Rome, day 2

There's quite a bit of city to see ...

The city redeems itself.

We started with the Vatican tour. The museums, the Sistine Chapel and then St. Peter's Basilica.

Later in the day, we went back and climbed the dome of St. Peter's. With the sun behind the dome, most of the city was lit quite well. The Vatican gardens were mostly in shade, but you could still pick out some very intersting features, from waterfalls to shells and shaped bushes and ornamental trees.

Our map was mostly helpful in identifying various landmarks, from the Pantheon to the Colosseum and the Victor Immanuel Monument. But not knowing the city skyline that well yet, we couldn't pick out everything.

Dinner went back to its usual level of quality. A fine ravioli started off, then to turkey with mushroom and a white wine sauce, probably with olive oil. I forget what they said the dessert layer cake was, but it was good.

For lunch, we had stopped off for panini after siesta on the way to climb the dome.

The tour, starting with the museums, began early but didn't avoid the sun as our guide talked about the Michelangelo paintings in the Sistine Chapel for 45 minutes in a courtyard. Probably should have picked the shady side even if it didn't have as many benches.

The art was spectacular. A number of people remarked that there's almost too much in the chapel to take it all in. Binoculars turned out to be a pretty good idea. I suggest low power with wide field of view for viewing ceilings.

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