We were up at 5:30 am to catch the Metro at 6:30 for our tour of the Vatican. After an uneventful 10 minute ride and a 15 minute walk we arrived at the meeting point on the extreme south side of St. Peters Square at 7:10. Equipped with headsets we started to shuffle towards our seats in the square for the next 45 minutes or so. At least 100,000 people queued up, or so it seemed.

Once seated in what we thought was a strategic location towards the rear of the square but beside the rail where the Pope Mobile was to travel, we patiently waited for the main event.

      
      
      
      
click picture to enlarge

The Pope finally made his appearance at 9:00 am and took the next 45 minutes making circuits throughout the square. Lanes were condoned off for the Pope Mobile and he travelled up and down and back and forth. He came by us twice, within a couple of meters. He would wave and greet the crowd, stop and shake hands and kiss all the babies that were held up for him. I tried to hold Lee up but he wasn’t buying it. The really amazing part of his tour around the square was that he truly seemed to be enjoying himself. As participants in the “Audience With The Pope” it was very apparent to us why he is so popular.

      
    
click picture to enlarge

When the touring was done, Pope Francis took his seat on the platform situated on the steps of St. Peters. Several clergymen spoke in their respective languages and the Pope then addressed the crowd in Italian for about 30 minutes. He finished up with the Our Father and the blessing of everyone in attendance.

  
click picture to enlarge

The ”Audience With The Pope” finished up around 11:00. We were then free to do our own thing until we had to meet our afternoon tour at 2:15 pm. Had lunch in a small and very crowded café just off the square, then walked down the avenue off the end of the square to the Tiber River. We crossed the Ponte Principe Amedeo Savoia Aosta bridge then back across the Ponte Vittorio Emanuele II bridge which brought us to the Mausoleum of Hadrian, also known as Castel Sant'Angelo. It was initially commissioned by the Roman Emperor Hadrian as a mausoleum for himself and his family. The popes later used the building as a fortress and castle. It is now a museum. The structure was once the tallest building in Rome.

      
    
click picture to enlarge

Eventually we made our way back to the St. Peters Square and followed the Vatican walls around to the entrance to the Vatican Museum. Sure enough, our Dark Rome guides were where they were supposed to be. We were again fitted with headsets and again, the tour started on time. The tour took us through the museum, into the Vatican courtyards and through the galleries which ended up in the Sistine Chapel.

      
      
      
      
      
      
    
click picture to enlarge

With the tour over at 5:30 we were on our own again to wander the Basilica.

      
      
  
click picture to enlarge

At 7:00 we made our way back to the Metro. Once on the train we travelled past our stop to the Termini to ask if we could leave our luggage at Naples rather than Rome tomorrow. No luggage storage at the Naples station so it looked like Rome it was.

Walking the few blocks back to our hotel, we slipped into a café for LeVerne’s birthday dinner. Back at the hotel we had a shooter or two of lemon liquor. Off to bed early as we had to check out in the morning before we caught the train to Naples for a tour of Pompeii. No rain today, mostly overcast but comfortable.

back to top