Rome: Day 4 (8/16/19)
My St. Peter’s Basilica tour was at 8:45 so I got up at 6:45 so I would have plenty of time for breakfast and the hour walk over. There was a large pool of yellow liquid in the bathroom which is certainly less than ideal but hey I figure its a cheap hostel and whatever. Left it alone since they clean the rooms every day in the afternoon. The walk over to the Basilica was 50/50, since my right leg is hurting behind the knee whenever I extend or contract it all the way. Will probably take a while to heal but its not nearly so bad that I can’t walk around, I just have to adjust my walk cycle a little bit.
The entrance to the St. Peters is like airport security but since I was so early in the morning there was no line or anything, but I’ve heard it gets absurdly long as the day goes on. And since it’s set in the main square there is zero shade, hence why I went for as early of a tour as possible. Which turned out not to be a tour at all… entrance to the Basilica is free and what I purchased for 16 euros was an audioguide that had the exact same info as the plaques scattered around. RIP.
First thing I did was climb up to the dome, which I did for a couple euros on foot but you can pay a premium to take the elevator and skip like 250 steps. After the main spiral staircase you ascend the dome itself in the in-between area of the murals and the outer layer which is super slanted and actually pretty cool in itself. Of course the view from the top was amazing, you can see the whole city, and I stood next to an actual English-speaking tour and leeched interesting facts like how the whole dome used to be covered in over 500 candles every night to illuminate it before electric lights were installed. Nice and windy up there too which helps to cool you down after a rather hot climb. I don’t even want to think about it during the afternoon and with full tourism crowds.
Turns out the “paintings” on the dome’s ceiling are actually murals! They used relatively small tiles so that you can’t tell the difference from the ground floor but it lasts forever unlike paintings which fade. I walked around the ground floor for several hours checking out the massive sculptures, paintings, and just generally being in awe of the sheer scale inside the building. It’s just ridiculously huge in all aspects. The catacombs were also pretty cool, especially the tomb of St. Peter which occupied the center of the building under a black marble canopy that must have been 30ft tall on its own.
Took a lunch break outside on the edge of the square in a covered hallway with a bunch of pillars. Wonderful delicious fantabulous leftover Neapolitan pizza. Even 5 hours in my backpack cannot quell its ineffable flavor. Nice and quiet location too since the vast majority of people were either in line for the entrance or meandering around the square, in the 85 degree weather without a lick of shade. Noooo thank you!
Went straight back since I didn’t want to push my leg too hard but passed some cool places that I might visit this weekend if I feel better. Also considering taking a train to Tivoli and doing a waterfall hike or something of the sort. Turns out the yellow puddle in the bathroom was a leaky soap dispenser which they fixed right away once I told them (guess they skipped my room for cleaning). Took the evening off and just chilled watching Netflix and
