A Customs-Free Country

Survey says...Vatican City!

This is the Vatican gardens, part of the giant walled complex that really does seem to be a small city...not sure about the country bit, though.  We brilliantly decided to go on the free Sunday, which meant that lines were quite long (people were comparing them to Easter) but there was no charge at the end...we got there as it opened and waited just over an hour to get into the Vatican Museums, which isn't too bad!

Before you were allowed to even enter for the security check, there was a clothing check.  As you can see, bathing suits are a bad idea.  After that, you go through a metal detector and your belongings are x-rayed to ensure you have benevolent intentions.

The path to the Sistine Chapel through the Vatican Museums is long, and paved with beautiful ceilings (rather a propos).  However, no photography was allowed inside the Sistine Chapel, and yours truly was actually obedient for once...so imagine this, but higher, more gilded, and more intricate...and then you're about halfway there!

I was amused to find Greek gods also in attendance.  This here is Bacchus, my favorite--he's the god of food, wine, and festival.  Note the grapes and cup of wine.  He's a pretty chill guy.

The old-fashioned Popemobile, and in my opinion, the much cooler one.  We accidentally stumbled upon the carriage house and got to see various editions of papal transport, including a model of the new jet.  Quite cool.

After a good 4 hours, we headed over to St. Peter's Basilica and square.  However, these lines were also quite long (it's evidently another way of getting into the Sistine Chapel), and Dwi had already been through.  I've been through a lot of pretty churches, so we were bad Catholics and stayed outside.

Then we trekked over to Angel's Castle, an ancient marvel.  Thanks to Tom O'Toole for the most excellent recommendation; we never would've found it otherwise!  This used to be the papal fortress and is now a museum to art, weaponry, and other old things.  But the best part of Angel's Castle is the view from the top.

This is part of the way up!  Climbing very old stone spiral staircases is tough work, so we stopped on the middle level for gelato.  Somehow I don't think there was a cafe and bar here in the Middle Ages... This was taken peeking out of a tiny opening in the wall...not much in the way of windows here!

And St. Peter's from the top.  We could see for many miles, and there were handy panoramic diagrams telling you what you were looking at from each side of the roof. We stayed up here for a good 45 minutes, just enjoying the breeze, sunshine, and marvelous view!

Angel's Bridge.  Any good fortress needs a moat, and the Tiber suffices rather nicely.  So this bridge was necessary for the trafficking of people (in a positive way!) and goods in and out of the fortress.  Each end is decorated with angel statues.

Thus mostly ends Day 2 in Rome!  We checked out some of the piazzas that evening, but those'll be in the next post. Ciao ciao!