck around for a little bit. It was a jazz trio with trumpet, drums, and bass! These Rome guys can PLAY. As much as we wanted to stick around we had to call it a night because of an early start the next morning. We walked back to the air bnb but unfortunately for us we accidentally detoured and accidentally got some gelato and accidentally ate it but ah well, these things happen. As soon as we were back zzzzzzRead more

  • Nadine und DominikRom 09.11. - 13.11.2023
    2
    111
    Day 3

    Sonnenaufgang alleine am Petersplatz

    November 11, 2023 in Vatican City ⋅ 🌙 10 °C

    Das Highlight des Tages und wahrscheinlich auch vom ganzen Urlaub war die Morgendämmerung mit lila/rosa Wolken über dem Petersdom. Am Petersplatz angekommen waren wir nahezu alleine und konnten neben dem tollen Farbspiel am Himmel auch nahezu ohne andere Menschen den Blick auf das gigantische Gotteshaus werfen. Zum Petersdom später mehr, jetzt erst mal ein paar Worte zur Vatikanstadt, unserem 26. gemeinsam Land. Der Staat Vatikanstadt, kurz auch Vatikan genannt, ist sowohl nach Fläche als auch nach Bevölkerungszahl der kleinste allgemein anerkannte Staat der Erde und der einzige mit Latein als Amtssprache. Der Stadtstaat liegt innerhalb der italienischen Hauptstadt Rom und ist damit als Enklave vollständig von Italien umgeben. Aufgrund seiner geringen Fläche von 0,44 Quadratkilometern und seinen insgesamt etwa 1000 Einwohnern wird die Vatikanstadt als Zwergstaat bezeichnet. Der Staat ist eine absolute Wahlmonarchie, deren Monarch der Papst ist. Dieser wird von den Kardinälen gewählt und scheidet nur durch Tod oder Rücktritt aus diesem Amt aus. Vom kleinsten Land der Welt konnten wir zum Start erst mal den Petersplatz vorm Petersdom erkunden. Dieser wurde von Gian Lorenzo Bernini zwischen 1656 und 1667 unter Papst Alexander VII. vor dem Petersdom in Rom angelegt. Die Kolonnaden links und rechts bilden die Staatsgrenze zwischen der Vatikanstadt und Italien. Die Position des Petersplatz ist nicht zufällig gewählt. Der Überlieferung nach erlitt dort Petrus im Jahr 64 oder 67 unter Kaiser Nero den Märtyrertod. An der Stelle, an der heute der Hauptaltar des Petersdomes steht, wurde der Überlieferung nach Petrus begraben. Neben den Statuen der sehr vielen Päpsten auf den Kolonnaden, den Aposteln auf dem Portal des Petersdom und den Brunnen auf beiden Seiten des Platzes ist vor allem der Obelisk sehr prägend. Der Vatikanische Obelisk ist ein 25,31 m hoher altägyptischer Obelisk. Vom Petersplatz ging’s schließlich gegen 7:15 Uhr zum nahegelegenen Treffpunkt für unsere geführte Tour mit Guide auf die Kuppel vom Dom und anschließend in den Petersdom.Read more

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  • TravelerAngel Safari with Fred
    212
    Day 5

    Somewhere speeding through the night

    October 27, 2023 in Vatican City ⋅ ☁️ 22 °C

    I'm not going to sugarcoat it. The Rome train station was a nightmare. We also got on the wrong subway to the Vatican, which was a nice day once we arrived even though the actual dome of St. Peters was closed! We did visit the museums including the Sistine Chapel where pictures weren't allowed so you'll just have to visit it yourself. Sorry Megan, no angels for you!Read more

  • Avoiding the heat EU tour
    212
    Day 44

    Up high, down low

    October 17, 2023 in Vatican City ⋅ ☁️ 19 °C

    Today started nice and early at around 5:30am so we could get up and walk the hour trek to the Vatican, we also made a detour to see the Trevi fountain and the Pantheon before the big crowds moved in.

