Inside the Vatican there was so many people (they obviously care more about admission fees than comfort and safety), we were constantly pushing past people, and getting in each others way; it was similar to the start of the city to surf race. Our tour guide Sara was a teeny tiny girl from a town just outside Rome. If it wasn't for the telescopic flag that she held, we would have lost her in the sea of people.
We basically went to the Vatican to see the Sistine Chapel. But before that, we got to see the Vatican Museum which included lots of sculptures with the penises cut off (one of the Popes thought it was rude to have so many penises around the Vatican so he had them all removed from the statues - ball sacks were ok though), and paintings and tapestries. We went through at least 3 rooms that Raphael had painted which were impressive. The Sistine Chapel was AMAZING, it was worth the wait and the hustle and bustle of the rest of the tour. Damian was suitably impressed, and Mick who had already seen it was also amazed (once again). Once outside the Sistine Chapel we were given a guide of St Peter's Basilica. The Basilica is so so so big, and was also full of people, it didn't really feel like a church at all. While we were in St Peter's there was a procession that included Swiss Guards, Cardinals and dignitaries of some sort. Following the procession we were in the sacristy (not the sort of sacristy that we think of in 'normal churches') and the Cardinals from the procession were walking by. Given all the people around, they too had to push their way through, and Damian got an elbow to the chest from one of the Cardinals!
After Damian got his special 'blessing' we left to get lunch, the 3hrs of walking non-stop had taken its toll and we were tired. In the afternoon we went to Monti which is described as Rome's Underground. It's so underground it doesn't have an official map or boundary, but we were able to find it thanks to Mr Google. In Monti there are a number of cool little bars tucked away amongst the seamstress and other shops. We had a couple of cocktails in the 'Librare of the Bohemian' bar. When cocktails only cost $1.50 more than wine, you'd be crazy not to have mojito or long island ice tea. Dinner was in the first place we could find (after Mick decided he had to go to the bathroom and couldn't hold it any longer). We were a bit concerned when all of the main meals were described as being "frozen", however we had the daily special which was a roast pork platter to share - given our low expectations we were very happy with the outcome. Once we had finished eating, and Mick went to the toilet again (number 1s in case you thought he was sick), we walked 5 minutes down the road to see the Colosseum at night. Damian went crazy with the photo taking. At one point when we were walking back home Damian said "I don't need to take all these photos, they are just the same thing from a different angle". After a short pause, Mick went to respond to Damian's comment only to find that he was walking alone after Damian decided to stop and take more photos of the Colosseum.
The night ended with a gelato :)
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