Do as the Romans Do

Our second day in Rome started with a tram ride and a long wait at the Vatican.  I wish I had pictures of the outside of it, not because it was special, but because of its distinct lack of charm.  We waited inbetween those chrome moveable dividers like you see at concerts for at least an hour.  We couldn't see anything because of the giant desert sand colored walls that surround Vatican City.  Eventually we made it in and bought our tickets.  We were limited on our time because we had made reservations (a requirement) to see the Borghese museum around 1 or 2...don't remember.  By the time we dropped off our baggage at the trainstation and got inside, I think we had 2 hours.  This should have been great....but the halls were packed!

We started off toward the Sistine Chapel.  We walked through endless halls,  endless.  The ceilings were beautiful.  There was the hall of maps, the hall of this, the hall of that...I lost track

There were soooo many people it was ridiculous.  You were seriously pressed up against them.  And, they air conditioning couldn't compete with all that body heat.  People were dripping.  I just thanked God that Zac is 6'4'' so I only lost him once.

We walked halls for over an hour.  Signs dotted the way. "Sistine Chapel" with an arrow just often enough that you thought you might actually be there.  Finally, after a few dozen halls and a few flights of stairs the room opened up to something actually the size of a chapel.

We were there!

Sometimes I am shocked to realize I took these pictures, I was actually there.  

Creation of Adam

Us in the Chapel

From there we had to beeline it out and get on the tram to get to the Borghese.  

We stopped briefly and snapped a couple pictures.  This is St. Peters Basilica which I desperately wish we had seen the inside of.  Really, if you ever go, plan a whole day at the Vatican, its one of the few things I would change about my trip. 

We broke free of the crowds and followed the exit signs for another 30 minutes.  Finally, we hit the exit ramp.  Amazing huh.

We rode the metro and stopped where we thought we should to get to the museum on time.  We were wrong.  We realized at 15 minutes til our appointment, it would take us 45 to get there.  Fortunatley, we hopped right into a cab and got there just in the nick of time.  The museum was unremarkable.  Thank you Frommers.  But we did get a really cute picture of Zac and I

And, we were in a beautiful park.  We wandered it for a few hours.  Stopped and took a few pretty pictures of the cityscape.  

We decided it was time to head back to the trainstation.  While exiting the metro I saw this advertisement and laughed so hard at her eyebrows I just knew Maggie needed a copy.

We waited a couple hours for our train, then loaded up.  This was our second of two night trains.  We were officially on our way to Paris.  

To fill the time, we watched Super Bad on our tiny Ipod screen for the, oh, 7th time.