    We met up with our tour group and ventured into the smallest (and wealthiest) country. Once inside, we made our way through the very impressive museum, the Raphael rooms, the hall of maps, tapestry gallery, the Belvedere Courtyard before heading to the Sistine Chapel where we enjoyed Michelangelo’s spectacular paintings.

    Next was the tour of St. Peter’s Basilica, Europe's biggest church which was so very impressive and excessive.

    We walked home, enjoyed some lunch before heading out on our next adventure.

    We joined our next tour where we discovered 3 of Rome's most significant archeological sites, the Capuchin Crypts, the Catacombs of St. Callixtus and the Appian Way.

    The Capuchin crypt was made up of the bones of 4000 monks, which was very strange. Afterwards, the tour look us to the catacombs which once housed up to 500,000 bodies, it was insanely large and incomprehensible, it was a maze of empty crypts and creepy drawings.

    The tour ended by dropping us back off in town where we wandered around some other sites such as the massive Monument to Victor Emmanuel II before grabbing some food from the shops before a calm night in.

    Step count: 28.8k    Read more

  • Traveler5 girls do Europe
    Day 13

    Vatican City tour

    September 16, 2023 in Vatican City ⋅ ☁️ 21 °C

    Well today was the day, Beth and I both up early for our tour. Beth cooked us eggs on toast, I made the coffee and then downstairs to catch an uber to the tour office. Of course there were many others there to. You had to be there 25 minutes before the tour started at 10 and we go there at about 9.10 so told to wait outside on the street till 9.35am as there were lots of people getting organised 🤨. BTW whilst waiting this little hawker comes up and said you have to cover your shoulders and knees…. uh oh didn’t notice that on the tour information… and Beth had a sleeveless top and shorts on, I had a skirt just on my knees. Told him I don’t need anything I could pull my skirt down… Beth got stung for 2 scarves at 10 Euro each. I succumbed and bought one too. Not happy at all I tell ya, plus temp was rising and that didn’t help us at all. by 9.30 the temp was 25 and rising. got to 32 today btw
    Finally we could go in and get our pink sticker, and then wait for some more. Lots of waiting in this city…. Off we trot with the tour guide Pascale following his little flag, following along like little chickens behind the mother hen.
    We get into the Vatican entry point and Pascale informs us that although we booked for the Vatican Museum, Sistine Chapel and Basilica, the Pope was having a meeting until 1.00pm and we couldn’t see the Basilica so basically they would just extend the museum visit…see where this is going? Not happy…
    Anyway after a bit of delay and waiting and lining up again we get our headsets and off we go, did I tell you there are steps…lots of steps…Beth has a crook knee, my back wasn’t playing the game either so both a bit weary of stairs.
    Lots of beautiful art, the marble is extraordinary, the tapestries and paintings unbelievable. So many photos, so many beautiful things to admire. But I have to say after the first hour, it was becoming rather much same same if ya know what I mean.
    Loved the square, loved the ceilings throughout, they sure liked their baths the popes thats for sure and wouldn’t mind one like it at my place 🤭.
    Finally we get to the Sistine chapel and the guide says the tour ends here, just go on through, sit down and take the time to enjoy the beautiful Leonardo paintings. Well that would of been good, because we no longer had a guide we were pushed through like cows in the cattle yards, prodded at every moment to keep moving. I reckon we had about 2 mins inside before being herded out. Those who still had a guide, were able to stand in the middle and admire the paint works. Throughly disappointed and the review will reflect that when I get a moment to do it.
    so Beth and I have decided we aren’t doing tours together, they are always a bit of a flop!
    But we can tick that off the bucket list. Wish I had seen the Basilica though, dammit!
    Back to the apartment and met up with Kel and Susie, went to lunch and had Spaghetti Cabonara, delish. Home for me to put my feet up and fell asleep for 2.5 hours.
    Easy night at home tonight, got into Netflix and watched a movie together with platter food for dinner.
    Bed time now, its 11.40pm and feeling jaded.
    Tomorrow is our last day in Rome and off to Valencia. Bit of trouble with our onward flights to London later this month, but I will tell you about it next time.
    Caio    Read more

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