Today, I got up, and Damien, Vanessa and I decided to go together to the Vatican via the Spanish Steps. It was rather neat, and we found ourselves there somewhat early, so there were not the great masses of people I was expecting, but it was rather pretty all the same. They were courteous enough to take a picture of me as well, and I took some of them together, we then crossed the Tiber, and found ourselves in about an hour queue to go to the Vatican Museum. In the queue, we stood to many British peoples including a nice young man, or at least he seemed young I would suppose he was in his mid to late twenties, named Ian from Glasgow (in Scotland). He had a somewhat thick brogue, but he was a very nice and charming fellow, and we stayed together for the full duration of the museum. We went through the museum, and I was happy for once to be a student because it saved me a third on my fare to get into the museum. Once inside, it was probably the most elaborate and overwhelming thing I have ever in my life seen. It covered an area of (I have heard) 7-12 miles of wall to wall art. It was just immense and great, I got to see so many things I had seen in pictures or read about in books or anything else. I don’t think my descriptions or even my pictures can do any form of justice whatsoever to it, but it was this building and this collection more than any one single thing that will have secured in my mind the necessity of my return to Rome, simply to spend a good week or more just in there. I saw the Laocöon which is probably in my opinion the single greatest sculpture from antiquity, and maybe all time (I haven’t yet seen Michelangelo’s David, so I can’t base the difference on that). I also saw something I did not think to expect but should have, had I thought more about it, and something that has inspired me for years, as I bought a poster print of it as well, that being Raphael’s School of Athens!! It was huge, and it was in a room loaded with paintings by Raphael, that was leading to the Sistine Chapel, that was absolutely amazing too, and I could not believe that one man could spend so much time and have so much detail in a room of that size, though I must confess it was a little smaller than I thought it might be.
We saw so much, and there were just loads and loads of tapestries, paintings, sculptures and every other sort of standing art medium you could think of, and it was all so detailed, and devoted, I could really appreciate the fine details and care given to these artists piety. When we finally did leave, Vanessa and Damien needed to go meet Vanessa’s friend who happened to be a nun in Rome and was at a nearby convent, and that left Ian and I to go and explore some more. We ended up going on to see St. Peter’s Basilica, but only from the outside, and we actually stood and looked around the arms that the basilica opens up to become, that by itself was incredible, it was gigantic, and one truly did get the impression that he was being embraced by God in this great church, I wish so much now, that I had actually gone into the basilica as well, but I did get very close to it, so that shall need to suffice for the time until I can get back. We took some pictures and then walked back by the centre of Rome where the Colosseum and the Vittorio Emanualle building is, and stopped by and took some pictures of Trajan’s Column, which was a very impressive and great monument to behold, as it was completely in tact, one of the few monuments from ancient Rome to be so, or at least as prominent as it is (the other big one being the Pantheon). We then walked back near to my hostel, and decided to get some food, so we ate at a nearby pizzeria and there I got probably one of the best pizzas of my life, simply because it was pizza salmone, which means of course salmon pizza! Salmon, what a great idea, it was so good, and though it was in the odd style of the other Roman pizzas I had eaten, meaning thin crust and an irregular circle, it was still very good. After that we went back to my hostel, and shortly after Ian left, and a little later, Damien and Vanessa got back and told me that their friend had gotten them tickets to go to see the Pope give mass the next day in St. Peter’s. I was so excited for and slightly envious of them, but who would not be?
We then went out to eat, I just went for company, but it was fun to talk to them, and after that we returned they went to bed, and I met up with some more American girls, and eventually found myself watching the owners and staff of the hostel engaged in a game of Risk... or should I say Risiko, which apparently is the Spanish name for risk, they are all Argentinian, which I just found to be rather interesting as they lived in Rome, and spoke perfect English. One of the guys was actually a 28 year old guy who looked no older than 19, and he acted the part as well, but he was a really nice guy nicknamed ‘Nacho’ which just somehow seemed appropriate for this hostel, as it was so fun and open between all the staff and patrons. Anyway, after a while of watching I decided to retire, and find out what the next day would bring.