We arrived at the Vatican Museum in the morning around opening, hoping there would be minimal wait time. And if in "minimal" I really meant a line of that snaked around the entire museum for 10 blocks filled with tour groups, then I'd say, our hopes were answered.
When it takes you 15 minutes to walk from the end to the beginning of the line, you know you're in for a world of hurt. And for the next two and half hours of staring at the back of the people in front of me and eavesdropping on other tourists' conversations, we finally got into the museum at around noon. Not really in the mood for perusing the entire collection, we decided to make a bee line towards the Sistine Chapel. After weaving around the museum for about an hour in another line, we finally made it, and I'd have to say, it was definitely worth all the waiting.
When we first entered the chapel, we were immediately greeted by a huge crowd, whispering loudly and taking pictures of the ceiling and walls. Then, about every ten minutes or so, you hear an announcement telling people talking and taking photos are forbidden, which momentarily silences the crowd and shutters, to only start up again five seconds after the announcement was made.
Of course, I got my shots in:
and Waverly napped while I just let the whole thing sink in, thinking about what Robin Williams said to Matt Damon in that park bench scene in Good Will Hunting: "So if I asked you about art, you'd probably give me the skinny on every art book ever written. Michelangelo, you know a lot about him. Life's work, political aspirations, him and the pope, sexual orientations, the whole works, right? But I'll bet you can't tell me what it smells like in the Sistine Chapel. You've never actually stood there and looked up at that beautiful ceiling."
Will Hunting hasn't. But now I have. How do you like them apples?
We left the museum shortly after and of course, there was no line anymore going in anymore. We perused the shops around the Vatican area and Waverly went into hunt and destroy mode at a 15 Euro shoe stand.
After she scored two pairs of shoes (they were made in Italy okay?) we walked across a bridge and back into Rome and found all the people that were waiting in line at the museum had camped out in front of the Spanish Steps:
Low season? I think not.
2 comments:
I was upset when we got out of the Vatican Museum and found there was no line in the afternoon. Perhaps it was because the rain had stopped. I probably won’t go into a museum on a rainy day next time because 2 hours of waiting in line is torture.
In my Rome and the Vatican City DVD, there is no tall modern building infront of the Sistine Chapel that was shown in your picture. What's it?
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