Monday morning was a direct trip to St. Peters Basilica via the subway. We scoped out a relatively quiet St. Peter's Square and were free to roam with the pigeons. We decided to enter the area for entrance to the basilica. The signage was somewhat confusing, but the queue was minimal and we quickly got through security.

St. Peters Basilica is immense, the world's largest church! While there we visited the basilica and attended mass in a side chapel, visited the dome and cupola, and finally the grotto (burial site of many popes including John Paul II). Jane and I tempted the dome, but my trip halted halfway when I walked out only to look down to the floor of the basilica. That was the end of the line for me!!! Jane did go to the cupola up top, and had an excellent vista of Rome. One of the only times we actually went in separate directions the entire trip.

Had a great cafe latte at a street side eatery, doing what many Romans seem to do for much of the day. Then off to the Vatican Museum. Amid what were unbelievable lines, crowded and disorganized spaces, and what is really too much to fathom in a brief visit, we saw an amazing collection of art. Really impossible to grasp the extent of the space until you're in it. There were sculptures, paintings, maps, furniture, architecture, frescoes, tapestries, the list goes on and on. The highlight for me was the Sistine Chapel. I thought I had promised myself that I wouldn't be like the hordes of tourists that flock to the museum, but I couldn't help myself. The work is amazing from the stand point of depth, as well as sheer size!!! Although distracted by the finger waving security folks doing their best to control photography, it was the best part of my visit to the Vatican Museum.

When we finished we went looking for "space". We got lost for a bit in the narrow, winding streets across the river from the Vatican. It was an interesting stroll through small shops, artisans and carpenters doing work, and street side Ristorante. We stopped at one for gelato... A wild concoction of flavors as Jane asked for the servers favorites in the same bowl. It was some deserved down time!!!

We eventually made our way to Piazza Navona, via the market areas of Campo de' Fiori. Although vendors at Campo de Fiori were shutting down... with shop keepers busy packing and market sounds, smells and garbage everywhere, it was still fun to watch. Jane bought herself a nice shirt there in a small shop while I eventually figured out where I was standing. You can get disoriented quickly in Rome, as the narrow streets that run through the core, sometimes named and other times not, can turn you around quickly.

After getting situated we found Piazza Navona a buzz with artists, reminding me a lot of Place du Tertre in Paris. The main fountain was closed in as artisans were busy doing restoration work to the statues. The site was once an outdoor area similar to the Circus Maximus, a long oval for chariot racing and the like. We roamed and took pictures, among the pigeons, of the fountains at either end (Neptune Fountain & Moor Fountain) and eyed some of the artwork being created. Could have decked out our pad at home pretty nice with some of these pieces.

The Pantheon is another architectural marvel. The huge dome, with a nine meter oculus at the centre, can be entered for free. It is
immense both inside and out (construction at both Navona and the
Pantheon left some views restricted). Restaurants, with outdoor
seating and cover surround the plaza out front. The Pantheon is in
fact a church, and we sat in the area in front of a small chapel to
admire the view. The building almost seems "sunk" within the Roman streetscape... and I had difficulty knowing whether Rome has grown in elevation around the building or if they had dug back down to find it! I liked it there, it is one of those Roman must do's as far as I'm concerned.

The days steps had begun to mount, and I was in need of some feet up and a glass of vino! We decided we would trek out, past Palazzo Montecitorio, Piazza Colonna and the Column of Marcus Aurelius, through Trevi and the Spanish Steps to the Spagna stop and the subway home. Jet leg, excitement and the ground covered had us both exhausted. Early to bed for Day 4 in the Foro Romanum.