We knew going into the morning that the Vatican Museums were closed today. However, it was his last day, and the weather was beautiful, so we figured we should go see the square and the cathedral while the weather was shining. So, we headed out from the hostel to go west towards the Vatican. Apparently, the Rome Marathon was taking place today (which was sorta cool) and it made for some difficult navigations. First of all, we found ourselves walking straight to the Colosseum (my second time arriving there by accident). So, we corrected our ways and headed north. This took us to the Trevi Fountain, and that was perfect. Due to the Marathon, it was an absolute pain to get there. But, that meant that it was not as crowded as it usually is. Convenient, as I wanted to end up here at some point anyway.
The fountain was spectacular! As the sun shined down over the buildings behind (south), the entire fountain was bathed in light. The water ran down primarily from the massive statue in the center, through multiple layers of falls, before plunging into the blue pool below. Meanwhile, the sides of this main part were flanked by marble carve into fancy curves and valleys, so water flowed from the sides down miniature falls and flows into the pool. Meanwhile, the sculptures consisted of men and horses and fish and serpents, all seemingly interacting together. It was pretty great.
From there we continued west, and had to navigate the streets of the marathon a few more times, but, in the end we made it to the Vatican City. On the way we did briefly stop by the Castle of Saint Angelo. It was quite impressive... very round and right on a bend in the river, but we did no more than that. The Vatican however, was pretty cool. We arrived, and walks down the main strip that is flanked by sculptures and columns. We then entered the main square of the Vatican, in front of the Basilica of Saint Pietro.
So... the Vatican Square was quite nice. At the time it was packed! It was little before noon, and as the marathon ran by, Tom and I figured that this crowd would be a combination of the usual crowd and the marathon crowd. Turns out, the Pope was giving a speech at noon. So... we heard the pope give a speech! What it was about, I've no clue, as it was in Latin... but it was still cool. Also, we wouldn't have had much of a view from anywhere, as he was way up in some window-things that was really far away. But, like I said... still cool.
Meanwhile, we'd found the queue to get through security into The Basilica.I believe this square is all technically part of the basilica, along with its curved walls of columns that surround it. The line was long, but moved fairly quickly. Before too long we were through the queue and on our way to the church (not that it was very far).
The Basilica is very impressive! Apparently the second largest church in the world, though I have trouble imagining one larger. The whole thing was massively spacious. The effect caused not only by the high, vaulted ceilings, numerous massive domes, and wide hallways, but also by the distinct absence of rows of benches. There were a few, when you walked close enough to the front altar, but for the most space...it was space.
The space aside, the cathedral was absolutely beautiful. Most of the building seemed to be made from marble, be it pink or white, or a darker color. The ceiling was very ornate, and much of the trim of sorts was golden. Meanwhile the domes were either vividly painted of colorful mosaics. Every dome had a window top, and every chapel had a window up high, and between all of these the light seemed to be blasting into the cathedral. The front altar (I think) was a towering wooden structure, with 4 pillars that sort of spiraled up to the wooden roof it held. I would probably say that this is the most stunning cathedral interior I've ever seen.
From there we left to climb the 551 steps to the roof of the domed top. It was quite a climb, and I actually recalled some fun trivia facts from St. Paul's in London that explains some things. As we neared the top the path became... crooked. Tom inquired why, and I was able to explain the effect of having an inner and an putter dome on the top of the Cathedral. That said... it was really weird that the walkway became... literally... crooked... But, we emerged at the top and the view was absolutely amazing. We could see out over the entirety of Rome, and even see to what I believe are the Alps to the north, where the rose into the clouds. Made me very pleased I did not try to get views from any other buildings around the city.
After the roof we left the Vatican and made our way back into the main of Rome. by now the marathon was nearly over (at one point we saw the guy we think was the last runner), but it made city walking much easier. We made our way to the Pantheon. It was a building that looked...old... despite being intact. I felt it was a bit underwhelming to see, very pretty with cool columns and paintings inside, but also really simple and straightforward. That said, I really enjoyed the roof, left open for the sun to shine down into the center of the circular room. Apparently they never close it, and during rains it just flows out the slightly sloped floor.
After the Pantheon I did a more local thing. Taking the advice of my friend Carolyn from back home, I worked my way around to find a Bar-Cafe called Sant'Eustachio il Cafe... It's a cafe, as in serves various coffee drinks, but has a bar setup. So, lots of standing and milling and being served at a bar. I ordered a cappuccino, which was absolutely delicious, and it was a lot of fun.
From there we had about another hour to kill. So we walked to a park in the norther part of the city to just sit and rest for a bit. This took us past the Spanish Steps... which are packed and apparently a huge tourist thing... though I don't really know why. The park felt very much like a Roman version of central park or Hyde Park... or any major central park in a big city. But, as the hour ticked later... it got a bit more chilly and we headed back. We went to the train station, where Tom caught a bus to the airport, and I headed back to the hostel for dinner and to call it a day.
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