After rushing out of our hotel in order to grab a quick breakfast (on our lovely terrace, made all the lovelier by the fact that it was a few degrees cooler this morning), we hopped in a cab to get to Vatican City in time for our 10:00 a.m. open "mini-bus" tour of the Vatican gardens. We had been instructed to a) dress appropriately and b) arrive 30 minutes earlier than our tour time, so when our can driver took no heed whatsoever of where our tour met (at the Vatican Museum) and instead dropped us off on the complete other side of the Vatican, at 9:30, I was beyond anxious as we walked for nearly 20 minutes around the walled city and to the appropriate end, passing hundreds and hundreds of people already waiting in line for their ticket, to get to the still long, though much shorter, line for security, and finally arrive to meet our tour group at 10:05 a.m. Luckily, the tour was running a bit behind schedule, so our first timing scare of the day was for naught.
The garden tour, on the other hand, was lovely. In a small group of 15 or so, we saw areas of the Vatican grounds we would never otherwise have seen, learned of the various rituals each Pope had throughout the years (their daily walks, their preferred places to host visitors and heads of state who had arrived on the private helipad - which we also got to see up close), and, of course, got to learn about the beautiful gardens. Once again, it was the "off the beaten path" activity that wound up particularly meaningful to us all.
I am so glad that I booked the garden tour, as it wound up being our favorite part of our time at the Vatican, mostly because it was the only time we were not hoarded like lemmings through narrow rooms in long lines with tour groups stuffed all around and very little air circulating. While the art collection at the Vatican is impressive and the architecture stunning, the simple truth for our family was that visiting it with crowds this big on a hot summer day can't possibly do the place justice. We found ourselves being moved by the mass of people through rooms housing paintings by Matisse and Dali, before we'd even had a chance to register that they were there, let alone take the time to truly observe (let alone, Kerrie, get moved enough to sob! :) Everyone was pushing, pushing towards that great moment when you enter the Sistine Chapel. As stunning as it is in person, it's difficult to be as moved by Michelangelo's astounding achievement when guards are whisper yelling "shhhhh!!!" every few minutes and barking at people not to take photographs (which we subtly took anyway, because, honestly, who could notice with ALL THOSE PEOPLE!) We also couldn't help noticing the many, many of those people walking around in shorts, sleeveless shirts, etc., while we were all sweating in our long pants and sleeved shirts. So... while this may be one of the "greatest hits" or things one must do when in Rome, we found the experience less than beatific!
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| Creation of Adam gets all the credit; why should that be, we all wondered |
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| Beautiful, but strangely tricky, final exit from the Vatican Museum |
After we made our way through the Sistine Chapel, it took us another 40 minutes to figure out how to exit the building, causing Maddie to utter at one point, "this is some sort of hell hole," something that caused us quite a bit of laughter at the moment but which she instantly regretted. After we finally emerged back outside of the Vatican, we realized we were pressed for time in order to eat lunch and get back to the hotel to get our luggage and get to the train station on time, yet Dana, particularly, really wanted to see St. Peter's Basilica. Therefore, we had a quick (by Roman waiter standards) lunch, took the trek back into the Vatican, got in yet another security line, and then took a very quick look around before heading off in search of a taxi. Not the best conditions, certainly, to fully appreciate this magnificent place.
Luckily, we found a cab quickly, the cab driver was willing to wait at our hotel while we quickly picked up our bags, and then take us to the train station, and we boarded our train on time. The ride to Florence was beautiful, with lovely (if quick, as we were on the fast train) glimpses of the Tuscan countryside. We arrived in Florence by 6:00, settled into our glorious hotel and found a perfect, intimate restaurant where we shared a platter of Tuscan steak that we all attacked like carnivores after several days of pizza, pasta, pizza. After dinner, we took a walk over the Arno river to La Carraia, one of two gelato spots apparently warring for bragging rights as the best gelato in Florence. With a line of 30+ people out the door, we figured we should weigh in on the debate. One of the enticing elements of this gelato joint is how inexpensive it is; it cost less for the four of us tonight than it did for one (albeit fantastic!) tartufo last night. It was pretty fantastic; we'll try its competitor tomorrow.
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| The rooftop terrace at our hotel, getting ready for a wedding celebration. |
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| A platter of grilled meat, potatoes, and veggies for 4! Delicious! |
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| Reflections |
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| Even the cones were adorable at La Carraia |
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| The kids check out a trippy art installation, designed by Daniel Libeskind, the archietct of the Jewish museum in Berlin, and one of the designers of the new World Trade Center in New York, in the piazza outside of our hotel. |
We are now all settled in for the night, with the sounds of Florence bustling beneath us, excited to spend the next couple of days mixing the greatest hits along with the B sides in yet another amazing Italian city. This one is particularly special for me, as I was Maddie's age when I last visited Florence. The emotion of walking the same streets I walked when a young woman my daughter's age, while walking arm in arm with my 20 year old daughter, has surprised me. This is a special city, one I have reflected on with affection for decades, so finally getting to share it with my family is extraordinary.
