I'm ready to leave. Perhaps coming here on the heels of Bagamoyo makes the opulence seem totally out of proportion to real life. Also, it may be the hordes of tourists (of which I am one).
Yesterday I went to the Vatican. All I wanted was to see the works of Michaelangeo - the Sistine Chapel and the Pieta. Thousands of other people had exactly the same brilliant idea. It seems October is peak season in Rome
The walk from our apartment to the Vatican took me an hour. Dee wisely decided not to come along. The line to get into the Vatican Museum to see the Sistine Chapel took 90 minutes. I was one body in the midst of a solid sea of heads craned toward the ceiling. I squeezed into a half seat along the wall so I could actually lean back and marvel at the ceiling before being herded out of the room so the next throng could enter.
Then I stood in a line that circled around St. Peter's Square to get into the Basilica. I almost didn't do it, but I'm glad I did. The Pieta is stunning.
There's no doubt that Michaelangelo's Sistine Chapel and Pieta are works of genius but his bronze of Marcus Aurelius in the Capitoline Museum took my breath away the other day and brought tears to my eyes. Maybe because there was no line! No waiting!.
Actually the walk back home along the Tiber was more beautiful to me than all the marble facades.
Saturday I'm off to Firenze. I'll be in Florence for six weeks so I can stop sightseeing for a little while. I need some time to process the Africa experience.
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| The Goddess of Rome (take your pick) |
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