We had a busy day yesterday, not quite as busy as today, but we all came back home tired!
Our first stop of the day was the Vatican Museums. There we had an exceptional tour guide who was so very knowledgeable and equally personable. She gave us a three hour tour (it was only supposed to be two, so we appreciated her time). Included in the tour were the impressive statues of ancient Rome, the tapestries room, the map room, and of course, the Sistine Chapel. We walked quickly through the rest of the spaces to the exit as we were museumed-out after three hours. A few of the adults did a quick huddle as we were (unsurprisingly) in need of a Plan B for the afternoon.
My schedule for the day was a bit overambitious and with the extended time in the museum, we needed to adjust.
First, lunch was a priority. We found paninis and many enjoyed some cold Fanta. Then at 3 pm we got back on the Metro (of which we are pros), to head to St. Paul Outside the Walls. This basilica is impressive and I was the only one who had been there before. We gave the group over an hour to explore all of it, including the courtyard, and yes, the gift shop. Everyone seemed to enjoy the time there.
By the time we wrapped up at St. Paul's it was really too late to go to another basilica as they close between 6 pm and 6:30 pm. Instead we headed to the Circo Massimo station of the Metro to explore ancient Rome a bit. Matthew gave us a brief history of some of the items including the traditions of the chariot races, the Colosseum, and the Forum.
At 6:30 we were all done in and everyone was quite happy to head home to the hotel. Feet were sore and cameras were full of great pictures. Dinner was at 8:30 pm again. I don't think people stayed up too late after dinner as nearly all were droopy eyed at the table.
Now it is 6:15 am here and we are having breakfast soon and heading out to a very full day!
Stay tuned for more.
PS - For some reason the connection here won't let me upload photos. Sorry! I will try to load photos again from Spain.
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