The first stop the morning of the 22nd was the Borghese Gallery. This was an incredible museum that you are required to have reservations to enter. One of the masterpieces of the Borghese is Bernini's Apollo and Daphne. Very cool place! Get there early!
After the Borghese Gallery, I had reserved us a table for lunch at the Hard Rock Cafe. I knew after a week in Italy, all the kids would be ready for a hamburger. It was a very cool Hard Rock.
One of the coolest things we did in Rome was tour the Vatican Necropolis - The Scavi Tour. This is a tour that you have to write in months and months in advance and plead your case as to why you want to attend this unique tour. They only take a few people into the necropolis every day on an English speaking tour. This was a highlight of our tours in Rome. You actually get let into the Scavi office by the Swiss Guard (see below) and they take 12 people WAY under St. Peter's Basilica. This is not a tour of the tombs... this is far below the tombs. This is the rumored burial sight of the original Saint Peter. It is so unfortunate that I have no pictures to post. It is so hard to discribe in a way that makes you see the picture. You decend far below St. Peter's Basilica and you come to an area that looks like you just stepped out onto an old Roman street... with little alley-ways and buildings... with what used to be windows in them. This was an old mausoleum. This was SO interesting. The interesting thing is until the 1940s, no one knew about this place. They were getting ready to bury a pope in the 1940s (don't know which pope) and they knocked a hole in the marble floor and found this underground city! This happens ALL THE TIME in Rome.
Here are the Swiss Guard. We actually walked through that arch to attend our Scavi Tour.
The following day I had arranged a tour of the Vatican Gardens. This was not my favorite tour in Rome. It was interesting to get a different perspective of St. Peter's Basilica, because we were behind it. But, all and all... I would rather do different things while in Rome.
The School of Athens by Raphael.... Amazing work of art inside the Rapheal Rooms inside the Vatican museum.
After the Vatican Garden tour, we met up with our friends that had just flown in from Kansas. Debbie and Rich had arrived! Along with our friends from England, Lisa and Andy. We hadn't seen Lisa and Andy for almost 2 years. I was super excited to see everyone. I had pre-arranged a private Vatican Museum tour for all 10 of us. This is THEE thing to do. We waited in NO line... and we were private escourted everywhere. The museum is HUGE, to say the least. To have someone show you around and tell you the history of everything AND make it interesting is worth every penny. We had the best tour guide. You could tell that she loved everything about the art and the history inside this amazing museum.
Cortile della pigne - The Pine Cone Courtyard - First century AD
This is a very lovely courtyard inside the Vatican Museums.
Laocoon and his sons. This is an amazing statue inside the Vatican museum. This statue was unearthed in 1506 but the statue dates from about 20 BC. Laocoon was missing his right arm until 1957 when it was found in someone's yard and sold at a flea market. Imagine coming across this at a flea market! Just incredible!
The Porphyry Bath of Nero - Porphyry meaning purple, was also one of the hardest stones and the most valuable. You will see several porphyry sarcophagi in the museums that are intricately carved.
The ceiling in the Gallery of Maps. The Gallery is 120 m long and 6 m wide. It is painted with 40 maps of Italy between the years of 1580 - 1583. Then entire ceiling is frescoed. This is one of my favorite rooms in the Vatican Museum.
Well, we must go back to the hotel... we have another really LONG day of touring tomorrow.
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